TST EP004 Edit Final

The transcription is a casual conversation between friends discussing topics such as whiskey tasting, travel experiences, and comedic references. They talk about trying Elvis Rye whiskey, its flavor profile, and the company behind it. They also mention different proof levels in liquor, share personal whiskey preferences, and recount a funny story involving high-proof whiskey at a birthday party. The conversation is light-hearted, informative, and filled with humor and banter between the friends. Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, step right in, it's a punchy display Talkin' shit today, survive, we portray, no filters, no rules, just lettin' it flow It's rappin', folks, it's the shit show Welcome to the shit show, buckle up tight We rockin' raw food, keepin' it light Laugh and play, y'all, that's how we play Talkin' shit today, all night, all day Day, day, day, day Hey, welcome back to Talkin' Shit Today What's up, channel? What's goin' on, Lumpy? Episode 4. Ooh, the Quatro. The Quatro. Sounds like dodgeball, doesn't it? I know. This is like ESPN 8, the Ocho. You know, there'd be pillow fights, professional rings. Actually, there are professional pillow fights now. I know. Which is fucking hilarious. Dude, I mean, you gotta watch them. You gotta watch them. You really don't. Yeah, no, I agree with that. And one of the things, one of my absolute favorite lines, going back to that movie, if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. But can you dodge a backhand pillow, motherfucker? So, how's it goin'? You know what? Life is grand, man. Woke up on the right side of the dirt. Going back to E3. So, why don't we take a second real quick before we get into this and let's talk about our coverage or topics we're gonna cover today. Obviously, first is gonna be what's in your cup. Yeah, and then I thought, since you and I both took some trips last week, that we could talk about kind of where we were, what we saw, what we might have tasted, what we might have come back with, which actually is kind of putting the cart before the horse. Indeed. Because we're gonna enjoy some of that that I found in Nashville. And then, you know, one of the things that kind of unifies us, brought us together, if you will, is dance. Oh, yeah. So... Oh, yeah. I think we have sort of a saga to unfold when it comes to dance. And then, finally, I thought this would be something you could help school me on. Oh, tools and projects. We'll call this segment Tool Time. Tool Time with Lumpy. For all the tool heads out there. Should I be the person that was behind the fence? Yeah, man. I'll be Tim and what was the other guy's name? Oh, I can't remember. Somebody has to hit us up on that one. Tell me how dumb I am for forgetting that. But... Wilson? There you go. I think that was something like that. Wow. But every time I think Wilson, I always think about the bloody volleyball from the Tom Hanks movie, Castaway. Okay. Wilson! Yeah. And I have to say that was a really fun movie all by itself, even though it was one guy and a ball for most of it. Okay. I was thinking weird things there, but I digress. It happens. So, X, what's in our cup today? Well, this is brought to you today by Elvis Rye. It's a Tennessee straight rye whiskey. Clocks in at just 90 proof. And it was something that I picked up at a great store from a gentleman named John. And I will go into more information about John in our conversation here in a little while. Gentleman John. Gentleman John. He is a musician, as many people in Nashville are. A bassist. He's a former owner of a spirits establishment. Not a liquor store, but an actual full working bar. He and his wife got out of that scene and opened up a shop at the airport. Is it a prerequisite to be a musician to live in Nashville? It's like when you go to live there, they're like, are you a musician? They're like, no. I'm sorry. I think if you're not born there already, you must be a musician before they let you in. I like it. Okay. I just wanted to clarify that. One of those things you say. Absolutely. So, since we're going to be talking a little bit more about what this particular juice is in the glass, which, by the way, going back to our juice conversation, let me just tell you, I've received lots of juice related feedback that has been positive through and through. Yes. Well, I definitely want to hear about that. So, we apparently were correct when we were talking about juice with most people. Sure. So, I've yet to hear somebody else call us a basic. However, but what I will say is that most people is like, yeah, go ahead. Whatever tickles your pickle. So, let me go ahead and read some facts about this Elvis ride. The establishment that brings us together is called Grain and Barrel. They're a Charleston, South Carolina based spirits company. They launched the Elvis whiskey collection in 2021. And then it says here, given Grain and Barrel's expertise with premium spirits, the Elvis whiskey expressions are a natural fit for the company. The first two expressions feature an iconic photo of the king of rock and roll in his prime, and pay homage to two of the legendary singer's most popular nicknames, The King, which is the rye, which you have in your hand, and Tiger Man, which is their straight whiskey. So, I thought that was kind of fitting. And by the way, this marks South Carolina off of my list. What? Little did I know that I was going to be able to do that. And then some notes about this particular ride. So, you've had a rye or two, or three or four. Sure. They're my faves. And while I am waiting for this to load, let me go ahead and get us the description of The King. So, this is soft amber in color with an aroma of sweet rye grassiness up front, followed by hints of citrus and apple. I've had some fruity note ones before that I enjoyed. So, this should be interesting. It sounds good. Flavored notes of toasted oak, butterscotch, vanilla wafers, and a soft hint of pepper lead to a beautiful, sweet, complex finish with a creamy mouthfeel. The mash bill itself is 95% rye and 5% malted barley. And the Elvis rye is sourced and blended by the expert team of the industry veterans, bottled in Tennessee. So, maybe I need to take that back because it's bottled in Tennessee, so, which I've had several different Tennessee whiskeys before. Definitely a Tennessee straight rye whiskey. It does. It does. So, the company that's responsible for it out of South Carolina, but the juice itself is pure Tennessee. So, you want to go ahead and give that a pop? Oh, yeah. May I? Of course. Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho. You never have to ask me twice. Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho. Oh. Yes, always love a good pop, and that was definitely a good one. Actually, from what I recall, that's actually better than our Knob Creek 12s pop. Indeed. It's all about that pop. Thank you, sir. Absolutely. And I will agree, immediately, this is very, very soft amber colored, as they said. When I look at the glass, swirl it around a bit, try to let it open up. You know, those of the they variety, that, you know, when they say they say, I don't always know who they are, but they say that you should let your spirit open up for 10 minutes or so before you should go in for a drink, but we never wait that long. It's like torture, man. What are you getting on the nose here? I'm getting that apple. I can definitely pick up the apple. I agree with that, and it's sticking to the glass really well, too. This thing's pretty viscous. Yeah, it's looking pretty righteous there, buddy. Wow. Let's see if the palette matches the aroma on the nose here. I'll let you hit it first. So I'm definitely enjoying the nose. It drinks like a 90 proof, so it's kind of light. Although very recently, I had a conversation with a friend when he was sharing, and I'll go in about this when we talk our travel segment. He was like, 90 proof is a lot. He's more in the 45 range for his mixers. So what, 45%? 45 proof. What? Yeah, there are actually liquors out there that only go up to around the 45 mark. Vodka's around 40. Yeah, so and liqueurs and whatnot. And whatnot are 40% alcohol. So yeah, he's just used to lighter proof, is all. This is not bad. I got to say, it's definitely got a creamy mouthfeel on the finish, like they said. And perhaps those are just the written words planted in my head, reminding me what this is supposed to taste like. But the vanilla wafer definitely hits. Rye spice is most certainly there. I think that's definitely, I wouldn't say it's like really rye forward, but there is no shortage of rye in this. For sure. And I think that's probably, for me, the flavor that lasts the longest on my palate is that rye flavor. Because I can get some of that caramel-y, vanilla-y, wafer-y kind of thing. I don't really get a lot of oak out of this. So they mentioned that you get some oak in the flavor. But I think this is a solid pour, man. That really has a good glass coat. Woo-hoo. Wow. OK. Well, I think we found a good one, buddy. Well, I should say you found a good one. I had no part in it. The only part I had in it is partaking in it. Partaking. Yeah, well, I can say that I am not at all disappointed. Is this the finest juice I've ever had? No. No, I'm sorry to say. Anything that I've had, well, almost everything I've had that's 120 or more, to me, has more complexity. In general, has a better taste to it. And I don't mind that quick punch of the proof. And then, because after that punch, all the flavors kind of settle in. And it allows you to kind of enjoy it a little bit more as it works its way through. But for a 90 proof, this is solid. So I got a funny story that happened to me Saturday. So I went to a birthday party, and I was hanging out with a buddy that you know. Okay. His name is Slobby. Sure. Hi, Slobby. And Slobby is not a high proof guy. So he's one of those 90 proofers when it comes to whiskey. And he started out with a Bowman Brothers that we had gotten from Kenny's Liquors in New Smyrna. There you go. Last time he came with us. And, of course, immediately I had a pour of Peerless. Yeah, I gravitate to the Peerless single barrel. And then he pulls out a brand new bottle of Booker's. Oh. And he happened to get it at the Kenny's Liquors in Oviedo, the other one, not the one we were looking for the bottle drop. Sure. So this bottle of Booker's that he got, it was 126 proof. Okay. It's a Booker's. Boy, which one was this here? Well, anyway, it was a 2025. Oh, okay, 25. Yeah, it was a relatively new bottling. It's a seven-year-old. And for him, it was hot. Oh, yeah. But by the time he got – and he's a whiskey on ice guy. Sure. So by the time his whiskey and ice started to blend together, he was just like, I have to have another pour. And he was like, you know what? After the first one I had, the next one isn't as hot. Now, he's talking about going from the 90 proof to the Booker's, you know, 126 and a half proof. I could have a primer first, if you will. Oh, yeah. Get your palate ready for a better pour. It's like when you have a hot bourbon, that first sip you take is always going to be, you know, a little stiff. But boy, I'll tell you what. Out of all the expressions of all the bourbons I've had, I've pretty much had explicit consistency with Booker's. Agreed. I have not had a single Booker's that I can think of that has been not pleasing. I mean, like, wow, okay, kind of pleasing. Like, wow, okay. And then the next one, wow, okay. And then the Booker's Infinite was like, ugh, ugh. So, you're giving us a perfect segue. So, you got Booker's Infinite where? So, I stayed, I went to Kentucky for a few days, and I was there on business, and I got to stay. Too bad, man. I know, right? Didn't I tell you you needed to pack, like, three bags with you? Yeah, well, I didn't have the time, unfortunately. But I stayed at, and I'm going to give a plug here, to the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville to some. And I had some of the most amazing bourbons, one that I'd either A, never seen before, and B, probably will never get to try again. And I'll start with that unicorn bottle that I probably will, well, I might get to try again. But it is called King of Kentucky. It's your great things. Some people will say, some people will say, that this will put shame to pappies. And I mean the 20-year pappies. Now, I've never had the 20-year. I've had the 15-year. I've had the 12-year. And compared to those two pappies I've had, oh my god, it was the best bourbon I've ever had in my life. Wow, that's pretty bold. And it was $100 for a one-ounce pour. The first night, I was like, hell no. There's no way. No way. You want to make it home in one piece. And the second night at the hotel, I had a different bartender, and he asked me the question, hey, did you try the King of Kentucky? I'm like, dude, there's no fucking way I'm paying $100 for a pour. He goes, well, we have a flight pour. And I'm like, what? What's a flight pour? He says, well, you get a three-quarter-ounce pour for $50. Perfect. Perfect. Sign me up, Chuck. There you go. All I can tell you is that it had the richest, deepest notes of any juice that has ever run across this town. And if anybody gets a chance to try it, first of all, you cannot buy this, I'm told, outside of Kentucky because it doesn't leave Kentucky unless somebody buys a bottle and takes it with them or you somehow find it online, which I have. That's exorbitant. So if you can find a bottle in the state of Kentucky, you're looking at, depending on the age statement on some of these, you're looking at anywhere from $2,500, well, $1,800 for, say, a 16-year, up to $8,000 for a 20-year. Yeah, just a very, very, very fast search of non-scamming online liquor stores. We know those. I'm seeing prices that start off at $1,889.99. Yeah, see what I'm saying? And it only goes up from there. So at this hotel where I was at, they had well over a hundred choices to pick from. You were sending me some pretty juicy corn there, buddy. I didn't know how to act just from first view. So needless to say, the very first pour that I had, I had the Little Book Infinite, and— I'm already tasting peanut right now. You know, I got to—I'm glad we're talking about that because you know what? I didn't actually get the peanut on this one, which was odd, but I didn't care. It was another amazing bourbon. I mean, I just sat there in awe. I mean, I was by myself, so obviously I wasn't— I was at the bar by myself, too, because I was there when they opened at 4, and there was nobody but me and the bartender. So I literally just sat there staring at the glass that I had, and this bartender was amazing. And I'll tell you what. She did one thing that I couldn't believe that she did, and she did it with all four pours that I had. She poured my Glen and set the bottle in front of me. That's awesome. So I'm just staring at it lovingly, daringly, or endearingly, or whatever. Sure. Well, and when you're the only patron there, it's not like they won't know who took it, shoved it in their pants, and walked away. Well, I could have just snuck another pour. Oh, I'm sure. There's probably cameras, but you also had a great opportunity to make friends. I did. And every time I talk to a bartender that's giving me a pour, I always ask for as friendly as you want. And it works sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't. If I can move a little forward here, I did get to have— first of all, they had the largest selection of expressions of old Forester that I'd ever seen. You were saying that, yeah. They had 14. 14 different old Foresters. So the first one that I had, and I never had before, was the old Forester single barrel. The rye barrel strength. That's what it was called. And I don't recall ever seeing that before. That was amazing. 126 proof. Okay. I forget what the age statement was on it now, but all I can tell you is that was just another chef's kiss bourbon. I don't think we'll ever see that here in Florida. We might, but I doubt it will make its way down here. And if it does, it probably is gone before anybody knew it came across the border. Yeah, and I think what you just said about whether we'll see it in Florida is a great area for us to explore because I was on some conversations with folks on TikTok last night. And the great thing about talking with other bourbon folks in TikTok is that they're from all over. And so like Cajun Yankee and a couple other folks that I get to see, folks in Louisiana, somewhere in Michigan, somewhere in Texas, and everyone has a different experience when they try to go out and find bourbon because each state has different ways that they handle those allocations. So perhaps, perhaps, perhaps, Old Forrester, I think the originator of the movement to put the kind of details to bourbon to assure consumers that they were getting exactly what they were expecting that was on the bottle. I think Old Forrester was the pioneer for that. You know, I know people who really don't even know anything about bourbon at all. They're not bourbon drinkers. They don't seek it. And you mentioned Old Forrester. Mm-hmm. And they're like, oh, I know Old Forrester. And these are people, you know, southern people that have, you know, their fathers and mothers would drink Old Forrester. Sure. So, but I had a really great experience as far as pours at this Brown Hotel. If you ever make it to Louisville, I'm sure there's other places that have equally as extensive of selection expressions from different, you know, distilleries. But the Brown Hotel, and that was the only place I stopped in to drink while I was staying there. So it was easy. I could stagger right back to my room. And you could almost stagger your way down to peerless, but you didn't get the chance. No, I did not. So, so I wanted to say, if anybody gets a chance in Louisville, stop by the Brown Hotel. You don't have to check in there. Go to their bar. They open at four o'clock every day. They're open till midnight. And man, you won't, you won't be, you won't be sad. You will not be sad. You will leave there happy and drunk if you're ready to go. Well, and I understand you also got to experience a really great smoked drink. I did. Actually, my bartender the second night, his name is James Henry. And he's the co-owner of a company called JJ's Smokers. They're out of Louisville. And he makes this smoking system that is literally made out of old barrels. And the smoking wood that they have ground up to put in this smoker is actually ground up, you know, old barrels. So it's an, it's a, you know, a bourbon or whiskey infused wood. Who knows how many times those barrels were used. But, and it was, it was really, really cool. So the smoking device will fit most glasses. He put it over a rocks glass. He actually gave me a free full pour, a Forrester in a rocks glass and used his smoker to fit on top of it. If you guys want to check this dude out, it's great because he's a small business and, you know, we want to support as many of these small businesses as we can. It's a small business for sure. Absolutely. And their website is JJSmokersWhiskeyWood.com A little long, but it'll get you there. It's a, it's a pretty nice system. It comes with the smoking pop. It comes with the smoker wood. It comes with a little scoop and it comes with a torch. That's awesome. To light it. Well, and the pictures that you shared with me of that product are very, very cool because there is no doubt in your mind that you can tell that this thing came from an oak barrel. Oh, yeah. And it's hard to, it's hard to not see the smoker. It's literally a sliver of a barrel. Yeah. And James, if you're listening to our podcast, buddy, I apologize how many times you said you could actually use this product before it's finished, but it looks like, if I remember correctly, it was quite a few uses. I think better than a hundred uses out of it. So, check these guys out. Again, jjsmokerswhiskeywood.com. Support local business. And I love a good story. And I've already talked about that with the bottles that I try to find that anything that's got a good story to it will probably get me to perk up. So, you got the chance to get out to Kentucky and right at the tail end of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival that was going on that so many of the creators and people on TikTok that I follow were at and they were doing things that because I saw something that came from the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, we may have some additional things to talk about in upcoming episodes. So, I like fresh content. Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and drop a little mystery bite there. So, if anyone remembers to come back to episode four when we talk about these things, they'll know where it started from. Gotcha. And let me just close with this. This guy James Henry was my bartender. He was probably the most knowledgeable person I have ever met about bourbon, whiskies, etc. He was just an absolute abyss of knowledge that I just couldn't, even though I was sinking into it, I still couldn't hit bottom. It was an experience and it was the best, probably one of the best conversations about bourbon I've ever had and I wish I could have stayed there another five hours just talking to him. That's awesome. James, appreciate your knowledge and we hope that this plug makes its way all the way to Kentucky. Yeah, that's awesome. So, well, I don't think that my trip has anything to compare to that magnanimous offering of the Old Forester that you had and getting right in there with the various bookers, but I had a little trip that we went to and there was a work conference that took us right into Nashville and like this is where we got this, the king, the Elvis rye that we're drinking tonight. I had the chance to go out and enjoy. I will say that the hotel itself was okay. What was really fun was the opportunity to connect with people that I work with because I work remotely and almost everybody I work with is not in the same state that I am. So we got to spend that time together and at the hotel grounds, there was at least a Jack Daniels restaurant and they were serving $19 single barrel flights. So that was pretty fun to be able to have but our best experience actually came from being out of the hotel and going just across the way to this mall and as you're walking around this mall, it's obviously very touristy, but it had two different places for Tennessee moonshine for you to go ahead and try the different moonshines that they had. Oh, that's cool. So we walked right in. They're like, hey, do you want a drink? Go ahead and in the back and we went through and probably had 15 tiny little thimblefuls of their various flavored moonshines and so that was a pretty good experience. Then we went down just a little bit further and then there was a small distillery that was selling stuff and I'll say that while I enjoyed the samples that we had there, nobody that worked there knew anything about what they were pouring except for one person. So I left bottleless from that particular one, but in truth, I had already gone to an establishment called Cork Dorks and might have picked up a couple different bottles while I was there. By the way, I love that name Cork Dorks. Cork Dorks. Yes, this is not their only location. I got to see a $600 bottle of a rare breed. So did not buy it, did not come home with me, but it was one of those master keepers in the big box. Yeah, didn't open it, didn't look at the bottle, just I saw the price tag and walked away. So we'll get into a couple of those bottles at some point. But one of the great opportunities that we had was to go to this restaurant that was a steakhouse. And as you know, I am currently digesting nothing but protein and bourbon. That's really my staple for everything. And for those of you that are, you know, nodding your head or rolling your eyes, I'll just say it's been working great for me. I had, of all pours, a Garrison Brothers that clocked in at 123 proof. I couldn't tell you anything more about the bottle than what we had, but it was one of the very best pours I had the entire time that I was in Nashville. A Garrison Brothers? A Garrison Brothers. It was really, really good. And it's another one that I get to knock off my list because I've never had them specifically. And in truth, there's not one really good review that I've ever heard. I would agree. That's why my question, I was like, Garrison Brothers? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that just helps me kind of open up my eyes to the possibilities of all the other juices that are out there. And some reviewers, they're really reliable and they match my palate and they're really good to go with. Others, I just have to say, that's for you. Let me go ahead and try my own. So I would say, if there's anything that we've tried and you don't like, if there's anything that you've tried that other people don't like, like we said before, the best drink you have is the one that's for you. Oh, indeed. So, yeah, I mean, you know, I, you and I have been back and forth, you know, you know me, like, I don't know why, well, I think I know why, but I don't, I don't care for the weeded bourbons. For me, that's, it's, it's weird. It's too... Takes you out of half the BTACs right away. Yeah, it's almost... Pay you some money. It's almost too Scotch-esque for me. But anyway, like you said. Well, and on that just super, super fast and we'll spend some time on this later. I had two different Scotches over this weekend. Well, I was also at a birthday party and one was a 40-year-old Scotch, which was an amazing opportunity to have something that was that old. And then the other one was one of the Macallan Rares, which was... I have to say... That was one of the Highland ones, right? You had the Highland? The one from Kenny's? The one that we got from Kenny's. That was a Highland Scotch. It was a Macallan. Yeah, Macallan Highland. Is that, okay. So, it was fairly delicious and I don't know whether it fits your palate, that particular one, because it did not, to me, taste like your typical Scotch. But it was still pretty darn good. So, as we talked about our travels and we talked about what we've been drinking and what we are drinking, I thought this would be a really good opportunity for us to kind of get into some of the things that, like I said earlier, brought us together. This is how we met, really. And, for us, dance has become as much part of us, maybe even as much as bourbon. Sure, absolutely. We both have daughters. You have two. I have one. They're both at the same studio. Little rainbow of age there. Second studio. Oh, that's second. Both in Astro. Correct, correct. So, and yes, my oldest, who is now 16 years old, which is crazy to even think about those numbers, has been dancing since she was five, has been competitively dancing since she was six. And it is an interesting story. And while there is a lot to go into and a lot to unpack about the competitive dance experience, I think let's start at the beginning, the origin story, if you will, the genesis of this whole large bank account that we've had to empty out in order to pay for competitive dance. Now, let me start by saying this. If you have ever watched Dance Moms, this is not that experience. No, not at all. First off, that show was mostly scripted, as if anyone who's followed any of the stars that came out of that, you know that most of them were actually friends and the producers did what they could to create TV moments. So at least you know that that's not entirely what the dance world is like. For us, we got our modest start because of a parade. We were, this was before we had two little ones, when we just had our first little one and the wife was still pregnant. We were at a parade and one of the things that was handed out from somebody we knew was a coupon to go to the studio that we're at prior to the one we're at now. And it was one free class. A coupon? A coupon. And we decided to go through and do this. And by the way, we had been talking for a while to figure out what we wanted the big to do. And because we know kids, they might change their mind from time to time. Oh, yeah. They may lose interest in things from time to time. Oh, yeah. So because we didn't know what we could commit to, we're like, sure, we'll bet. We'll finally go do this dance thing. And we looked for the place. We found the right time. We showed up and we watched our little one on a camera basically run in circles while on a dance floor. And at the end of it, the teacher comes up and says, she has to come back. We're like, okay, sure. Okay. I think I just watched her run around in a circle like she does in the living room. But okay. And we did. And as it turns out for us, that experience brought us to a really great studio with a good set of teachers. The director had a great core focus on ballet especially even though he had a street dancing initiation. That's how he got himself in the dance before he trained formally. And then he had been part of several different things before he had his own studio. That was a really great experience to get big started into the dance world. We found ourselves going through that and I have a, before I bring your origin story into this, it's funny now, but it wasn't funny at the time. So we fast forward a little bit. We've got a baby. We've got our big. Now we've got, you know, the project or the projection of possibly putting two in dance. Weren't there yet, right? Then our big has some ability to learn choreography quickly. And it comes time where the second payment for recital comes due and she's already learned it within a few weeks. Wow. The teacher says, she's fine. She can go ahead and do that recital if you want her to. And we're thinking, but that's a lot of money to come up with on something that we're not even sure she's going to want to keep doing. Little did we know that 11 years later, we would be forking out a lot more money than that. But let me say this about the money. This really isn't about the money. It is an expensive thing for kids to be in. Most sports are. Indeed. So it's not to say that dance is too expensive or too anything and that other sports aren't. I'm just thankful that both my kids are in the same sport. I'm also thankful that we're at a place where we can continue to have them participate in dance. And through experiences, we'll talk about it another point in time, we learned just how important dance was to the kids. And then, in turn, how much of this community we've embraced. Because as a dance dad, you have a choice, I think. You can take an interest in what your kids are doing, be there, learn the community, learn the culture, start even learning a bit about what's going on when they're learning, when they're being choreographed, when they're going to go out there, especially if they're on the competition teams, if they're going to go out there and dance. You can learn these things and kind of get yourself imbued with the culture. Or, like I see a lot of dads do, drop them off, write the check, and there's a dance dad shirt, which I think is meant innocently, but I always think a little bit differently about this one. It says, I don't dance, I finance. It's okay. I have that shirt, X. And that's okay. The reason why I think a little bit differently is because I think a lot of men are stereotyped as being they only pay for it, but they're not involved. I, like you, have been involved since day one. Oh, yeah. And remain involved. And I've built props. I've been on stage. I've supported my dancers. I've supported the other studios' dancers because I feel like once you throw yourself into community, that's what you ought to do. And unfortunately, that level of community does not go throughout the dance world, unfortunately, which, again, is another conversation for another time. So before I get off of this pulpit about why we love dance so much, tell me about your story. How did you get into it? How did your little get into it? My little is, she's 14, just turned 14. And, you know, like many other kids and parents, she started out with soccer. And she was the one chasing the pack, not the one leading the pack. So we knew this was not for her. It was just too much running. So that lasted all about one season. And thankfully, we didn't spend a ton of money into soccer. Then it got to gymnastics. And quite honestly, she enjoyed gymnastics until they started changing teachers and there was some sort of political thing going on there. And then for six months, she wasn't learning anything new. They kept bringing in more and more new students. They kept re-going over same routines. And I could see my kid was getting bored. And it went from about eight kids in a group to about 20. So, and my wife will be rather angry with me when I say this, but I don't really recall what the catalyst was that launched us into dance. I think the gymnastics situation, there was somebody in there too that had a kid in dance as well and said, hey, why don't you come over to this studio, which was the original studio that you went to. And I'll tell you what, again, like you said, it's not about the money. The one thing I can say about dance for my daughter, it has made her an incredible person. It has made her disciplined. It has made her structured. It has made her focus on direction and doing what she's told and implementing what she's learned. You know my kid. She's come an absolute long way, just like yours. It's just like you look back and you're like the kid running in circles around the class to, you know, they're doing solos now. She teaches at the studio now. Yeah, that's beyond impressive. That is where it becomes interesting. So I think I can recall some moments for me, but I want to ask you this question, Lumpy. Yes. When did you become a dance dad? Because signing the check, I don't think is really what entitles us to be calling ourselves dance dads proper. What is it that was a moment or a series of things that you started to see yourself as a dance dad? I would have to say I think the thing that really magnetized me to dance was just after or I would say just before the demise of the first studio. I saw my child really starting to enjoy it. And for me, it was her enjoyment. And then of course we moved on and went to the next studio which we're still at and it's been, what, five years now? It's been a bit, yeah. Give or take. And, you know, we're in it to win it now. I mean, I'm stuck and I want to be there. I'm in a place I'd want to be stuck at. Sure. Rotten to the core, right? Say again? Rotten to the core, right? Oh yeah, absolutely. That's funny. So I can say that for me there were a couple of moments. One, without bragging, and I think everyone should be proud of their kid. So I say this where we work really hard to make sure that our talented child never has too big of a head. Oh, indeed. And I don't think any of our girls do. They're very humble. The thing that kind of resonated for me was, one, she had a knack for picking up choreography. And we knew that when she would dedicate herself to this that it would go well for her. Now, mind you, there's a transition. And we'll talk about this. There's things I've learned about dance and the evolution that a child will go through as they get better and better at dance. And there are definitely stages to this that they have to figure out on their own as they work their way through. For me, there's a moment in which the owner of the other studio was running a tryout for the competition team. And you can't see me, but I'm putting air quotes around tryout. Because quite often, the studios that we've been a part of are very small. And so if you want to have a competition team, you really want to have as many kids that want to be there as possible. So you're not very discriminating when you are building your team. Sure. You want to include everyone. You want to involve everyone. But competition is about winning things, too. So you're trying to build the best team that you can. That's why it's called competitive dance. Right. So there was the tryouts that were going on. And a guest judge that the owner had brought in was a former Miss Volusia County. Oh, no way. Correct. So she had her sash, her crown, had all these things that were going on. Show off. And she was a bit of a dancer as well. So she was there to help judge and give notes and critiques for the kids. And I watched my then very little one. And I've got some fantastic pictures that were taken of her watching the tryout and pictures that she took with all the kids that are now grown. I don't think any of them have kids of their own yet. They're not that old. But some are getting married. Some are graduating college. Like, that's that wave I've been able to see go through. But she was so enamored with that experience. I saw her connect to it. And I said, I want to be there to support my kid. So what do I need to learn? What do I need to do? And that was it for me. So I was hooked. I was hooked and been part of dance through and through ever since. And just to further your involvement, you're also the president of the AIM, right? For us, correct. So our studio and the one prior was set up with a fundraising, not-for-profit segment. And because we do fundraising, we're set up like a 501c3. And not to interrupt you there, Rex, but AIM, just so people know, it's an acronym. It's Artists In Motion. Incorporated. Incorporated. Excuse me. Don't forget the A. So yes. And I have been the president of AIM for quite a while. And we do hold our annual votes. And honestly, whenever you're part of a volunteer organization, you're either in it or you're there. You're either running things and volunteering and doing all this stuff, just like when I was on PTAs and those sorts of things. It's just how it goes. Oh, yeah. So needless to say, we're both very involved. You are obviously a little more involved than myself. But nonetheless, we- I wouldn't say that. I would only say for longer. OK. Well, we've done a lot of things for the studio. We've built dance floors. We've installed floors. Shed blood, sweat, and tears. Oh. Surgeries and medicals. Installed ballet bars. So which would lead us into our last little thing we want to talk about is tool time. Yeah, tool time with Lumpy. We'll have to come up with a little jingle for that tool time. Tool time. Tool time with Lumpy. So I have always liked to build things. In my life, I've actually assisted in building two full houses. And once you get that kind of experience, and then you own your own home, you're like, well, shit. I'm not going to pay somebody for something I can do myself. And you know what? I have fucked a lot of things up, let me tell you. But the beauty of a home project that you're doing yourself when you fuck it up, you can always fix it. And I'm not saying I'm a master carpenter, master plumber, master electrician. And some things I can honestly say I know enough to be dangerous. But which led me into starting to buy tools. It's like you start doing projects, you need tools. For sure. And I've had to kind of explain to my spouse why I needed that $500 tool, or that $800 tool. And when she got it- That's what the project called for. Exactly. The right tool for the job. And my wife knows that. She understands that now. So when she sees me buy a tool, she's like, are you going to be using that for this project? I said, of course. And she's like, well, what does it do? And I explain it to her and she's like, oh, I get it. Okay. So you're saying I need to become more creative in my explanations about what things do in order to get the boss to sign the check. Well, you got to sometimes give a little clarity on the validity of your purchase. So everybody has their brand. So for me, I have gravitated- Black and Decker, right? Absolutely not. And I'm shaking my head. I'm a Milwaukee guy. I have drank the Milwaukee Kool-Aid. Some people are DeWalt. Some people are Ryobi. Some people are Black and Decker. Or whatever, you know, whatever your flavor is. I have all of my tools in Milwaukee's packout system. If anybody out there is a tool person and knows what the packout system, I think that is just the shit. It's a modular system that you can just put all, you know, tools in. And the configurations are unlimited. It's great because I have them on rolling casters. I can snap them off, put them in my truck. I love tools, man. I have tools for almost everything. I mean, from cutting glass to, you know, cutting wood. And I've been into your garage. I can see how much of your garage is occupied by tools, whereas mine is just occupied by junk. Well, I have my fair amount of junk to go with it, too. You know, I've all but remodeled my entire home where I'm at now. I've re-piped it. I've re-wired rooms. I've redone all the bathrooms from the ground up. You know, gutted them to the frame. And just had to do it, man. You know, the house I bought was the better part of 30 years old. And it looked like 30-year-old shit. So I had to get in there, tear it out, and make it happen again. Well, I appreciate your rundown about the different projects and tools that you've been able to accomplish, and allowing me to feel small and jealous as far as the lack of tools that I have, the improper tools that I have. Because I'll tell you, there's been more than one job that I've attempted to do. And you've laughed because you've seen the tools I was using to get the job done. Which, by the way, I will say, got the job done. Doesn't matter how bad it looked. Doesn't matter how much duct tape was involved. It still got done. But there is merit to having the right tool for the job. And I can just say there was one time in particular I was laboring because I broke a wheel bearing on a truck that I had. And in order to get that wheel bearing out, what I really should have had was a punch. And I was trying to use a variety of different long implements to be able to tap this thing out. After an hour or so of using my hammer and screwdrivers to try to get this thing out, my neighbor goes, here, try this. And hands me a nice steel punch. So between that and the hammer, tink, tink, tink, gone. I was like, you son of a biscuit-eating son of a piece of crap. I was so mad. And the reality was if I just got the right tool for the job, I would have had it done in five minutes, not an hour. So even though you know my plethora of tools that I have, you know, I might have the tool that you need. So if you, you know, and I've lent you stuff before. You know, because you're one of the only people I know that I would even think of lending anything to. Well, I'll make sure you get it back in at least two pieces, if not the one piece it was in. As long as it comes back, you know. That's half the battle. That sure is. So, well, I think that is a great way to wrap up this tool time segment. As you get more, as you find projects at my place, I mean at your place, that will require more tools, whether it's here, over there, or at your own place, or back at the studio, guess what? We're going to be consigned to some more work to do. Then we'll have to talk about what's next and what happens some more. Absolutely. All right, folks. That's going to wrap it up for today. Whether we're talking bourbon, travel, dance, or just life in general, we're always glad to have you along for the ride. So let's raise a glass. Here's to good stories, good company. The next pour we'll share. Cheers. We'll see you next time on Talking Shit Today. Lump your neck, bring the heat. Hey, yo, thanks for talking shit. We're lumping your neck. Dropping tricks to make you reflect. We out like a gen, smooth and slow. See you next time when the convo's slow. Words in the air as the beat fades out. Lump your neck, that's what we're about. So keep it locked to the very last day. Thanks for talking shit. We out today. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers.