612 N. Main
612 N. Main
Naem Madi
612 N Main welcomes Naem Madi to the turret!
Want to hear the story of a modern day "American Dream"? Naem has one of the most amazing stories I've ever heard. His is a story of family and fate with some Star Wars mixed in just for fun.
Hey guys, welcome to six 12 north Maine. If you're interested in learning more about the Henderson Evansville Owensboro area, well, you're in the right place. This is where you hear the story of us and amazing stories. They are to sit back and relax while we welcome our special guests to the turn and back in the term at six 12, north main. So glad to have you here. I want to thank everyone for the feedback that's been sent this way. If you have a suggestion or comment about the podcast, you can email me@brentatsixtwelvenorthmain.com. That's 6 1 2 in M a I n.com man, uh, buckle in kiddos. We have a great show for you tonight. I've been looking forward to this one. I have a great friend here and, you know, let me ask you this. What do you think of when you hear the term, the American dream? I can tell you today, our guest has lived the American dream. Maybe not the one that comes to your mind, but certainly one that needs to be told my guest today is name, body name. And I met at the Altos studio in the Evansville when my daughter was taking acting lessons. And, you know, we had a connection from the very beginning. He's one of those guys that you just can't be negative around. He's such a positive influence, funny, and you know, except for the fact that he's a Packers fan, he's a pretty cool guy. So, uh, Naim welcome. Glad you could be here
Speaker 2:With us. So glad to be here with you, bud. Let's
Speaker 1:Start where we always do name money. Who are you?
Speaker 2:Uh, first and foremost, I am a father, a husband. I am a sibling, 2, 3, 4 siblings now, uh, lots. Uh, so I have two brothers, two sisters. Um, most of them older than me, just one of them younger. I love my family. That's probably the first thing that I could probably say about me is on just, uh, I love my family. I've, I've always been excited to create my own and I've, I grew up really close, uh, with, with my older siblings. They were who I grew up with. Uh, we shared a room for the longest time and I think family was probably the first thing that, that, that I was in love with. I just wanted that sense of togetherness. And every time that I had to spend away from family, I thought, well, I want to go back to my family or I want to create a new family, uh, you know, just throughout my life. I've done. So through, you know, meeting really good people, friends, you of course. Um, you know, we have, uh, I found a family, uh, in the community here, uh, through de Alto, uh, through, you know, that family sharing their magic with me. I feel like I've been able to create a family there in a little way. And also I've created a family with, uh, the owner of the Alto studios, daughter. I've I love Amelia Matti so much. I, she and I have a daughter and she takes up a lot of time, uh, and a lot of our attention, but she is, gosh, she is fantastic. I could probably talk about her for ages, but let's talk
Speaker 1:A little bit about being a dad. Let's do it. It is, it is absolutely the most incredible thing that can ever happen to a guy, a man, you know, I saw you, it feels like I kind of saw you grow up from, you know, this young, single guy that was very cool into the arts could do anything. And I saw you fall in love and I see you get married and now you have a daughter and I see these pictures and the look on your face and, and I wish people could see the smile that's on your face right now. You're just thinking about your daughter. And, you know, you can't explain to someone who doesn't have children, what that's like. It is the most wonderful and scariest thing that could possibly ever happen to anyone.
Speaker 2:I love adventures. Second, I'd say adventure is my second love, right? Under family. And, you know, creating a family with Amelia has been an adventure. It has been probably any adventure greater than I've ever taken. Like physically in the real world. It's better than any adventure I've ever taken on any tabletop for like, like Dungeons and dragons or whatever. Uh, it is, it is challenging. It is fulfilling. It is. I never thought I would wake up and just want to spend all of my time with just two people, as much as I do Amelia and Eva, Eva Evangeline is my daughter's name. And, uh, I, I can't go any longer without saying, uh, her middle names are Amira and Leah and Amir has, uh, Arabic is actually Arabic for princess. So yes, my daughter's middle names are princess Leia. Uh, this was sort of, and, and, um, you know, we didn't do it for Carrie Fisher, honestly, but what's odd is that she had passed right around the time that Eva was, was born. I'm not sure of the timeline there, but it was sort of weird how that sort of energy or that, that kind of thing worked out. But, and, um, yeah, adventure is probably the perfect word to encapsulate, starting a family. It is thinking, you know what, you're getting yourself into the full nine months leading up to there she is, you know, you're holding your, you know, your child in your arms and just that transformation is unlike any transformation I think anyone will ever experience. Absolutely,
Speaker 1:Absolutely. So, you know, it's so strange that, that I'm not sure I really understood love until I had children. I didn't understand how much my parents loved me and much. Uh, I must have absolutely driven them crazy as a kid, you know, doing the stupid things that I did. And, uh, they still let me in the door at night, but it really is very cool. And Amy, of course, man, how talented is she? She's awesome, man.
Speaker 2:She's like a triple threat. Every, every ounce of myself just wants to be as, as good as she is because she's just such a phenomenal actress, dancer and singer. I'm just trying to keep up. I feel like I could probably keep up with her, uh, with her acting, uh, but she can, she can sing and dance circles around me. And it's, it's embarrassing.
Speaker 1:She's an amazing dancer and singer both. Uh, but I've seen her give those facial expressions on stage without saying a word. And, uh, the girl can act with her face just saying, and it's awesome. I absolutely love it. So let's talk a little bit about your in-laws. Okay. Let's do it. Uh, the auto studio was such a special place for so many people. There was, there was this team, this husband and wife team that made a little corner of magic in Evansville. And I'm not really sure how they did it, but when you walked in, you just felt it. Yeah. And you know, Michael and Jenny at the Alto are these special people. Can you tell us a little bit of this is today is about your story, but you can't tell your story without talking a little bit about them. So they were an act together, right? They were, they were a musical family. Yeah.
Speaker 2:They spend most of their careers, uh, gigging, uh, out west, mostly in California. I think they gigged in Las Vegas a few times. Uh, and just in that area they were got, and, and just recently Jennifer has broken out some old videos and I've gotten to see like some of, some of their gigs and what they would actually do. And it's the same magic that, that you feel whenever you walk into the studio, but it's on a stage. And with two people, I don't know how else to explain it. It, you, I would imagine coming in there and you, you would of course smell like, you know, cigarettes and booze and it's, you know, just that kind of place, but you're looking at this stage and you're seeing, you know, these two people who don't look like they don't have any air of like, ego about them. They just want you to have a good time. Right. They want you to hear what magic they have. Like they want you to feel what magic they have. They want to share what, what, whatever they can. And I'd say, if I could tell you a little bit about, or just try to wrap it up as, as in just one sentence that they're just magical people. Yeah. Uh, and they have such a profound urge to give that magic to others. And I think that's what, um, and it's interesting, you say, you know, you're in your intro, you talk about your love for small towns and there's so many places they could have shared that magic. And, you know, Amelia tells me sometimes that, you know, hadn't had opportunities to be, to be big. Like she was, she was, I'd buy several, you know, key players that, uh, you know, sort of that philosophy of being in the right place at the right time. Um, and she didn't want it. She, she, you know, it just speaks, I guess, her path or her destiny and how, you know, she and Michael eventually found themselves in Evansville, Indiana. Um, and Delta studio started in their basement. Delta studio started with just a small group of kids who, you know, maybe they weren't getting what they wanted from their, you know, musical theater programs at school, or maybe they just felt more a sense of a community or maybe much like me. They felt the magic that Michael and Jennifer had to share and thought for as for whatever time I have here, I need to soak up a little bit of this. And I think that's, that's basically what drew me to that family or drew me to that business too. And, you know, it's, it's one thing to say, I want this in my life. And then it's another thing to say, I, I want this to be my career, my job. And, um, I would, I would make that decision all over again, just solely for the fact that I felt like they were like, they were giving me some of that magic. They were loaning some of that to me. And I've never felt more magical in my life than I felt when I was asked to teach for their studio. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And, you know, I think part of the secret sauce that they had was they wanted to give back, they wanted to pay it forward and provide kids that maybe don't Excel on the softball field or, you know, in the gym, some of them do, but some of them don't and they needed a place to fit in and belong and follow their dreams and have their talents broadened, you know? Uh, and I saw a lot of D uh, a wide range of talents there. Uh, there's you who can do everything, you act, you sing, I've seen you dance, uh, you direct, you've produced, you've done that. You've done that entire thing and done it really well. And then there's folks like me that can't act and can't sing and can't dance, but I can push a button and they found a spot for me. I didn't do it very well. Uh, but I could push a button up in, you know, uh, in the back of the studio so that somebody that was talented and built this software, uh, program where lights changed and I could follow a script and could put, push the button most of the time at the right time. So I got to sit with Jenny a lot and we would giggle on laugh and talk about life and, uh, feel frustrations and that sort of thing. And, and that was a special time for me to, you know, to sit two feet away from her and see a professional at work. But the magic for me that I didn't really appreciate at the time was she's letting a completely talentless person take part in this such a creative process. And, and, uh, that meant a lot to me. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh man. You know, that, that brings me to, uh, and I feel like every, every creative epiphany I've ever had has been at the Alto, I think maybe a few have happened when I was young, obviously growing up in various places, but, uh, probably the most significant ones happen. And I can recall one specifically, I'm in studio a, at the Alto studio and I'm working on Sunday and the park with George. Um, and that was, uh, that was one of our productions that we, we asked, uh, one of my best friend clay parental to come in to direct and probably one of the most beautiful musicals ever. But, uh, the music director, Patrick Rich was telling me, well, I was telling all of us, just the cast. Uh he's. He said, you know, it's surprising what synapses fire off whenever you just trust yourself in the moment. And, you know, while, while he was referring to specific, uh, you know, notes that were supposed to sing at a, at a spot, I think applying that philosophy to life also allows you to say, you know, it's, it's sort of like watching a kid finally figure out how to ride a bike without training wheels for the first time. Yeah, no, no, no kid has ever put in that scenario without a parent above them that says, you're ready for this. And you got this. And you know, not that like Michael and Jennifer are forever, our parents, I mean, they're mine, but they're not everybody's parent, but it's just, it's so great to see again, that generosity and saying, you know, this is, this is something that I care a great deal about, but I want to see you thrive in it. And I want to see you, I want to see you do this. And I want to see you create magic with, you know, whatever. And that was, that was in everything that they did, uh, not just allowing people to come in and direct shows for them or allowing, you know, music directors to come in like Patrick Rich and allowing, um, uh, you know, all kinds of actors and all kinds of talents. Um, just in that place, such as sanctuary and just, I, I, we, I would alter them basically in that they just like the parents who are like taking the training wheels off and like setting their cutoffs, like while they, they, they trust us to do it. They know we got it in us. And, um, it's amazing what comes to life when you finally, when you're finally in the moment and you're there. And I dunno when, when you were, uh, w you were up in the sound booth though, weren't you, you were like doing, yeah. So did you ever have a moment where it was like, where you felt like you had like a lot of power at your hand?
Speaker 1:So I didn't feel that, but what I felt was the goosebumps and this a theorial oh, yeah, that was right. Part of the magic. And it wasn't me at all. It was so many other people, um, the person that designed the lights and then our friend, Kevin Roach, was in the scotch play and he had a monologue and he, and it was to a single spot. It's the dagger monologue. It's the dagger. And I ha and I hit the button pretty much just right. That turned it on. And something magical happened in that moment for, from Kevin and from the set designers and the light designers and the director. And I was the smallest part of all that, but I was there and I helped make it happen. And it was a moment I'll never forget in my
Speaker 2:Life feeling is no less significant. And I feel like that's what every creative is pursuing that kneeling every creative, once a vessel through which they can feel that they can feel that magic. And I'm telling you, this is the magic that I feel like probably was always there, but I never knew I never truly was confident it was there until I knew Michael and Jennifer Alto.
Speaker 1:Let's talk a little bit about Michael. I'm not sure I can. Okay. He's one of those, one of the most amazing people I've ever met in my life, I've met a lot of folks and I'm going to try not to be emotional here. He's one of those guys that I felt completely comfortable talking to. And I'm, I'm an introvert. I'm here talking to you on a microphone and hoping a lot of people tune in and listen. But right now it's just you and me. He and I instantly, he probably did this with everyone he ever talked to, but I felt special when I talked to him, uh, it was like two friends that were reunited sitting on a couch. Like we were in his living room instead of this crazy frenetic place. While with, with all these kids who are acting and 20 year olds and that sort of thing. And, uh, he was one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. It had to been an exceptional opportunity for you to be part of that family. And, uh, uh, I wish that I had the words. I wish I was intelligent enough to describe Michael de Alto. He could play anything he could sing. He could do all these things. But the thing that I think he did the best was just be a friend. And he gave me some guidance at a difficult time in my life that I will never be able to repay. Hopefully I can pay it forward. Uh, but since he's not here to thank, I will thank you as a part of that family. And if there's anything you'd like to share about Michael, please do,
Speaker 2:Um, I'm going to do my best, not to get emotional myself, but, uh, you know, Michael just had this extraordinary ability to lift people and make them feel so, uh, so good. And anyone will tell you, you haven't had a Michael lesson. You haven't had a true Michael lesson until you've had that feeling either like you want to cry, you're going to cry. Or like, there's, there's going to be a lesson with Michael where you're going to cry a little bit. Uh, and that's because he just has this way of connecting with people. It's like a superpower that I don't, I don't think any, I haven't you're right. I've never met anyone in my life. That's been able to just naturally be able to down and connect with anyone. And I started in a weird way. I would watch him because I was envious of that ability to, I thought, you know, I want, I want to be able to connect with people like Michael, can I? And he just, all he does is he just wants to lift people up and he wants to know more about them. And he wants them to feel special for, for just, maybe even just a small amount of time. And he was just, he had so many stories. He was, so was like, he had a story for everything. And just listening to him, he was one of those people that you could listen to, you talk for a while and not be like, is this guy going to stop talking to someone? But, um,
Speaker 1:We had this smile too, right.
Speaker 3:He just had a smile that you could
Speaker 1:See his personality coming. Yes. Yeah. Well, he will, he will be truly missed. And what an honor to have known him, even for, if it was just a brief few moments. Uh, but I'm going to redirect us just a little bit. Sure. Tell me, what was it like for you growing up? Where did work, where are you from?
Speaker 2:Uh, I don't remember where I, anything about where I was born. I was born in a man Jordan. Um, my mom at the time was at the, um, at the very nearing the end of a very difficult relationship for her that she needed to get out of. And, um, she somehow generated the courage to just leave with us. I think my mom and my dad had gotten in a fight one day and my dad just said, leave, get out whatever. Or is something, something to that effect? And my mom knew she was, he was, he was being, you know, sort of insincere, you know, that's not what he actually wanted or nor did he think she would ever be able to do that. Uh, just because the rules were so different there at that time, but she did. She, I think that was what pushed her over the edge. When she tells me this story, she says, that's probably what it is. And she, she took all of us and she had a lot of help. Um, she did, uh, she would say that, uh, you know, how the Lord was watching her that day. I'm not sure, you know, if, uh, you know, as an agnostic person, myself, I'm not like 100%, that was the case, but there was something at play that got us home safely. And, um, I do all of that to my mom. I think I definitely would be a completely different person if she did not get me here somehow. Um, and she had to do that for kids, which guy here with four kids. She somehow did it all on her own. I don't know how she did it. Uh, an incredibly courageous woman, but you
Speaker 1:Speak the language or have any connections to anyone here.
Speaker 2:She is still? Uh, well, she, my mom is actually born and raised in Evansville.
Speaker 4:Oh, okay. Yeah, she, uh, she's
Speaker 2:American. She met my dad whenever, uh, they were going to university at Purdue together. Um, uh, very rushed decision. She knows she fell in love with him. They moved, you know, I, I, I can't speak to, you know, the good years of the bat or whatever else. I just know, you know, what, what led to us eventually leaving and, um, you know, taking us kids with us, her and, you know, it, every time, um, she tells the story, she says there was, you know, all she had to do is get off the plane. All she had to do was get off the plane and she was scot-free. But if she did not get off the plane, you know, just based on the rules and everything that was in place at the time, uh, you know, if, if for whatever reason law enforcement were to find her on the phone or something, or on the plane or something like that, you know, they, she would have been, you know, still obligated to, uh, go back. Uh, but she had this, this group of people surround her that, that bear, and they walked off the plane without like, without letting anyone get to her or anything like that. And, uh, I don't know any of these people's names, but if I, if, if I ever got a chance to meet them, I would shake their hand and hug them and say, thank you so much, because I just don't know who I'd be if I had to grow up in Jordan. I don't know. I don't know if I'd, I'd be sitting here with you or I don't know if I'd be married to Amelia, obviously. And, and, um, but anyway, I grew up in Evansville from, from that moment forth. I mean, I was about a year and a half and started off living in, uh, at my grandma's house. And this is where we all shared a room, uh, two bunk beds. When I ever, I remember when we first got there, uh, I was too young to remember, but when my mom tells the story that my oldest brother looked in the backyard and said, is all of this park, ours, I'm referring to my grandma's backyard. And all of these woods she had, and we were so excited that we had so much to ourselves so much that, that, you know, nothing like nothing we'd ever seen, you know, and from that point forward, you know, again, that, that sort of starts, my connection with family had had this sort of weird rivalry with my next oldest brother. My oldest brother was always like the wise one. And you know, my sister, my poor sister who grew up with three, three brothers, uh, uh, constantly fighting. She, you know, she had to, she had to make her way, and each of them taught me, you know, something different. Um, but being the youngest of, of four also had its drawbacks. Um, also had its, uh, um, challenges and grow growing up was very difficult because it's almost like taking, uh, and you know, this would never work in real life, right. Obviously, but it's taking like, you know, a shark from the ocean and placing it in like a large river or lake or something like that, that, uh, you know, we were, we had spent enough time where we were, where, you know, that lifestyle was sort of drilled into us and then putting us into a whole new environment. Uh, you know, there was, you know, we had to adapt, we had to change him that there is, I has definitely affected who I am today. I can't imagine it. You know, if any of those pieces were missing, you know, what, who I would be, but well,
Speaker 1:Fait found a way faith provided a pathway and strangers to help at every step along the way until a family could take over and you make it to Evansville. You're in a position where you're given an opportunity to succeed and to follow what I'm going to call the American dream. Those are my words and not yours. But when I heard your story, the first time, it's like, wow, this is, this is how, the way our founding fathers intended life to be, where if you wanted opportunity and you were willing to pay the price and you could have it. And, uh, the fact that you're not a disturbed young man, uh, is exceptional. And I mean that in the, in the nicest way possible, uh, you know, like I said, at the beginning, you're one of the most positive people I've ever been around. I told Jennifer before we started Jennifer, my wife before we started taping is like, I mean, I don't think I've ever seen this guy not take the positive route and, and not have this great outlook on life. So you're here in Evansville. You're with your family, you had to have been the target of some racial bias or some sort of idiocy.
Speaker 2:Right. Can I go down that road? Okay. So, um, uh, growing up, I, uh, first of all, thank you for all of those kind words, but I, I do need to probably elaborate that, you know, I was, I did fall into the wrong crowd a little bit when I was in middle school. Um, you know, nothing extreme, but I was, I was, I was one of those kids that, um, you know, uh, I wasn't rebellious by any means, but I was very impressionable. And, uh, I think the wrong group had a hold of me for a little while and, you know, throughout middle school and a little bit of high school, you know, I made some, some interesting decisions, definitely got myself into some trouble, but,
Speaker 1:You know, let me just stop you right there. Middle school sucks for everybody. Okay. That is the worst time in life, man. And listen, when your daughter gets through the middle school years and you're going to go, you're going, oh, thank goodness. All right. So nobody can, nobody can look down on you because everybody and to varying degrees, but everybody makes really stupid mistakes because definitely there are just, uh, some ridiculous people in middle school,
Speaker 2:But I did meet my best friend in a choir class, my freshman year of high school that were clay Prindle, and we've been best buds ever since. Um, and he sort of, he sort of rescued me from that group, which I'll, I'll forever be grateful to him for some people from that group grew up and matured too. So I'm happy to still have them in my lives. Uh, the clay clay was probably one of the first true friends that I had that I felt like I could share, you know, uh, not just, you know, the bare bones, you know, my story, including like my mom's journey here and everything, but also, you know, bits about myself that I hadn't really shared with anyone. And clay was actually the person who turned me toward the arts and being a creative because I'd never considered that I was a creative until I met clay. He sort of set me on this path toward, you need to look into, um, auditioning for this upcoming one act. I think it'll, you'll have a lot of fun and it's called lunch. It's bad. It's very poorly written, but you know, it's, it's directed by this really cool guy, Aaron Hinsey and a lot of really good people are going to be auditioning. And, uh, you know, I think, I think it'd be great. And I went in, I auditioned, I felt so weird and so awkward. Uh, and I was just thinking about everything that I was saying overly conscientious of who I was, uh, and how I was coming off to this new group of people when I auditioned for that play. Uh, I didn't think I got a part at first, but then it was about a couple of weeks later that I was told I was going to be playing an extra. The first play I ever did was at rights high school. And I was like in an extra and one act called lunch and Aaron Hinsey one. Yeah. Me to come up with my own character. And I was still sort of stuck between being a really quiet kid. I'm an introvert like yourself, um, which you would never know, obviously, uh, because I I'll get to that, but I was an introvert at the time. And then, uh, you know, also just being overly conscientious of how the world perceives me. I was, you know, he basically came up to me and said, I want you to come up with your own character. You're an extra at a, at a play who, who are you? And this was like the first time I ever really thought about, about, oh, I can, I can do, I can be my own. I can be a different person here on this stage. I don't have to be myself anymore. I don't have to be overly conscientious of, you know, who I am or what my worries are, what my struggles are or whatever else I can just, I can ha I embody someone else's struggles and their problems, and I can just make it up. Uh, and, and I, I found that exhilarating. I was, I was over the moon, the truth of it. And if I were to look at it now from an outsider's perspective, I didn't not have a good audition. My first audition was bad. Um, my second audition was bad, but I'll always be grateful for those people who do, who enabled me and said, this is what this is. This is what you know, acting is. And this is having my eyes open to that was like, um, I don't know. Have you ever test driven like a really nice car? Oh yeah, there you go. It's like getting behind like a really powerful car for the first time and pressing the gas and seeing like, oh, so this is, this is what I can do behind the wheel of a vehicle. And, uh, I, I went on after the first one act I auditioned for and, uh, audition for the play on again, Clay's council. And he, this is a play called spoon river. And I would actually be auditioning for the director whom at the time seemed like the most important person in the world. Like I was basically auditioning for bill gates or whoever else, but, uh, Mr. Hobbs, Richard Hobbs, uh, probably one of the best men I know, and that he is just so solemn and wise. And most of the things that come out of his mouth are wisdom. Anyway, I auditioned for him the first time didn't get apart. And then the second, the let's fast forward to the next year because I, I still had this passion I wanted, I wanted to keep trying the very next year, we, we did a musical called, uh, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum and I auditioned again. But before I did, I talked to my oldest brother, his shin, his sham, he's like this he's the wise one. Uh, I went to him with all of my struggles. He got the lead, his senior year in the musical had to succeed. That was another big driving factor that like said, I want to do this, seeing my brother shine as the lead and how to six,
Speaker 1:Was it competitive or was it, oh, I want to be more like him.
Speaker 2:He, we had so many years separated. It would have been more competitive. It hadn't been safe. My next oldest brother, because he and I were competitive, competitive about everything, but safe is more of the aggressive athletic, uh, competitive type, uh, and so much value I've taken from knowing him, just in that, you know, uh, be learning how to fight for myself and learning how not to sell myself too short. Uh, his sham was more the person that I went to when it came to look on struggling with something, I need some wisdom. And that's why I told him, I said, I am auditioning for these players. I just, you know, I didn't get a part for the play. I feel like I got like, um, like a concession for, you know, this, this extra part that I was given for this one act, what am I doing wrong? And I just remember Shannon saying, you gotta relax. You gotta relax. You're, you're going into these auditions. And you're so tight. You need to relax. You need to breathe. And, you know, he, he took me through my audition material and said, okay, do this, do that. Yeah. Okay, cool. Just, just relax a little more. I can tell you're thinking. Don't think just, just be, um, I'm not sure what he did in that lesson. Um, but I, but I went to the audition and I auditioned for the director, Mr. Hobbs. Again, there was a, an acting portion and a singing portion. I was nervous as hell. Uh, probably tight trying to remember what my, what my brother said, but probably way more relaxed had I not gotten any counsel from him at all. And Mr. Hubs stopped me after the, after the singing portion of his audition. He said, name, I have to tell you something the first time you auditioned for me for spoon river. Do you remember that? And I was like, yeah, he said, you sounded like a dying chicken. I didn't know how else to tell you that was like, that was the closest I ever gotten to tell a kid like, that was just a bad audition, but the difference between that audition and this audition night and day like that, that was, he was just so thrilled and so happy to see that I was like working and improving and just seeing that fire in his eyes and that passion, I was like, oh, I don't know that like threw me faster in, in, I guess, a better direction than anything else ever has, you know? And, uh, and another big part of that was what I'd learned from my, my next oldest brother safe. And that, you know, I, I'm not a naturally competitive person, Brent, I've never thought, oh, you know, if I'm up for another part, then I, you know, I got to compete with this other person. I'm always just so supportive and always so whatever. But
Speaker 1:Yeah, having a brother is a little different. Exactly.
Speaker 2:It sort of pushes you in a way. Anyway, uh, the, after that part, I just kept auditioning, kept auditioning. Um, you know, I did lots of plays throughout high school. We did, uh, uh, another note where they, one is a one act that I was, it was my first role where I actually had lines. And more than just a couple, uh, it's a one act called get a clue, very cheesy murder, mystery. I mean, it's got all your usual players, the made the, the person who figures it all out at the end. I mean, the Butler that, I mean everyone and, uh, I was, I was the detective, but I was also an antagonist. I was like this villain. And I got to act with safe who wasn't much of an actor, but he was the lead because his best friend was, was directing the one act. And, you know, there's probably some bias there either way. We had a good time. That was the first time I ever got to act with another Matti on stage and just acting with my brother again, any, anything that brings me closer to that, that, that sense of family, I guess, further enables me growing up. I mean, honestly, like I got the lead my senior year in Brigadoon, which is probably widely known by most musical theater people as the worst. Oh, worst.
Speaker 1:I paid POC the one time. Yeah. But, uh,
Speaker 2:The Brigadoon, I was Tommy, um, my best friend played Jeff and gosh, we had, we had such a blast. It is a boring show, but we had a lot of fun with it. There's some shows you just gotta be in and have fun in and
Speaker 1:Comment being part of a cast is like being part of a family. It kind of ties together with your value system quite a bit.
Speaker 2:The, there, there was, um, a girl that I had a crush on for the longest time in that musical call and her name was Emily Carnahan. And she asked me a question during one rehearsal, one time shoot. She was like, name what happened used to be so like quiet and, you know, getting you to sing was, was hard. And, you know, you'd always have this like little whisper of a saying or whatever else, but like now you're singing out you're belting and it's, there's so much confidence what happened. And just looking at her and saying, I don't know, what's probably one of like the most actually like, um, mind opening moments of my life, because you know, there isn't, um, there isn't really a right answer there. It really is just, if you're going to succeed on stage, then you have to know yourself to, you have to have be well acquainted with how the world perceives you. Um, you are the product and you gotta, you gotta sell that to an audience. Um, you have to be
Speaker 1:Fearless and you're gonna make a lot of mistakes along the way, right?
Speaker 2:Yes. It there, and again, it's all in pursuit of that feeling. It's all in pursuit of that, that moment. And I've, uh, I can think of a few where I had, uh, during Brigadoon one was during a song called there, but for you go, I, I'm going to be honest with you. That song made no sense to me, but I felt like I was making, uh, there, there was a choice that I made within that song where, uh, I had sat down and taken, uh, the, the lead girl's hand and my arm. And I, I had, we had just this look, there was something about this look as I was singing that sort of like said, you know, I'm, I'm obviously not actually in love with this person. She's a really good friend, but we're, you know, I'm not naive right now. I don't know what happened. It was just this, this moment. It's like the same butterfly feeling you get whenever you're, uh, you know, going down the roller coaster or whenever you're, you know, trying something for the new for the first time. And you just absolutely love it. It's, it's an adrenaline high is, is the best I can, I can explain it. And after, after that, I was like, I want it, I want some more of that. I want, I want to chase that moment. I want to find that moment again, and I want to relive it.
Speaker 1:So on the arts or the arts found you maybe some of both, did you take that forward after high school?
Speaker 2:After high school was, uh, another difficult time for me, because I was sort of in this limbo, I didn't know who I wanted to be. I thought, yes, I still want to act, uh, there was a lot of pressure after, or, you know, uh, at my senior year there was a lot of pressure to obviously go to school, you know, go to college, get your degree. Um, and rightfully so, but I, I think that was the wrong path for me going back. I probably should've taken more time to really think about, you know, what do I really want to do? I went into psychology at USI and I sort of used how maybe, maybe I can sort of channel this understanding of, you know, my ability to understand character choices, myself expressions and that kind of thing. And, you know, maybe that somehow aligns with, with, you know, the study of human behavior and the human mind. And I was, you know, I've always been super intrigued by the human mind anyway. Um, I did not finish my psychology degree, uh, very intrigued by it, but it's just not where my heart was. It wasn't where I, where I, it, that thing, whatever I was chasing, I didn't find it in psychology. Um, so, you know, uh, and at the time I was in, uh, I thought I was in love with this girl and her and I were, uh, we're talking about moving somewhere. And this is where I, I started to off track a little bit. Um, as I tell Amelia the story, I say, it's all about orbit. And when things are coming into orbit with one another, it takes a while. And sometimes they're thrown way far apart before they come back close together. Uh, so if, if you sort of look at it like this, this orbit situation, this is the part where I'm going to get thrown way far away from where I should be and where I need to be until I, you know, finally find that that perfect, you know, elliptical, orbit, whatever I moved to Las Vegas with, um, this girl and, you know, I, I probably was in love with her more, maybe just in love with the feeling of this is adventure. This is exciting. I'm doing something new, I'm in a whole new place. I don't know any of these people. I, you know, I just know my sister who lives out there and she sort of helped me get off my, um, you know, you know, get my feet on the ground when I first moved. And, um, I ended up in, in cell phone sales and I ended up, uh, probably, I think I was third in that market. It was a third-party retailer, but it was still is, um, probably the most money I've made in a very short time. And I, I got to a point in my life where I knew this isn't who I want to be with. And I got a point in my life where I decided my life is missing something. And, you know, there, there are mistakes that I'd made in my life at that time too, that were like, well, this, this is sort of just confirming. I'm not rainy to be right now. I need to be somewhere else. So my relationship with that girl ended in here. I am in Vegas with no one other than my sister and more money than I think I know what to do with. But then, you know, in a, in a situation of what do I do, and I was sort of reaching out to people in my past because I thought I'd lost a chunk of myself. There was a girl who came to see me in Brigadoon, who was wild about me from the moment she saw me ever since she saw me seeing, ever since she saw me perform, she introduced herself after Brigadoon and said, hi, my name is Amelia. And, um, her and I had always just been friends ever since we went on a couple of dates, my senior year of high school, but it was one of those things where, uh, wrong place, wrong time. Like I, I had way too many women knocking on my door at the time. And she was sort of, you know, back and forth will I, won't I with, with this other guy? And, um, you know, we always talk about like, well, what if, what if we would've like, what if we would've taken the, you know, the leap then what if we would've like, decided to be together then? And his thing? No, it was the wrong time. We were still just finding our way. Like for me, it's, it's more of an orbit, but for whatever reason, uh, in Las Vegas here, I am sitting thinking about Amelia and, and, you know, the time that I had with her and, and, you know, thinking I'm really missing out on something special. So I had to work up pretty much all the courage I had at the time. And I called her and she was, uh, at a restaurant with her family at the time. Uh, this was during a pretty stressful time in her life actually. Uh, but she picked up the phone and started talking and she was completely taken aback. And I was basically, I'd reached out to her and I'd asked, Hey, uh, you know, you and I had, you know, some texts back and forth while I was in a relationship with this other girl. And I just want to ask you, did you ever feel like I was inappropriate with you? Or did you ever feel like I was, um, you know, saying things? I shouldn't be saying if I had a girlfriend or whatever else. Cause I was, I was having a moment of self doubt where I thought maybe I wasn't the man I was supposed to be during this relationship. And that's why it didn't work out. And that was my whole angle, I guess, for like a reason to call her because I know, but you know, we resolved that it's, it's all seemed, seems petty now, but after that phone conversation, I remember hanging up the phone and feeling really great about myself and very few times, have I ever had a conversation like that and felt good about myself at the end of it? I thought I need to go back home. I miss my best friend clay. I miss the arts. I miss theater. I miss acting. I think I miss Amelia. I do miss Amelia. This is a, this is an odd feeling. And this is the part of the orbit where I'm starting to come back. Yeah. So I, I probably spent more money than I should have in one last design in Vegas just to get all of my stupid out. And then I bought a plane, came back home and I started repairing myself because, you know, the end of a four-year long relationship, regardless of what age you're at is, is a difficult thing. And then finally, I get to a point in my life where I am like this. I feel like I'm back on track. I feel like things are working themselves through a place where, okay. I, I am where I need to be again. So I get home and a few months go by. I didn't want to come on too strong with Amelia. I didn't want to be like, Hey, I'm home, let's get married or whatever else. But, uh, you know, some months went by, you know, we, we were friends, we were just kind of talking and, uh, you know, we had a few dates and that kind of thing, but, uh, things didn't really start happening until, uh, think pink announced that they were doing a show called Seussical at a little place called the Alto studio of performing arts. And I heard the word de Alto and I said, de Alto, like, like Amy Delto and this isn't, this isn't even Amy who invited me. It was, it was Kensington, the founder of think pink she's. She was really wild about having me a part of a part of think pink and, um, uh, a really talented actor at the time, uh, was doing a show with her as a stage reading of the crew of crucible. And he was reading for a roll of Thomas and he had to drop out. So I stepped into that role and because that was sort of like another way that Kensington was like, trying to, Hey, Hey, come, come do the arts come act, come, come, come back home. And, um, had never set foot in this building before, but as soon as I walked in, there were these bright orange walls. This is a weird green highlight right above. And then this, uh, uh, artsy logo. It was very well. Yeah. The artsy logo, um, was painted by Ashley at first. Then it was redone again at a later time. So I'm looking at the older logo, which is still really good. And I'm thinking, what in the world is this place? I was, I was in thrawled. Um, and I came up to the front desk. I said, I hear there's auditions. And I, I, I showed up a week early and, uh, they were like, oh, those, those aren't till next week. But then I looked down and I checked my phone and sure enough, because they didn't see me. It'd be, it said to be here today. And I get to the front desk, this seems really weird. But then I looked to my left and there's Amelia, just, just sitting there staring at me. She has shorter hair. And I remember like, oh man, I can't be falling in love this quickly after coming back home from like, I'm like, this is not good. Fade strikes again. I mean, so here we are, like, I am in full speed back around to, you know, if we're still hanging on to the whole orbit thing. And, um, you know, I addition for Seussical started to feel some of the, the old woes I had been gone from acting long enough to, to start for those insecurities to sort of seep in a little bit. And I was like, man, I got to shake this off. And that started something that hasn't stopped. I mean, up until the pandemic, I have just been doing show after show or class after class or, you know, directing, um, uh, sometimes even helping design, brainstorming sessions, collaborating with other directors. I want, if it's something to do with the arts, I want a part of it. And I like this idea of being a Swiss army knife. There's no other company you can go work for where you can say, I, you know, I can do a little bit of communications, but I'm also a great trainer, but yeah, I'm a good manager to, oh, uh, you know, put me on the frontline and you know, if we need, no company is ever going to be like, oh yeah, you're hired. You can do all of those things. They're gonna want you to do one thing. Um, I was amazed that I was at a place that respected my ability to be like, yeah, I can direct, I can act if you need me to dance this thing, I'll do it. Oh, you need me to run lights for a show. Oh, you need me to design lights for a show. Oh, you need me to design the light board. Oh, you need me to like, install a grid for you. Oh. And, and you know, oh, uh, you need me to help build a stage. And you know, all of these different posters for productions and, and getting into film, editing and getting into, you know, um, so many, so many things started at Del tau. And I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Just being there a week early on purpose, looking at this, this, this beautiful woman and thinking, this is the life ahead of me that I think I want, how do I get there? No, all these amazing things happen. Yeah. How cool is that story? Uh, you know, I had the pleasure of watching part of that. You know, I saw you in this array
Speaker 1:Of roles from Arcadia, which is a very
Speaker 2:Deep kind of a, um,
Speaker 1:There's a, there's a darkness to it. I don't know how to describe it. Uh there's this, but it was a great role. And you did an amazing job with that. And then you become a video game ninja, which just cracked me up, especially when the idiot that was pressing the button for the sound for the sound effects, missed the button at exactly the wrong time when you're supposed to be throwing a fire, but you scream fireball and you make this motion as if you are throwing a fireball and absolutely nothing happens.
Speaker 2:Oh, no, Brent, no, no, no, no, no, no. There are no accidents. You know, when you're playing video games, sometimes you press the button, the guy's going to do everything you need him to do, but then the game's going to freeze or something like that. I think it worked perfectly,
Speaker 1:The reaction was perfect. You kind of looked at your hands and then the sound came on and it was, uh, maybe, maybe my favorite role that I've ever seen you act
Speaker 2:In. Now you you've, you're an incredible director. And I think that's where you're, if there's one thing I would pick for, for you to do for the rest of
Speaker 1:Your life is, is direct because you look so you do such a good job. Now you're an awesome actor and one of the best that I've ever seen,
Speaker 2:But that role of Pinocchio and charette, I can not stop laughing about that.
Speaker 1:And I don't know how many years ago was that? 10 years ago. Maybe. I don't know, but 2014, I think I'm so bad with my it's been, it's been a while I've over five years for sure. One of my favorite shows I think I've ever, and I got to be in it for like 10 seconds. I was a horse that carried in Lord for our quads.
Speaker 2:Exactly. Right. But you weren't the Plaza where a human horse existed. That's amazing. But yeah. So do you have
Speaker 1:A favorite role? Is there, are these all just, you can't have a favorite child. You love them all.
Speaker 2:It's um, you know, I have, uh, today I have, but tomorrow it's going to be different. I think every day I connect with a different role. You know, I will say probably the role that I thrived the most, and this is not necessarily my favorite role, but the role of there where I really got to thrive and showcase what I can really do as a, as not just an actor, but, um, a performer, uh, was Shrek that you'd mentioned. People came up to me after the show and said name, you know, Y you don't have like a super deep voice, but you know, it's on the lower side. Where, where did that come from? Where did that come from? And I'm like, you know, I don't really even know. They asked me to read for Pinocchio. And I was like, and, and, you know, the direction they gave me was, you know, Pinocchio has a really high voice. So just do everything with, with falsetto, just try it. I was like, okay, I'll try it. And it was like, oh, well, I have a whole range that I guess I'm not tapping into God, bless Alex leaguers for helping me develop that and, and build a character around, you know, a high voice because, you know, making your voice high, you know, is, is, is not everything with Pinocchio, but Shrek is probably one my favorite ensemble casts, and the reason that I love Pinocchio. And I love that role so much. And it's probably my favorite today. Uh, and on those days too, is because, uh, I've always thought of, again, that, that sense of community, that sense of family and what better way to channel that, or, or at least tap into it than to be a bunch of freaks that the world has rejected altogether, just trying to find your place. And then knowing like I like Pinocchio. And that moment was the person who thought, you know, he was the insecure one. He was the one that thought, no, you know, we're just going to struggle. We're never going to find our home, you know, but it was this, this, this group of people that corralled around him and said, no, let your freak flag fly. Let it wave. Uh, never take it down. And it's, I think that's a mantra. I think I'll live for life.
Speaker 1:It's a great story, great music. I mean, fantastic music throughout the entire show. And Joe did a good job, a great job as he always does. And how talented is that guy gently go leakers on this, show me and bring your guitar, Joe, because it's happening. It's just so, uh, I could see Joe and Alex grow up too. That was also
Speaker 2:I'm gathering amazing people. They are, uh, and Ashley was so amazing as, as Fiona. And, uh, she made me
Speaker 1:Cry, cry. She made me laugh and that show,
Speaker 2:Uh, but the cast came together and went just awesome. Probably our most ambitious and our biggest show we've ever done it at that could have gone on
Speaker 1:A bigger stage. I agree and succeeded very well with that.
Speaker 2:Oh man. The backstage area was crazy. I mean, you'd never know it from the audience, but just, just to have like 20 kids and 15 adults in a room backstage thinking, oh no, we're not, we're not, we're not trusting yet. Like how ho how well-oiled of a machine that was, is like beyond me, like how, how that was able to even happen is still beyond me. Um, thanks Janie. Well, yeah, no, no, no, get it. But again, yeah, it all sort of comes back to, you know, this is going to be a magical show. Um, an idea had by Jennifer Delto and passed along to Alex leaguers to say, Hey, make the show happen. And she talked to the right people, the right people audition and it happened that show is truly magical. It was absolutely from
Speaker 1:The costumes to the leads and everything in between. It was fantastic. Definitely.
Speaker 2:Well, it's not for me to ask you probably the most important question of the evening. Okay. So, uh, you claim to be a star wars fan claim. So, uh, I think due to
Speaker 1:Recite for me the proper order of
Speaker 2:Episodes, uh, when watching the series right here we go. Are you going to be one of those a has to be watched and release order people? Or are you the person that's like, no, you gotta do a chronological. I could, I could probably name both, but I, I, you know, if I'm going to rewatch and I might make you mad here, I don't think I'm going to watch and release order. I like when story has beginning to end, um, I am definitely a star wars fan and I'll prove it here with this statement. Uh, probably the most jarring switch is going from, you know, episode three and clone wars where Anik and Skywalker is this, you know, young guy, Colin is calling his paddle on snips and, and make crack. And why's, that is old at his master. And, you know, to this like deep voiced British guy who speaks in like war commands and, and like, uh, Imperial speak, that's probably the most like jarring switch. But I still just in order to honor the story that they're trying to tell anytime I ever just went on a, we watched the movies, I'll probably watch them in release order, um, or probably watch them in chronological order. But if I'm ever like introducing the saga to someone, I'll have them watch it and release sorta just so they can see, okay, this is 19 what, 77, where, you know, episode four came out and just the technology and everything they had available to them at the time and what they were able to achieve very much mimics what I find so impressive about the creative arts. I don't think, uh, you know, a lot of, uh, I don't think they were looking at that as like a really professional Mo uh, maybe I'm wrong, but I think they were probably looking at it more like what's the coolest, possible thing we can do. What's the most magic we can create out of, I dunno, being in a desert or, Hey, look, this is like a strainer that you use for pasta. It kind of looks like a satellite. Let's make this into something. Oh, what's that? My, my, my character can't be named star killer. Okay. What about Skywalker? Yeah. Yeah, we'll do it. And it's everything about every decision made for star wars is probably what drew me to it. It's like always one of those cult things where it's like some of those movies aren't really that good, but they are. They're incredible. They're amazing.
Speaker 1:We'll just stop you right there because I'm afraid that you're going to lose some credibility here with our audience, uh, because the correct answer
Speaker 2:To that question is four or 5, 6 1, you
Speaker 1:Skipped two. I really don't watch that. Maybe it's crap. Then you watch the last 20 minutes of three, because that is the best 20 minutes of the entire series and ranks up there with the best 20 minutes in all of film and storytelling, in my opinion. And then you watch, uh,
Speaker 2:Uh, rogue one and then you watch four, five and six again. Yeah. Seven. You can tell us eight
Speaker 1:Because it's not even a movie that should have been made. Uh, and then you watch the best one out of all of them as far as an entire movie. And that's nine really. Okay. Yeah. And, and I surprise myself when that is the proper answer. Uh, but let's talk a little bit about nine, uh, because I did not expect to like it after eight and I've tried to eight several times. I can watch too. It's okay. Uh, and you really should watch too. I'm just being facetious here.
Speaker 2:Um, but I can not
Speaker 1:Watch eight to save my life and then nine comes out and it's like, yes, this is the perfect ending to the story. And I love every second of it.
Speaker 2:I'll tell you what, one, one thing, uh, let me tell you something about each of the statements you've made, uh, the last 20 minutes of episode three being probably the best in the entire, uh, I guess like one through six, if you're referring to like that, that part of the saga. Um, probably the only part of the first time I ever got literal chills watching star wars was after Yoda and an emperor Palpatine had their little moment there, their little, you know, um, uh, power struggle there in like this conference room. They work their way to this platform that starts to rise. And you have John Williams just[inaudible] and it's like the chorus in the background and like the, the wide shot in the pan out to see like all of these like Senator seats. And, oh my gosh, that was almost the, I might've exploded in that moment. Cause I, it was, uh, I was exhilarated thrilled. That was amazing. Let me make another statement, um, about episode eight, uh, because I'm, I'm not, I understand probably your biggest beef with eight. I'm going to try to guess what I think you dislike most about eight. Okay. When you watched eight, you were onboard right up until, and this is like right near at the beginning when Luke Scirocco throws his lightsaber over your shoulder. And as soon as that moment, I bet it last year. Yeah. And
Speaker 1:When he went to, uh, get the blue milk from whatever beast that was like, yeah. And then it got worse, it became
Speaker 2:An, uh, uh, a grumpy, Hey, he's,
Speaker 1:He's not Luke Skywalker in that movie. Right. I,
Speaker 2:I, that's the one thing that I could probably identify with, I
Speaker 1:Believe. Yeah, I can, I think I can show you through, uh, interviews. Uh, mark Hamill has done an extremely good job of promoting
Speaker 2:This, uh, storyline and this movie, but, um, I believe the
Speaker 1:Report that he went to the director and said, look, I think you're making terrible choices for this character. And this is the last time I'm going to mention it, but I want you to, I hope you will reconsider. And the director chose not to do that. He went ahead with his original vision story and it absolutely to me did not fit as a star wars series, but go ahead and, and feel free to,
Speaker 2:To, uh, give an a, a differing opinion. Well,
Speaker 5:No, no, no, hold on. Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough. Well, and I
Speaker 2:Think probably one of my favorite and least favorite things, star wars is that the fans have such high expectations for what it should be and with, with no other, with no other saga. Do you have that, like that, that sense of why did they make this choice? Well, why didn't they make this choice? I'm angry about, you know, all of that to the side, I will say, no, I didn't dislike eight. What I will say about eight is that there is probably some choices made by the director that went a little too far in trying to subvert expectation. And then there is probably a little bit too many. Uh, there were probably too many hurt feelings over the fact that they were trying something new. Uh, I don't disagree with the fact that, um, probably the one thing that, uh, echoes the sentiment you have regarding Luke Skywalker is that moment in the tent where he's holding his lightsaber. And he's looking at this, this little boy, you know, who's, who's capable of so much destruction and so much evil and just, you know, wanting to, to wanting to hold the power within his hands to prevent that. I didn't, I'm not sure. I'd like, I think if anything, if mark Hamill were offended by a specific choice, that would have been that one. How would Luke Skywalker someone's so pure someone who literally had to like stand by the light side of the forest to the extent that he brought Darth Vader back to the light, how is he going to turn around and, and almost murder a 12 year old? Because he, you know, he had a vision that this, you know, Snoke was going to do whatever. Um, I have a lot of gripes about, uh, the SQL trilogy. I will say this about the whole thing and, um, not, not to discredit that episode nine was amazing because I do agree. It was amazing. It was just, I don't think it was properly prepared. I don't think, I think they, they had like a lot in their hands and they were like, what do we do with it? What, what do we do with it? And it just, it changed hands too many times. It should have just been one director's thing to do. And, um, I think in at least in my opinion, mm, that would have solved most of the issues. I think if you had one mind at the helm, basically, you know, this is the story that I think we should tell instead of, you know, trying to give it to three directors, then two and, you know, have having men, JJ Abrams comes back and, uh, uh, I think the whole thing was probably just under-prepared. Yeah. I can see that. And, you know,
Speaker 1:I think what we can agree on is star wars is an amazing series
Speaker 2:Of films. Definitely. I saw the first
Speaker 1:One opening weekend. I was 10 years old, my, uh, good friend, how foster had to convince me to go to this movie. Cause I thought it was a horror movie and he tells me no, it's about a trashcan in his robot friend, actually details. Exactly. And so, uh, I go and I, every story ever told condensed into this one movie,
Speaker 2:You have the Knights of the round table, you have the Calvary
Speaker 1:Coming into the rescue. At the end, you have the romance, uh, you know, you have the,
Speaker 2:Um, scoundrel
Speaker 1:And princess falling in love. Uh, you, you have all these great villains, Darth Vader has to be one of the best villains
Speaker 5:Of all time. Definitely. And the fact that, uh,
Speaker 1:George Lucas was able to make a kid
Speaker 2:Sympathetic for Darth Vader is pretty awesome. My sister bless her heart. She was the most amazing sister in the world. Uh, she was like my second mother and really took care of me. Um, uh, Tina still does,
Speaker 1:Uh, she bought me a Darth Vader lives button, which, uh, I will cherish to the end of
Speaker 2:Time. Uh, and, uh, and I wore that
Speaker 1:Until the war to the empire strikes back when it came out, which may be my favorite four movie. I said nine wasn't too. I'm sorry. Five has been my favorite until nine came out. And now I kind of flip flop a little bit between the two. Let me ask you this. So you were legitimately like, did, did you have any idea
Speaker 2:That Darth Vader was Luke's father? Like when he said I am your father. So that came out of nowhere and I wish if I had one wish as a star wars fan born after that movie release, I would wish to be in the theater when people like, just, just to see people spaces[inaudible] no, I am your father and oh, no, I'll just that whole moment. I want to live that I want to, I want to be in the room where all that energy is just like, because today everyone knows everything because the internet, right. But then, I mean,
Speaker 1:Wait two years to find out if it were really true. Yeah. You know, until the next one came out.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah. It, it was the best cliffhanger ever. I'll ask you this and this this'll be probably something that, uh, I hope I don't start an argument. Why is nine your favorite? Because it's my least favorite. I'm not saying that as like, it's a bad movie because even my least favorite star wars movie is still one of my favorite movies of all time. Uh, but I, why nine, why not? Ademption redemption is, is such a strong thing. Uh, Han has
Speaker 1:Always been one of my favorite characters. I like Han better than, than Luke, even though Luke is the true hero
Speaker 2:And Adam ever do such a good job of playing Han solo son. There were so many in episode eight, the one you don't like, he says a line says, no, no, you're still holding on. And he embodies anger in the same way that the Harrison Ford embodies Han Solo's anger. Right. If you watch you'll really see it. Um, and go ahead. That's, that's just something I feel like I had to say Kyla, that character and Adam driver beautiful, like everything, like every choice he made was so I didn't know that Han was going to make an appearance in the movie. I
Speaker 1:Stayed away from all the press. It was the first time I successfully didn't read Facebook because I wanted to go in and give it a chance because I had such a bad experience with eight it's like, oh, come on, you know, let's do this. And you know that from the conversations you and I have
Speaker 2:Had before that, uh,
Speaker 1:The emperor is one of my favorite character, you know, and his whole story
Speaker 2:And his rumination, well let's, maybe he's
Speaker 1:Dead this time. I don't know. I thought he was dead the last time. So when he came back, that was a pretty special moment on the screen.
Speaker 2:Ian McDiarmid is one of those actors. You look at some of his earlier work. You'd never think that he would do something like star wars, but he did. He is so good. He's, he's probably, um, uh, probably one of the smartest actors alive. And I think, you know, with that character, uh, I dunno if he's bored of it or not. Um, if you haven't read, uh, do you read a lot of star wars novels or anything like that?
Speaker 1:I've only read one and it was the first one that ever came
Speaker 2:Out the door, check your mail. Okay. The, the splinter of the mind's eye was the first one that came out. Okay. Tell you why, if you buy me that book, I'll read it and I'm gonna buy you a book called play. Gus wants you to read it. It's, it's play guests. And it's about, you know, uh, Darth Sidious, his master, right. It's not cannon. So, so I mean, they've already de canonized it, uh, based on like a small detail or whatever, but to me, it's, it's my favorite star wars novel, because it's basically Cheves origins. You get to see like, well, what's what started his journey in the force, uh, you know, how was he trained? And then how did he eventually come to, you know, kill his master and, and become the, you know, and that group on his face, those choices he make when he told Annik and that, and the box, that's a chilling moment. I love that. Uh, yeah. Yeah. Uh, but yeah, yeah. That's, that's a must read if you like that character, then you've got to read that book. There's lots of really good stuff in there. I'm listening to the audio book right now, and he's the guy who narrates it's really good at capturing all those voices. Um, so I might even recommend the audio book for you, but I love audio books. Yeah. Sounds great. Definitely. Yeah. So, uh, with, with nine, I'd say my favorite episode of star wars. Uh, well actually, no, I shouldn't say nine is my least favorite. I'm going to walk back on that a little bit. Episode two. I think we can agree is probably the weakest of the, the entire saga. Um, uh, what do you think about the neutral? What do you think about the new trilogy in my mind being poorly, maybe poorly directed, maybe poorly written. Yeah. But, but good, good concepts. Good. We had like a blueprint for where the characters were supposed to go. I thought seven
Speaker 1:Was thought seven. Got it. Back on track. Okay. I thought seven had enough good choices and it didn't make, it took shots at the original series, which really ticked me
Speaker 2:Off seven did. Yeah. Yeah. But it, it wasn't, uh, it wasn't so bad that it annoyed me to the point where I didn't enjoy the story. I guess I got a burning question for you, man. And, uh, I'm excited to ask it if you hadn't hated AC how much do you think you would have connected and loved nine as much as you did? No. Really not. No.
Speaker 1:Nine was a return to the star wars. Yeah. Okay. So that's probably, that's probably a true
Speaker 2:Statement. Th then, then in that sense, even if it was by accident, you gotta, you gotta credit, at least the writer's ability to make you hate something and then bring you right back. And it sort of plays into the whole redemption aspect of it. Yeah. One thing that I'll never understand about the star wars fan base is yes, you can, you can disagree with the movie and not like it, but where do you think the toxicity comes from? Where do you think the, the, uh, hatred comes from? Uh, you know, with lots of like online bullying and that kind of thing. I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't understand that at all. I don't get it. I mean, if you don't like, you don't watch it exactly. You don't have to smack somebody around for it.
Speaker 2:Um, you know, it it's, it's not yours, you know, it's not your story to tell just
Speaker 1:Because you enjoy it and just, you may be a super fan. It's still not your story. And the owner of the story,
Speaker 2:Which I guess now is Disney. Uh, can, can tell, tell it, like they want to, you know,
Speaker 1:That's there. Right. So I don't know.
Speaker 2:Uh, I don't get it. I don't understand
Speaker 1:That. I can not like a movie and I can talk about it,
Speaker 2:But I'm not going to, I'm not, I want to do it with tongue in cheek. I am so happy that we can sit here and talk about how, you know, having two different favorites. Yeah. Uh, you, you probably, your, your least favorite, the one you hate the most, or at least the one that, uh, I, I actually like quite a bit, but we're talking about it. We're being civil. And I hope that this is some form of represent representation. That star wars fans can still connect, be like Uber, diehard, fans, disagree, and still enjoy each other at the end of it. I don't know. I think we might be a Relic. We might be a diet in the forest ourselves. Okay. Maybe. So, who knows? Who knows? Well, if you were, well first, would you be a Jedi or would you be SF much like your favorite car? No,
Speaker 1:I couldn't be a CFO. I couldn't possibly be. I don't know if I would be pure enough to
Speaker 2:Be a Jedi. I might be, you know, I might be more related to Hahn the guy. Okay. Yeah. I don't know that I would, I would do a lot of illegal stuff intentionally, but maybe I'd be a Mandalorian. We haven't talked about that. They live by a code man and may have a code.
Speaker 1:And I'm a, I'm a code kind of guy, man.
Speaker 2:I, I am so happy that Dave Filoni exists and that he is, he is, he has so much creative control over star wars. And I think he and John[inaudible] are doing good things and they need to keep allowing them to do good things. I'm watching rebels right now, which is a show, mostly designed for kids. But I cannot, I cannot get away from the fact that when I watched that show, I feel like a part of that family. And I feel I struggle when they struggle. I am, I am happy when they're happy. I feel victorious when they're victorious. And Filoni just does that. He does that. I feel here, here's, here's my overall star wars cycle. There's the release of the, the, the movies. And then afterward you have like the split of everyone who hated it and loved it. And here's Filoni and John Farber coming in and sort of bridging that gap and saying, look right here, we'll tie all these things for you together in the best possible way through, uh, through a story about Amanda Lorian who comes across a little girl. Yes. Oh man. I don't understand the name. I'm not sure. I love the name. I'm not wild about it either, but
Speaker 1:The child has a name and maybe he doesn't like my name, who knows, but what an amazing, great story. And then they took it to another level with this new technology, just like ILM did back in the day, uh, with, is it an led
Speaker 2:Based rear?
Speaker 1:It's not really a rear projection, but it's a, it's a wall projection so that the actors don't look at a green screen anymore. They're actually seeing what's on projected on the wall. Isn't that incredible? The, or
Speaker 2:They are on the sets and they're
Speaker 1:Surrounded by the world that they're going to be seeing the animals
Speaker 2:Screen. That's a, well, I think, taken away, uh, well, that's a lesson I think learned from the new trilogy. Uh, not, not the SQL trilogy, but one through three. I think Liam, Neeson's big gripe with it. What's that, you know, he had, he wasn't acting with anything. He had to act with a tennis ball and like, you know yeah. And it was
Speaker 1:Flat. I mean, let's, let's be honest. He's an amazing actor. I love him to death, but it, so his,
Speaker 2:You know, quite gone, Jen is one of my favorite characters, but I wasn't, I wasn't wild about like, um, I wasn't wild necessarily about episode one, just because I feel like I, the mixed feelings are for obvious reasons and you don't have to go far to figure out why anyone might dislike episode one. But I think, I think in, in that same regard, they were still doing something new and they still had a lot in there. They had a lot of responsibility and a lot of people to please. But man, when episode there, I think I knew more people that hated episode one when it came, when it first came out then than I did that, loved it. Oh no, I loved
Speaker 1:It when it came out because I was back in my world again, you know, I thought it was amazing to have Darth Maul and that, that music was incredible again. And, uh, you know, you had some great actors and, uh, and, uh, I'm a doll was in it and I was single at the time. So I could shin mine and watching her on stage all she
Speaker 2:Is quite the Looker. I will agree Natalie Portman, uh, definitely, definitely part of my awakening growing up.
Speaker 1:It was a great casting. Let's just try it. Let's put it that way. That'd be, it'd be cool. If Craig got something, a series kind of like Mandalorian here's,
Speaker 2:Here's the one thing, if, if Dave Filoni or Disney called me up and said, what do you want to do with star wars? You, you get a series that's all your own. I will say, okay, let's have a soca go to the world between worlds. That's in rebels where, you know, you look around, you see all these little portals to different moments that have already happened. Um, this is how as WRA, one of the main characters from rebel saved her from Darth Vader. I see no other way than to have a soca, tried to go back in time and save her former master. I see no other way. As soon as she knows that that exists, I can't reconcile within me to think that she would know that power exists and not try to a deem her master before he ever had a chance to, and that's bringing time travel into it, which kind of is not really great. A lot of people wouldn't like that, but I like the idea. If you're going to introduce the world between worlds being something that can give grant you some form of light time travel. I, you know, I also want to see a Knights of the old Republic. I also think, you know, there's a lot of untold stories there. I know they're doing something with the high Republic soon. Um, uh, they're, they're adapting those books into a series I'm interested in star wars being taken in a direction away from the Skywalker family, as much as I love this got lockers. Yeah. I think that story has been told now. Yep. As I think most people are pretty down with it. Yeah. Well, uh, star wars. I could talk to you about that all night, but there is
Speaker 1:One more area that we absolutely have to touch on. What Lego set have you most recently together?
Speaker 2:Ha you know, when I was, um, I say the prime of Legos for me was when, probably right before you and I formed or you and I and Andy and Jasmine, and that group from the Lego club, uh, just right in that area. And I wanted nothing to do with the drastic park Legos. I thought they were really lame. And I was like, I, you know, th th they're kind of based around the new movies and I'm not super wild about, you know, the drastic park movies necessarily, um, great books. I think so too. But the thing is, my daughter is obsessed with dinosaurs, love it, obsessed with dinosaurs. She wants dinosaur everything, and it used to be space. She would, she would wake up and she, the first thing she wanted to do, there was a countdown video on YouTube, uh, where she would watch rocket launches. She just wanted to watch those. And she had like what the, the launch command people were saying down memorized, even their accents because, uh, Ryan liftoff, we have liftoff, he has this like Boston accent. And like, she knows how to say it just like, it just blew my mind. And then she, she takes a leap. One day we watch ice age, Donna to the dinosaurs, which is probably one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen, but she saw the dinosaurs in that movie and she was in love. She wanted more dinosaurs. And I was like, Hey, there's, there's lots of cool dinosaur movies out there. Let's watch one. We watched the good dinosaur with Pixar. And then from there, it was just, you know, we discovered how D tunes on YouTube and, you know, I don't think I've ever loved kids music as much as I love. How do you tune just solely for the fact that anyone can enjoy those there's music, there's songs about dinosaurs. So there's like a spinosaurus song. There's a, there's a BRACA Saurus song. There's an ankylosaurus song, a stegosaurus song. And I know the words to all of them because of my daughter. Anyway, all of this to say the most recent build, um, was a baryonic spilled. It's got like this, this tall fish eating dinosaur. And, um, uh, it's, it's got like a Jeep that you build with it, a very intricate Jeep. I love the detail that was put into, put into it. Do you ever, like when you're putting together Legos, think this is all going to be covered up. No one's ever going to see this part, unless you take it. This is the best
Speaker 1:Part and the engineering that you'll never ever see. You want, you put it together. Only the person that builds
Speaker 2:Gets to experience that park. I loved the best I love. And just part of that, like building the engine and building everything else and having the whole piece together. Uh, and then even the little pieces that they design, um, you know, Eva still needs a little bit more time before that she's starting to warm up to wanting to play with like the little eggs and the smaller pieces. Um, you know, there's this, uh, Jeep that I, uh, there's this other car, it's like a heavy duty like armored car that, you know, pulls up, has a net. And, uh, under it, there's like a little box and you open up the box and it has like all these little things like man. Um, a lot of people thought Legos got too complicated. Um, I'm right there with Lego. I, you know, if, if I had all the money in the world, I would own the millennium Falcon and the Imperial discharge star destroyer, the, uh, but, but right now I'm sort of, I'm, I'm investing in my daughter's obsession, which is what I've been told I need to do. And, uh, she is, she's in love with, uh, all of her dinosaur Legos. She loves her little blue, her for lost Raptor her. Um, she loves her, T-Rex her in dominance Rex, which I have to remind her always, you know, that's not a real dinosaur that's fiction, but it's still pretty cool. Isn't it? Um, and you know, uh, anytime I come back home with a new Lego set, my wife is looking at me. I always say, my wife, Amelia, Amelia is looking at me and I'm like, Hey, Hey, this is, this is allowing me and my daughter. Is it
Speaker 1:The same look that she gave me when I gave you a Lego set for your wedding present? Cause she
Speaker 2:Knew I actually looked at that and you know, when I tell my wife, Hey, I'm going to be it's okay. I'll be like 20 minutes, right? Maybe an hour. Maybe I'm almost done. I'll, I'll be right there. It's going to be like probably another half hour before you're going to see me. But, uh, she looks at something like that and sees, oh, name my name. Isn't going to want to just build this. He's going to do it just right. He's going to open each bag. He's going to separate all the pieces where they need to go. He's going to, you know, have everything categorized. If anyone, you know, he's gonna probably going to try to film a time-lapse with it, which I did. And I've promised something to you that I've never followed through on. And I think, um, I think we need to get Lego group back together because I want to take that original build. There's an alternate Jeep build that you can like, do I want to take it all apart and put it together?
Speaker 1:Well, now that we can actually be in the same room together, we actually, we have to make that happen and make it happen. We've got a great space here at six 12, uh, hope, uh, you know, w we'll be happy to open that up and, and get the gang back together. Uh,
Speaker 2:I've missed it. I've missed building. I've missed our friends. Uh, Andy and I did, uh, right before COVID hit,
Speaker 1:We built the Saturn five rocket. Yeah. Which
Speaker 2:Looks very simple. If you just stay in from a distance, you pick it up and you realize that thing is solid.
Speaker 1:It is so well engineered. It was a great build. And of course we, you and I were part of the build for the Cinderella
Speaker 2:Castle, which still is in
Speaker 1:A, my youngest daughter's room today,
Speaker 2:Uh, at, at together, right? Yes. One of my favorite videos I've ever filmed. One of my favorite, um, uh, little, little just clips that I have that I'm never going to delete from my phone is, uh, me and Cammie, we are playing with these Lego guys and, and it doesn't really go very well. Uh, I'm gonna have to share that video with you again, because every single time I watched that, I'm like, I, I love this person so much. And I barely even know her. She's just like, yeah. I also
Speaker 1:Have that, the picture that, uh, where we recreated,
Speaker 2:Uh, Han, uh, firing versed, uh, Cantina[inaudible] scenes that we built, or maybe Greedo shot first, he knows. Well, when, what do you think make, make the choice right now? If it were it's hard, it's gotta be hard. Uh, and, and he had had a station thing up here while he's like fiddling with his gun. Yeah. So thank you for being here today. It's been so much fun. I could talk to you all night, but I know you need to get back
Speaker 1:To your family. I have to ask you one more question. What's next for you? Where's life taking you these days?
Speaker 2:Well, uh, I, I am at an interesting point in my life. We're being pulled in two different directions and it's at a very, uh, inopportune time because we're where my heart still lies. And where I, I know I need to start bringing in the big bucks are in two different spots. Uh, so I think I'm going to have to be, uh, I'm going to have to make a big choice pretty soon and decide, not decide, but say this. This is how much time I need to devote to this. And this is how much time I need to devote to that. Because right now I'm working under a brilliant Salesforce admin, and he's teaching me everything. And I need to, I need to learn that because Kali, you can just take Salesforce knowledge anywhere and do anything. Right. And then on top of that, I have three. Can I tell you three shows that are absolutely, uh, yeah, you can get the scoop here. I haven't told, I maybe told three or four people this, but there is a play that I would like to do, or I would like to see done. I'm not selfish. And if someone else comes in and wants to do it, I'd say, go for it. I support it. So if you're listening to this and you think I kind of want to do the show, but I don't want to take name, show away from him. I'm here to tell you right now, do it, do it because I may not ever get the chance to, there's a play called. She kills monsters. It's about a little girl or not a little girl. It's about a, it's about a woman named Agnes and her younger sister, Tilly, her younger sister, Tilly, and her mom and dad die in a horrible car accident. And the one thing she has left to connect to her little sister, because she never had that relationship is a Dungeons and dragons campaign that her little sister built that was tailor made for her older sister to try to get to, to, to help her get to know her better. And it basically, uh, Agnes takes this play to art, takes this, um, uh, this campaign to this, this guy it's set in the nineties. So, you know, you're, you're looking at flannel and punk rock and like record stores and all that stuff. We're, we're back in the nineties before the big cell phone, uh, craze. But anyway, uh, uh, he's, he's like the dungeon master and he knows exactly everything. So, uh, he, he role-plays and takes her through this campaign. And throughout she learns about her sister learns more about herself and, and learns maybe a little bit more about how to, um, really get to know the people around you, even, even if they might not be what you expect. So there's that show it's called Chico's monsters amazing show. Um, there is a play called Gideon's knot. It is a two person cast, two women. Um, and this is about a mother who has recently lost her son to suicide, um, coming into a classroom, uh, that was not kind to her son and her and the teacher having, having basically a discussion surrounding that and growing together. And eventually, you know, I won't give too much away, but that's, that's another play I'd like to either direct or see done. And, uh, one more, it's just sort of like a guilty pleasure. I don't know if, if any theater will ever be able to actually do it like any community theater, because it just, it would cost so much money, man. I want to see the producers done here. I want to see the one. Yeah. That be much. I want to see, but you know, it's just such a costly show, like the costumes and the set and everything. I don't imagine it could ever happen, but those are the three shows I'd like to see it. So I'm still very passionate about, you know, doing shows and acting. Um, there's some auditions coming up that I'm interested in. I think the people, if they're listening to who they are, that yeah, that, that that'll always stay with me. I don't think know ever since Vegas, I don't think I'll ever get myself to a place where I can say goodbye to the arts ever. No, it's part of myself too far from him. Yeah, absolutely. And, and somehow
Speaker 1:Some way I'm going to be a part of bringing 12 angry men back to the stage. Please do. And I want you to, I see you as, as the Henry Fonda role.
Speaker 2:I think you, I think you have that as you, I think it's a time to see you in
Speaker 1:That role. Now I would love to be on stage with you, but I'm not sure that I have the talent to play any of those parts. That was such a great cast in the original black and white movie.
Speaker 2:Uh, and I've read the play that the script is awesome. Uh,
Speaker 1:But I want to see that done and I'm going to be a part of that somehow, some way, even clicking a button, you know, in the back somewhere, I, you know,
Speaker 2:Any, any opportunity to work with he is, has been a pleasure. Well, remember that one time you were the emperor in William Shakespeare star,
Speaker 1:Man, when are we going to do the rest of those? We get it. We get to do a reading
Speaker 2:Again. If only I think we should. I think we should, we should bring it back. There's someone who I've always, uh, who my owner and I'm an apology because I never communicated to them that I wanted them to play Boba Fett. But if that's not in the first one, right. And they sort of felt left out that they weren't in the first one. But, uh, do you know Alex Nance? Yes. I know Alex Nance. Well, yeah, he would be an incredible, oh, he would be crazy exactly. Who I asked to be. Bubba Fest. I hope he's listening anyway. That's all. Well, very good. Okay. Name
Speaker 1:Marty. We know your story. Well, that's an amazing story. It is. I mean,
Speaker 2:So you're an actor, a director. You're
Speaker 1:A great star wars fan, and I liked the kids, you about
Speaker 2:Some of that stuff, but I also
Speaker 1:Love talking and a Packers fan. Well, we weren't gonna
Speaker 2:Bring that up. Oh man. But, uh, I love the Packers. I just like to pick on you now. Uh,
Speaker 1:I will say that one of the, two of us in this room won the fantasy league football
Speaker 2:Championship last year. This last year. Yeah. Was that you last year? Yeah, I think it was me. It wasn't it. Hm. No, I
Speaker 1:Think it was you. I think it might've been me. Uh, so I mean, you know, we got that going for us.
Speaker 2:Uh, Hey, good job, man. Thank you. I appreciate it is that you're all these things, but above all
Speaker 1:Else, you're an amazing family man. And I'm just so proud to know you and be friends with you and have you in my life. And thank goodness COVID is over when you be in the same room and get it's not over, but we're to a point where we've grown to be able to deal with all that. So thank you for being here, my friend, and for sharing your story.
Speaker 2:It's sincerely, thank you for having[inaudible].