Chateau Bow Wow

"Passion, Perseverance & Production," - Featuring Manny Cabo of NBC's The Voice & La Voz

• Season 1 • Episode 10

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0:00 | 44:57

In this special mid-season finale of Chateau Bow Wow, host Geraldo Uscategui sits down with producer, actor, singer, podcaster, and creative force Manny Cabo for an honest and inspiring conversation about filmmaking, resilience, touring life, creativity, and building brands from the ground up.

From starring in feature films like Flux and Lords Valley to performing in sold-out arenas with Wizards of Winter and competing on NBC’s The Voice and La Voz, Manny opens up about the realities of chasing purpose while balancing music, acting, production, and entrepreneurship.

This episode dives deep into the importance of preparation, passion, discipline, and creating opportunities instead of waiting for them. If you’re a creator, filmmaker, musician, entrepreneur, or dreamer trying to climb your next rung, this conversation will hit home.

Key Takeaways

• Preparation beats talent when talent isn’t prepared
• Create what you can afford and build momentum
• Passion and consistency open unexpected doors
• Touring life is rewarding but mentally demanding
• Great stories come from real struggles and resilience

Episode Highlights

• Manny Cabo discusses NBC’s The Voice experience
• Behind-the-scenes stories from filming Flux
• The reality of touring with Wizards of Winter
• Independent filmmaking struggles and breakthroughs
• Why creators must stop waiting for permission
• The importance of building authentic relationships
• Lessons learned from producing Top 100 podcasts


To learn more about Manny Please Visit http://www.mannycabo.com

SPEAKER_01

Hola mi gente and welcome to Chateau Bow Wow. We are here today with an awesome guest. He's actually my producer, and uh I wanted to finish the uh the midseason break with my producer Manny Cabo. Um he's been flying in and out. Um great talent, super, super dedicated to this work and making my voice sound great, even though uh I don't have a traditionally uh you know school voice. Um but uh I wanted to close out with Manny Cabo and uh here he is. Hey Manny, how you doing? What's up, man?

SPEAKER_00

Good to be here. Good to be here.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, he's my behind-the-scenes guy, and he's always messing around with the computers and the sound. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hurry up. We got a Knicks game to watch. We are doing this in between the second quarter and third quarter, halftime for the Knicks. So squeezing this one out. Um, we're really behind schedule with a lot of things. Like I said, you got sick and I got sick. Yeah. Um, so we are just crashing out and banging out these last episodes in the last couple days. So I thank you for flying in.

SPEAKER_00

Oh man, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. It's always fun.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's been knock non-stonboard, non-stop work. I got tongue tidy.

SPEAKER_00

Not stomboard.

SPEAKER_01

I think I'm doing too many episodes. I need a break.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I need a break. I should know, believe me. I'm the one editing this stuff. Yeah, I know. And I'm on like I'm sitting on the patio like By the way, you are a trophy poppy, bro. You see this thing? I wore this for you. I this is I wore this for you because, you know, in my other uh uh, you know, when I do the episodes, I usually try to support other different causes and different things. Of course you do. But this was uh trophy poppy.

SPEAKER_00

Um you're like everybody's cheerleader. I love that. That's what that's a good thing about you, though.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, because you know what is I want everyone to succeed. You know, I don't have to like you personally to want to see you eat. I mean, look, what's good I'm wearing? I'm wearing your film. Yeah, it's actually your film too. Yeah. Um, if you don't know, uh Manny was also in the film Flux. Um it's streaming right now on Amazon, and pretty soon it's gonna be on Tubi and uh Google Play and other uh streaming platforms. But um I met Manny through my other friend guy, um, who is another act uh very, very uh talented actor and singer. And he said, There's a guy I know, he's a great actor, he's a great singer. And um I seen his reels. He sent me the reels of one of your shorts that you did. Yeah, his birthday. Yeah, and I was like, Yeah, that guy's pretty good, you know. Send me the reel. I checked it out. And um I said we had you read for uh the first uh reading for Flux, and um you kind of killed it. That was fun. Um that was fun. And um I'm gonna show you the air because the air is not shutting off.

SPEAKER_00

It's not shutting off?

SPEAKER_01

No.

SPEAKER_00

Hold on. And also it's going on.

SPEAKER_01

Now it's off.

SPEAKER_00

Now it's off.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, what a difference.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that is night and day. Thanks. Yeah. Thanks for noticing that. Sorry about that. No worries.

SPEAKER_01

Um But uh I met Manny through the uh well, I met you before that actually, because you toured with a musical group called the Wizards of Winter. With Guy. With Guy as well. That's right. And I met you before that, but it we we weren't, you know, BFFs like we are now. No, no, definitely not. That's what happened. We're not even BFFs right now, but we're pretending to be. But it works. It works. It works for now, you know, until I can get somebody you know that's uh a little more talented.

SPEAKER_00

Did you say today or Geraldo? Yeah, I'm trying to get rid of Manny. I just can't. No, to Alejandro. Alejandro, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I'm Geraldo, dude. I don't know if you know. I'm delirious, man. It has been a lot of work. It has been. It has been. We've been nonstop. Trevor Burrus, Jr. We have been nonstop. Um but Manny Cabo, again, has dedicated his life to making my podcast a success, and I cannot appreciate uh I cannot express my appreciation.

SPEAKER_00

But you're welcome.

SPEAKER_01

Um So we're gonna go off on the midseason break now, and I'm gonna be off in the next two months. And I'm excited about that.

SPEAKER_00

Aaron Powell What's that 10, right? I'm finishing off with 10 for the first season. This is 10. That's 10.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, this is the the the you know It's exciting. Do you want to go mid-season or do you want to go season with 10? I don't know. Listen, it's your show. We can go 10, we can go 13, we can do whatever. Let's see what's in the budget.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But I know that that I'm leaving to uh I go on vacation now, and uh we have a vacation home in the Poconos. So now I can use summer as a verb. I go I summer in the Poconos. Of course. Uh me and baby and and Patrick Swayze. We go out to the mountains and we dance, you know. Um, but I'll be off the entire summer and I'm super excited about that. Um I hope you're able to come by with the fans. I am. I'm definitely coming. I'm not gonna miss that.

SPEAKER_00

Last year was amazing. It was great, right?

SPEAKER_01

I think you came up twice last year.

SPEAKER_00

It was peaceful, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Well, we did the shoot, the little uh that little um The rumdog short rum dog piece, yeah. And then the second time was the little leisure. Yeah both great times.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Um what do you have going on after this? After we wrap this uh this half season of Chateau Bow Wow, um you said you have to go to Nashville.

SPEAKER_00

Yes. What happens there? I'm in Nashville. Well, for those of you who don't know, Chateau Bow Wow just hit number 66. Number 66, man. That's incredible. Yeah, absolutely. Arts and entertainment. So I'm producing another podcast called Next Run Radio, and that hit number 54. So, and like Jerry, I think that we are cut from the same cloth. I love to see people win. So when Jerry first approached me about, you know, I want to do a podcast, I'm like, well, listen. And like I tell everybody, anybody can have a podcast, but to have a good podcast takes a lot of work. There's got to be some overhead. Obviously, you've got to dish some cash out to have the equipment, to have the lighting, um, to have the visuals, of course. But if you have the content and if you have the proper host, hence juxtaposed next to me here, then you can have a pretty, pretty good show. And we've been pretty successful with the guests that we've had highlighting Latina talent. Same thing with Next Run Radio. We're highlighting people from all walks of life, but at the end of the day, it's the message of the show. And your message is to showcase amazing Latin talent. And not just Latin talent like we discussed today. We're we're gonna try to get some great stories to share with you of people in the industry, hardships, successes. And at the end of the day, that's what it's all about because I learned more from my hardships than anything else.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I started with uh Tiffany Phillips, who's not Latina, but um she uh is one of my friends for about uh probably I'm not gonna age her because she gets upset, but no, you've known her for a long time. A couple of decades. Who was also in flux? She was also in flux as well. Um I have a talented gaggle of friends. You do. And I'm I'm happy that I'm able to to put some stuff together that way I can I can help showcase their their their wares. Um Tiffany, I started off a Chateau Ba Wa with Tiffany Phillips and again, super talented actress, and uh she came here, flew her in, and we had a we had a blast. Um But I think that overall we are gonna you know stay in our focus of showcasing Latino talent, Latina talent. Um but it's not gonna be the only thing we do, you know. I I do want to get into entertainment lawyers, you know, people uh I was no one, I want Hugo on here too. Hugo's just like. Oh, he'd be great. He would be great. And it just didn't work out because we just got so behind. But I'm gonna have him for August for sure sure.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I think we might do the Puerto Rican Day Parade together. So Really? If he's gonna be in town, he talked to me, actually invited me last year, and I just wasn't able to make you know swing it because I was out in the poconos. Yeah. But maybe if we do it this year, jump on a float, you know, it'd be kind of fun.

SPEAKER_00

That'd be good. I'm doing the whole um I'm producing the the Latin festival in Sarahville. I've got a couple of friends of mine from the Voice Labos coming out to perform. Festivals are always great, and they're great for uh these types of engagements and heartfelt dialogue, especially if you're doing live podcasts. So that's something to look forward to. Um something to think about. That's definitely cool. So you're going off to Nashville. Yeah. What's that gonna be like? Uh Nashville is always a lot of fun. Like here, you know, I don't really have time for leisure because um there's so much work. And for those of you out there who do a lot of post-production, whether it's video photography, music, I'm doing the audio, I'm doing the video, um, the copywriting. There's a lot of moving pieces in order to make this guy look great. So he just shows up. And thin. And thin. Yeah, exactly. And thin. That's that's a lot of work. So that's the hardest work of all AI. But uh yeah, it's always a lot of fun. Uh we get to showcase like we do here, uh versatile guests, you know, eclectic backgrounds. Uh, but at the end of the day, sharing very powerful stories, you know, cancer survivor, CEOs, best-selling authors, almost like that I have in my pad my my iPod myself. For those of you who don't know, I'm a host of the VIP, uh, the VIP voice. I've been working on so many podcasts, I don't even know the name of my own goddamn show. Yeah, I've never seen your podcast, but I've heard it's good. Yeah. It's it's okay. The host is pretty cool. I I know him personally, so I could probably get you hooked up with him. Um, but yeah, man, it's a lot of fun. And I'll be working on my album this year. We've got our winter tour with Guy and the Wizards, of course, that comes up. It creeps up on you real quickly. And then uh hopefully working on another film hint. Uh but yeah, really excited about the last project that we finish Lord's Valley. So that's we're really looking forward to that.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I I've cast you in two films now.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And um two features, too. Yeah. And um, in both those films, we I had you at plus 100 uh lines lines of dialogue. Yeah, yeah. So I trust you with my work, right? I mean, it's obvious. To say the least, yeah. How do you feel about preparing now? Now that again, I know that you have a uh a long background in music and we'll go into that in a minute. But how do you feel about this? I wouldn't I wouldn't say it's new, but now it's a a different venture of yours to get into with uh acting. Yeah. And um, now that you've done two feature films and you got that in your belt, yeah. And again, none of them were light work, right? No. Definitely challenging. How do you feel about that that that prep to get into it?

SPEAKER_00

That's a great question. And like I tell everybody, you know, it's not a uh a very difficult transition because I feel as an entertainer, jumping into the uh the spotlight role of an actor, it's common similarities, you know. And for me, I've always loved acting. Acting, for those of you who don't know, is my biggest, biggest guilty pleasure. Uh I would leave and drop everything just to be a full-time actor. So the passion behind that also drives me. But I think that for me, I'm not the best actor, not the best photographer, singer, nothing. I've always relied on preparation. And I think the topic of the day was preparation because it eliminates a lot of fear. Preparation beats talent, you know, every day of the week. And I have to rely on that specifically. But what I do realize is in that preparation mode, you really, really get accustomed to who you really are. You get to know yourself. And when you're on set, because you know the material so well, you can make the persona your own. And I've been a firm believer in my coaches throughout the years, vocal coaches, uh, the whole nine yards, they've they've all conceded to the same ideology. When you know your material inside out, you don't have to worry about the performance part, right? Quite the contrary. Now I can just let go and immerse myself in the character because I don't have to worry about, oh, what is did I get the wrong line? Did I miss in the different verse? Did I get it right? So I think it's imperative that artists from all walks of life really focus on their craft and cultivate their preparation skills. Because talent is developed over the years, and you only get to develop by doing the work. And the preparation for me has been my saving grace, in all honesty. That's great.

SPEAKER_01

That's great. I know that um whenever again, this is our second feature film that we've done together, and we've always got, for some reason, we always get paired up in housing somehow. And I don't know it's because But you're doing. Yeah. Well, again, and I don't know if because nobody else wants you. Or because or because I have uh I'm very tolerant, but you drive me insane. Wait, wait, wait. Wait, let me let me finish.

SPEAKER_00

Sorry, okay. This is great.

SPEAKER_01

Many drives me fucking insane. Because like again, true to his word, he's prepping at five in the morning. Now, if anybody that knows me personally, I don't sleep very well at night. So my coasting time for sleep is like four to like 11, right? Obviously, we're on we're on self, we have to be you know out there on the city.

SPEAKER_00

You are a nocturnal creature at night. I am.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. So this so he's always like, you know, in the house with me, and I hear all I hear just noise and chip, chip trapping above my head and walking. Billy go grow, he called me on the last trip. I was great. I was because I'm trying to sleep and I hear you, and all I hear is like five in the morning, it's dead dark, and I'm just getting into that cold sleep, you know, that that that and I'm like, oh yeah pre-REM state. And I hear, damn it, Perkins, man up. And I'm like, what the fuck is that? And then I hear you grounding because he he gets up in the morning, he grounds barefoot on the ground, you know, and on the and outside. So I hear him on the graphic outside. He makes me insane. He really, really does. But yeah, I cannot question your dedication and and how hard you prepare for the roles. So I do appreciate it. Um, it's really impressive. And um, you know, it makes you miserable and I want to kill you. But I cannot, I can't, you know, how do you doubt that? How do you say, wow, this guy's not preparing? Hey, listen, man.

SPEAKER_00

I cook breakfast. I can be I'm I'm a neat freak. I think I'm an amazing roommate, you know? Um There's that.

SPEAKER_01

Well, yeah. I don't see it. I don't see it. No, but but but but you can't question your dedication and your your preparedness to to for these roles, and I really appreciate that because these are this is my work, right? These are my words. And when I write, I usually have somebody in mind for it. And I know that I trust you with it. Like it's like I'm giving you my baby, right? Yeah. And I know that many is gonna deliver.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it's my way to reciprocate. You know, it's it's my uh I'm paying homage to the craft. It's my way of respecting your work, and I think that you know it speaks for itself. And I think every artist should take that approach with their jobs that they're trying to uphold. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01

Aaron Powell Heard. Heard. Um What do you prefer more? Prepping for music or prepping for acting?

SPEAKER_00

Wow. I would certainly lean more toward the acting, but uh all in all, uh they're um the the two sides are the same coin. You know, I think preparation is is on an equal playing field, uh regardless of what I'm I'm I'm taking on. But I think more because I love acting, uh I I would certainly lean more toward because I have more fun doing it. No, I love living in a world where I could be me, right, but still uphold a totally different person, different character. It's like my escape, you know, it's my pretend world. And that in itself is is pretty fascinating when you think about it. Because I've played some pretty challenging, I've played the cameraman, which ironically I am a cameraman in real life, so I can relate to it. But it was challenging because, well, you know, you wrote the thing. Um, you know, there's highs and lows, and there were certain parts of the film where I had to visit the dark night of the soul, you know, thinking about bad memories, you know, bad moments in my life that I I don't really want to relive, but for the part to delive a convincing performance, I had to do that. And that's what it takes. Again, that's honoring your written work because it's your baby, but it's also my baby because I have to deliver convincing lines. And it's not for everybody, uh, I will tell you that, but acting at the end of the day is is something that I truly relish on all levels. And I the more of the challenge, the more that I can excel because I I I do love a good challenge, especially on a good role.

SPEAKER_01

It's great. That's great. And again, it's it's appreciated. Um, I I've joined you guys on tour. I said you guys. I've joined you guys. I've got your show. Yeah. I've joined you guys on tour before I stopped in the villages. I saw you in uh in the busch gardens. I think I saw you in Jersey, I think. I don't know, someplace I saw you. You did.

SPEAKER_00

Didn't you see us in Carteret? One of those places.

SPEAKER_01

One of those places. I don't know. And I have to be honest. Yeah. Like I've gone on the tour bus. I'm like, hey, say hi to the guys, and I bring my family. Sure. The tour bus, that thing looks miserable. Is it miserable on tour?

SPEAKER_00

You know what? Um miserable has many faces. It's not miserable because let's face it, I'm beyond grateful that we get to tour because 96, I would I would dare say 96, 97 percent of the musicians uh in the world never get a chance to tour. So that in itself is a huge accomplishment. And a privilege, right? It it truly is. When you could say, wow, we I've been on tour, you know, uh since you know, my late 30s, and I've been with the Wizards for the past, wow, it's been six years already. And to be able to perform day in and day out, sold-out shows and put smiles on people's faces during a difficult time of the year, because let's face it, the winter seasons and the holidays, you don't know who's lost a familiar face, a parent, a grandparent, doesn't matter. So sometimes the winter seasons can be very difficult. And we get an opportunity to put smiles on people's faces, and that's always very, very gratifying. The hard work comes from the driving, the weather, you know, trying to stay healthy, you know, because you're shaking, you're doing VIP sit-downs and everything, shaking hands with people. So you're trying to refrain from getting sick. There's a lot of stress, and I think Guy could certainly um agree to this that it's more of a challenge trying to stay healthy than anything else. And once this goes, it's not like I can pick up a pair of sticks or a guitar pick or new guitar stings. This goes. That's it. There's my night. And the pressure and the stress of thinking, well, because I missed one show two years ago. And sure, I get it. You're you're feeling bad, but then you feel more remorse for everybody on the staff because now you're putting more pressure on them. They got to fill in your gaps. So there's a lot that goes on. But ultimately, it it's it's very, it's an arduous run, you know, the whole month of 25, 26 shows sometimes. Sometimes you don't sleep, sometimes the food isn't that great. Um, you're trying to work out, but since you're so tired from the night before not being able to sleep, it catches up to you. So yeah, it's it's pretty demanding with its schedule and routines. Wow.

SPEAKER_01

Well, I'm gonna fill in some of the blanks. Um what speaking of Guy Le Mounier, Guy Le Munier is a personal friend of mine. I actually met him when he did the audio book. Great talent. Yeah, great talent. Unbelievable uh a voice. Um, great, again, a great dude. And um I I as well I cast him in my products as well because he's super talented. And so that's Guy Le Mounier. Again, uh he actually did my audiobook for Rum Dog, and that's still an edit. It's still it's still being edited. So he's gonna he's gonna sue me any minute. Um so but I hope I keep casting him in the movie.

SPEAKER_00

No excuse, man. We're talking about resilience. How can you even mention that?

SPEAKER_01

Bro, we've been busy, haven't we? Yeah, we have. We have. So I think I if I keep casting him in movies, he won't take me to into location. No, he won't. Um but so that's how I met Manny was through Guy Lemonier, who's again he's a former uh TSO member and and singer and actor and very talented. When I first saw your clip, but he was like, Oh, this is him. And you know what? I don't know if you're gonna go into was The Voice. Let's go to the videotape. Yeah, yeah, uh The Voice, which was uh an awesome clip. It was an awesome clip. How was that experience? You want to tell me about it?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it was. It was um it was in a moment that changed my life, obviously. It opened up so many doors, put me in so many rooms that uh had I not been on the show, I probably never would have been fortunate enough to be a part of. And then I did it again in Spanish with La Voz. So I guess I'm a masochist for TV shows. But, you know, I didn't do it for the performance. And most people, when I say that, like, what are you talking about? I did it because there were so many variables against me. You know, growing up, there was a lot of jealousy I dealt with, you know, bullying, verbal bullying. You'll never do this, you never amount to that. And people always thought that I'd never get past, you know, high school. So there was a chip on my shoulder because of all that stuff. And it's kind of unfortunate because I I went into these events not really enjoying the process, you know, and thinking it more like, well, I have to do this, you know, I have to show the world, blah, blah, blah, blah. There's a certain validity that became gratifying because I got on to the show. But once I got on, I took a different role. Like, my, you know what? I did it already. The pressure's off, right? Yeah. First of all, you get selected when you're competing against 70,000 other contestants. Like I told everyone else, you already won. There's only 100 people left. You're a winner. You can go home right now. I'm satisfied. But what I realized that the voice gave me was ultimate purpose. I realized it was never about singing because I found myself in the hotel room talking to 40, 50 contestants, 17, 18, you know, various ages, parents, explaining to them how to live differently, how to live in the moment, how to ground. Okay, see, right, how to ground. And the show definitely gave me a different perspective that there was more to this than what meets the eye. It's never about singing. It's about using my voice, whether it's acting, whether it's speaking, whether it's singing, to empower others. So for that alone, I'm extremely grateful for what the uh the show afforded me.

SPEAKER_01

And to add to it, it's also kind of cool to turn those four chairs. It is. And see and see those four those faces, right? And uh it was timeless. Uh who were the four faces again?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, you had Pharrell, you had Gwen Stefani, you had Blake Shelton, and then you had Adam Levine. The funny thing is, I didn't even know they had turned because if you notice, there's so many flashing lights going on at the end. So they're in my face, and you can't really see the audience. Really? You know what the scariest part of the show is? When I explain to people that have been on the show, they're like, oh my God, you're right. Let me explain something to you. You want to talk about nerve-wracking. So you get to the doors. Before the doors, the dual doors open up, you walk up, you could hear a pin drop. You look to the right, there's three tiers of executives, just like this with their laptops, right? You look to the left, same thing. Three tiers of executives, everyone on top, and they're all like this. They're all looking at you. Right. And then the only thing you're worried about, because you climb up to the stage, there's three dark steps. I was more worried about tripping and falling on my face and just owning it. Than the actual performance. Cause going back and alluding to what we just discussed, preparation, I was ready to rock and roll. I did all the work. If I don't know it by this time, then I'm not going to know it. So fortunately for me, I did know it. But that was the most difficult moment I had is I'm like, oh my God, I can't see where I'm going. So when I tell people that, people that are on the show can relate to it. But it is pretty funny because once you're on there, it's like you feel this wave of adrenaline and dopamine just hits you. And then the music starts and you're in it, man. And fortunately for me, the four chairs, you know, uh changed my life.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. That was super cool. And again, I know your wife and daughter now. So to see your daughter when she was a little kid. It's crazy, right? Right. And you see her now she's an adult. Obviously, you guys come to the house and I see that shot. I'm like, oh man, it's so cool. You know, I guess like it's such an emotional moment.

SPEAKER_00

It's nostalgic, man.

SPEAKER_01

It really is. But in and it's very like it's a powerful moment because you know, like I I watch videos, right, of like, you know, a military guy coming home surprising his kids. Right. I mean, I get a co option. I get all shaken up too, basically. Yeah. But then when I watch that, it's it's a different kind of feeling, right? You see like how how it's emotional as well. But seeing how like the the Adam was the first one to spin, right? Yeah, yeah. And then I saw your your your wife and daughter just completely like lose their shit and start crying. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You have to see the production team, they were incredible because it's so supportive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. It's really cool. Um so congrats on that. That's definitely a great thing. And remember, that's that's that's forever. That's forever. That's forever.

SPEAKER_00

And I had more fun on the Spanish version because Telemundo does NBC's the voice in Spanish called La Voz. And the voice was great, but you know, the voice, the American version, seemed more like a business. You know, I was number 18. Right. That was the thing. But when I was on La Voz, it was like I'm hanging out with my cousins, aunts, you know, they hug you, they kiss you on the cheek. It was like my grandma was uh cooking and stuff. So it was more family oriented, but they were both great in their own right, you know?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Very cool.

SPEAKER_01

Um you seem to shine when it comes to rock, right? And really when you think about like your performance in that show, and then also the Wizards of Winter, that's arena rock. It's Christmas music. And, you know, and I again the Wizards of Winter are they have an amazing show. It's uh it's uh it's uh you know, it's almost almost theatrical, right? It's it's prog rock, it's very theatrical. Yeah. Yeah, it's beautiful, and it they do a Christmas show. It usually goes from November into January. And um, they're super talented, and again, they they put on a great show, and Manny and Guy, and uh well, another uh cast member from Flux, uh Tony Gaynor. Tony Gaynor, yeah. Um the narrator. Really, really, yeah, he's the narrator of the show. Really great music.

SPEAKER_00

And um And they were all part of TSO, big X. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So the the music is clean, the music is crisp, and it's so I mean, this is very performative and it's lights and shit. It's really cool. Yeah. Um and also, you know, when you guys shot the movie, um, they really did a good job of well, you know, again, I wouldn't say a good job. They it's not it they didn't have to do it. They did an amazing job of uh promoting our film. Yeah. They would deny what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00

Well that's the Kelly's, you know. They're they're just good people. They love, they're like part of our little clan. They love to see people win, and they support other artists and other projects that they're working on. So they've always been that way. So it doesn't surprise me.

SPEAKER_01

I appreciated that so much. I saw a lot of footage and they're always like, hey, you got the actors from the feature film Flux, and people are clapping, you know.

SPEAKER_00

And he and Manny, and he would look back when he's introducing the band, and Manny and Guy, two guys are in this movie, you guys are gonna check it out. So, yeah, they've always been very supportive.

SPEAKER_01

That was so cool. But I mean like I thanked them a thousand times, but I'll but I'll never stop thanking them for that because that was that was amazing.

SPEAKER_00

They don't have to do that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, they don't, they just didn't have to do it. And there they go, they're spreading the word of my film to a couple thousand people every year. You know, it's like thank you, man, thank you. You know what I mean? Because, you know, it's it's it's something they didn't have to do, and I really appreciate them that for that. Uh I really appreciate them for everything. And um when it comes to uh my next thing, I I I know that I've told you a little bit about it. Um, and again, anybody who knows me knows that I write films. I am now delving into a different thing because I'm I'm very lucky to have a talented group of actors and a talented group of singers. Um, and again, uh it's it's yourself, it's Guy. Yeah, it's Chachi, it's Tiffany, you know, and I have one of the one of the dudes that's an awesome, an awesome uh actor and singer that again, I I mentioned to him and you know in passing, and he was like, everybody, let me know I'm down. But I, you know, I don't have him locked yet. Sure. But um, it's gonna be a musical as well. Um, it's gonna be it's it's a it's a it's a feature also.

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to Chateau Bow Wow. This is where culture speaks loud, where Latino excellence takes center stage, where stories are raw, unfiltered, and undeniable. Hosted by acclaimed writer, director, and creator of the international sci-fi hit Flux, Heraldo J. Uzcateghi brings you powerful conversations with the artists, filmmakers, performers, and visionaries redefining entertainment worldwide. This is heritage, this is hustle, this is impact. Chateau Bow Wow, where powerful voices shape the future.

SPEAKER_01

What we're trying to do is trying to get the album locked up. So um, once we I finish exactly what we're gonna do, which is gonna be in the next few weeks, um, you guys are gonna have to go to uh uh Nashville.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, there's a lot of musicality behind it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. It's a whole different thing because now it's uh it's composers and it's you know, it's bands. Yeah, and it's just it's just a whole different arrangement, right?

SPEAKER_00

Well, I got my work cut out, Mimi, but I got the musicians already. But getting them to lock remember, summertime a lot of these musicians go on tour, the musicians that I know. But like I always say, when you're doing something that's going to uplift the world and put out a great story, things always work out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. It has so far. Right. We've been very, we've been very lucky. We really have.

SPEAKER_00

Even the hardships we've learned so much from, I think they were they had to be part of the process.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Again, and I I I, you know, I every day I thank God that uh things have worked out and I'm able to, again, I I've been able to accrue this talented group of people, uh, not only singers and actors, but friends. Yeah. And when I write things, yeah, I can I can afford to say, okay, I'm gonna put him in this role this time, I'm gonna put her in this role this time. Yeah. And the next time I'm gonna do something different. And all you guys always show up, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Well, it's hard for you because now you don't have an excuse because we could always deliver, you know? Yeah. And that's not to boast. It's just even if you take me out of the picture, you have so much talent that you can play with and move around. You have so many moving pieces that for whatever part you write, you have a face for it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it it's incredibly fortunate for me because it makes my life easier. Yeah. So when I write, I almost cast in my head. So usually, you know, you know what I mean? Like I usually cast in my head. Oh, I'm gonna hit the thing again. That's my favorite thing in this damn thing. Um It's more editing, but thanks. Sorry. Um it's it's very easy for me because now I I wrote five or six roles and I already got them cast in my head. So we go in and then usually we pick up two or three new people.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And um and kind of kind of things the same happened with our last film with Lord's Valley, because we end up picking up by uh, you know, uh, a new face. And uh that's uh Armani Gabriel.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

He was great. Yeah, he was great, great young man. Um I met his mom first and and she was fantastic.

SPEAKER_00

She sent me the reel, and I was like, all right, this kid's I especially love it when young talent just shut up and listen to guidance. You know, they they're they become sponges, man, and that's already a a great sign of uh an amazing artist in development.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, he and not only was he talented, he was respectful. Yeah, he was he was he was he was funny as as hell. I didn't expect him to be six feet two. He was very mature for his age, you know. Yeah, he was tall. I was like, big ass dunny. You messing up my scene. I didn't have I didn't have you being, you know, so damn tall. But was such such a nice young man. I'm just super fortunate to have such a talented uh uh group of people that I can I can rely on to uh to deliver the work that I create. And um, this is gonna be my first time doing this kind of film because again, I I can invite films to You go dark, man.

SPEAKER_00

I do. And I love it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, I do I do go dark. Um in this in this film, um I again I'm not gonna give too much away because there's a lot of stuff that's rolling right now, and uh there's gonna be a lot of thought with a lot of things with soundtracks and sending people away and then having to fly people in. And it's gonna be kind of hectic, you know. But it's my first time doing that kind of movie, and um and nobody dies. Nobody dies.

SPEAKER_00

I was edging you on. I'm like, well, wait a second, what if we off this guy because of the you're like that? We I'd love to, but we can't.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. It it's it's actually a Christmas film. I'll give you that. It's a Christmas film, and it's something totally different than I've ever done, and nobody's gonna die. And and I'm I'm gonna stick to that. I'm gonna stick to that. I'm gonna stay on on the positive, you know.

SPEAKER_00

That's what he says.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. No, I'm sorry, it's a little deal. And hopefully, uh, if things shake out the way they're supposed to, yeah, you guys be uh putting down that soundtrack very soon for the uh for the uh for the original.

SPEAKER_00

And guys send me the songs and they're fantastic. They're amazing.

SPEAKER_01

Not that they just are, you know. Um and and in and and most of all, we don't owe anybody any money on. No. So that's no royalty fees, no. No, which is fantastic. Um so that's that's I think the next big project that I have going. Um also we have something uh that I wrote. It was something that we developed during actually during COVID. And this is before I even knew you. Yeah. So that I'm hoping that at the end of the summer we can knock that project out. Is that what I think you're saying? Yes. C C Yeah Oh, that's that's gonna be amazing.

SPEAKER_00

CK, CK.

SPEAKER_01

CK, CK. And I'm not talking about the Calvin Klein cologne. No, no. This is something totally different. This is something that I've I've had to I've had this for quite some time. We had it cast and we were supposed to shoot during COVID, and then you know, SAG didn't allow us to do a lot of things, and um there was a lot of different restrictions, and they just didn't want us to shoot it basically. It's just it was just the way it happened. And um I I've rewritten it once or twice, and um we have a couple things that we're gonna do different, but I think that's our next one that we're gonna actually film. Um yeah, I think that's the next one uh probably in the summer.

SPEAKER_00

I started reading the script, and it's it's it's a powerhouse.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's it's it's really I I love it because I have the pieces. You know what I mean? So I I again we've switched a couple of pieces around, but we have that luxury of just having a great group of talented people. And I think that's that's that's part of the success. Like I was I I uh I interviewed Alejandro earlier, Alejandro Montoya Marin. Smart guy. And oh he was he was fantastic. And he was speaking about his people and putting his things together. And and uh he has one guy that that he's you know, again, he was working with, and I didn't know what I just didn't know they were so tight. Uh John Kayler, who's a fantastic actor, super funny and he was the guy in the film We Want You Then Yeah, he's funny. And I saw us all these guys really work together a lot. So it seemed to me they had the same dynamic.

SPEAKER_00

It's the chemistry.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. And and again, let's do this and then we'll do this, then we'll do that. Um, but a lot of these, I guess, actors or they do the same thing.

SPEAKER_00

They have a group of people that they work with. Yeah. Well, you know, like the Matt Damons, and you have all that lit, they have this eclectic group of people, and they're always the same cast members, but it works. So why fix something that's not broken?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. Um You and I, we become friends, and I'm I'm very uh I'm very happy about that. And not only are we become friends, we become production partners now as my producer on this show. And I hope that uh you've enjoyed producing this show. Oh yeah, man. I love it. I do. I if if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't have offered, believe me. Yeah. It's it I know it's a lot of work, and I know that um again it because you can have a podcast, like you said earlier. You can have a podcast and just again put a cell phone up or whatever, and you know, it's a whole different ballgame that if you And that's okay.

SPEAKER_00

That's okay. Okay, right, right, right. But if you want to have a real legitimate podcast, there's a lot of overhead, there's a lot of post-production involved. And uh if you wanted to read the masses, if you want to build your brand, if you want to build that authority, people need to see that it's a legitimate show. That's just the nature of the beast, you know. It's perception is reality in this industry.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I probably would have gone with the cell phone. Yeah. I wish you could have. Yeah. Um, but no, this is it's been an un unbelievable experience. Um I I did enter uh I played with it a little bit with the idea of maybe taking it on on the road for the summer, but uh it's gonna make me should. You should. It's so much work. You should. It's so much work. Um so that's why I think I'm just gonna take the next two months off summer, like I said, in you know, by the lake.

SPEAKER_00

And um, he forgets that I have a mobile system. And if I condom into interviewing somebody, he'd be like, all right, let's do it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, but then getting people there and it again, it's in the sticks and literally bears and and and beavers and deer and all kinds of stuff. Oh my. Oh my. Um and I I I'm looking forward to the time off. But again, I I'll do a ton of writing, you know, so it won't be completely uh uh just relaxing.

SPEAKER_00

And it's such a great house to write to. I've always said that. Yeah. It's such a great vibe up there.

SPEAKER_01

It is. It is. And um, you know, that's that that's what I aim to do for the summer. Yeah. Um I want to line up some talent for uh coming back probably starting September, right? Because we have a couple things we have to do in August. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So I think I want to start doing talent. Well, we got a lot of post and you know the finale of the film. Hopefully you start showcasing that and premieres and stuff like that, festivals.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Well, we're looking to uh premiere in August with uh that's uh the the the last feature film that we just made is called Lord's Valley. And it's currently in post-production. We have a couple of scenes that we have to uh, you know, just uh shoot real quick just to you know finish it in the can. Um we're gonna finish that. We're gonna wrap June 6th on that. It's right around the corner, man. It's creeping up already. It's it's so cool.

SPEAKER_00

It's June, right? We just mentioned this. It's gonna be August once we blink.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and that's when we want to premiere. We want to premiere in August. So, you know, you know, again, we want to, I know it's fast for post, but yeah, we want to have most of the film done by by you know July.

SPEAKER_00

You know what's amazing the things that have transpired within a year, you know, in in the interim of flux, your relationship with Smodcastle, getting an office there, filming Lord's Valley, future uh products and uh pieces that you're that you're writing. And it's just amazing though, and I think it kind of uh upholds the ideology that you gotta keep showing up. Because that's when things start developing. And you'll realize the more work you put in, but you you you couple that with passion, these serendipitous moments just miraculously open up.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. But like you said, it you have to do the work. You do. You have to do the work. And making flux, again, are you on that journey with us making flux? That was it was an experience. It was uh gonna be honest, we didn't know what the hell we were doing. You know? We did it with the but we knew we had the talent, we knew we had the equipment, we had a budget, right? And I we ate our shit sandwiches like we talked about in other episodes. Yeah, we we took such a beating on that. And again, I'll never do it again, but but we had to do it to get that film in the can. Yeah. And as I told guys, that this is what we're gonna do to put ourselves on the map. Yeah. And obviously a t-shirt that says flux, and that was the name of the film, and it's streaming now. Yeah. And um, there's nothing that makes me happier than everything that happened after that. Because it's almost like, okay, guys, I told you I predicted this. Yeah, we're gonna bust our ass. Like you said, we're gonna eat poo and we're gonna roll.

SPEAKER_00

But now I could press the remote, hit on prime video, and there's flux. It's surreal, man. It's it is very gratifying.

SPEAKER_01

It what's cool is I sometimes I put on a TV and I'll see like flux in the box boxes, and then right next to like, you know, you know, a major movie.

SPEAKER_00

I'm like, dude, I'm in the house, right? You know what I mean? I had like, you know, Jack Ryan right next to it. I'm like, and it's like nothing. It's like yeah, flux, Jack Ryan, you know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Jack Ryan. Yeah, same, same level. Yeah, exactly. Right? But what I do sometimes also, I let the the trailer play. Sure. And I I it once I start it, I never shut it off. I let the I let the player You think I need one of those bulletproof events? Yeah. I let the trailer play and I sit there and I go, yeah. Right? And then shit, and then I did that. Yeah, we did that. And now we've completed a second film. Yeah. And again, I I it's so we're doing it. And I what I hope is that in the future, you know, uh, you know, we get bigger budgets. And um, I hope you've seen some of the other stuff that I've written. Um and I've I write different films. Like I'll I'll write films like I have ten dollars and I'll write films like I have a hundred million dollars. And I'll I'll just be all over the place with different levels of of uh of budget sports.

SPEAKER_00

Well you mention that all the time, you know. Film something that you can afford and give yourself the green light. Just really get it out there. Don't make any excuses. If you can't afford it, then try to lower the production, but still deliver a good product by getting good actors, by getting a good story. There's certain other elements that you cannot cut corners on.

SPEAKER_01

No, I I agree with that. And then when, you know, again, you're gonna spend money here and then you spend a little money next time, people will see you and then say, hey, that was a pretty good thing, throw you a little bit of mobile. Yeah, it's just it's you've got to build that product. No, it it's the days are over when you can sit there and be like, hey, I have a uh uh a script, a screenplay, yeah, and uh I want a five million dollar check or whatever.

SPEAKER_00

Well that's what Alejandro was saying to Alejandro, by the way, he's an amazing director that we interviewed today, and he said, I love what he said about well, no one's gonna give you a million dollars if you've done a movie that's ten thousand dollars and it's shit. Right. You've got a building resume like anything else. It's very frustrating when people try to take shortcuts like that, because it's all relative, you know, and it's true. They're gonna they're gonna smell bullshit a mile away. I'm like, guys, you had a budget here, you could have done better. Uh you know, where you have a joke that we say, could have been great. It's good, but it could have been great.

SPEAKER_01

It could have been great. You don't want to be that one, okay? Yeah. Um, but you start out with, like I said, even if it's 5,000, if it's 500, whatever you can afford. Yeah. Now this new thing with verticals and people are making it for almost nothing, you know. Again, start out with that. But build your product, build your talent level, build your own skill, whether people filmmaking, you know, writing, scoring. There's so many things that you can constantly build on until you're somewhere. Yeah. And again, you keep creating what you can afford. That's what I've been doing. And uh just like that, again, we have two feature films in the can and going on to something that's gonna be actually bigger uh uh in the summer. Again, there's a lot of stuff that I can't talk about because uh, you know, NDAs, but you have to get on the map somehow. And for me, my formula is build and film things you can afford to. Yeah. Stop waiting for that billion-dollar check. It's not it's not coming.

SPEAKER_00

And don't attach success to an end result. You know what success should be is enjoying the process, releasing something that you're proud of. It's not your job to worry about whether they like it or not. Did you like it when you release it? Are you happy with it?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

That's all that matters. Let people fight over, let people badmouth it. You're always gonna have haters. You're not gonna please everybody, and that's okay, because you know what? If they're not talking about you, whether it's good or bad, then that's when you know you did something that's not worth talking about. And that's bad.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I that's why I tell people also, and people again, you're never gonna make everybody happy. Yeah. So if they're gonna complain, you know, uh, this was wrong, this is bad, is what up, okay. Then you since you go ahead and make a better film. Yeah. What's stopping us? How was your film? Did you come across that? Yeah, I didn't think so. Yeah. So um, yeah, I'm I'm very happy with the progress you've made. And the opportunities that that that flux opened up for us is incredible. Yeah. But you know, but we had to eat the shit for the first time. And it was it was hard for me. It was very hard for me because I'm that's not something I'm I'm accustomed to. Yeah. But but we did it. And it just opened a lot of doors in the contacts and and the the the just the the relationship that we've we've built now off the back of Flux, you know.

SPEAKER_00

The festivals, we won 20 international laurels. A lot happened. You know, everything in the Milford Police, they lend us their cars, like things always work out. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And and we met talent. Yeah, we did. We met crew, we met filmmakers, we met. Attorneys. We met attorneys, you know, at Sundance. And so, you know, just whatever you're gonna do, just keep making stuff that you can afford. And eventually your your your budgets would should get bigger. And that you're passionate about.

SPEAKER_00

Those two is a recipe for success, without a doubt.

SPEAKER_01

So, you know, we are about the point now where we're gonna cut off uh for the for the for the summer. And um I do thank you for coming by.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, my pleasure, man.

SPEAKER_01

And for teching this whole place again because I know the I'm in Tampa and there's always power outages and storms and stuff because it's the the storms here are biblical. So every once in a while, man, you have to fly in and re-tech me. And um, I appreciate you coming in. And then also sitting down with me and and being my my my listener. I appreciate that, brother. Of course. Um, for anybody who doesn't know for some reason, you never know.

SPEAKER_00

What are your handles? It's very simple. Everything and anything that has to do with my world, whether it's photography, my podcasts, acting. And by the way, this is the cool thing, right? Everyone's been asking me, you know, I've been getting messages. Where have you been, man? You're not on social media, I haven't seen your posts because I'm too busy building other brands. Hello, you know, this guy that and that's gratifying for me. So the point I'm trying to make is don't always feel pressured that you have to be, you know, uh just showing up everywhere for everyone. You know, sometimes you have to take a hiatus and work on things that are important. Me, I really enjoy helping other brands, helping Jerry, helping, you know, or Ron or people that I'm working with, other clients. But for me, I always put myself last. So there's gonna be a time where I'm gonna be like, okay, now it's time to focus on me. But if you want to find out about me, just go to mammycabo.com and I'm updating a lot of that stuff. And uh the book that I had, which was a bestseller, Soul You Gotta Breathe, which I definitely would be cool if you directed. But anyway, that's neither here or there. Um, so yeah, I I'd love to see you. Even if it's just to say hi, send me a message, let me know what you're thinking, let me know what you think of the music. There's new music that's going to be coming out probably by the end of the year. So there's a lot of things in. The works, of course, combining forces once again with you and your your masterful mind of writing. So I'm really looking forward to some more acting projects. Yeah. You like that, right? I do. I like it. That's a million-dollar word.

SPEAKER_01

Um it is. To your point, sometimes you have to pour into your own cup.

SPEAKER_00

You do.

SPEAKER_01

You just do.

SPEAKER_00

You do.

SPEAKER_01

Because you can't pour from an empty one, that's for sure. And that's that's that's what we're gonna close on. Um, I can be reached at trophypoppy.com. No, um, we are Chateau Bow Wow. Um, the movie is Flux. Uh, the new movie coming out in the summer is Lord's Valley. Um, check us out at rumdogproductions.com. And um we are Chateau Bow Wow, the doghouse. And we appreciate you guys tuning in, and we appreciate uh you making us look so good.

SPEAKER_00

And I appreciate you queen sing.

SPEAKER_01

Have a good night, guys, and we'll see you guys in the fall. Stay blessed.

SPEAKER_00

Stay blessed.