The Commercial Break - 2 Live Roo

Episode Date: June 3, 2020

The Bits: Jane joins a call about a new MLM opportunity, Butter Bark. The Show: Bryan and Hoadley are joined by Music Exec Jeff Bransford to discuss live music in 2020 and beyond, tell some stories about concerts and revisit one of the most infamous 2 Live Roo concerts in American history   Don't forget to rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode! Text us or leave us a voicemail at +1-661-BEST2YO ([phone]) LINKS: Get a FREE TCB limited edition collectible sticker Follow us on Instagram Subscribe and watch the show on Youtube Join us live on Fireside New episodes every Tuesday & Friday everywhere you listen to podcasts! For advertising contact AdvertiseCast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember the cousin I went to high school with? Are you talking about the insane man who tried to marry a rooster to protest gay marriage? Yeah, that one. Anyway, he married that girl a few years back. Remember, we went to the wedding. How could I forget? The groomsman war camo and the bride had to have her parents sign the marriage certificate. Yeah, it was creepy.

Babe, a carnival is creepy. Marrying the neighbor's 17-year-old daughter at 37 years old is just fucked up. Well, she invited me to a Zoom conference a few weeks ago for this new business she's involved in, and it starts in a few minutes. Is this some MLM shit like the last thing she was involved in? Do you remember the company that only made clothing for men with skinny arms? It's the new trend. We're gonna be millionaires. They are nearly broke because of these get rich quickskins I know I know I just feel so bad She only had two people say yes, and I promised her I would attend well shit

Please don't buy anything Jack. Do you think I was born on a turn-up truck? I never buy any of this shit. I just smile and tell her I'll think about it. She is not exactly what I call a salesperson. I mean, honey, that voice. Okay, now she can't help that. That's because of a skiing accident. No, no, no. She was being pulled by a semi-truck while she was on skis over a state highway. Just because the risk he's involved does not mean she was skiing. You get my point. Yeah, but again, that voice.

It's disturbing. I agree. But she can't help it. So... What is she selling anyway? I don't know. She won't say it's part of the quote unquote, mystery.

That's how they get people to show up. The name of the company is something like Butter Bark. Okay, listen, I'll watch the kids, but... don't buy anything. Hi, everyone. Thanks so much for attending my very first meeting for Hi everyone! Thanks so much for attending my very first meeting for Butterbart Incorporated. I'm very excited y'all are here because you're the first people in my downline.

I'm excited to tell you that in my downline I'm number 346, so I'm only 300 additional downlines from making the pink petals line. That's where we get an invitation to next year's cruise, sailing for selling. When you make that downline, that's when the cruise price drops 3.5%. And, you get a box of pink coosies with your website address to pass out at parties. I am so excited, y'all. So I bet you're super curious to dig right in and learn more about Butterburr. Sure Sally, so glad to be here. I'm so honored to be a part of this group. It's been like a year since I was invited

anywhere, so I'm just glad to be calling someone besides Little Caesar's Pizza. You're too sweet, Francis. I'm so sad to hear about your pet raccoon, such a tragedy. I had no idea he was in the dishwasher, poor little guy. He was just so curious. He couldn't help himself. And once the super hot clean cycle started, there was nothing anyone could do. He got a mouthful of dawn liquid pack

and got swept right into the silverware basket. I was mortified. Too tragic. So without further ado, I'd like to roll out my new product line Butterbark. It is an essential organic tree bark butter scotch oil that is curing illnesses, shredding pounds, and fixing broken marriages across the world. This is the same company who brought you Circle knife, the knife that cuts in circles. Unfortunately due to some irresponsible customers that company has closed its doors. But Buttermark is a company for the times. I just tell you how amazing this product is.

I have been using it for four months and I already noticed a difference I've lost three pounds my love life has never been steamier and coronavirus doesn't scare me one bit That's because Butter bark makes COVID go into hiding That's incredible. That's just incredible. Did you say in hiding? Yes, I did, because I can't legally say it cures coronavirus because you know, Obama and stuff. But it literally makes COVID hide in your blood until a later date, which let's face it. A cure is coming over the summer, so I'm excited about this product. Do you want to hear the details of how we make money off this? I know that's why you've come to this call. I literally just shit myself with excitement. I am in. I'll take 40.

Is this legal? Perfectly legal. The company founders have made a deal with indigenous Amazonians to harvest the bark. They go deep into the rainforest and retrieve the bark from the elusive butterscotch tree. Then they use a patented process to extract the oils. The process has been handed down from generations of Amazonian forest doctors. Technically they're not doctors, they are doctorates. I have to say that for legal reasons. But this is not the most exciting part. We are gonna talk about money! And let me tell you there is so much money to go around in this brand new opportunity.

I am already making $3,000 a week on paper. I want in, I want in, where do I sign? Also, were there be opportunities to make other friends? Will I be invited to calls like this? I feel like I'm a bit misunderstood and if people just gave me a chance I could really bring value to their lives. Of course! You can have all the friends you ever need or like a family here at Butterpark. How much money do you make a week, Sally? $3,000 gross. How much of that is profit? I mean, how much do you take for yourself?

I pay the company $600. Is that a month? Oh, we- Oh, Sally, what have you gotten yourself into again? No, it's not like the other ones. This one's really gonna work. I'm in a downline where we just cannot lose. How long, Sally? How long have you been doing this? Oh, not that long. Just about 62 weeks. Oh my God, Sally.

How much butter bark have you purchased? Well, currently I have about two rooms full of it. Shit, Sally, you don't even have two bedrooms in the trailer. I know me and the kids are sleeping in the car right now, but I believe in this. It's gonna work, you just have to make some sacrifices. I just need to find a few more people in my downline and then I really start making the good money. And exactly how many people do you need in your downline to start making the good money. And exactly how many people do you need and you're down-lined to start making money? Well, I get a dollar bonus for every person

I bring in up to 30 people and then I start getting $10 a person. So I'm about 28 and a half people away from that dollar bonus. How is it possible to have half a person? We signed up Jingles the Dog. Don't tell anybody it's a guns company policy. And additionally, Jingles was hit by a car and is no longer with us. Sally, I'm sorry. I don't think I can be a part of this.

This is exactly like the last five opportunities we discussed. We can't afford to be losing that kind of money. Please Jane, I'll pay for your first two months. I just need to show that I'm making some progress. Please. Question, do you still have your annual Christmas party? Oh me? Yes, my.

Okay, I'll buy all of it. All of what? The Butterberg. I'll buy all of it. I just want an invitation to the Christmas party. No. Ali, you realize she's in love with your cousin Todd, right? You mean the one on parole?

It's like a piece of cake. Can I get an introduction? Frances, you realize he said a KFC on fire for not having waffle fries. You do know that. Don't care. Need human touch. Do we have a deal?

Deal. Sally, I meant to mention, Jack and I won't be in town. This Christmas, we're going to his parents house. Oh, I thought they were dead. They are, but we're going to be close to their ashes, and that's good enough for Jack. Listen, you're really going to miss out. I have a Santa cost, you and Chaps are on the bottom part.

That's all I got to say. That's all I want to say that's all I wanna say. Bye ladies, gotta run. Okay, bye Jane. Okay Jane, have a nice night. The world shut down. Stores, restaurants, schools, and whole communities shut their doors in an effort to protect human life. As the world quickly changed, one man went on Facebook to get a degree in Internet epidemiology. Brian, along with his lab assistant, hopefully, are curing coronavirus by commenting on fake news and reposting recipes of secret virus cures from a friend of a friend who works high up in love.

Join Brian and Holtin as they discuss the world and like doing this forced interruption, learning, laughing and loving in this real life commercial break. On this episode of the commercial break. So I self-taught myself to play the piano, but that did not end up needing the world to pass the shredding guitar. It's a tangy thing, I'm like, have you ever needed help? Let me know. I want to go to live shows for you.

With Michael McDonald. I wanted to that. I'm touching that. I wanted to take a minute to let you know we recorded this particular episode weeks ago long before George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight by a Minneapolis police officer. I also want you to know that the to put this program together, stand together with the protesters who are standing up against injustice, police brutality, racism, and indifference, which may be the worst of all. We want you to know that we will not use our platform to propagate that prejudice and we don't support those who do.

We want you to be safe, we want you to take care of each other and we want you to be unified. Know you have our support and I'm putting out this episode in hopes that you get a laugh out of it. Peace and love, enjoy this episode of the commercial break. of the commercial break. The next episode of the commercial break starts now. So you saw Prince's last live show. I did. It was a fox. Yeah. Fox 8 or here in Atlanta.

Okay. Amazing. Which must have been you obviously no one had any idea that Prince was ill or sick because he wasn't ill or sick. He just kind of keeled over after an overdose of fentanyl, which is the way some of these other artists have gone to. Tom Petty died by the way. He took him.

Yes. Yeah. People are in pain. And I think they've got people around them that just don't. Bunchy, yes, men. Yeah, and they're like, take this and it does feel good. Make some feel better. Make the artist feel better,

and then they're addicted and then there's an overdose. I think too is money and time are an addict's worst enemy. And when you're rich, everyone tells us you that that's okay. You've probably got a doctor that's prescribing to you at will. Yep. And no doubt that Prince is walking around in those high heels for 22 years, he's probably got some back problems. But he was an amazing artist, probably, in my opinion, one of the greatest that ever

lived. Absolutely. And I think his influence on all genres of music is, in some cases, way underrated, I think people think of him as like a singer because they know his limited catalog that's released in videos or that's played on the radio but I believe he was one of the best guitar players that ever lived also without any doubt if all you have to do is watch some of the live footage and there's not a ton of it out there but you watch some of the live footage on YouTube and you can see that he's like

that guy can fucking tread He's amazed balls. Oh, so amazing. He could play every instrument. So I've read his biographies And was he was he trained? Not classically, I mean it was his father was a musician. Okay, gotcha So that kind of just they always had instruments around and then he just he taught himself He was self taught on I they keep literally could pick up any instrument play it Yeah, so I self taught myself to play the piano, but that did not and got me being the world's best shredding I think my I think I you know, I think I have a some natural talent for it

But it ends at you and Mary had a little lamb. I, I'm self, I'm self taught in cowbell. Cowbell. Yes. More cowbells, what we need. Welcome to the show. TCBpodcast.com is where you could go to find out more information about the show. Listen to the episodes, drop us a comment, ask us a question. If we like it, we'll answer it on the show.

If we don't, we'll block you from the website. Leave a review, sharing is caring. You can find us on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple, Google, everywhere else. You can find your podcasts. Thank you so much for listening. Welcome to the show. I've got my good friend, Chrissy Houdley. Good friend at Co-host.

Chrissy Houdley here with me. Hello. Hello, Brian Green. And today we wanted to wrap about our craziest or funnest or whatever concert stories, because we're all huge lovers of music here, and I wanted to bring in Houdley's husband, who I refer to kindly as Jeff Houdley. So welcome, Jeff Houdley. And Houdley, Jeff Houdley is no mere watcher of the music industry. He is one of the cogs in the wheel,

a very important man in the music business. Spent 10 years doing live concert promotion, is now an executive producer and is highly involved in the beautiful and wonderful brand new music festival in Memphis called Mempho. You're on your number, or you were gonna be on your number three. Is that correct? That's right. You're on your number or you were going to be on your number three. Is that correct? That's correct. You're number three, but that's canceled this year.

There's been three. There's been three. This was going to be your four. Oh, sorry. Your number four. That's right. There's been three. We're going to do your four. Now you've pushed it back to 2021. So Jeff, welcome. So show thanks for having me. Thank you. So tell me what you obviously understand more than most people, the effect that COVID-19 has had on the music business because your festival is in October, right? That's right. And you just went ahead and canceled it. I don't know, a month and a half ago, you guys,

like right off the bat, were like, not gonna happen to, even if it does happen, it's gonna be too crowded, right, the space will be too crowded. Too many live events happening in that month, we feel like, or just, you know, pissing in a wind, so to speak, throwing a music festival together when every other music festival in the world is gonna try and cram it into October. But now it looks unlikely that any music festival

is gonna happen in October anyway. So tell me about the decision-making process that went behind that, and what are the, like, what kind of nightmare is it to happen in October anyway. So tell me about the decision-making process that went behind that. And what are the, like, what kind of nightmares it to move a festival like that? Yeah, that's a big nightmare. We saw early on, and we didn't think that there was a possibility that there was a possibility that there could be an outbreak again in the fall.

And there's obviously a lot of, the lot that goes into putting on a festival from the operations standpoint to securing artists and Obviously the fans, you know, the health of the health of our patrons. There is the number one priority and safety So we saw early on that that there could be potentials for a lot of issues and then we saw every festival pushing to October, and as big as the festival world is, there is actually limited resources in terms of staging and personnel and having the right people and the right artist relations person or the

right stage managers and the right personnel and staging and lighting and everything else. So once we saw major festivals like Bono Ruin, Coachella and all these others moving to the fall, that was yet another set of challenges. So the decision, once we kind of all got together, it actually the decision was pretty easy for us to pull the trigger and move it to next year. It's painful to do it, but I think it was the right move. So you guys make a decision, basically, that says, it's just a very easy decision.

We may not have the people, we may fall low on the priority list as far as labor and staging and all this stuff for concern. We don't want to fight for resources. It's probably gets more expensive that way. Tell me about the artists. Are they on board with this? Do you communicate with them ahead of time? Obviously, the artists are already booked or at least they have letters of intent, right? What are the conversations like? Are they all on board? They're saying, yeah, we agree with you. This isn't going to happen this year. Yeah, we were early on in the process of booking process of a booking artist this year. So we didn't have a full schedule locked in at this point, but, uh, at that point, um, yeah, and you know, the thing

about is you could have bought a pandemic insurance policy prior to all this, you know, relatively, cheap, relatively cheaply. Now now no one can afford one now. One of the few examples of somebody that did was Wimbleton, the tennis tournament. They've been buying pandemic insurance for I think the last 15 years. No shit. And they just cashed in several, several billion dollar, they just cashed in because of the cancellation of Wimbleton. So, seven, several billion dollars,

yep, that's insanity, good for them. Smart move, chickens. I mean, obviously you buy rain insurance, you buy flood insurance, you buy fire insurance, you buy whatever insurance, when you're putting on a festival that's costing you millions of dollars, no stone goes unturned, but a pandemic hasn't happened in 100 years, and I guess we all kind of assumed that if a pandemic did

happen, it'd be handled a lot better than this, right? So yeah, I mean, you think that it's just something you doesn't cross your mind. It's like, I don't know terrorism insurance before 9-11. You don't buy it. It's not, who cares, right? It's not even worth the cost. So 2021, how do you feel about 2021? Because I've heard, and I don't have as well placed sources as you do, obviously,

but I have my fingers here and there, right? I've heard that live nation is preserving cash to fall of 2021. They think that they may not have another concert filling a stadium or a venue like they did previous to the pandemic until fall of 2021 or maybe even spring of 2022. That's what I'm, you know, we'll see what happens.

It's a race with science right now, but I think that most of the big artists that I've had some limited contact with over the last couple of months, everybody is kind of eyeing next summer as a starting point. So we'll see what happens. It's science and when people feel safe to go out, though, well, it'll be a hell of a party when we all do go out. God bless, man, I can't wait until we can get back to concerts.

I had a lot of concerts tickets this summer. I had fish, I had a couple of Pearl Jam shows, I had some concerts that I was really looking forward to go to, the Pearl Jam shows have already come and gone. And I got my money back for one of them, but the other one that was in Nashville, I just kind of hangin' on, because I have really good seats.

So I'm just like, I'm hangin' on and hoping that they reschedule, but they haven't given any information out. And my understanding is, Live Nation ProJM asked that Live Nation refund those dollars, so they agreed to that. But my understanding is, Live Nation is not canceling a lot of concerts until they absolutely have to,

because they don't want to refund the money they're trying to preserve the cash, right? Make interest on interest and all that other good stuff. They want it. They're shoring up their financials, even if it's in a short period of time. So, there's a lot of controversy out there in the ticketing industry right now in terms of churns being handled. And a lot of this is going to see court rooms and you know that the definition of postponed verses canceled and refund

policies uh... you know there's so many so many ticket new hot forms right now and and summer handling well and others are are not so it's uh... it'll be interesting to see how it plays out we had to get to the doobie brothers and i love the doobie brothers and with michael mcdonald with michael mcdonald We had tickets to the Dubie Brothers. I love the Dubie Brothers. And then with Michael McDonald. With Michael McDonald? Yes.

I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. Oh. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there.

I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there.

I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back there. I'm touching back singing with a dick and his throat. I love it. But he's got a great voice. He's just like, you can not miss Michael McDonald's voice from a million miles away. I can't wait to go back to concert because some of my best memories, I think all of us, right? It's like music and booze and fun and sex or whatever it is.

It's all kind of intertwined. And I wonder how these big festivals are gonna fail, like Bono Ruiz, I'm like, we went to Bono Ru. Jeff, you, a couple of years ago, this is a funny story. A couple of years ago, actually not even a couple of years ago, many years ago. Eight years ago.

Eight years ago, is that how long ago this was? Eight years ago. Holy shit, I'm getting old. Yeah. I felt like I was old back then, because I'd like bailed out. So, eight years ago, Chrissy and Jeff had just started dating. And I'll never forget when you guys started dating.

I think I was there maybe one of the first days that you guys knew each other. You were, you were, you were. Chrissy and Jeff lived in the department complex here in Atlanta and they lived a door down from each other. So, it was like one end of the hallway and another end of the hallway in this huge apartment complex in Midtown Atlanta. And I was hanging out with Chrissy as we often did back then and just on a Saturday afternoon or whatever it was.

We're having Margaritas. That's right. We're having Margaritas. I think we're down at the pool or we're just digging around Atlanta. So we get back to her house and she says, you know, I met this guy like he, he helped me with my groceries. Is that the story? He helped me to go to...

I helped him with this first. Oh, he, oh, it's 2020. Get your shit straight, Brian. Chivalry is not dead. So Chrissy helps him with his groceries and then she says to us, me and another girl that were with us, she says, hey, I met this guy this afternoon and he's my neighbor and I think he's kind of cute.

And we're like, oh, cool, you know? So Jeff knocks on the door or calls or whatever it is later on the evening called and he says, hey, why don't you guys come over and have a drink, I'm home and come on over. Chris, he says, I got my friend here and yeah, come on by and so Jeff and I and Chris, he get, it's the three of us in Jeff's apartment.

Jeff and I hit it off, We're talking about music and shooting the shit. I'm fascinated by his live promotion stuff. And I'm like, instantaneously, yeah, instantaneously, I'm like, if you ever need help, let me know. I want to go live shows for free. Let me know. I know what I'm talking about. I swear. And so Jeff's like patting me like a little dog. Yeah, sure, I'll call you. But then at some point during the evening, Chrissy is just like gives me the unmistakable sign that it's time for me to get the fuck out of that house.

You need to buy it by that, by that I said you need to get the fuck out. Yeah, you say you need to leave. You need to leave. You said don't you need to be somewhere? I could kind of, sometimes I would spend the night at Chrissy's house about get you drunk and I was kind of like, oh, I thought we were going to crutch you. Yeah, I were gonna crutch them I'm gonna hang here. You should go home. Go home. It's only three o'clock in the morning. I was like, damn, that was that was a forced Irish exit there. Yeah, I was I was shocked. I was like, is that okay to tell your friends to leave like that? Yeah, I've known him for years. It's cool. Jeff, you must have known the green light.

It was a green light go because she literally patted me on the butt on the way out. She was like, don't let the door hitch in. So then a couple months later, or maybe even not even a month later, I don't know. She calls me up and she says, I'm going to go to Bonnaroo with Jeff. He is producing a television show live from Bonaroo or, you know.

He was working for Billboard. Yeah, he's working for Billboard TV and he says, I'm producing this show live for Billboard. At Bonaroo, I've got a couple tickets. I've asked Jeff if he can get you an extra pass. And I was like, oh my God, that's fucking insane. She says this on a Wednesday, we have to leave and the next day and I'm like, yeah, I'm in

I'm in so we pack up we jump in Chrissy's car and we drive all the way and grab a couple of backstage passes at some cheap motel on the side of the road and we head to the show and low and behold It's a green light go pass like we're it we're backstage We're in the VIP area. All the artists are walking around. Jeff's kind of working and then you come back

and have a beer with us and then you go back and work. And Chrissy and I are just sitting back there like, oh, there's Tom York from Radiohead. How fucking cool is that? And Ludacris? Ludacris was sitting right in front of us. So Jeff was doing an interview with him or was producing an interview with him.

And so the day is going on. It's hottest fucking shit. And we're back there. There's a bunch of tents, but some of them are cordoned off because they're private areas for artists and stuff like that. So Chrissy and I have no idea where we're supposed to be or what we're supposed to do. But there's free beer all over the place.

But there's a couple of backstage areas. And one of them, you have to kind of like walk through the crowd and walk through this crowded place and get over there. And then everyone's, it's not like the VIP VIP area, it's like where people pay to be VIP. So it's free booze, but you're with the common people, right? And Chrissy and I now have these passes and we're not with the common people. So I'm like, I'm gonna go hunt down some fucking beer, right?

I need to get a couple of extra beers. And I pick the first, and I say, Chrissy, what do I say, like, if someone stop me? Tell them you're with Jeff from Moon Taxi. Hey, hey, so I didn't feel like comfortable leaving the past at the front desk there. So what I did is I printed it in an envelope in the very front pouch of my briefcase, which

is over by the closet in the room. So envelope in front pouch of briefcase with your name on it. And nobody's gonna ask, but if they did, if anybody did ask, you're a guest of Moon Taxi, Moon Taxi in Dong Vanquise, but nobody's gonna ask, but this fella's feet's stupid face. So anyway, so that's it. Call me back. Okay. And I'm like Jeff with moon taxi. What the fuck does that mean?

Okay, I'll tell him with moon taxi. I walk into the first tent I see and there's a guy standing there and he says, Hey, man, and I'm like, Hey, I'm with moon taxi. And he's like, you're with moon taxi. And I'm like, yeah, I'm I'm in moon taxi. I got moon taxi. Whatever I say, right? I'm the moon taxi. I took the moon taxi. I don't even know what the fuck I'm like, yeah, I'm in moon taxi. I got moon taxi. Whatever I say, right? I'm the moon taxi.

I took the moon taxi. I don't even know what the fuck I'm talking about. Aren't they moon taxi? Well, here's the story. So I walk in and I go straight to the cooler and I grab a couple of beers and there's another guy who's like standing behind the cooler. And he's like, hey, man, that's, I think that's, you know,

that's for moon taxi. And I'm like, yeah, we're with moon taxi. I'm moon taxi. I'm the main guy in Moon Taxi. I don't even know what the fuck Moon Taxi is, but here I am. This is Bears for me, it says Moon Taxi. So I think I'm entitled to the beer

and the guy's like, really? You're with Moon Taxi? And I'm like, yeah, Jeff from Moon Taxi? And he's like, I don't think there's a Jeff in Moon. So I'm like, I don't know, it's Moon Taxi. I'm in Moon Taxi. So I take the beers and on the way out the door, there's another guy, right?

And he says, hey, I think that beer's from Moon Taxi. And I'm like, yeah, I'm with Moontaxi, I'm in Moontaxi. So I take the beers and on the way out the door, there's another guy, right? And he says, hey, I think that beer's from Moontaxi. And I'm like, yeah, I'm with Moontaxi. And he says, no, I'm with Moontaxi. I am Moontaxi, you're not with Moontaxi. And I'm like, I was told that I'm with Moontaxi. Moontaxi is a band by the way. It's a forever band. And I had no fucking clue, right?

I thought it was a name of a company or we were just like the VIP area and it was named. And so the guy finally a way. And I had no fucking clue, right? I thought it was a name of a company or we were just like the VIP area and it was named. And so the guy finally re-lented and he said, he just finally, I think he just realized that I was way in over my head and this bullshit that I was spewing. And he just said, okay, man, you know, take those beers but I think you gotta go get them from somewhere else

next time. And I was like, I come back to Chrissy and I'm like, Chrissy, I said, Moontaxi and they said, you're not with Moontaxi. We don't even know who you are. And Chrissy's like, moon taxi is a band. It's a band. And I'm like, oh, it's a band on a company.

I look like a fucking shithead. I'm just taking everybody's beers. But I have never, honestly, I have never been, had so much access to such a huge festival. And that was an incredible day. From your side of it, Jeff, tell me about I know you're producing the billboard, but Radiohead played that year. Tell us what your angle is on it. You must be fucking, is that cool to you or is just something you're

so used to? It's like, wow, whatever. When you backstage like that hanging out. No, it's fine. It depends on the job. But that particular weekend, we were just doing packages for interviews, for kind of live, from Bond, or really kind of updates from man on the street type of stuff. So, but yeah, I have a blast doing that type of thing. Just went to the Grammys. I've done that type of work for many many years. So, it tons of different festivals. They could be grueling and you can have overnight editors and be dropping shit off at midnight,

picking stuff up at 6 a.m. but in the timelines can be funky. But I'm a blast doing it. I'm a music lover and I love talking to musicians and I remember interviewing Kenny Rogers that weekend too. Oh, you interviewed Kenny Rogers that night? I think it was that year. I can't remember. They all kind of run together. But, you interviewed Kenny Rogers that night? I think it was that year. I can't remember.

They all kind of run together. But yeah, I enjoy doing that. It's fun. And most artists are pleasant to work with. And yeah, I dig it. So we get through the afternoon. Chrissy and I are just kind of popping around while Jeff's doing his thing.

We're going back and forth and back and forth. Jeff's getting off. At some point, Jeff's gonna get off. And I know that I'm gonna get, again, get padded on the butt, right? Because that's, Chrissy's not here to see Brian. Brian's gonna see Brian and David. Wait, she's here to see Jeff. So I decide that at some point the sun goes down

and radio head is starting to play. And I'm like, okay, I gotta go make my friends out here somewhere and I think I may have had some friends at the show or something and I'm trying to find them. And so, at some point, I end up in the other VIP area and I meet a young lady and a couple of her friends. And so, we're all talking and we're sharing beers and I'm getting a little frothy at this point. Like, we've been in the sun all day long.

You know, I could take down, at that point, I could take down a 13 pack of buddhaite in about six hours. So, I was, and still stands straight up, I was pretty shit-faced, and I don't really remember what happens. But something starts to happen, and I realize, at some point, I realize that I've been given something, I ate something, I took something, something happened, I don't really remember. I just don't. I can't tell you what happened, but that unmistakable turn in your mind where you're like, oh, shit, what did I take? Hello, funny feelings. Hello, spinny wheels. So I start walking up and back and forth in the

crowd in radio head. And at the time I was dating a girl, don't need to mention her name, but we had a rather tumultuous relationship. And I was time I was dating a girl, don't need to mention her name, but we had a rather tumultuous relationship. And I was walking back and forth, trying to get ahold of this girl that I was dating, right? And she wasn't answering the phone. And sometimes I had service. And sometimes I didn't. And I just remember walking back and forth in the crowd, smoking cigarettes, like all the way to the fence, and then all the way to the front, and then all the way to the fence, and then all the way to the front. At the time I had had a friend who lived in the town where Bonarou is produced. What's the name of the town?

Manchester. Manchester. She lived in Manchester. And when I called her on the way up because I knew we only had one hotel room and I certainly wasn't going to be welcome there, right? Because it's the Jeff and Holi show. So I called her on the way up and I said, hey, can I please stay at your house? She says, I get out of town on this weekend because I don't want

if anything to fucking do with it. But I'm leaving you a key under the mat. Do you know where my house is? And I say, yeah, I know where your house is because I've been there before. I get on my car. You gave you all you had to say was you were with moon text. That's all I had to say. I'm just because the Ritz Carlton and me and Ch Manchester Tennessee was going to invite me right in with my taxi.

They only have motel six and like, holiday in. And yeah, that'll change over years. Yeah. So, I, so, holy, I have held these car keys and I text holy and I say, I'm going to go find the Anna's house. This is a good, take my car. Yeah, take my car. Yeah, take your car, go.

I'll ride back with Jeff. That's what I'm talking about. I don't give a shit. I just don't want you around. I'll ride back with Jeff. So I, at some point, decide that I am going to go find Chrissy HODELY's car, which I have no fucking clue where it is. And I am so spun out, I have no idea. I Literally walked a mile and a half out that gate to find Chris's car and when I got to Chris's car

I realized that I probably shouldn't be driving But it's just a little short drive over to this house and Manchester So I'm gonna take the chance I drove in the middle of the night now. It's probably about midnight I drive in the middle of the night and I try and find this girl's house. I have no fucking clue where her house is. I think I see the street. I think this is the house. I think that is the house.

I finally get to what I believe is the house. I pull up and I get out of the car and as soon as I get out of the car, there's a gentleman in the window and I'm like, oh no, that's not on his house and I get back in the car and I go and I drive around and I think I see another house but it's got two cars in the window and I'm like, oh no, that's not on this house. And I get back in the car and I go and I drive around and I think I see another house, but it's got two cars in the driveway.

I can't find her house. I have no clue. In the dark, they all look the same. And I'm like texting her trying to, you know, trying to ask, she doesn't respond. So I'm like, okay, fine. You know what, I'm just gonna go find a hotel room somewhere. I'm gonna get out, I'm gonna find a hotel room.

Manchester to the next town, to the. Manchester to the next town, to the next town, to the next town, to Chattanooga, to Dalton. Yeah, just all the way back to Atlanta. I spent six hours in the car driving around. Shit hammered. I mean, I should never have been driving. I don't know what made me believe that that was the right thing to do. But I drove so fucking far just to get back to Atlanta. And by the time I woke up, it was like three o'clock in the afternoon, four o'clock in the afternoon, Christie's calling me.

She's like, where'd you go? And I'm like, well, I'm back in Atlanta. And she's like, are you gonna come back? And I'm like, if it's all right with you, why don't you just come back and then I'll give you your car when you get here. Mark, have a good friend. It is a mark of a great friend and I think I had your car for like 10 days after that because you were just like,

I'm with Jeff, don't worry about it. Oh, just, give me your car back whenever. I'll give my car next Tuesday. What is the craziest thing that, what is the craziest concert story you ever, you have? Because I think that's one of the craziest that I probably have. I probably have a few others that might match that, but driving home in the middle of the night after seeing radio-headed monitors,

pretty, seven and a half hour drive is pretty good. So do you have a lifeline? Yeah, you need a light-caller lifeline. You've been doing this for two decades now, right? And you've produced major concert festivals, you've been backstage. I know there's gotta be a story way crazier than driving home At you know three o'clock in the morning from Bono Rio. So hit me with it

I want to hear your craziest story because you've been that's what you do Well, there's been so many there's The most infamous story that I have involves two live crew. Oh. The rap amp, two live crew. Oh, it'd be so horny. Oh, it'd be so horny.

Great man, great man, great cultural. Are they a band? Yeah, they're a group, a thing, they're a thing. So I was promoting a two live crew. This is what I lived over in Oxford, Mississippi. And I was promoting a show at the leave. It was end of 96. And so the content, the show sold out. And it was, yeah, there was a thousand kids there. I think kids, mostly fraternity and sorority kids.

So by partner and I got to the show a few minutes late and we're in the back and it's packed and selling tons of booze and things seem fine. And then all of a sudden they had these dancers that were on stage and the dancers go off the stage and they come back out and they don't have any tops on. And we're like, oh, these girls have no tops on. And- Fully nude. I mean, fully nude from the waist up.

From the waist up. And so my partner and I look at each other and said, oh, this could be a problem. You know, you're in a Bible belt. You know, it's in deep- Fuck off for Mississippi. Deep Yeah, you're in a Bible belt. You know, it's deep south for Mississippi. Deep south, you know, place. And so we let it kind of, we let it go for a minute.

And we let it ride for a minute. Then the girls go off stage and they come back for the next song and they're fully 100% nude. Whoa. So at this point, then... Like, Qing Qing's hanging out and everything. Everything. And it's the Miso Horni dancer.

So it's three women. Oh my God. Completely nude on stage in front of 1,000 people. And so we, I parted when I look at each other. And so he's like, I'll take care of the stage. You take care of the soundboard. So the idea was I'd go over the soundboard. I cut the sound, he'd go to the stage,

deal with the performers, and I'd cut the lights on too. Oh, but there's more. So that took, it very well documented. That took about 11 minutes to accomplish that, to run through all the audience and get everything done. What happened in that 11 minutes is pretty famous. There was all sorts of stuff that I guess were on a podcast, we can say whatever the hell we want to say. Sure. But there was...

All 11 listeners are just interested in what you have to say. That's my favorite kind of lollipop. Lollipop, let's see. There was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there

was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, there was, throwing them out into the audience. There was there was strap up. That's my favorite kind of Lollipop.

Lollipop pussy. There was there was a a labial Lollipop. I love it. They had brought audiences of the members of the audience up on stage and we're performing LUDACs on stage. What are they giving below jobs on stage? They gave one kid a kind of semi handkerchief. semi one with with whipped cream and stuff. And it was it was a lot of stuff went on during

these 11 minutes. And so we we shut down the show and lights went on and by the time that the police arrived, the band was across the county line at that point. They don't talk about some guy out. They knew. Anybody that's worked with hip-hop and rap artists, though, that most demand to get paid before they even go on stage. So they had been paid, and they were across the county line by the time that the police arrived. The show was over at that point. I thought the show was over, but that was really just... Yeah, The show was over at that point.

I thought the show was over, but that was really just. Yeah, the show was over, I did what I needed to do. I cut them off and what else can you ask for? That was just the beginning. And that just turned into the beginning of the story. So anyway, the police at Oxford. Okay, wait, let's stop for just one second. Cause I wanna inform,

we have a lot of younger listeners of the show who may not even have been born in 1996, but two live crew is a pretty famous rap group that gained, coming out of Miami, Florida, that gained notoriety by putting together some of the dirtiest rap that you ever heard. I say dirtiest, I mean dirty, like penthouse letters in rap form, right?

And some of their songs were edited to broadcast on air and they kind of became like a circus, like everywhere this guy Luke, who headed up the group, went. I Walker. Yeah, Luke Skywalker was his on stage name. And wherever he went, trouble came. Police wanted to rest in 1996, it's not like 2020. And even in 2020, you can't have girls on stage, stickin' the Hollywood clips of their Choo-chan. You know, that stuff's just not allowed. And so he made a show of it everywhere that he went, they became extremely popular for like half a second because they were the act

that no one could handle. Essentially, it was just too much. They were doing the crudest, rudest, crazy stuff out there. And so it kind of be, and then of course, then the freedom fighters get involved, right? This is too crude, we don't want it. And then the freedom fighters get involved, right? And this is too crude. We don't want it. And then the other guys are saying, hey, free speech and tip or gore.

And they made it all the way to their case made it to the Supreme Court. Yeah, they did. And I, what was the thing that they had on the parental warnings? Or rental warnings. Parental warnings is probably in part due to, to life career, maybe in whole, right? That's kind of what tip the edge. So when you see a parental warning on a CD cover, if you even know what a CD is, that's why.

And now these parental warnings that come along with TV and movie and shows and all this other stuff, really, it started back in 1996. And so Jeff, let me ask you just a couple questions about the show before you get into the jail part of this. When do you contact their management directly or you contacted, did they even have management at that time or you just contacting them to To book the show No, I believe we went through their agent. They had an agency. So they're taking a tour and you say hey once you stop here And we'll pay you X amount of dollars. You remember how much you paid them?

and you say, hey, once you stop here, and we'll pay you X amount of dollars. You remember how much you paid them? A couple thousand, 10,000, 15. A couple grand, I think. Couple grand, okay. And so at this point, are they at the beginning or the end of this craziness that's happening? Are they at the beginning of the 15 minutes of fame

or at the end? I think there's a kind of, yeah, towards the end, but they were still riding it though. They were still riding it. Yeah, they were still riding it. But did you meet them? Is it they have is it just like a they too much and i know i met all those guys

they could see the rather nice once you got them calm down this guy looks guy walker like at least in interviews i've seen i mean he was he was pushing the envelope but he seemed like a nice guy they were all but they were they were all packing heat i remember that they were all carrying guns they were all carrying guns i do into the ox, I mean, you're an Oxford Mississippi as a black man, maybe. That was the first for me. I had not promoted a thousand shows prior to that one. Never seen an artist with a gun. Never seen an artist with a gun.

Okay. So little rant is over. So I just wanted to make sure that we, that people understood who two live crew was. You should go back and do a little homework on Wikipedia about to live crew. So now the police show up. So there's 11 minutes between the girls getting up on stage fully noon and starting to perform extraordinarily ludax. I mean, a strip club wouldn't allow this, right? So, and even at some bachelor, this is kind of stuff you would see at a bachelor party with some really rag tag strippers. Yes. And so, which is probably what they were, right? I imagine they're just, he just kind of pays them good money to go up and make a scene

so that he can get some press is probably how this happens. So you go, you pull the plug, you turn the lights on, shows over, see you later, they get out the back door and they don't look back, they just head out because they've already been paid. How many minutes into the show were you like 15 minutes? No, this is probably maybe six, seven songs into it. Okay, so you're six or seven songs, so you kind of got your money's worth, right? People, the BSO horny dancers didn't come out

to about the third song or so. Okay. So shows over, how long does it take for the cops to get there? It's a small town, it was 10 or 15 minutes. Less than 10 minutes. Okay, so cops show up what happens next. So lights are on. Everybody's just stunned. Everybody's walking around just going what just happened. Did you see that? I can't believe I just witnessed that. The police are trying to figure out what

happened. And we just figured what my police are doing in investigation into the labia polybox. We just figured it was over at that point. And what, in fact, it was just beginning. So the police had gotten wind that there was a, that somebody had videotaped it. Somehow or another that they got word around it. Oh, so and so had made a video copy of this.

So there became this great mystery of who has this video. And ultimately we were able to track down the guy that had the video. And we thought we got the tape before the police did. So we had a ceremony, we viewed the tape, we're astonished, we couldn't even, because I was busy trying to shut down the room. Sure, you're running around trying to cut the board. When I finally saw this tape, I was like, oh my God, I couldn't believe what I witnessed

and didn't witness in live. And so at that point, we had a ceremonial burning of this tape. We buried it in a backyard and burned it. And that's it. And we said, that's it. We'll never view this thing again. Well, it turns out that this kid had made a copy. Of course he did.

Of course he did. This is his money trial. He's going to sell it to every fraternity of America. It's always a copy. So the police show up with a warrant and get this tape from this kid. So that began a series of, they press charges against my partner and I for allowing Lude and... Visibious ex. Wasn't there somebody that was involved in the audience that was a high up political person

or... His daughter was on stage and she was not doing, she was involved in a sexual act and there was political ramifications. No shit. So wait, the daughter of a local politician was up on stage. Yeah. Like show under tits or what was going on, something like that.

She enjoyed the Mesa Horni dancers. Oh my God. So they decide they're gonna press charges. And of course, I would imagine that at that time, producing a video tape with that kind of footage also comes along with its own consequences right so now not only are you allowing the X but then they're being video taped right right so they are videotape just one little side note here because

there weren't iPhones back then was there was a camcorder it was a camcorder yeah yeah I got to imagine you're gonna see too light crew it's a total was there was someone like a camp quarter? It was a camp quarter. Yeah. I got to imagine you're going to see two live crew. It's a total fucking circus. If you have a camp quarter, you're probably bringing it. Right? Our younger audience has no idea what a camp quarter is.

Camp quarter. C-A-M-C-O-R-D-E-R camp quarter. So the police, this takes a little bit of time, but the police eventually say, we're going to press charges against you guys. You guys allowed this to happen. Right, right. You encouraged it to happen. So that kind of sets off a wave of, and look, the internet wasn't what, certainly on a local level, and then it became a national story. And so we, they set a court date for us.

And we've got a team of attorneys, as well as the, we've got a bunch of folks that are representing us. Who feel like? Do they represent you pro bono? Do they say we're jumping in here because we want to be a part of it? They did, they did. And we had several liberties folks that were doing pro bono workforce too as well as our normal attorney as well.

And so we strike a deal with the prosecuting attorney. And as you know, when the defense strikes a deal with the prosecuting attorney. And as you know, when the defense strikes a deal with the prosecutor, 99.9% of the time, the judge is gonna go with what that deal is. It's gonna, you know, it will most of the time, the punishment will look like something, like what the deal they struck. The prosecutor's representing the people, right?

And so the judge is elected by the people. So he says, or she says, hey, listen, if the people agree that this is a punishment suiting the crime, then who am I to step in and say otherwise? But the judge has the ultimate say, if you put together a plea deal, it doesn't always mean that it's going to go down like that. So I'm imagining what happens next.

So we get to court and the honorable Glenn Aldersian. Glenn Aldersian was a good old boy. He was an honorable Glenn John. Well, he heard vaginal insertion and then he took a break to go look at the tape. And he walks back into the room and he said, boys, you brought the snake in, so you're responsible for the snake and slammed his gavill down and said, six months in prison, bam! Six months in prison?

And my partner sent me to six months in prison and sentenced me and my partner to six months in jail. So, Jeff, this is insane. This is an insane story. Six months in prison for promoting a concert? Yes. So, the next thing I do, I've got cuffs on, I'm shackled, I'm going into, I've got channel five and channel 11 in my face now and I'm going into the back of the cop car. They're wheeling me off to the maximum security prison they have in Oxford. And I'm like, what? And then next thing I know, I'm in pod C of maximum security in an orange jumpsuit. And my partner and I are looking at going what the hell is going on.

So we're sitting in jail and our attorney at some point a few hours later comes in and says, look I can get you guys, we can post bail right now and get you guys out. Get you guys leave town. Get you out of the country. But the issue is you'll have to, you know, you'll have to, you might have to go to the next state court as opposed to the local court and I don't know what they're going to view this. So his recommendation to us was stay put for right now and let's just see if we can sway popular opinion and the judge to just let you guys out in a day or two. So we stayed in prison for 10 days. No fucking shit.

And it was getting to the point where like I was just like let's just post post post bail and are you in the state are you in the state prison or are you in the in the city holding cell like in the city jail it's a it's a it's a back some security facility that they have there for that handles I think people mostly in northern Mississippi I could be okay got you that but it's not it's not you're like little poe dunk type of type of county jail type of thing. I mean, it's a large facility. So I learned a lot in those 10 days.

I learned how to make a shank. I learned how to trade my potatoes for cigarettes. I thought speaking of cigarettes, I could learn how to light one, but you took toilet paper and rolled it up And you would put it into the the electrical outlet and yeah, yeah Jocelyn until it caught on fire and then that's the way you could light your light your smoke off of that Oh man, I'm in there not spent a couple days and but it was but it was like the city jail Right and it was for something having nothing to do with like Ludan of the city is axon the judge didn't throw six months at me

Six months is a long time in prison. So nervous are you fucking shit in yourself that you're gonna spend the next six months in jail? No because we knew that we could have gotten out and we could have posted bail at any point but we just knew that what was gonna happen next was there was the big issue was that we went to the state court down in Jackson this city would they view this at the same and then would we actually have to serve the entire six months so we were rolling the dice that how are stern is checking in on this by the way so this becomes a national story at this point and Howard Stern picks it up and the the rock radio station in Memphis was the morning show there was kind of checking in on this every day. Meanwhile the entire city of Oxford was there was people wearing

black ribbons and they were putting up. Jeff is dead. Jeff died. There were letters to the editor. The judge got flooded by letters. It was a huge, it became a thing. And so on the shit. The morning after the 10th night, he let us go with time serve. And so that ultimately became, you know,

I probably my most memorable concert story. I don't see you got me beat by a fucking mile. I mean, that's unbelievable. Just to bring it all back, just to bring it all back to Bonnery, the year that we were talking about, Jeff revealed this story to me that year at Bonnery. I was like, what?

That's not second date material. That stuff you break out a couple months later. Oh my God. Oh my God. You got caught up. I just had to tell you I've been to jail before, and I was like, for what? And then he told me this story.

Oh my God. You got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time in this, in the evolution of this particular story and the history of music in the United States, which is two live crew was absolutely fucking insane and they were running around doing all this crazy stuff and there was this fight between civil libertarians who said, hey, that's freedom of speech, that's what it is. And all of these, you know, right wing freedom fighters who were saying that, you know, two-live crew is the downfall of American society. So you get caught in it, and then, obviously, you know, you paid some consequences because of their bad behavior.

Did two-live crew ever come back and say anything to you guys? Like, did their management call to anybody from the representation call and say, and did the police ever go after two live crew? Why were they are to say, they're beyond the state lines, we're not getting them. Exactly. Yep. No, our, our attorneys, we tried to reach out to them. We tried to get comments and, and it just a more validation that we did not know what was about to happen. That's all you had nothing. That's what we were looking for them to say. Say, hey, these guys did know that this was about to happen

So but now we did we never got anything from Interestingly enough on the backhand of the story I actually was back at that jail again about about a year later But I wasn't I wasn't a prisoner. I you're taking your taking a tour of the facility I was promoting another show at in the town and one night Woody Harrelson walks into my my venue and long story short, Woody ends up getting on stage, does a Beatles number with this band that was on stage and then Woody and I ended up striking a stretch. He was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and I was shooting a film and we became friends and he became friends and he became friends and he came out to my house and we ended up spending about a week together after that after that and he had gone on multiple things.

It faced the courts that we're talking about. His loot and obscene behavior through his magazine. And so they were filming the court scenes and the jail scenes for the people versus their talent in Oxford. So I went back as a guest of what he Harrelson in the same jail in the same you know I had my hand on the glass and with the telephone the whole thing So you know what we could spend an entire another show probably on your week with Woody Harrelson I got to imagine you still stay in just real quick? Do you still stay in touch with him?

I have a good friend that does say that, but now I... I did see him after a couple of times. There's a whole other story about Woody. Okay, this is what I want to do. We're coming up on an hour for this particular podcast, but what I would like to do is, Jeff, if we can invite you on again for another episode, I would like to do is Jeff, if we can invite you on again for another episode, I'd like to do that. Chrissy, I want to get to your favorite, your craziest

concert story. And Jeff, if you would join us for another episode, I think you, I think we've just scratched the surface of good stories between you and Houdley. So I'll invite you on again, tcb.podcast.com is where you can't even say this correctly, tcbbpodcast.com is where you go to find out more information about the show. Leave us a comment or message or a question and we will address them on the show. If we'd like it, at the commercial break is your Instagram account. You can find us on Facebook, join the group. And thanks for listening. Email us at thecommercialbeat at gmail.com find us and follow us on Facebook and Instagram at the commercial break new episodes drop every Wednesday we can be

found on Spotify iHeart Media Apple Google and all major podcast providers the commercial break is a great middleweight production, written and produced by Brian Green, co-hosted by Chrissy Hover. you