Felipe Rose Unplugged: Disco Stories, Native Roots, and New Projects

In this episode of Greetings from the Garden State, host Mike Ham sits down with the iconic Felipe Rose, best known as the original Native American of the Village People. Recorded at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, Felipe shares his incredible journey from dancing in New York City clubs to global stardom, his impact as a cultural icon, and his ongoing creative pursuits.

Felipe reflects on the enduring legacy of hits like “YMCA,” his commitment to community and charity, and the challenges of navigating life after the Village People. Whether it’s sharing stories of Studio 54, discussing his solo career in Native American music, or recounting heartwarming tales of community and resilience, Felipe brings humor, honesty, and an unfiltered perspective.

Tune in to hear how Felipe has embraced his roots, built lasting connections, and continued to bring joy and inspiration to those around him.

Highlights from the Episode:

• Felipe’s signature tribal call and its roots in disco culture.
• The surprising journey of “YMCA” to #1—46 years after its release.
• Stories from touring the world with the Village People, from Paris to Australia.
• Insight into Felipe’s solo career and induction into the Native American Music Hall of Fame.
• How Asbury Park became Felipe’s “forever home” and the power of community in his life.
• Exciting updates on Felipe’s upcoming book and documentary projects.

Special Shoutouts:

• Wonder Bar in Asbury Park for hosting this episode.
• Tom from Mutiny BBQ and Georgie’s Bar for introducing Felipe and Mike.
• The Mayo Performing Arts Center and Meghan Carroll of ReMax Elite for supporting the show.

Follow Felipe Rose:

• Website: FelipeRose.com (currently being updated)
• Instagram: @officialfeliperose
• Facebook: Official Felipe Rose

Follow Greetings from the Garden State:

• Website: GreetingsFromTheGardenState.com

Sponsors:
This episode is powered by the New Jersey Lottery.

Listen Now:
Don’t miss this heartfelt and fascinating episode! Stream wherever you get your podcasts, and don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review.

Catch you next time on Greetings from the Garden State! 🎙️

Transcript

Felipe Rose [0:00 - 0:00]: Foreign. 

Mike Ham [0:21 - 0:34]: What's up, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of Greetings from the Garden State, powered by the New Jersey Lottery. I'm your host, Mike Hamm. We're here in Asbury park today. Thank you to the Wonder Bar for letting us in. We have a very special guest, Felipe Rose. Felipe, welcome to the show. 

Felipe Rose [0:34 - 0:42]: Mike. Thank you for having me. Let me see if I can. If I'm in voice. Yep, I'm in voice. 

Mike Ham [0:43 - 0:45]: That's perfect. I can't do that. 

Felipe Rose [0:45 - 0:46]: That's my tribal call. 

Mike Ham [0:46 - 0:46]: Yeah, yeah. 

Felipe Rose [0:46 - 1:02]: But in the old days, in the days of the disco days, Studio 5412 west, all the clubs, even in Paris, around the world, Australia, I would walk into clubs and people would hear that. They would say, felipe is in the club. 

Mike Ham [1:04 - 1:05]: Just letting everybody know. 

Felipe Rose [1:05 - 1:07]: I was always in search of a good party, man. 

Mike Ham [1:07 - 1:27]: Sure, yeah. No, I. Listen, you don't have to tell me about that, but. So if people don't know Felipe Rose and somehow they listen to this show too, that's crazy. But if the call wasn't a dead giveaway, the chief from the Village People from. Was it 77. All the way up until 2017. 

Felipe Rose [1:27 - 1:28]: 2017. Yeah. 

Mike Ham [1:29 - 1:42]: Yeah. And so 40 years. 40 years. That's quite a run. For sure. But so right now we met, and we also have to give some more shout outs before we really get rolling with this conversation. So thank you to Tom from Mutiny Barbecue. 

Felipe Rose [1:42 - 1:43]: Mutiny. Love him. 

Mike Ham [1:44 - 1:52]: Love him for introducing us at Georgie's. So shout out to Georgie's too, for just being that communal place where people meet misfits. Exactly. 

Felipe Rose [1:52 - 1:55]: They're either here, there, or here at Wonder Bar. 

Mike Ham [1:56 - 1:57]: Yeah. Which. And that's where I like. 

Felipe Rose [1:57 - 1:58]: We all gravitate to each other. 

Mike Ham [1:59 - 2:26]: Exactly. The misfits find each other. They're like, that guy's kind of weird. Let's be friends. But we were talking and you told me when we first met about ymca. Right. We're just gonna, like, go right into it because there's current events, things happening with. With the YMCA song and all that kind of stuff. So. Came out in 78 on the third album. We were just talking about that off mic, and I think you told me it never made number one. 

Felipe Rose [2:26 - 2:26]: Never. 

Mike Ham [2:27 - 2:28]: But it's number one now. 

Felipe Rose [2:29 - 2:34]: It went to number one immediately after the presidential election. 

Mike Ham [2:34 - 2:35]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [2:35 - 2:44]: And because Mr. Trump loves the song, like, pretty much like anyone. Everyone that I know that loves the song. 

Mike Ham [2:44 - 2:44]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [2:45 - 2:55]: I have no problem with that because he loves the song. And I listened to a version of a slow ballad version of Boy George singing. 

Mike Ham [2:55 - 2:56]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [2:56 - 3:08]: Which is on YouTube. And he sang it as a ballad. And I've only heard one other young woman sing it as a ballad. And when you listen to the lyrics, they're pretty. I get it. 

Mike Ham [3:08 - 3:09]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [3:09 - 3:45]: Young man there's no need to feel down I say, young man Pick yourself off the ground so I get why he would gravitate to that song. But he also loved the group. Even back in the days of Studio 54 when I met him and avoided him with Roy Cohen, I was never a fan of his anyway. Yeah, right. That doesn't mean. I don't mean that to disrespect anyone, but when you're trying to throw my community under the bus, then I got a problem with you. Sure. So, politics aside, I love that the song went to number one after 46. 

Mike Ham [3:45 - 3:47]: Years, which is insane. 

Felipe Rose [3:47 - 3:49]: Insane. And we stalled at number two. 

Mike Ham [3:49 - 3:50]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [3:50 - 3:59]: For almost a year. So the four songs, while we stayed at number two, that frog leaped us. Is that correct way? 

Mike Ham [3:59 - 4:00]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [4:00 - 4:07]: Jumped over us was chic, which we knew Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards. Ah, freak out. 

Mike Ham [4:07 - 4:08]: That good one. 

Felipe Rose [4:08 - 4:22]: Okay. And then that couple weeks, then, you know, we're still laying in the cut, and we're rehearsing our show, in fact, here in there in the convention center for a full week. And. 

Mike Ham [4:22 - 4:23]: And this is when. 

Felipe Rose [4:23 - 4:24]: This is 78. 

Mike Ham [4:24 - 4:25]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [4:25 - 4:38]: And right before YMCA came, we were putting together the national arena tour. And then all of a sudden, Rod Stewart's do you think I'm sexy? That jumped over us to number one. 

Mike Ham [4:39 - 4:40]: Sons of bitches. 

Felipe Rose [4:40 - 4:54]: I'll tell you, it's not a disco song. It's not a disco song to me. But regardless. And then all of a sudden, oh, well, we'll be at number two for a while. We just kept doing our thing. 

Mike Ham [4:54 - 4:55]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [4:55 - 5:17]: And then we. Our family sister Sledge jumped over us. So that was the third positioning. And so now we're rehearsing the arena tour with my friend still to this very day, Gloria Gaynor. So while we're at Madison Square Garden doing soundcheck, she releases I will survive. 

Mike Ham [5:18 - 5:18]: Boom. 

Felipe Rose [5:18 - 5:38]: It went to number one. I'm like, geez, man. So we're doing sound check, and she's giving me the side eye like, Gigi, what's wrong? Yeah, you know, I'm opening up for you guys. It should be the other way around. I said, but, sweetie, we got the jeeps, the teepee, the motorcycles. 

Mike Ham [5:38 - 5:38]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [5:38 - 5:38]: Come on. 

Mike Ham [5:38 - 5:39]: Got it all. 

Felipe Rose [5:39 - 5:44]: So, you know, she got over it really quick. But I mean, she did. She just had to vent it. 

Mike Ham [5:44 - 5:44]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [5:45 - 5:45]: And we've been. 

Mike Ham [5:45 - 5:55]: What's also crazy, too. Sorry to. Sorry to cut you off. But the. I was. When I was looking through some stuff, like Madonna opened for you guys. Michael Jackson opened for the Village People. 

Felipe Rose [5:55 - 5:57]: We did a gig together. 

Mike Ham [5:57 - 5:57]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [5:57 - 6:01]: Where Jane Fonda for her then husband, Gotch. Tom Hayden. 

Mike Ham [6:01 - 6:01]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [6:01 - 6:24]: And people see that picture, that it's that picture with Michael Jackson. Jane Fonda is I'm sitting on my knee. Valerie Perrine, Bruce Jenner, now today known as Caitlyn Jenner. And all of us. And then we were doing this big concert gotcha for, you know, for Jane. 

Mike Ham [6:24 - 6:24]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [6:25 - 6:46]: But it was not a Studio 54. So people make things up because either they don't do research or they just jump into whatever conversation is going on and join it turns into a cacophony of misinformation. Yeah, no, that's not Studio 54. That was in Los Angeles. But anyway, you know, it's out there. 

Mike Ham [6:46 - 6:49]: Yeah. I'll be able to see this guy in the mirror trying to. 

Felipe Rose [6:49 - 6:52]: People think the bar is open, y'all. Right. Not today. 

Mike Ham [6:52 - 7:08]: All the stools are stacked. Okay. So the one thing. The other thing that I did want to talk about, too. So now it's number one. And that. That's to finish up that story. So the bridesmaid for a couple rounds and then 46 years later gets to number one. 

Felipe Rose [7:08 - 7:11]: To number one and top 10 around the world. Still top 10. 

Mike Ham [7:12 - 7:39]: Is it? So we're going to get into more of like the life story, too. We won't spend this entire episode talking about this song. But is it like, I remember going to a Yankee game at like 8 years old and seeing them do the dance on the field grounds keep. During the. Yeah. During the seventh inning stretch. Like, it's. It's everywhere. It's worldwide. Like at any point in your life, you know, maybe early on, like when you guys are putting out, you know, I think you said four records in just like a couple years or three. 

Felipe Rose [7:39 - 7:40]: Records, two albums a year. 

Mike Ham [7:40 - 7:41]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [7:41 - 7:42]: What a waste of money. 

Mike Ham [7:42 - 7:43]: Breakneck pace. 

Felipe Rose [7:43 - 7:43]: Really? 

Mike Ham [7:43 - 7:56]: Really. But to have something that you make that long ago that still resonates with people, that still makes people feel good, makes people happy. Like, that's got to be an amazing feeling. 

Felipe Rose [7:56 - 10:13]: It is. And. And I do give credit where credit is due that the French gay producer, they recruited me when I was running around New York City with my long hair braided in my. My vest and tribal gear and dancing and singing here and there. He. And the original ex lead singer, the songwriter, and I'm not going to mention him by Name. Because I'm very upset right now with this cacophony over this inauguration that's coming up. They wrote the song because it was an afterthought. We needed one more song to finish the album. Cruising album and some break. He came to the five guys, the five gay backup singers with the straight lead singer, Quezquezake. What is emci? And we kind of looked at him like five little puppy dogs with our heads turned like, what? And someone said, ymca. And he like, just immediately starts humming, young man, young man, we're going to write a new song. And I rolled my eyes up. Here comes another stupid song. What did I know? What did I know? But the beauty about that combination between him and the straight lead singer lyricist is that they both very different human beings, okay, Walking very different beats in their lives. They could sit together and write a song that basically, Jacques used to always come up with the chorus and Victor used to. Well, I mentioned them by name. We'll flesh out the lyrics, the verses. So he made it very universal for everyone. But what we were really singing about was the YMCA McBurney on 23rd street, okay? Because the reputation. I never went there. I wasn't working out back then like that. I was very thin, like a rail. Somebody give me a sandwich back then, please. The reputation was that that was the gym where gay men in the Village in Chelsea would work out and they would have sex in the sauna room. 

Mike Ham [10:13 - 10:13]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [10:14 - 10:36]: You know? And so he was fascinated by that. So while the song may have been gay when it was released and embraced by the gay community, through the decades, the song had evolved into something like you mentioned the Yankees, perfect example. They got away with it because they wouldn't. They were cut to commercial. So they never. 

Mike Ham [10:37 - 10:40]: The groundskeepers just plan it in front of 50,000 people a night. 

Felipe Rose [10:40 - 10:42]: But not too commercial. They have to pay royalties. 

Mike Ham [10:42 - 10:43]: Yeah, right. 

Felipe Rose [10:43 - 11:05]: So that's how they got away with that. And so the thing is that bar mitzvahs and weddings and all that. So it was a wonderful, lucrative career. It sold 3 million copies in the United States, 12 million around the world. But in other countries, one. But in this country, only two. Number two, but not anymore. 

Mike Ham [11:05 - 11:05]: Right? 

Felipe Rose [11:06 - 11:51]: And that's bittersweet to me because what's now behind it is a lot of hate, harassment, emails and texts. To me, especially yesterday after it was announced that the Village People will be playing at the inauguration party or whatever. And. And that's all well and good, but let's get it straight, people. Look and do your research. Everyone's Quick to jump and look at something and then put out an opinion. That's not the original group. All media outlets should even know that. TMZ should know better than that. Harry Levin, if you're listening to me, another gay queen who should know better. No, wait a minute. Let's correct that. That's not the original group. 

Mike Ham [11:52 - 11:52]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [11:52 - 12:17]: So that's where. So now after the day from hell and getting nasty phone calls and it's time to change my phone number. No, seriously, you know, I. I can let people just say whatever they want because it's their opinion, and, you know, it means nothing to me unless you come at me and for me. And when it hits my doorstep, now we got a problem. 

Mike Ham [12:17 - 12:18]: Totally. 

Felipe Rose [12:18 - 13:16]: And let me tell you, I was in a dark. From the afterglow. No afterglow. After my party, I was. It's such a dark space. I did go to the kitchen and pull out the big butcher knife. I carry license. I went to the safe. I said, well, I need to use this today. It got to the point that I was shaking. And you know what? No one needs. No one should have to go through that. When people are out of nowhere, even a drag queen, Jackie B. Pulled up a poster calling us village idiots. You know what? I went off. I dropped a couple of F bombs on Facebook, called her out and said, you know what? You better be lucky you don't run into me, because I will beat you down. And your last name is Jackie B. I say, problem with you is you can't cut it as a man. That's why you have to wear a dress now when you come for me like that. I'm from Brownsville, Brooklyn. I will take it down to the gutter. 

Mike Ham [13:16 - 13:16]: Yep. 

Felipe Rose [13:16 - 13:23]: You know, and I don't care who you are, you're entitled to your opinion, but don't make it personal. 

Mike Ham [13:23 - 13:23]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [13:23 - 13:27]: And so this is where we are now today with you turning the page. 

Mike Ham [13:28 - 13:28]: That's right. 

Felipe Rose [13:29 - 14:09]: It's a whole new day. And, you know, I want to be. I want to stand on the. On the work that we've done doing the AIDS dance a thons in the late 80s into the early 90s with Queen Latifah, Rosie Perez. Several times, we would donate concerts. Once or twice a year, we would do charities. I would give headdresses away as gifts for charity events, you know, because after a while, you know, can't really throw them away. So. And I did that. I've given gold records away for charity. These things were all done under the radar. 

Mike Ham [14:09 - 14:09]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [14:09 - 14:44]: But now when you're calling me stupid and an idiot. Now I'm going to call out the things that I've done that people never knew. And my charity here in New Jersey is the Garden State Equality every year and the American Indian College Fund. I've been doing that since 1980. But when I have gay men attacking me, telling me that you should use this newfound money of royalties and give it away, I had to tell one guy, take five steps back, steps back and sit in the fucking corner. You know, because don't come at me with that. 

Mike Ham [14:44 - 14:44]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [14:44 - 14:53]: You know, so apart from that, I need to tap back into the joy of why we set this interview up totally weeks ago. 

Mike Ham [14:53 - 14:54]: I got you. 

Felipe Rose [14:54 - 15:16]: And. And I'm not one to. Whatever happened in the past between all members and the ex lead singer. I don't. Never talked about it. After being sued for one point something million dollars. I kept that to myself and didn't put it out there on social media because I felt if I put it out there, I make it everyone's business. But now the gloves are off. 

Mike Ham [15:16 - 15:16]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [15:16 - 15:19]: I'm not. I'm not gonna stay quiet any longer. 

Mike Ham [15:19 - 15:19]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [15:19 - 15:34]: You know, because I do more for people, you know, and then I fall into situations that I can say that I'm really blessed and in a good place. That I don't mind taking out $50 and say here, keep that. 

Mike Ham [15:34 - 15:35]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [15:35 - 15:46]: Or picking up somebody's grocery in the supermarket or when a mom with her two kids doesn't have money for groceries and I just look at the cashier. I've got this. 

Mike Ham [15:46 - 15:46]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [15:46 - 15:49]: You know, because that just comes from the heart. 

Mike Ham [15:49 - 15:49]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [15:49 - 15:51]: Only because I've been given so much. 

Mike Ham [15:51 - 15:51]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [15:51 - 15:57]: So yes, it was a phenomenal run. But now it's now bittersweet. 

Mike Ham [15:57 - 16:20]: Yeah. Just to piggyback off that a little bit. Very minimally. The. When I was telling people. Because when we met and I was telling people like, oh, I'm gonna have Felipe Rose on the show from the Village People, blah blah blah. I was excited. Obviously. And not anymore. Continue to be. Yeah. Right. Like one of these really get the hook. 

Felipe Rose [16:20 - 16:20]: Get em out. 

Mike Ham [16:20 - 16:55]: Yeah. But between like Tom introducing us and then telling other. Cause I now know a bunch of musicians and stuff in the area. Even some guys that host shows on the radio station. I would be like, oh, I'm interviewing Felipe by Rose next week. And they're like, oh my God, Felipe Rose is the best. Like we used to play at Georgie's. We used to do this. We used to do this. We go back to his house like all that kind of stuff. And all the things that have been said when I've brought you up to other people have been incredibly glowingly positive and just like you said, charitable and just kind of out there and helping people. And that's really. I love people. 

Felipe Rose [16:55 - 17:17]: This is my go to bar. This is my home away from home. Georgie's. I pop in. Cause like you said, it's the local, you know, cheers here I've jumped up on stage with bands and sing. Yeah, the. The customers come in, they know me. The staff, they're like family. We act stupid, we laugh. Sure they don't. 

Mike Ham [17:17 - 17:18]: The misfits. 

Felipe Rose [17:18 - 17:25]: Yeah, we're misfits. And they don't let me get away with anything. They don't blow smoke up my. They. They go just. So here's a drink. Go sit down. 

Mike Ham [17:26 - 17:26]: Yeah, right. 

Felipe Rose [17:26 - 17:32]: You know, so. And it's nice because I feel. I'm comfortable and I feel safe. Yeah, it's a safe space. 

Mike Ham [17:32 - 17:43]: Totally. So let's bring it back to maybe early days. So you're not from Jersey originally, but you've been here most of your life, right? 

Felipe Rose [17:43 - 17:49]: Since 19, you told me like 1980. Before that, 78. 

Mike Ham [17:49 - 17:54]: Okay, so since 78 and from the city originally, you just had Brooklyn. 

Felipe Rose [17:54 - 17:57]: The Village. Yeah, Brooklyn, then. The Village, Yeah. 

Mike Ham [17:57 - 18:01]: So what was music? I know was a big part of your life because of your mom? 

Felipe Rose [18:01 - 18:05]: My mom and all that. One of the original Copacabana girls. 

Mike Ham [18:05 - 18:05]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [18:05 - 19:21]: And met my dad on the way to an audition for that. And he was a welder. Most natives have no fear of heights. So he, as she told me, he was coming down holding onto a cable with a stick steele girder. And she said he came down from the sky. And I think I was five when she told me that. Now they had separated when I was very young. But I caught up with him later in later years, in the mid-1990s. But she said that, you know, he's your father and blah, blah. And I'm like, well, what happened to him? He's like, get outside and play. You know. She would just cut the story short. Almost like, let me not tell. Reveal too much about my life because that's the really funny thing. And most families, we all have this. Our families and parents and grandparents, they would never share life stories of family. They would keep secrets of what went down with that one either. I would find things out after a funeral. Oh my God, we're related. That kind of thing. So, you know, those were the days where you just did not kept it. 

Mike Ham [19:21 - 19:23]: Close to the vest and keep it moving. 

Felipe Rose [19:23 - 19:29]: Even my mother would vote, and they would, you know, would you vote for. She looked at me one day and said, it's none of your business. 

Mike Ham [19:29 - 19:29]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [19:29 - 19:31]: And that's how I was raised. 

Mike Ham [19:31 - 19:44]: Yeah. So she's in one of the original Copacabana girls. And I've, like, heard stories of you just being, like, in. In there, like, around it. And just like, when do you start singing and dancing on your own? 

Felipe Rose [19:44 - 20:18]: Because she used to, after the Copa, they would bring. People would come over, musicians. Mongo Santa Maria, Bobby Capo, Milta Silva, Carmen Miranda with Olga San Juan, who was married to Edmund O'Brien. These were all people in the 50s that used to party in New York. And Latin music, you know, mambo music, was a melting pot of music, like disco. It brought all kinds of people together. Jewish, black, Italian, all kinds of people. And so my house was like that as a child. 

Mike Ham [20:18 - 20:20]: Just people in and out all the time. 

Felipe Rose [20:20 - 21:15]: Yeah. I would see people partying and what have you. I even now, looking back, there were gay people at my house, which I found very discerning that when I. My mother found out that I was gay, she didn't like it. And, you know, consequently. Well, eventually I was kicked out of the house. So, you know, what do you do when you're 17? I crossed the bridge to New York and I went to the Village. I was fascinated with the Village after the Stonewall riots. Watching it on tv, took the train. I wanted to know more about the Village. Felt like a calling inside. And so once she kicked me out, I stayed at some friends, here and there with them until I went over the bridge and I found my tribe and I found my way. 

Mike Ham [21:15 - 21:37]: Right. And so when you make that move and you find, like, your community, I feel like that's been a big kind of. What's the word I'm looking for? Like, theme of your life really is, like, the community that your mom had. And then you found your own community. And then I guess when you came here, you found another community that was also welcoming and inclusive and all that kind of stuff, too, right? 

Felipe Rose [21:37 - 22:29]: Yes, and, yes. And I lived in Union City along with another friend, dear friend, Tony Orlando from Dawn. We're still great friends. He also lived in Union City. So the two of us have stars in the Celia Cruise park with all these stars. So our stars are next to each other. But then I moved to Jersey City City, and that was another nice, safe place to live in. And the gay population was, you know, was booming. And then I moved to Richmond. Virginia had a state of the art recording studio. Shut it down, went down and met my ex and then ended up living in Richmond, Virginia for five and a half years. Came back, went back to Jersey City. It. These buildings went up. There was nowhere to live. 

Mike Ham [22:29 - 22:29]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [22:29 - 22:51]: I couldn't find an apartment for this size, the size of a shoebox. So I have friends down here and they were like, come on down at Asbury Park. Yeah, I think you're gonna like it. So I came down in 2000. Okay, 2005 and 2003. Three. 

Mike Ham [22:51 - 22:51]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [22:52 - 23:07]: Bought my condo just blocks away. And now I'm in my house up in Neptune. And the reason why I don't live over there, still to this day, people ring the doorbell asking for the Felipe here. No, they don't know my name. The YMCA guy or the Villager or the Village guy. 

Mike Ham [23:07 - 23:08]: Yeah. Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [23:08 - 23:11]: And that's just because rumor. Oh, you know who lives in that building? 

Mike Ham [23:11 - 23:11]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [23:11 - 23:17]: So eventually I ended up moving from there because I was leaving paradise, the club. 

Mike Ham [23:17 - 23:18]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [23:18 - 23:22]: And some friends were dropping me off and some guys were sitting on the steps of the building. 

Mike Ham [23:22 - 23:22]: Yeah, that's a little. 

Felipe Rose [23:22 - 23:27]: Waiting for the. At 2:30 in the morning. Waiting for the. The Village guy. 

Mike Ham [23:27 - 23:27]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [23:28 - 23:35]: And my two friends, they said, you need to move. Yeah, they're waiting for you. Late at night is not good. 

Mike Ham [23:35 - 23:35]: No. 

Felipe Rose [23:36 - 23:39]: So I ended up getting my house just up the road. 

Mike Ham [23:39 - 23:39]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [23:39 - 23:41]: But people still think I live there. 

Mike Ham [23:41 - 23:41]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [23:41 - 23:42]: So let them. 

Mike Ham [23:42 - 24:05]: Yeah, let them, let them think. And they could sit there all night, all day, whatever, if they want to. So when you're. You moved to Jersey and you just mentioned Jersey City too. A little bit there. And even just leaving for five years, whenever. Whatever year that was like. And the amount of buildup that was 1998. Yeah. I mean, Jersey City now is unrecognizable. 

Felipe Rose [24:05 - 24:18]: To what it was in 98, 99, 2000, 1001. And then in two, I. It ended the relationship. And then I. With my tail between my legs like a loser. Once your relationship is over. Come on. 

Mike Ham [24:18 - 24:18]: Sure. You gotta get. 

Felipe Rose [24:18 - 24:27]: Everyone knows we feel horrible. Then you go back home. Oh, it's over. Oh, you poor thing. You should have never have left. 

Mike Ham [24:27 - 24:30]: Yeah, I told you people are vicious. 

Felipe Rose [24:30 - 24:32]: Your friends, your friends. 

Mike Ham [24:32 - 24:32]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [24:32 - 24:36]: You know, I could have told you that. You know, it's too late now. 

Mike Ham [24:36 - 24:46]: Totally. So even coming here in the in to Asbury park in the early 2000s, like even now, unrecognizable, really. I think in a lot of ways. 

Felipe Rose [24:47 - 24:49]: To what it was then, not like it is today. 

Mike Ham [24:49 - 24:51]: Yeah, it's crazy. Now, has that been. 

Felipe Rose [24:51 - 25:08]: I mean, we got. We have condos going up like eight, nine buildings up the road there here, across the street over there. Yeah, yeah. No, it's. It's really. It's turned into. Again, it's a. Interesting city because the locals, we keep the city going during the winter. 

Mike Ham [25:08 - 25:09]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [25:09 - 25:13]: And then in the summer we're like, oh, God, here they come, the fridge and tunnel. 

Mike Ham [25:14 - 25:16]: Yeah. You know, people like me, you know. 

Felipe Rose [25:16 - 25:18]: Well, but, but you, you. 

Mike Ham [25:18 - 25:19]: I feel like I'm an honorary. 

Felipe Rose [25:20 - 25:20]: You infiltrate. 

Mike Ham [25:21 - 25:22]: Yeah, right. You, you. 

Felipe Rose [25:22 - 25:23]: You melt right in. 

Mike Ham [25:23 - 25:23]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [25:23 - 25:30]: You're not like us. You don't stick out like a sore thumb, you know, in fact, you're sitting. I met you in the. In the gay bar. 

Mike Ham [25:30 - 25:30]: That's right. Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [25:31 - 25:37]: And I'm like, oh, good. Really cute guy with a beard. No. Tom said, no, not that kind of family. 

Mike Ham [25:37 - 25:39]: Yeah, right. Not that kind of family. 

Felipe Rose [25:40 - 25:42]: At least you'll know about me. I'm consistent. 

Mike Ham [25:42 - 25:42]: That's right. 

Felipe Rose [25:42 - 25:45]: I will hit on you till the day I don't see you anymore. 

Mike Ham [25:48 - 26:37]: The Mayo Performing Arts center is the heart of arts and Entertainment in Morristown, New Jersey. MPAC presents over 200 events annually and is home to an innovative children's arts education program. To see MPAC's upcoming schedule of world class concerts, stand up comedy, family shows and more, head to mayoarts.org or just click the link in our show notes. Looking to buy, sell or rent in Monmouth or Ocean counties, Meghan Carroll of ReMax Elite brings local expertise and personalized service. Megan will make your real estate process smooth and stress free, bringing southern hospitality to the Jersey shore. Call Megan today at 732-508-7402 or visit her website at mcsellsbythec.com okay, so let's bring it back to you're in the village and what are you doing? Are you involved in music? Are you at clubs? Like what. What are you getting yourself into? 

Felipe Rose [26:37 - 28:04]: I got a job. My career then started in Provincetown with the Arthur Blake review and they were doing a bicentennial review. So it was bicentennial year and, you know, you don't know. I auditioned with two other. My cousin who's not alive anymore in Yuba, who was from the Anvil. So I get the job as a chorus boy, but they had too many pilgrims. So they looked at me and they said, but you. We need an Indian. Yeah, you know, and that's really. Back then, that's what they used to say. An Indian today is Native American or indigenous. Indigenous or the acronym is ndn. And so, okay, so that's where I started my career. And then when I left back to New York, I then started working in some clubs. And then I auditioned for with a dance company, Pachal Guzman, Ballet de Puerto Rico. Got a scholarship. Then I'm working in the clubs. And that's when disco was starting to really was just becoming huge. And the club and the Anvil was notorious. It was a sort of like a back room, private club for men with male dancers. And the male dancers would not, could not, should not, would never with the customers, or else you'd lose your job. 

Mike Ham [28:05 - 28:05]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [28:05 - 28:25]: And it was in one of those fateful evenings that the dj, the late Richie Rivera, pointed him out to me, the ex producer. Because I went over to him, I said, that guy over there, See that guy? He says he's a producer and that he wants to do something with me. 

Mike Ham [28:25 - 28:25]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [28:25 - 29:22]: Because when he said that to me, I want to do something with you, I said, I looked at him because I thought I knew it all. I had a saying for everything does in everyone. And then my DJ said, no, he is a French producer. He's got the Richie family here, Go dance to this. So I had sleigh bells on my ankles. So not only could you see me half naked in a loincloth with wearing nothing but the coconuts out, you know, and sleigh bells with moccasins up to the knee high with angora fur over it, so you could hear me, Right? I was a percussionist, dancer. And then I was moving around the clubs in New York, Roseland. I was dancing in Studio 54 as a paid professional dancer when it opens. And so when he then reached out to me and told me that he wanted me to do percussion on this new album that he was working on, was the first album. 

Mike Ham [29:22 - 29:23]: Okay? 

Felipe Rose [29:23 - 30:21]: So when, you know, if you look at the first album, you'll notice on the COVID black and white album with the songs San Francisco, Hollywood, Fire island and Village People. The song, which has a native drum to it deliberately, that's the beat on that song. Song Village People. It was almost like I got there to record a Sigma sound to lay the sound for percussion for Bells. But I instructed them that it would be better to put pillows on the floor so I can then dance on those so you don't hear the stomping. Yeah, just dance and microphones tilted down. But when I showed up, I showed up all in gear. And that's when the engineer and the ex producer, they realized, shoot, shoot. This guy's the real Deal. You can say, shit, this guy's the real deal. Look at this. 

Mike Ham [30:21 - 30:22]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [30:22 - 30:28]: And then, like, got paid for it. I thought that was it, you know, Scored a gig. 

Mike Ham [30:28 - 30:29]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [30:29 - 30:35]: Couple months later, he said, no, I have something much bigger I want to do. I want to create a group. 

Mike Ham [30:35 - 30:35]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [30:35 - 30:47]: So they called me over to his office with his ex producer and they showed me drawings of the six little microphones with me drawn in as the only character. 

Mike Ham [30:47 - 30:48]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [30:48 - 31:08]: And I think there must have been a concept of a construction worker and a cowboy. And I. Each producer was on each side of me. So I looked up at them. I can remember this as it was yesterday. I looked at the drawer and I said, this is stupid. 

Mike Ham [31:08 - 31:09]: Whose idea is this? 

Felipe Rose [31:09 - 31:29]: They looked at me, no, this is going to be big, big, big group. So they took that album and they sent it to Neil Bogart of Casablanca Records. And he was fascinated. This is amazing. Whoa. Where's the group? And they said, oh, the group is under wraps. There was no groove. 

Mike Ham [31:30 - 31:30]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [31:30 - 31:43]: There were models on the COVID Yeah, yeah. And the ex. Lead singer, he sang the leads. Okay. Other studio singers came in, got paid to sing the backup. So then they proceeded to do auditions in New York. 

Mike Ham [31:43 - 31:48]: Yeah. And those auditions were like. Like dress as crazy as you can kind of thing. 

Felipe Rose [31:48 - 31:51]: Come in, dress as a macho. A male stereotype. 

Mike Ham [31:51 - 31:52]: Yeah, sure. 

Felipe Rose [31:52 - 32:38]: A macho man. Blah, blah, whatever. And then in came the classic 3. David Hodo, construction worker, blonde hair from California, Broadway, chorus boy who only needed, I think, two more weeks of unemployment. In comes the biker with a big mustache, the late Glenn Hughes, who really rode motorcycles. And he came in there all in black with his. His cap on. And immediately we're sitting in the. And we knew that's got to be the biker. That mustache. And though that mustache, along with two other mustaches of the most famous in the world were Tom Sellecks, Glenn Hughes's and Freddie Mercury. 

Mike Ham [32:38 - 32:38]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [32:38 - 33:17]: That had mustaches that were really the thing. And then the rest basically was putting the group together, forming a show. Then immediately the Macho man came out. We heard it on AM radio. That's how far back we can go. And then. So we were touring. We put a band together, live band, and set out doing bus and truck. The interesting thing was that I was pretty savvy. Okay. Now we have music. So let me. Let me monitor this. So we always had on the bus, Record World, Billboard and Cashbox magazines. 

Mike Ham [33:17 - 33:18]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [33:18 - 33:24]: So we could see on the regional charts, wherever we would play. We would attack on three fronts. 

Mike Ham [33:25 - 33:25]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [33:25 - 33:37]: We would get into A city. Do the morning radio show, TV show, sound check, dinner the show, Back to a hotel and back on the bus again. 

Mike Ham [33:37 - 33:37]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [33:37 - 33:42]: And we did that pretty much till eventually YMCA dropped. 

Mike Ham [33:42 - 34:09]: Yeah. Was ever a moment, like, in those early years when you're on the bus and you're doing all these things and you're going all over. All over the world, you know, the country world. At. In certain points, too. It's like from where they, you know, I guess found you basically, like, Studio 54, Anvil. Places like that. And then to take it into, like, another strata of, like, huge places that you're playing, like, is it. Does it, like, compute at any point. 

Felipe Rose [34:09 - 34:10]: In your head, like, what the hell. 

Mike Ham [34:10 - 34:11]: Am I even doing here? 

Felipe Rose [34:11 - 34:44]: Yes, it did. It did. And I was the first one that they separated from the original lineup because a choreographer, Richard Moten, was putting the show together. And I was in the middle with two guys on each side and an elite singer. So then they sent me off to Paris to go and choreograph two numbers for the Crazy Horse Saloon. So I was gone a month. And they said, by the way, bring your headdress, your loincloth, breastplate, everything. You're a star in Paris. 

Mike Ham [34:44 - 34:45]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [34:45 - 34:47]: And, you know, that didn't compute till I got there. 

Mike Ham [34:47 - 34:48]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [34:48 - 34:53]: And then they were taking me out to clubs at night, people celebrating. Because the first album was huge. 

Mike Ham [34:54 - 34:54]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [34:54 - 35:03]: Oh, I could have. Was huge. So then, of course, I got back and I said, guys, we're huge in Europe. And they were like, oh, are we? So that was the thing. 

Mike Ham [35:03 - 35:04]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [35:04 - 35:06]: Is that we didn't really know. 

Mike Ham [35:06 - 35:20]: Yeah. Because we were at that point in the late 70s. It's not like now where you can be like, oh, we're trending or we're doing whatever. Like, you're looking at magazines on a bus. And how quickly is that stuff getting turned around and printed and all that kind of stuff? 

Felipe Rose [35:20 - 36:02]: We heard the song. We heard the song on the radio. We were like, oh, my God, we're on the radio. And that's when you start to, you know, put one and one together. And then, of course, we spent a lot of time in Paris, practically lived there. We did a movie out there. Very long title. Tout matien che tienne pour la baba shete. I'll pull your beer, you pull mine. That's the translation. It was a detective crime comedy. And the group is in the TV studio and the police are trying to solve a crime. The that some TV anchor guy was shot and killed. And so we got caught up. It was A French comedy. Yeah. Funny. I guess. 

Mike Ham [36:02 - 36:03]: Sure. For French people, I guess. 

Felipe Rose [36:03 - 36:14]: French people. And then so, you know, we just kept touring around the world where most acts really couldn't even get arrested. 

Mike Ham [36:14 - 36:14]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [36:14 - 36:44]: But everyone wanted to see this group. And the appeal was that anyone in an audience had their favorite they can look at, go to. You know, people like the cop people love the construction worker. Then the leather community, they love themselves some Glenn. You know me, I would say that, okay, people liked it. And mostly women, because I was half naked. 

Mike Ham [36:44 - 36:44]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [36:44 - 36:55]: You know, and then if I was on the stage, people would sit in the first two rows, especially women, and they would slouch under the seat to try to look under. Because when I would spin, you would see the buttocks. 

Mike Ham [36:55 - 36:56]: Yeah, right. 

Felipe Rose [36:56 - 37:06]: You know, which, by the way, they still look good. And then. But what group do you know that's gone to Australia for 39 times? No, 39 times. 

Mike Ham [37:06 - 37:07]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [37:07 - 38:50]: And then the last tour, we did, Southeast Asian tour. We hit Australia for the 39th visit in our 40th anniversary. And then we came home and we got the bad news that the trademark was no longer ours. Mine. And then we had to give it up. With all the social media user handles and all that, and much the chagrin of certain people, we went. The group that I was with, they decided to fight. I said, don't fight. Doesn't belong to you. It's like the keys of the car or the house got taken away. We have to walk away. Instead, they chose to litigate. So I got caught in the middle between other people, them and the Exley Singers. Caught in the middle. Well, I mean, what do you do with that? Just pray for the best. Hired another lawyer. I said, well, you know, they're not attacking me. They're attacking my job, and I have to give it up. I have to walk away. I was hoping that it would be an amicable ending to, you know, let's take my lineup and you and this and that. But, you know, the powers that be, too many people were involved. I pulled out. And that was in 2017. And in 2020, I then finally got the litigator attorney. He said, oh, you know, everything was settled. We have the, you know, want you to read everything. I got you what you wanted. I didn't want any settlement money. I wanted my name attached to the trademark name in fair use. Also to dress the way I came in. 

Mike Ham [38:50 - 38:50]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [38:50 - 38:55]: Dress that way. And to sing the songs if I wanted to sing them. 

Mike Ham [38:55 - 38:55]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [38:55 - 39:07]: And then I did, and I re. Recorded them with my own, you know, to sing the song my way, not use the ex lead singer's voice. That just isn't right to do. Anyway. 

Mike Ham [39:07 - 39:08]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [39:08 - 40:07]: And then I embarked on a solo career and Native American Music Award. I already started dropping music. In 2000, Trail of Tears opened that show. It's on YouTube for the Native American Music Awards. Then the following year, Trifecta, Then three songs. Then was inducted into the Native American Music hall of Fame a month after we received the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. So, you know, all of this to hear it, it doesn't sound like it really happened, but it did happen. And then when I lost the group or. Well, when it was over, my fans were furious because when they saw a new group, oh, my God. Fans are really passionate about their situation of whom they love. And so I recorded Going back to my roots to let my fan base know I'm gonna be okay. 

Mike Ham [40:07 - 40:07]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [40:07 - 40:53]: And then the Nammies, they contacted me and said, wow, this is great. We're gonna nominate it. We're gonna put it up. And I'm like, but we don't have. You don't have a dance category. And they said, for. We do now. For you, we'll make one up. And not only did I do the red carpet that year in 58 minutes, interviewing people, Native brothers and sisters, Native hip hop artists. Then I was closing the Nammies with the band, and some of the guys did other three other natives, Stanjati and Jen Michael Lookingwolf that also collaborated on the song with me. And right before we were to introduce the Close to Namis, they announced the last award of the evening. 

Mike Ham [40:53 - 40:53]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [40:53 - 41:02]: And the last award is blah, blah, blah, hall of Famer Felipe. And so there was no acceptance speech. We were right into the song. 

Mike Ham [41:02 - 41:03]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [41:03 - 41:08]: And then I said, well, thank you very much, but now we're gonna do. And we did a native rendition of ymca. 

Mike Ham [41:08 - 41:09]: There you go. 

Felipe Rose [41:09 - 41:10]: And so that was. That was great. 

Mike Ham [41:10 - 41:47]: Yeah. It's gotta be cool. I don't know if cool is the right word. That's very, like, dismissive, I guess. But to do something like there's, I guess certain groups, like the longevity. And just we talked earlier in the episode, like, the music and how it makes people feel. And like, if you say Village People, I would imagine 99.99% of the population can almost visualize, like, all of you standing up on a stage and singing YMCA or Macho man or one of the other songs. But then. And obviously, like, it doesn't end the way that you want, but then to be able to get Yourself into a place where you're now you're doing stuff for yourself, you know, and like the communities that you've been. 

Felipe Rose [41:47 - 41:48]: Closing the gap. 

Mike Ham [41:48 - 41:49]: Yeah, exactly. 

Felipe Rose [41:49 - 42:11]: Making that full circle. Because now I want to record music and connect to the native community because of my interpretation of who I am indigenously and Taino Indian with indigenous roots. And so I made it full circle, and a lot of natives were, like, concerned, like, why now? 

Mike Ham [42:12 - 42:12]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [42:12 - 42:13]: Well, why not? 

Mike Ham [42:13 - 42:14]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [42:14 - 43:24]: One guy who I love. I still love him, Keith Sekola. He's like the Bob Dylan of native music. He said, you know, why now? I said, because I wanted to, like, bring it full circle to just close and button or, you know, bookend. Sure. And say that. Okay, I did that. But now I'm coming full circle to really display and to honor what and who I am. And I was very successful at it. And we just released another one and that one after that. And. And so basically, the last few years, I kind of. I put a single out in June last year. Yeah, that's what you are. Kind of more in the Latin vein. Very Ricky Martin. You know, it's got that Latin rhythm. But see, that's what I find amazing, is that as a pop singer, I can dive into the different fashions or the different sounds of music incorporating. And we. And today it's done very well. 

Mike Ham [43:24 - 43:32]: Yeah, totally. And so. But there's even more that you're doing. You had the. Your own podcast, the Disco Chronicles. Disco Chronicles. 

Felipe Rose [43:32 - 43:32]: Three years. 

Mike Ham [43:32 - 43:33]: Three years. Doing that. 

Felipe Rose [43:34 - 43:36]: Three seasons. Yeah, that was rough work. 

Mike Ham [43:36 - 43:45]: Listen, it is rough work. I built my entire career and my entire entrepreneurial journey off of this show and now everything else that we do. 

Felipe Rose [43:45 - 44:37]: But it's sure pre production to rewrote, to write it prior and then set it up and then send out the emails to book the show. And because. And because it was me, many disco artists did not return my calls. I was like, well, what am I gonna do now? Yeah, I mean, Linda Clifford, she came on beautiful. If my friends could see me now. Red light. She was part of the Fame soundtrack, a couple of other disco artists. But then I decided, okay, well, there are other people that were part of that. But for my first interview, who I got was Steve. Steve that was star of the Disco Suck movement. God, his name escapes me now. He started the Disco Sucks movement in just Chicago. 

Mike Ham [44:37 - 44:37]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [44:37 - 44:54]: So I got him on the show and I said, did you realize that when you use. You did the disco. The burning of records, that that was like, really, you know, it was outrageous. Move. Yeah, it Was like, you were throwing books on the. On fire. 

Mike Ham [44:54 - 44:55]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [44:55 - 45:13]: And somebody helped me out here with Steve. I can't remember his name. Steve Doll. What is the name is I. You caught me. But, yeah, he was my first interview. And then after that I realized, well, if a lot of the disco artists are not getting back to me, let me gravitate to who worked on this album. 

Mike Ham [45:13 - 45:13]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [45:14 - 45:23]: Who did the art cover, which producers and which engineers. So I then rounded out the show with people that are also behind the scenes. 

Mike Ham [45:23 - 45:38]: Yeah. And that's something, too, that I think is really cool because of being in the industry for so long and knowing all. Basically knowing all those people, because it's all part of the music industry. It's not just like the person on the stage, but there's plenty of people behind to make the thing go. 

Felipe Rose [45:38 - 45:40]: But that was what was great about an album. 

Mike Ham [45:41 - 45:41]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [45:41 - 46:02]: You know, and forget the cd, compact disc. When you had an album and you could pull out the album, the COVID the inner sleeve, and you could see lyrics and you could see who wrote on it, who sang on it, who did music, who did, you know, all of that, who was the engineer, all of that. I missed that. 

Mike Ham [46:02 - 46:28]: Yeah, totally. We just started doing a thing because we put on our own shows. We did one here, actually, at the Wonder Bar back in November. But we'll bring in, you know, bands, Jersey bands, and if they have vinyl, I always get one and I have them all sign it. And then in our wall on the wall in the basement, we have, like a bunch of, you know, Jersey indie artists with their vinyl signed up on the wall to make it, you know, it's cool. And like, I like. I like that and what you just said. 

Felipe Rose [46:28 - 46:42]: I'm glad that vinyl's back. Yeah, vinyl is back. And. And here at Wonder Bar, I mean, I've. I've been called upon the stage with other bands, and just a couple of months ago with Yacht Lobster. 

Mike Ham [46:42 - 46:43]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [46:43 - 46:44]: They're phenomenal. 

Mike Ham [46:44 - 46:45]: Yeah, that's. 

Felipe Rose [46:45 - 46:56]: And. And I got up on stage and sang. But then I felt the place was packed. I kept taking selfies with people. I'm like, wait, I'm not working. I came to. I came to watch the band. 

Mike Ham [46:56 - 46:58]: I bought a ticket, you know, and. 

Felipe Rose [46:58 - 47:03]: So next thing you know, I'm on the guys at the door going, oh, shoot, Felipe's on stage. 

Mike Ham [47:04 - 47:05]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [47:05 - 47:07]: But I am having the best time of my life. 

Mike Ham [47:07 - 47:18]: Yeah. That's amazing. And let's talk about now that you're having the best time of your life, what's coming up, because it Seems to me. And I've only met you, I've only known you now for a month. 

Felipe Rose [47:18 - 47:19]: Yeah. 

Mike Ham [47:19 - 47:33]: A few weeks, whatever it is. And it just, like the energy is there for more stuff and I could just sense it. So there's a lot of stuff coming down the pike for you. There is some of those things that people can look forward to 20, 25 and beyond. 

Felipe Rose [47:34 - 48:15]: Well, I've been working on my book for a decade, but I kept stopping on and off and. And finally during the pandemic, I started really diving into it. And then in 2022, 23 of August, I lost my dad and I fell off the book. Took me months to get over that. And I tried to get back into it and here and there. And then there were some other things that happened. Beginning of 24, and I couldn't find my mojo. 

Mike Ham [48:15 - 48:15]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [48:15 - 48:36]: You know, So I tapped back into it and I have the manuscript of so far. And I will get back into it. But now I'm finding that it's best to grab my notebook with notes, pictures. Because when I look at pictures, I remember where I was and there's a story there. 

Mike Ham [48:36 - 48:37]: Totally. 

Felipe Rose [48:37 - 48:39]: You know, So I have, like, slides. 

Mike Ham [48:39 - 48:40]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [48:40 - 48:43]: Of pictures with the negatives. 

Mike Ham [48:43 - 48:44]: Yeah. Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [48:44 - 48:46]: You used to pick pictures up at the pharmacy. 

Mike Ham [48:46 - 48:47]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [48:47 - 48:50]: And you pull out the pictures. You got the little round wheel with the negative. 

Mike Ham [48:50 - 48:51]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [48:51 - 49:00]: So I have boxes of that. I have beta, VHS, CD, CDs. I mean, a massive archive. 

Mike Ham [49:00 - 49:01]: Like a mountain of stuff. 

Felipe Rose [49:01 - 49:07]: So now what I'm doing, I take a couple of things with me and I go to the coffee shop and cook, man. 

Mike Ham [49:07 - 49:07]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [49:07 - 49:21]: And I sit in the back. Tea. Little tea. And. And they're so sweet. And I sit there with earplugs on and. And I. I'm finding it's better to tap in for an hour and just fill in a chapter. 

Mike Ham [49:21 - 49:21]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [49:21 - 49:24]: Or whatever. Because the house is too distracting. 

Mike Ham [49:24 - 49:46]: It is really distracting. Yeah. We used to. I used to do. I don't anymore because we gotta watch the dog. But just like, go to a brewery or go someplace and just like, sit and edit or sit and do whatever I need to do to, like, get stuff done. Because, you know, the house is great, but, like, you gotta be, like, out a little bit and see some people and then be able to kind of dial in on what you're doing. 

Felipe Rose [49:46 - 49:58]: The coffee house. I forget the name of it. I don't know why either. Change name. But it's a coffee house. But their thing is they do antique teacups and saucers and all that. 

Mike Ham [49:59 - 49:59]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [49:59 - 50:19]: And then there's a table with chess. So you see guys, they walk in with beers and they sit there and play chess and they sip on their tea. Okay, that's cute. I get it. And then there's a knitting club with Sharon. And, you know, there's. And so it's like a nice place where you can. And mostly. And all the coffee houses. 

Mike Ham [50:19 - 50:19]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [50:19 - 50:21]: Really? All in Asbury are like that. 

Mike Ham [50:21 - 50:32]: Yeah. I mean, that's where I'm gonna probably pop right after this because I have an episode at 4, so it works out perfect. Okay, so book coming. Excuse me? 

Felipe Rose [50:32 - 50:34]: The talks have already begun. 

Mike Ham [50:34 - 50:35]: Yep. Books coming. 

Felipe Rose [50:35 - 50:36]: Documentary. 

Mike Ham [50:36 - 50:40]: A documentary coming. Film. And that's going to be about you specifically. 

Felipe Rose [50:41 - 51:07]: Not just me. Not me. I did an audible interview with a London crew last year and then. And no one. No. None of the original members wanted to participate. Participate. So my manager reached out to them and. Nope. So the guys in London were. I got paid handsomely for it. And why not, if I'm telling you? Giving my story away. 

Mike Ham [51:07 - 51:08]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [51:08 - 51:17]: But now they had a situation like, okay, now it's not a group. We're only interviewing one guy. So they changed the episode to. And called a young man. 

Mike Ham [51:17 - 51:17]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [51:17 - 52:40]: And so what we did, we turned it around. I shuffled the cars and I said, look, guys, talk about. Let's do a walkabout on the final of the three days up the west side Highway. And let me give you. And take you back, if you will, of what it was like with the overhead over the west side Highway. Then we got the 14th street and they've got their cameras. My manager likes to hang. Michael DeBarge loves to hang way in the back when people will walk up to him and go, who's that? Who's that? He looks. He looks familiar. Oh, that's so. And so. Oh, my God. Love him. He looks right. So you know the Anvil. Then we go back up 23rd street and we. The YMCA building, it's still there. So I gave them a sort of like a walkabout tour. Coming back into the village of where I grew up or how I pretty much. I was homeless when I met Jacques. Morale. I was still sleeping on the couch, working and with the dance, with a key. Either staying with someone, a friend of mine, David Jones, who just surfaced on social media out of nowhere and then. Or renting a room, but I didn't have my own house. 

Mike Ham [52:40 - 52:41]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [52:41 - 53:35]: You know, so interesting that I remembered that while telling that story that, wow, I was homeless when I met the French producer. And literally, he told Me, I'm not lying. He said, you're going to. I'm going to make you famous for your own life. With his French accent, you know, so the thing is, when you look back, when I look back, I was at the right place at the right time. I mean, what would have become of my life? Would I have gone into dancing? I know that on the east side of New York, I was. Have friends of another situation, artistic situation more with Lincoln center and the art world and more of a classical background of classical music and with the dance company. Or would I have become a bartender? Who knows where my life would have. 

Mike Ham [53:35 - 53:47]: So at that time, I feel like, you know, I'm sure there were friends of yours or people in that community and all that kind of stuff that went a variety of ways. And some good, some not so good. And now. But we're sitting here. 

Felipe Rose [53:47 - 54:03]: Yeah. And the thing is that when I look back now, you know, and in telling my story and writing my story, that I have to look at that I was at the right place at the right time, but also very blessed to be here because after the death of Disco Steve Dahl. That was his name. 

Mike Ham [54:03 - 54:03]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [54:03 - 54:09]: Look it up. We'll send him the Kaminsky park disco burning party. 

Mike Ham [54:09 - 54:09]: Okay. 

Felipe Rose [54:09 - 54:51]: Okay. And we went through the death of Disco straight into the AIDS crisis. So in speaking to the construction worker yesterday, after the slow media media news day we were having yesterday, I hadn't spoken to him in eight years. And he immediately. We like, fell into. Back in with each other. And he made me laugh and always called me Rose. Oh, listen, Rose, listen. You ought to know by now that the sweetest revenge is to be healthy and stay looking good. 

Mike Ham [54:51 - 54:51]: That's right. 

Felipe Rose [54:51 - 55:13]: Because all this other stuff will pass. It's slow media day. So he made me laugh at the. He left me with this. We've been through worse. We fell down, we got up, we kept going. And we have continued to do so. And we will. And you will. 

Mike Ham [55:13 - 55:29]: Yeah, totally. I love that. And I feel like that is a perfect way to kind of wrap up this episode. But before we do, I want to make sure that we give people places that they can go to learn more about you, interact with the stuff that you're doing now. Website, social handles. Where would. Where would you want people to go? 

Felipe Rose [55:29 - 56:20]: New. So new website actually being torn down, reconstructed, but it's still there. Feliperose.com Then I'm on official Felipe Rose my fan page on Facebook. I'm not on X anymore. I can't figure that out. That's too much it's too much, you know, politics now. This country is so sad. Politics has taken over everything. So on, let's see. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Somewhat. I just don't like talking about my life just for the sake of clicks and hearts and numbers and rank. I'm not. Yeah. I'm not going to showcase who I am. Right. I like. I like living a quiet, private life. 

Mike Ham [56:20 - 56:21]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [56:21 - 56:23]: I'll get up there and do something foolish. 

Mike Ham [56:23 - 56:24]: Sure. We all know. 

Felipe Rose [56:24 - 56:25]: Because everybody does that, you know. 

Mike Ham [56:26 - 56:26]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [56:26 - 56:32]: But other than that, you know. And again, this too shall pass. Because it did. I turned the page and now I'm sitting here with you. 

Mike Ham [56:32 - 56:33]: That's right. 

Felipe Rose [56:33 - 57:18]: And I thank you for that. But overall, you know, with a documentary and a biopic sometime later in the year or down or next year, going into a situation like that is a bit sort of hard to. It's difficult because that means that you have to open your life to things you may not want to talk about. Things I pushed down and said, I'll never talk about it again or remember. So here I am at this stage in my life that now everybody's all in my business. That's why everyone's gonna get a W2 form. People all up in my business. Can you all just leave me alone? You know? 

Mike Ham [57:18 - 57:18]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [57:18 - 57:31]: Madonna always had. She was our opening act. Madonna always had an interesting answer. When people would want to know, she would say, well, why do you want to know? Why do you want to know? 

Mike Ham [57:31 - 57:32]: Yeah. What's it to you? 

Felipe Rose [57:32 - 57:33]: It's my business. 

Mike Ham [57:33 - 57:33]: That's right. 

Felipe Rose [57:33 - 57:44]: And then, unfortunately, we are living in a sit in a time where everything is either. Because the Internet has made everyone a critic. 

Mike Ham [57:44 - 57:45]: Sure. 

Felipe Rose [57:45 - 58:11]: Keyboard warriors. Keyboard warriors. And all the fun that we used to have, sharing, talking about this movie, I really liked it. And now you have people that are not happy that they shit all over your stuff on social media. They're not happy. So, you know, I look at it like. Okay. I don't even respond. And I either delete or just walk away. 

Mike Ham [58:11 - 58:13]: Yeah. Awesome. 

Felipe Rose [58:13 - 58:17]: But I don't know where else I would live. I've made now this my home. 

Mike Ham [58:17 - 58:18]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [58:18 - 58:20]: This is now my forever home. 

Mike Ham [58:20 - 58:21]: Right. 

Felipe Rose [58:21 - 58:46]: And what do you say at 71? Well, I'm 17. 71 backwards. I'm 17 again at heart. But the thing is that I've seen the city grow, and I know many of the musicians and the people and the regulars here and all the restaurant owners and the establishments. So there isn't really anywhere now that I think I want to live. 

Mike Ham [58:46 - 59:02]: It's a great place. And we'll make sure that we put the links and the social handles and all your stuff in the show notes. But we just go click it. Again. Thank you to tom@muni bbq for introducing us at Georgie. So shout out to them too. And thank you to Debbie at the Wonder Bar for Debbie. 

Felipe Rose [59:02 - 59:09]: To Lisa hosting us here. And I had a kick ass party at Taca, I'm sure. And it was about 15 misfits. 

Mike Ham [59:09 - 59:10]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [59:10 - 59:16]: And again, just people that I know, they were very comfortable just laughing with each other. 

Mike Ham [59:16 - 59:17]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [59:17 - 59:32]: No pretense. Some didn't show up. Dressed. Some were dressed to the nines like me. But overall it's that genuine smiling face, that genuine hug, you know, and just really, just enjoying time with each other. 

Mike Ham [59:32 - 59:33]: Yeah. 

Felipe Rose [59:33 - 59:34]: And that was amazing. 

Mike Ham [59:34 - 59:37]: I love it. And that's, that's kind of the story. 

Felipe Rose [59:37 - 59:44]: And I want to thank, I want to thank everyone here in, in Asbury park, the city of misfits. We love it. 

Mike Ham [59:44 - 59:53]: We love it. Okay. Show links will be in the show notes. Like I said. Felipe, thank you so much for doing this with us. This has been, this has been amazing. 

Felipe Rose [59:53 - 59:54]: Absolutely. 

Mike Ham [59:54 - 59:56]: And sharing your story and spending. 

Felipe Rose [59:56 - 59:57]: Well, part of it. 

Mike Ham [59:57 - 1:00:11]: Yeah, I'm sure. I mean, there's plenty more we can talk about, but we've been talking for. Coming up on an hour. By the time I'm done with this outro, we'll hit an hour. We'll also put greetings from the garden of state.com in the show notes. This will be our second episode of the year. 

Felipe Rose [1:00:11 - 1:00:11]: Yeah, that's great. 

Mike Ham [1:00:12 - 1:00:32]: Coming out next week. So quick little turnaround. So all of our other episodes that we released over the last few years, check them out. Felipe Rose, Mike Ham. We were here at the Wonder Bar today. This has been the Greetings from the Garden of State podcast, powered by the New Jersey Lottery. Thank you for listening. You want to send us out with a. We'll catch you next time. 

Felipe Rose [1:00:44 - 1:00:48]: You go all the way. Do you all.