Best of Matt Connarton Unleashed volume 43

From the studios of w m n H ninety five point three FM in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. You are tuned in to the best of Matt Connerton unleashed. If we're gonna bring in a we have a great guest on via Skype. We're gonna bring in in just a moment. But if you'd like to enter the discussion that we are about to have, six three two five six Z seven is a studio line six three two five six zero seven. You can also text me at six one seven nine one seven four four seven six. I'm on social media at Matt Connerton.

You can email me Matt at Matt Connerton dot com. You can interact endo Pine in the Facebook live chat. But the best thing to do so that we can hear and enjoy your dulcet tones is to give us a call at six zero three two five zero six zero seven. And we have Kevin Hammer via Skype. Kevin are you there? Yes, I am hello, Welcome to the show. Glad, glad to be here. I just want to check and you hear me clearly? Yeah, yeah, absolutely can hear me. Okay, a bit choppy, a bit staticky, but I can make I can make everything out everywhere just saying okay, good good.

Yeah. Technology will will not always be exactly what we wanted to be, that's for sure. Absolutely, But uh yeah, yesterday we had a band on all the way from Germany called Factory of Art and uh, you know, when when you're getting transcontinental, it can be especially a challenging and they were skyping in but they had a little bit of a problem connecting. You know. Actually it worked, but I had to had to give it a few shots. But where where are you? Are you in Schenectady in New York? Yes, yep, I do reside in Schenectady, New York.

Okay, it's not that far from the capitol Albany, New York. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have some I have some family in New York state. Spend some time there as a kid, because I haven't been there in a while, well at least not not in terms of spending any real time there. But um my, uh, my dad's second wife, her family is in I don't know if you know Frankfort. It's uh kind of near uh, I guess it's kind of near Utica. Um yeah, I'm aware of the Frankfort area. Absolutely, Okay, Yeah, it's kind of funny in that area.

You've got all those you know, they don't even really call them towns. They call them villages like Frankfurt and Ilion and and it's hard to tell where one ends and and and another one begins. It's they're kind of like a like one city sort of match together. But it's really like a series of neighborhoods. It's interesting, but um, it's funny. Yeah, it's it is funny up here. I actually grew up in a community where the Amish had posts to tie up their horses. So really, no kidding in New York or were you yes?

Oh wow? I was born and raised in Scaria, Montgomery Counties in New York State. Uh. And it's funny because most people when you say you're from New York, they go to the city. But I grew up in small town, rural New York. Like I said that, we had an Amish community, Uh, you know, Mennonites, you know, we we had all that out there. And like I said, our bank, our post you know, the post office, our grocery store, they all had post to um tie up their horses. In fact, they put in a brand new a few years ago they put in a brand new sign in the center of town.

Uh buggy parking, No kidding, Oh yep, Oh that's cool. That's interesting. Interesting. Um you ever see that that that show, Amish Mafia. I think it was actually set in Pennsylvania. Did you ever see that? I think it was on the Earning Channel. No, I'm aware that it exists, but no I have I have actually never seen a full episode. I saw a trailer for it once and I found it very amusing. It's a it's a trip. I just I know someone actually someone who claims to be a real New Yorker from from the city who uh will often brag about the time that he interviewed Lebanon Levi from Amish Mafia, and it's kind of like, wow, that's uh quite the brag there.

But uh, yeah, that that that ship. I have seen the show. It's it's kind of a trip. But now, what is your current statis in terms of are you a candidate or do you currently hold office? Well, I I am currently a candidate. Um, I will admit IM not going to speak so much to the uh you know, the race right now my campaign, Yeah, right now, we're the Democrats I am a Republican. The Democrats have their primaries, Uh, their primary coming up. Uh, you know, so we're just reaching out to the community now, still knocking on doors, getting getting our names out there.

I ran in twenty twenty one for city council and I'm running again. Okay in Schenectady. Yep, in Schenectady. Gotcha. Now, have you held office before or if you run, did you run for office prior to twenty twenty one. No, twenty twenty one was my first time entering politics in that in that fashion. Okay. Prior to that, I had been involved more on the activist side since probably around college. Okay. And now you came to us by way of our friend Billy Painter, or Bad Billy as he is as this his online persona.

Although I personally I don't know what you think, Kevin, I think he should just use his real name. I think Billy Painter is a cool name. I don't know why. I just like the way it sounds. But uh, but yeah, he had he had recommended, and I'm glad he connected us and I did. I didn't get a chance to see quite the whole thing, but I did watch most of um your interview, Billy's interview with you, I should say, on Outlaw Radio and very interesting and U and you know, we had talked via messenger and you had mentioned, you know, you're a Republican, but you you know, you like to be able to discuss things with people outside of the echo chamber, and um, you know, one of the things that I try to do with this show, and this is part of what it's part of what made you interesting as a guest and why I think Billy suggested you come on, is you know I, um, and I'm an independent, but I would probably best describe my politics.

And when I go with this particular description, people seem to agree with me. I'm center left, but with a heavy dose of libertarian in some ways too. But I really like talking to um, you know, I I don't personally enjoy having discussions that are strictly you know, ideological, the sort of cable news to people yelling at each other. You know. I like to dig deeper, and I like talking to people whom uh you know. I mean, of course, it's nice to talk to people with whom I agree. It's also nice to talk to people with whom I disagree and have a real discussion and an exchange of ideas.

And uh, my impression both from Billy and what you had said on Messenger is that you're very open to that as well, and that you like to address things outside the echo chamber. So um, so I think that's very cool and I'm very interested in So a couple things about you that are that are interesting also in addition to that that I wanted to ask you about. UM. One is I would like to hear your story about how Billy described you as a walk away from the Democratic Party and you you alluded to it a moment ago as well, um that you used to be a Democrat.

And it's interesting you you said something interesting in your conversation with Billy on his show. You were talking about how you really kind of feel more like an independent. But you know the way the system works in New York. You know, if you want to vote, or I suppose if you want to be a candidate in your case, because you're an active candidates. You know, you're an active candidate. Independence generally don't win, so you know you almost you almost have to pick a side, um in that sense. But I do want to ask you more about all of that your your journey and and and how you've changed politically or if you have changed.

You know, sometimes people will say regardless of which party they left, you know. I hear people say, well the party didn't you know, I didn't leave the party, the party left me. But I'm curious to hear more about that. The other thing that's that's interesting about you is, UM, so you are and and it's right on on the website there that I was looking at. You know, you're you're openly gay and in a party that I think I think there's a perception and and you might refute this today, I don't know, or it might be a concern.

I'm curious to hear you address this. Um, but there is a perception that the Republican Party today has kind of taken an anti LGBTQ bent or. But then again, I also realize you're in New York and the Republican Party of New York State is not the same as say no disrespect to the South, but the Republican Party of Alabama. You know, So so maybe maybe maybe where you are, and I suspect this is the case, but I'll be interested to hear you address this. Maybe where you are, it just doesn't matter. I mean, I know George Santos is an openly gay Republican allegedly.

Of course, you don't know whether you can believe anything anything he says, but he is an openly gay Republican from New York, and nobody seems to care that he's gay. So everyone's very interested in whether he's actually telling the truth about anything. But nobody seems to care that he's gay. So um, so you know, in the Northeast, maybe it's just not an issue. I don't know, but I'd be curious to get your perspective on that. But um, but yeah, any any of that that you want to address. I know I threw a lot at you at once, but you're I'm very curious to learn more about you.

And um, your conversation with Billy left me with a lot of questions, so as you can tell Sore Oh no, absolutely, yeah, a lot of a lot of ground at me. Um, you know where to start on the map? Um, No, well, it is true. I was once I was a registered Democrat identified actually self identified as a leftist at one point. You know, I was involved as an activist more during the time when s JW was more commonly used social justice warrior back back in those you don't you don't really hear that anymore.

UM. I had a journey, which UM, I mean, there was a lot involved in it, and I came to embrace more my conservative values. Now. Part of that journey, UM, was indeed the fact, as you said, many people say I didn't leave the party, the party left me. The Democratic Party went further to the left. That's true. However, at around the same time, I was also connecting to some more of my conservative of root values that had that had always been there. So it really, it really was a mixture. UM. I can't I can't say that, you know now, I you know, identifying as a conservative and speaking to conservative values, I can't say that they weren't there at all.

Right, they were there even when I was more on the left. It's just how my interactions went on the left ultimately led to me embracing more of those conservative values, um, and ultimately rejecting a lot of the ideology that I saw on the rise on the left. Now, you it is it is true that um. In regards I like to say today, UM that I prefer to discuss values, not party. Yes, Uh, and that that really has become more and more of my focus. Uh. Not too long ago, I was having a discussion with two gentlemen about issues locally and as When we got done with our conversation, you know, I was expressing my opinion.

I was talking about specific issues. And when we got done with the conversation and the one guy left, the other guy, who happens to be a Republican, a conservative like myself, he goes, Wow, he goes, that was impressive, he goes. Usually, when me and the other guy try to you know, me and my other friend try to talk to him, you know, he's hard Democrat and he will yell at us, get frustrated with us and all that, And I go, I understand that, and I've had that experience as well. But did you notice something in our conversation.

Not once did I mention party affiliation during this entire conversation. I just spoke about the issues and my personal values, which well, that leaving party out of it allowed us to have a better connection. Yeah, that makes sense, because you when you had that conversation with Billy on his show, you were talking about that there's a moment that I and I wanted to kind of mention this to you, and and I liked what you had to say. There's a moment where you gave him, you offered him some advice on you know, he's he's uh.

He was talking about his daughter and a political sort of a political conversation interaction that he had had with his daughter. And you said to Billy, can I give you some advice and the advice that you gave him? And I won't, uh, I'm sure I won't get it out as eloquently as you put it, because I really liked what you had to say. But your suggestion was, you know, start with you know, don't don't talk about political party with your daughter, talk about specific issues and uh and and and just stick to that.

And I really, again, the way you said it was very very good. UM. I can't remember exactly how you put it, but it really resonated with me because, you know, I feel like we live in a world where people are so hyper focused on party identification and ideology that there's no room to even um, express anything outside of what's expected to you. Uh. For example, on social media, UM, if you are on either left or right, you know, if you're if you're a Republican and uh. And and you say, well, you know, I'm a Republican, but here's something that I do give President Biden credit for.

I think he's right on. You know, maybe you know the way he's supplied weapons in Ukraine or whatever. If that's something you happen to agree with him on. If you if you give Biden credit for anything as a Republican, you'll get dog piled. You'll get called a rhino. You know, you'll get called a I don't know, a socialist whatever it is, right. Uh. And and in the inverse, if you're a Democrat and you say, well, you know, I don't I don't like Trump, but I did agree with him on the debt ceiling. That was something that he got right.

Uh, you'll get dog piled by your your fellow Democrats and it's like, how can you dare say anything good about Trump? And um so uh it's and and that just perpetuates, you know, we we we live in a world where it's like you've really you're expected to be locked in on one side or the other. And so I think your approach is smart. Uh, you know, talk about the you know, forget about the political identification. Uh, start with the issues and and and go from there because at the end of the day, especially when you're talking about local things, UM, I think there's a lot of room for agreement, you know, if you're talking about if you're running for city council or something like that, I think there's probably a lot more room for agreement and less room for ideology uh than there isn't on a broader scale anyway.

So I think what, Uh, the way you approach it and the way you think about it, I think makes a lot of sense. We've gotten a we we've gotten to a point where if you're talking about a politician, whether they be Democrat, Republican, whatever they may be, and you are on that opposite end of the political spectrum at least that's your party affiliation, and you do speak kind of to them in any way, you do get that attack. Unfortunately, we are that polarized. Although I would say that we're polarized in regards to what the media highlights, in regards to what the politicians highlight, but not so much when it comes to day today Americans, everyday americans who I feel actually can have more conversations and I know, in fact we can because I've taken part in those conversations.

It's more on the social media where I get the conflict, but in person, I've had in depth conversations with people on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Sure we did not agree, but we remain civil absolutely, and I think in part that's because we and I was I had a friend once kind of put it this way. He was saying, you know, it's kind of like we're at this point. You know, say there was a historical a dictator, a monstrous dictator, right, and that dictator happened to say, um, puppies are cute.

Well, after that point, no one could ever say puppies are cute because this dictator said it right, right, So no one no one can say puppies are cute now, um, you know. So it's it's very interesting that we have gotten into that, and it's it does exist on both sides of the aisle, all across the political spectrum. Now, for me personally, it's interesting because I look back to my roots and where I came from. One of the things I actually feel very fortunate in regards to is that I did not have very political parents.

My parents never discussed voting with me. To be honest, some people may not look fondly upon that, um, you know, for various reasons. But it's just not who my parents were. And I remember once asking them about voting, and both my parents had the same view, why bother they're all crooked anyways, across across the board. And that's a common view actually. But for me, especially when I enter college and I started looking at the world around me, I realized something that was true, whether I liked it or not.

You know, there's the saying that you don't have to believe in the devil. All that matters is the devil believes in you. And that's true when it comes to politics. You can say you don't care about politics. You can say that you don't you don't care. You know, it doesn't impact your life, but that's just not true. I had a conversation with a friend who lives in a more rural area and he was telling me earlier, he had been telling me in the week about he was putting in a duck pond and you know, in a coup for the ducks and all that stuff.

And then later on he was telling me how politics doesn't impact his life, you know, so he just doesn't want anything to do with it. And I remembered back to our earlier conversation and I asked him, owing the answer probably, I said, I have a question. You think politics doesn't impact your life? I got a question. Did you check all the zoning laws and regulations when you put in that pond and you put in that coup, because if you did not follow them to the tea, those were passed, those rules were passed by government, by local government.

So yes, it does. In politics impacts us from the moment we are born and before we go we were born. Though you know, if you're born in a hospital, there are regulations, policies at the hospital has to follow that have been implemented by government. Government does impact us from womb to tomb um and even after the tomb to be honest, because they can you know, semeties. So I mean, politics does impact you, whether you like it or not. Some one thing to that that realization. When I entered college, I got involved, and at the time it was more on the left.

I was actually I was an activist. I was a co founder of the of one of the GSAs at my college. Um at the first college I went to, and I really did fall into more with the left, and for me, that did end up eventually taking more of an extreme turn at one point to where I did cut out family over over politics. The one thing I never did, I never told anyone they didn't have a right to speak. Um, this is where it honestly started to change for me is when I actually got that treatment in return, and I'm actually thankful that I did.

To be honest, I started to question things on the left at the time. And like I said, I don't say this to say that everyone who has left or leaning has these personality traits or takes part in this behavior. Of course, I'm speaking to the experience I had during my journey from the left to the right. And you know, and I've met I've met people on the right who are very big on if you don't have this specific view, then you're cut off right, nothing nothing to do with you. But for me, I experienced it largely on the left and still do to the to this day.

Um, what it happened was, I think, as I always I always kind of say, I think what really ultimately was going to result in my conflict with the left was that I'm very stubborn and I don't respond well to people trying to put me in my place. I'm someone who always asked questions. I wasn't the child who easily accepted when my parents told me something. I wasn't the child to really accept because I said so. I was the child who would ask why yeah, And I view that as important. You tell a child not to touch a burning stove, why not explain to them why they shouldn't touch the hot stove because they could get hurt.

Instead of just saying because I said so, right, They're more likely to rebel against that and actually touch the stove and get and get burnt. But if you explain to them why, you're gonna probably have a different result. I mean, they could still do it, you know, but but you're probably gonna at least they're gonna have a better understanding. And I really had that personality from the time I was very young. Trust me, it frustrated my mother at times, but my mother let me. Let my mother understood where my logic was was going.

And ultimately, I think this personality trait is what eventually caused me to conflict with the left as it moved further and further to the left, because when I entered the left, there was a lot of things that were preached that I absolutely believed in and still do actually believe into this day. It's just when I noticed a lot of double standards and hypocrisy on the rise, that was when I started to conflict, because I started to ask more questions. Yeah, and I do have a few examples of those that I found where I was starting to like.

For example, you know, there was this we would say, all right, you shouldn't judge someone by the color of their skin. Absolutely, absolutely, you shouldn't. That's wrong. That's racist. To have a pre against someone based on the color of their skin. That is racism. That is the definition of racism. Right. It's wrong to judge someone's entire character based on their sex. Absolutely absolutely agreed with that, and I still agree with that deeply. It's wrong to judge someone hate someone based on their sexual orientation, and you know, in regards homosexuality, heterosexual Still I still believe that.

However, I noticed that there became more and more among my friends this double standard, meaning they believed that racism only went one way, sexism only one way, hating someone based on sexual orientation only went went only went one way, and that if you were the oppressed quote unquote demographic, you had every right to treat other people however you wanted based on these characteristics because you were the oppressed. And that just didn't sit right with me. I think that it's just as wrong for me to attack a heterosexual man for being heterosexual, to call him some kind of name a slur related to that, as it would be for him to call me a slur in regards to my sexual orientation.

I saw that as just as wrong. But unfortunately on the progressive left right now, they don't see that, as they see one is wrong but not the other. Um but where were these Were there expert personal experiences that you had where this came up? Because I don't, I don't, I mean, I well, first of all, let me just say so, I fundamentally agree with you. I mean, any anybody, uh, you know, being prejudiced against anyone is as a form of prejudice. Like I'm not a big fan of the term and you might agree, I'm not a big fan of the term reverse racism.

I think racism is racism. Yeah yeah, um, but but I am I am curious. So, uh, I mean, were there personal experiences that you were having or did something happen to you online? Where where you began to notice? Because I don't feel like I see while I agree with you, um, in principle, I haven't. Granted, I don't really engage much online in politics. I kind of save it all for the show. Um. But I so I agree with you in principle, but it's not something I've seen. Like, I can't, off the top of my head think of a lot of examples of straight people being attacked for being straight.

I'm not sure. So I'm just can you clarify that a little bit. I'm just curious where where you were running into that and and and if you can walk us through how you responded to that when you encountered it, and how that drew you to to see hypocrisy and double standards and so forth. Well, let me, I guess, let me explain, because I know the perspective you're coming from. In my personal life. When I say I was an activist, well I may not have you know, been high up there and gotten a lot of attention.

I was very much involved in activism, and I did end up with friends who went further and further to left, like not just people on social media, people in my circle of friends who, for example, over a political disagreement, one friend I had, he did try to get someone fired from their job. He t but he docks them, like I knew people who honestly were at that level of encouraging people to cut off family even divorce their spouses over political disagreements. Like my circle of friends was hard went hard left.

So it wasn't even social media, which, don't get me wrong, I experienced that on social media, of course. Yeah, I was part of a law of left leaning political groups and chats and everything like that. But I had people in my life, people I had known for years, who were also of this mentality and actually took part in the actions. And like when I had the falling out with my family member over politics, a lot of my friends encouraged me to cut her out of my life and never talk to her again. And this was someone who is my baby cousin.

I'm about I'm all about four years older than her, and I was there when she was born and we had a falling out over politics. And at the time I was much more extreme and much more of you know that you gotta agree with me on this or else I don't want to talk to you. And I was surrounded by people who had that same mentality and encouraged that mentality in me. Now, I still made the decision, right, I'm not No one held a gun to my head or anything, but not to say that someone want to do that these days, it seems like some might, but no, I still made that decision.

So I still take responsibility for my actions there. I'm not going to sit here and claim that I was completely helpless they I was. I was was to you know, by threat of my life or anything. I ultimately was the one that made those decisions. But all so that was my circle of friends. Or just to clarify, because I actually marched on Washington, DC. I protested outside my capital. I went to organizational meetings, I helped organize protests, I spoke at protests. I was deeply involved on in regards to the activity locally when it came to the left.

Yeah, yeah, um, I will actually, uh, I want to kind of retract and rephrase something I said when you mentioned when you mentioned specifically people trying to get people fired from their jobs or because of maybe not you know, whatever it is, their their position or something. I have seen examples of that. Actually, so I was not. I'm realizing now I'm because as you're talking, I'm thinking of specific things you know, where Um. It kind of reminds me of the what what Candice Owens talked about.

Although in I don't believe her story, I do believe your story because I've seen examples of what you're talking about. I have, and it's starting to come back to me. Candice. I don't. I don't. I don't know how you feel about her. I don't believe her. But that's a separate conversation. But I but I know what you're saying, and it's it's, um, yeah, if if somebody, um, you know, somebody does something that that someone perceives as uh and and they may be right in their perception that it's prejudiced or something, and then they go and they try to get that person fired from their job, uh that type of thing.

Uh yeah, I don't like to see that either. I think I think people do go much too far with that or the dock singe that goes on. And so I I understand, Uh, you're being repelled by that, Um, I've never I've never been an activist in that way, so I've not experienced that. But I've never been in that position either. But I have seen that kind of thing happen, Kevin, So I do get where you're coming from on that, and let me let me just because you asked for a specific examples, So, um, there were specific examples, especially around twenty sixteen going into twenty seventeen, because obviously that's when things really heated up.

Yeah, and that was when you know, I cut out a family member. But then I started to really question myself on that. I over politics,

was going to cut out someone that I had known literally since the day she was born. Yeah, over over politics. I had a falling out with well, my in laws event you know, eventually for a little bit. And you know, I don't regret. Some people might say they regret these falling out, these falling outs, I don't because I stepped back and reflected on them and more I became critical of myself. What could I have done differently, What could I have said differently? Yeah, and some of them, some of the things that happened personally where I actually became a target in my circle of friends UM started around that time.

So I don't know if you recall UM when a group of four UM young individuals who happened to be black kidnapped a young UM man with mental health issues and tortured him and recorded it, you know, and we're we're calling and we're using racial slurs and you know, uh, you know, towards towards white's. During that, I remember in my group of friends saying, oh, okay, here's an act of racism. Just as we've called out acts of racism against other other demographics, other racial demographics, here's an act of racism that we should call out as well.

Like I said, in my mind, racism is racism and it's wrong and we should call out. But when I went to call that out, people in my own circle of friends said, no, you can't do that. That's not racism. Was that a violent act yes? Was that prejudice yes? And I'm like prejudices in the definition of racism, But you know, I started getting push pushed back with that. UM. Another thing that that happened to me is I had made a lot of posts critical of Christianity in regards to while the LGBT community UM and I had.

You know, I had made a number of posts and friends had my friends in my closed circle, they had liked and shared them. Well, I made a similar post, except this post I was being critical of Islam in regards to how it has how that how that religion has treated homosexuals, um and other people from the community over over our span of years. And I was told I couldn't, I should take down that post because my post against Christianity will fine, but my my post being critical of Islam, we're wrong because in the context of America, we're talking about minority demographic.

So I'm punching down and this just didn't make sense to me. I realized what came. The biggest issue I had was inconsistency and logic. If you have a specific set of values and you don't apply them equally across the board, I have to question you. I have to question if you can and then you don't acknowledge the double standards, the hypocrisy at play in your own mind. Don't get me wrong, we all have our double standards, right, like when it comes to policy, like there are things that yes, children shouldn't do, but adults can, right, That's that's one case where absolutely into me.

That's that's legitimate. I stand by that. But this was very different, and more and more I started speaking on issues and getting told to be quiet by those in my circle of friends, to the point where I was actually removed from several uh messaging groups that I had been part of on social media where I actually knew the people in person. And then one individual was amusing the one that tried to get a guy fired from his job. Yeah, there was a protest locally in front of in front of my police station.

Actually, and this I had already been started being very open about my criticisms of the left, and I had starting I had started to embrace more of my conservative values in part as a result of that, started reflecting more upon who I really am, really soul searching. But during that time I hadn't heard from him as much. Yeah, I happened to go to that protest. I saw him there. He kind of looked at me, then looked away, and someone I had been at his house. I had celebrated with him, celebrated birthdays, like really, we had hung out, and sure enough I went to look him up on social media.

Not only had he unfriended me, on social media he had blocked me as well. Yeah, so this is what started to happen. And I think one big thing issue for me was my unwavering belief in free speech, no matter what, even my days when I was the furthest to the left I had ever gotten. I still while I might cut people out, I might have cut people out, I still didn't believe that they should be silenced, right. I still believed that they had a right to speak to their values, to what they believed, even if their values hurt my feelings.

I just wanted to associate with them if it hurt my feelings. I believed that to my core and I still do so. When a number of my friends started taking those actions of well, we're gonna work to get people fired, We're gonna even you know docs, people release their information and even sometimes go after family members, all because people were just speaking their values, that for me was like, I'm done. I have to step away from this, And that was when my journey really started to where I am today. Yeah yeah, um no, I can.

I can understand all of that, and now I'm curious, uh, the other aspect that I'm really interested in it. So, um it is my theory, correct, Kevin, that you

as a as an openly gay man in the Republican Party in the state of New York, probably not an issue. Or have you or have you run in any have you run in any problems with that where where maybe some maybe somebody just uh gives you a hard time. So I'm not someone who tries to um blind myself to reality or tries to deny truth. Um. Of course the Republican Party has not had a history that has been great with individuals who like myself, I are gay, right, Yeah, yeah, that's that's a fact. Then again, it wasn't too long ago that you had Biden up there talking about marriage being between a man and a woman.

So but furthermore, I want, I want to um, I put it this way now with people, because people do say to me, how can you vote this way? How can you have these values when the party that you're a part of, um, you know, have had has had this history when it comes to the LGBT community. Well, I'm like, well, first of all, there's a great deal in the LGBT community that I stand firmly against what I see, especially in the current lgbt Q. All the way to z a community that I just I absolutely, am adamantly against.

So, first of all, there's that. And second of all, even if let's say the Republican Party today put out a platform that all homosexuals should be put to death, right, even if that were to happen today, my values on freedom of speech, the first Amendment would be the same, The Second Amendment would be the same, Abortion would be the same, border issues would be the same. I would still have these values. So would I vote for a politician that wanted me put to death? No, But I would vote for a politician that supported, that fought for the values that I preach.

And yes, they happen to be conservative and Republican. And that's just the fact. So when people try to bring up the history, I'm like, well, that's also the point. It's history, right, yeah, because we can spend all day going down history, going down that road as to who did what and who did when? I mean, do you want to go back to segregation? Do you want to go back to Democratic Party? I mean how far do you want to take this? Well? Yeah, yeah, no, I understand that. But what I'm curious, though, Kevin is like, do you get any pushback.

You know, you're a candidate for office as a Republican, do you get any pushback in your own party in New York Because because if you look at the Republican Party's history with say, for example, marriage equality, um uh, you know, obviously there are Republicans. Well I'll just give you just a quick example. So here in New Hampshire, we were actually ahead of the curve on marriage equality because um and uh Jenny was was serving in the in the House, uh, in the legislature here uh in New Hampshire at the time.

But um so uh there there were a large contingent of Republicans uh in New Hampshire who voted in favor of marriage equality and then voted against repealing it when some Republicans tried to repeal it in the next term. So so we were ahead of the curve. But part of what contributed to that was was, you know, some Republicans who said, no, we we we, you know, let's let's go ahead and let's go ahead and do this. Uh. Not not all of them, of course, plenty of them opposed it as well, but um and there there are certainly Republicans who who bristle at the idea of undoing that for example, um so, um so, there are a lot of Republicans who are pro aage equality.

But I'm just wondering, I mean, do you do you run into any any fellow Republicans or Republicans you've campaigned with, for example, who who have any issue. Again, I wouldn't think that it would be a problem in in New York, not to you know, bring Northeastern elitism into it. But you know we can We're both Northeasterners. We can do that. Um. Whereas you know, if you were if you were running for city council in Alabama or Mississippi or Oklahoma, you know, as a Republican, you you might very well, uh you know, you might run into some trouble.

But I'm wondering, have you had any of that here or or has it? Has that part been pretty smooth because to your credit, you don't try to hide it. Um. You know, again the website I was looking at, you know, you could try to slide one by and refer to your partner on that website, but you don't. You refer to him as your husband. If you had said partner and captain ambiguous, you might foolsome people. But you're not trying to fool anybody, which I really respect you for um. Because of the position that you're in, no one could blame you if you did try to sneak one by, you know what I mean.

So and so, so it's it's so it's interesting, I guess, first of all, it's a matter of my approach, right, Yeah, is to me. To me, there's nothing special in that I that I do reference my husband in my description. I've seen plenty of profiles where, you know, a male candidate will say my wife in regards to explaining why he's running for office, my wife, my family. I'm running because I want my family to have to live in a safer, safer community. And that's the thing is first of all, I want to stress, Yeah, I am not a gay candidate.

I am not a gay Republican. I am a Republican candidate who happens to be gay, who happens to be a homosexual. So gay is not the priority of my identity. Yeah, It's not something I put any work into. It's something I just am. So that's also the idea of taking pride in that. To me, one of the things is taking pride in an identity that you didn't work for. That's where you get into narcissism and you get into more entitlements. So for me, when I when I go to speak to a Republican on the street or not, you know, I knock on their door, I don't introduce myself as HI, I'm Kevin the homosexual.

I introduced myself as HI, my name is Kevin Hammer. I'm running for city council. UM. These are the issues that I'm focusing on, and that's where the conversation is. YEA, have I had Have I interacted with any pushback? Yeah, I've interact But to me, it's no different. So so I have out with Republicans, h I had. I do have an example of one Republican who couldn't get past the fact that I happened to be a homosexual man. But at the same time, I have people on the left who can't get past the fact that I'm a homosexual who's a Republican.

So I witnessed it on both sides. Now, when some marriage equality, specifically, I was involved as an activist during that time. I actually marched on Washington, DC for the Equality March in two thousand and nine. Um so, yeah, yes, it was two thousand and nine. I believe, um so, I was involved, you know, in that. But to be honest, my view even on that to a degree has changed in regards to what I why I personally was was fighting for was is I wanted legal protections. I wanted to be able to have to live my life with with a man that I fell in love with, and not have to worry about my family or anyone else coming in during certain times, say I was injured in the hospital, I didn't want to worry about my family coming in and laying claim to me.

I didn't want to worry about if I were to pass away my spouse, you know, being able to inherit what I leave him in my will. I didn't want to worry about that. Now a lot of people say, well, you could still follow those you know, the legal processes and leave. The problem is is that there was a history of it when we didn't have those legal protections that even if someone said, Okay, I'm going to sign off that this person makes all medical decisions for me if I'm incapacitated, or that my items go to this families would often come in and there was a history of this and challenge it on the basis of morality and even say, well, we feel that our relative was brainwashed into this lifestyle, and therefore we want you know, we want custody, we want a right to him to make these decisions about his health, or we want to right to his estate.

And if a judge, if a judge's morality was in line with that family, quite off, didn't It didn't matter if there was a will, it didn't matter, you know, if anything was on paper, the judge would go with that. So for me, it wasn't about even the word marriage. I just wanted security in the fact that there were legal protections for me and the man that I love. Yeah, that's a big that's a big part of why, um civil unions in my view that wasn't enough. You know, that was sort of the compromise when we when when civil unions came in and it was like, well but but as you know, some of the examples that you gave are reasons why even civil unions didn't quite hold up.

And that's that's one of the reasons why it was it was so important in my view. You know, like I said, I've always been pro marriage equality. But m Kevin, we are You've been very generous with your time. We're already it's about ten minutes of five, so we'll we'll let you go. I know you got to get to get to dinner and so forth. But UM, not to put you on the spot, but I would like to do this again soon because I've really enjoyed the conversation and I feel like we barely scratched the surface. And uh, you know, you're an interesting guy.

So I do hope we can do this again soon. But before we let you go, please, is there anything that we should know for anyone who might be listening online in your area, where where they should go to learn more about your campaign or social media or anything you want to make sure our listeners know about, or anything that you're that you might be involved in online politically or otherwise that people should know about. Well, I mean, for um, in regards to my campaign, where you can learn more about me and also my other amazing candidates who are running alongside me.

I really do have some great people surrounding me. You on Facebook, you can go to your GOP candidates for Schenectady City Council. It is actually the same on Twitter. Um there you can find links to our website and just just learn more about us. But ultimately, I guess what I want to leave people with is just to really work on avoiding the echo chambers that we have today in our society, regardless of whether they are on the right or the left. Echo chambers, I truly believe are one of the greatest dangers in our society today.

We once you get trapped in them, you get this mentality to actually hate the other side. Yes, And the scary thing about that is once you convince yourself to hate someone, to hate a group of people, history shows us that eventually you can justify doing the most horrific things to those individuals. So get out of your echo chambers. If you're in it, think about your Think about your life for a moment. Say do I have a friend, not an acquaintance. Do I have a friend or someone that I can have deeper conversations with who's other different perspective on this issue or that issue, or a different political affiliation.

And do we have these conversations. If not, work on changing that, work on making connections, because like I said, it's the it's the politicians, it's the media. It's the hardcore activists that are creating this view that we are so divided that we can't stand each other. But on the streets, I feel that we very much still can have conversations. Oh yeah, and people treat each other differently in person than they do on social media anyway. Absolutely. Yeah, So, by the way, I would love to come back on.

UM, I'm very much enjoying this conversation in your right. Over all the topics in general, we've just barely scratched the surface. Yeah, because I've definitely had an interesting journey, uh, from from left to right and my walk away experience as well. Yeah, yeah, definitely, Well we will we'll set something up Jenny, Jenny will connect with you on that and uh and and we'll make it happen because I've enjoyed this very much. All right, Kevin Hammer, thank you again so much for joining us today, and we will talk soon.

Let's have a good day, all right, YouTube bye bye, all right, very good. That was Kevin Hammer, a Republican from Schenectady, New York. He is on the ballot for a well I don't know if there's a ballot yet, but he's running for city Council, Uh there in Schenectady, and uh yeah, and I you know, I really like what he had to say about, you know, getting out of the echo chambers because that's and that's part of the reason why I wanted to talk with him today is because that's something that we talk about a lot on this show, you know, and I really believe that, you know.

In fact, we were talking just the other day about algorithms, you know, and how on social media, whether it be YouTube or Facebook or whatever it is, you're you're actively served up content that matches what you've already looked at, what you've already absorbed. So you're constantly being fed information that reinforces what you already think. And that's good and one sense, right from a customer service standpoint, because you want to you want to be suggested, so to speak, products or services or content that you are going to be interested in.

So you know, it's no different than on social media in terms of content. It's no different from when say you're shopping on Amazon. You want to be presented with products that somehow align with things that you've previously purchased or things that you've previously looked at, so that all makes sense. So the algorithms are necessary evil. But the evil part in the necessary evil is that, yeah, it does reinforce these echo chambers that we all get trapped in and that we're vulnerable too. And if you can have constructive intellectual discussions outside of that and outside of being you know, trapped in an ideology.

And you know, Kevin put it very well when he said, what happens is that gets reinforced to the point where people who disagree with each other begin to hate each other. And um, that's uh, that's the worst partum, and a lot of terrible things become justified because of that hatred. So yeah, so there you go, Blake, I said, I feel like we barely scratched the surface with Kevin, so we will do that again soon. From the studios of wm n H ninety five point three FM in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, you are tuned in to the best of Matt Connerton Unleashed.

We have a wonderful musical guest with us here, Andrea Paquin. I've learned how to pronounce the the last name correctly. How are you welcome? Thanks, How are you very well? Very well? Uh, looking forward to this. So you're gonna play a few a few tunes for us, and then we're gonna we're gonna talk get to know you a little bit. So um, this will be uh, this will be fine. Oh and I will say before we go any further, hello to Amy Bates, if one of my radio brethren, if she is listening, which she probably I think she is.

Yeah, I think I think she most likely has. I actually shared the uh, I shared the Facebook feed to her page. So good, good good, So she'll definitely she'll definitely see it. Uh so uh, yeah, these are songs that are from your upcoming album? Is that correct? Yeah, I'm doing it. I'm doing a six song EP and I'm gonna do a few songs off of that project that I actually started the project today. So we can talk about that after or if you'd like, absolutely, yeah, very very curious to know more. Are my friend?

I'll let you go ahead and introduce the first song. Aren't the song it's called If you were mine? We could take out time, but I want you by my side whatever we do. I'm so happy if you would. Are you thinking of, oh what are you thinking of? So much that was left behind? Sometimes on my mind. The view of the horizons new and I don't see an end insight. I don't see an end insight. Would it be all right to say I think our stars are a line. I'd be a true O man. Take if you were mine. I know you've been down and out.

To open up your eyes and see that blue sky. It will be all that you ever need. It will be all you never need. There is nothing I wouldn't do to see that you with you. I know I've been there too. But there's a whole living inside of me. There is a hope right here inside of me. Would it be he all right to say I think our stars are aligne. I'd be a true O mate. If you were mine,

I'd be a true oh mate, if you were mine. There is a feeling I am longing for. So hold me close, sitting beside me now, shoulder to shoulder, just you and me, just you, oh, just healing me. Would it be hard to say I think our stars are mine? I'd be a true mate if you were mine. I'd be a true mate. If you were mine, I'd be a true matte if you were mine. Oh my God, I love your voice. Thank you, I really do, absolutely were you gonna say, Mikey, looks you were about to say something that that describes my voice right now, there you go.

Yeah, you're getting a lot of love in the chat room to Jenny is in there of course and uh n h women folk Yeah group on Facebook. Yeah, ye, my ladies, they say bravo. Anne Roy is in there and says she's awesome, and also h Terry Waite, Oh yeah nice, says hello. Yeah that was my friends in Connecticut. Yeah. Oh, very good, very good. Um well yeah, let's keep going. What are you what are you gonna play? Next song? I'm gonna do And this is a song I'm gonna do a song all recovery. Okay, this is also going to be on the new the new EP.

Very good, very good. All right. I lost at see the dooking Home to beat my feet, I'm in eyes, no hell to stare.

My blue sail was never really clear, and it arsites and me to a baggest ship, Nolans in view. They aye vorces in me to a baggest ship, Nolans in you. These starts are killing me. Oh and the recovery he starts are killing me. Oh and the recovery fund this their vote,

I flee ending of my m meets I see, I fight to stay.

Oh, the swells a longing four the sound of sir, and it leads meet you, And I'm not sure how I swear I've been there before. Yeah, in leads meet you, and I'm not sure how I swear errupting there before he starts killing me. Oh, and need recovery. He starts killing me. Oh, and the recovery seem love it, love it. That is awesome. That is awesome. Anne Roy in the chat room says she exudes emotions. Definitely, Melanie Liberty, our friend from the great state of Vermont. She says, she loves you, and uh, that was fantastic.

Um. Miriam Banish says, great voice, thank you. Yeah, you're getting a lot of love in there. Definitely, Definitely. You want to play one more and then we'll and then we'll talk. Sure, I'll do one more. All right, excellent if you're just joining us. Andrea Paquin is with us in studio. So I'm gonna do a song called this is Us. Okay, there's a hole in the wall behind the picture frame that I took down. Look like the gaps in our history. We often ignored for far too long, and these dozens of hangings made us look so happy.

But we were just covering up, covering eater, covering eater, covering it up, covering. We're so settled in our ways, we don't know what to say anymore. It's funny coming to me what I felt to see every day waking up, routine of the mundane we often ignore, and it fell into our laps. We never woke up. No, we never woke up. Yeah, we never woke up. We never woke up. Now it's my dan. How did I not see it? Hits,

It's it's us, And now its liding? How did I not see that, Hits? That's set us. There's a whole in the wall behind the picture frame that I took down, like gaps in our history, we often ignored for far too long, and these dozens of hangings made us look so happy. But we were just covering it up, covering meter, covering,

covering it up, covering meter. Now it's blinding. How did I not see he it's no, it's bing not seeing it's it's us. Wonderful Andrea Paquin is here in studio with us. That was fantastic. Uh n h women Folk in the chat room says, what a great way to start the weekend. Thank you, Andrea, thank you. And Jean Fougate Oh yeah, I don't know if I'm saying that correctly. Uh. She gave a big smiley face. Awesome, So you're getting a lot of love in there. Jan Curtain Derosia. Oh nice, sounds great. Andrea, thank you, and uh, we have a call.

This might be might be a fan calling in. I'm maddie. It's scary. Hey Gary, what's up. What a beautiful voice, what a powerful voice? Yeah, thank you? Or just and those songs are fantastic. I'm I'm just sitting here and wow, they're they're meaningful. Thank you. That's all I got. Meanings what she's singing, there's there's meanings and they kind of hit they kind of hit home a little so good. Well that's what music should do. Absolutely. Yeah, she's amazing. She's amazing cool, just that just that powerfulness and her guitar playing is fantastic.

Yeah, well, thank you,

very good, very good. I'm I'm in love the love the love of her voice. It's beautiful. But yeah, I always love Jenny. But yeah, we know it's fantastic. But yeah, what another what another great what another great musician that you had on? Yea, and yeah it starts the week on it starts the weekend up right. Really cool. Absolutely, I just add my I just had to add my two cents because you know, being a musician and just she's really great. She's really really great. So I'll let you go out and till listen to more.

Love you, Maddie, all right, Gary, love you, Jenny. And what a lovely day. Thank you, thank you for the love, and thank you for a wonderful day, Maddie. And thank you, thank you so much for her She's great. Byebye, all right bye Gary, thank you for the call. Appreciate it. All right. That was our friend, Gary. And uh, we're gonna take a quick break. I'm actually gonna play a studio track here of Andrea's boxer. This is another one of my favorites. Uh. That is on the website. It's a nice website, by the way, Andrea Paquin dot com.

I'm a web site nerds, so I notice a nice websites. So no, Andrea Paquin is here with us in studio. Don't go away. There is plenty more to come. The day is long in the rain. It's holding out like a time boxer in the rain. I want to throw a punch, buddy, due to much chat on this sun, No, for sure, I am swearing up and I have lostened up to take this gigantic fall. I didn't want to three. I stapping out one to free. The day is long and the sun it's finally calm out. It's hotter than exterday. Let you down back now.

That ain't no surprise to any one at all. But I bit myself back and keep on moving on. And this is where I say, but in one to three, I'm standing out. One to three, one two three, I standing out wine shoot three. The day is long and the rain is holding out like a tire boxer in the ring. And on the couch. She just played a few wonderful songs for us. Andrea Paquin is here. Welcome Andrea, Hi, how are you good? Good? It is uh wow, Thank you again for playing for us. That was fantastic. Thanks for having me, and you're getting a lot of love in the Facebook live chat.

And um now you mentioned those are gonna be on an upcoming album that you're recording now, yes, yeah, actually today was the first day that I went into the studio. It's the Greenhouse Studio in Guildford, Okay. And so I recorded uh my master guitar tracks and some scratch vocals for the production piece. And then I'll be finishing up the actual production in Portland, Maine at a different studio. Oh okay, Now why Um, I'm always uh kind of a geek for knowing about recording and how why musicians approach it the way they do.

So why why at different studios doing different parts of it? Oh, there's gonna be some more musicians in the Portland area that are going to be able to join, and we're gonnat to earlier on the break that I'm gonna have some pedal steel. Um, yeah, the record, and I'm going to have this like little alt country feel to it. So yeah, and the Portland areas a lot of musicians that are accessible in that actual studio, they have a lot of connections. So We're gonna just wrap it up there, I think, and I'm gonna do allment my master vocal tracks in Portland, Maine.

What what's the studio in Portland. I think it's just the studio in Maine. The studio in Portland. Oh that's what it's called. I'm pretty sure that's what it's called. Oh yeah, I think so, don't quote me up. I'm not sure yet. That's cool. That's cool. Great music scene in Portland. Oh it's awesome. Yeah. I always always been a lot of very talented musicians there, so so that's gonna be uh yeah, you're also telling me during the break too, So it's gonna be kind of a different vibe than than your previous yeah, work, it'll be.

It'll be a little similar, but it's gonna be more of that alternative country feel, kind of like a like a like a Jayhawks type sound. Oh cool. Yeah, so definitely, like you know, just kind of incorporating some new instruments just to just to change it up a little bit. And um, I'm with I work with New Hampshire Music Collective. They are a booking agency throughout in Hampshire and so he they do a lot of my booking and they actually connected me with this studio. So oh very good. I worked out really well.

Why the why the change and approach as far as the music and I don't know, I just I just feel it. I just felt the different you know, I'm listening to a lot of different artists lately, and uh, I've just been kind of been influenced with that sound. Yeah yeah, and you actually so you were telling me earlier. So you live in Connecticut, but you come up here to record and play shows. Yeah, so, man, I do play in connectget sometimes when I play in Maine. I do most of my shows in New Hampshire through New Hampshire Music Collective.

Okay, which is which is a very large booking agency in New Hampshire. Okay, and you're you're from here originally, I'm from Manchester, New Hampshire original. Wow. Yeah you grew up here? Oh yeah, yeah, I was a Central high school. I went to Oh I'll be doing okay, Okay, what you did you graduate? I graduated in ninety seven. Oh okay.

Do you know do you know Peter White? I know because he kind of because he grew up See, I grew up in Conquered I didn't grow up in match By. Peter grew here and he seems to kind of know everybody. So, um, yeah, so you so you so you grew up here, you went to high school here and then, um, what what took you to Connecticut? Uh, well, you know, Connecticut was I moved in. I moved to Connecticut in two thousand and six, okay, and then I ended up performing full time and I was touring the Northeast. Connecticut was central to everything, you know, like you know, Boston, New York, Rhode Island, mass everything.

Everything was in within two hours for the most part. So that was a real great way to tour that the Northeast. You know, that makes sense. Yeah. So I did that for a few years, you know, full time. Um, and then you know, the booking and the managing myself got pretty exhausting. I didn't have a lot of help, so so I decided to back off a little bit. And then I just got a job in the field where I have my degree in human services, and so I've been doing that. But I still do that now. But now music is back again at almost full time.

Oh yeah, I perform. I perform every weekend. Okay, okay, good good Um. And how did you connect with New Amster Booking Collective to have the name New Hampshire Music New Amster Music. Yeah, yeah, New Hampshire Music Collective. Yeah. So somebody had mentioned to John MacArthur, who um is one of the owners for that agency, and then he reached out to me, and then I reached back out to him, and then we connected and we have a great relationship now. Yeah, excellent, excellent. You know, honestly, he's made my career at what it is right now.

Without him, I wouldn't be playing as much. So oh, no kidding, Yeah, they're they're phenomenal people. Yeah. So are you literally up here every weekend or just about? No kidding, yeah, just about just about. So I'll do Thursday, Friday Saturday shows or Friday Saturday Sunday. Yeah, and I'm playing three two to three nights a week. Okay, yeah, okay, very good. Yeah that's pretty cool. Now do you have any kind of an ETA yet on when the new album will be done? July? Early July? Okay, yeah, I'm gonna put I'm gonna be posting my CD release dates on my website and my social media.

Yeah, so I'll be lett everybody know when that's going to happen. Oh, very good. Do you know how many songs are going to be on? Six songs? Okay, so it's just it's just an EPP yeah yeah, um yeah, what what goes into the decision to do, because then this is something I ask everybody. I'm always curious about this. You know, obviously, we live in a time where, um, you've got a lot of different options because of the Internet. You know, you could do an EP, you could put out an album, you could just put out singles.

Um. I've met in the last few years especially, I've met a lot of artists who they do the thing where they're just putting out singles, but eventually they're going to take those singles and put them into an EP or put them into an album. That's the plan. Is that the plan? Yeah? Yeah, I actually was talking to John about that today and we're talking about pushing the singles and then and then having the EP come together. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah. It's funny because you know, when I was growing up, it was, you know, artists would put out an album and then go on tour and then eventually they put out so different But yeah, yeah, it's like night and day different, is it?

Oh? Yeah? Is it hard to make those those I mean, on the one hand, it's nice to have all these options, right, but at the same time, um, is it is it difficult for you to make those choices? As far as we'll do I do an EP, do I do you know how many? How many songs am I going to record for this project with? Well? I mean, so you know, I had plenty of songs to pick from. I could have recorded I want to, I want, I want to at some point we record some of the older stuff that I recorded. Yeah, but these were six new songs or five new songs that I had that I had written, So I just wanted to get the five new ones out.

Yeah. And I'm also covering John Denver's Country Roads on the new EP. Oh okay, yeah, yeah, I've been playing that one forever and I just I finally I wanted to get it recorded. Yeah. Yeah. Do you when you play out, do you do mostly originals? Do you mix in some covers? So there's like, you know, original venues and those cover venues, right, Yeah, So I mean like listening rooms like I'm gonna I'm gonna give a shout out to the Tee Total or and Conquered. Uh, that's a listening room. So when I write played Tee Total Or, it's ninety five percent originals.

But I play places like um around you know, Pip is like Foster's Tavern, yeah, or if I play over here at the Foundry, like, I'll do mostly covers and I'll throw in a few originals here and there, just because that's that's the kind of scene, you know. Yeah, but listening room events, I will do all my originals. Yeah. So when you say it's a list it's a listening room. So it's people are there to actually hear the music, right, Yeah, they're there to listen and have it be a non speaking event where they're they're focusing on the music.

Like let's think it's like a concert hall kind of thing. Yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, whereas at a bar it's uh yeah, it's like it's like, yeah, you play covers and you get a reaction to people, and then they start listening in then you get a rapport and so then I throw on a few originals at that point. Yeah. Yeah. Do you do any um, do you do any covers that are kind of obscure. I've met some artists who, you know, they'll they'll do a few covers that are are fairly you know, they might be from well known artists, but maybe they're deep tracks or whatever, and and sometimes, um, sometimes the audience doesn't necessarily know that they're covers.

Yeah, I know. I definitely do some songs like that. Yeah, I'm not quite sure Tom Petty all or nothing. Um okay, I'm not sure if you know that song, but I do that one. I'm trying to. I probably know it, so I'm sure I have a catalog somewhere in my brain. Yeah, it's a great it's a great song. So I do a lot of Tom Patty, I do a lot of Credence. I do some pretty Carlisle, I do Tracy Chapman. Yeah, I do uh, Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkle. I mean I cover alf I do Ed Sharon. I mean big plethora of of songs I do here.

Yeah, so from boy back from the sixties all the way toil currents is the songs that I cover. Do you have any idea how many songs you know? Could you put a number on it? I have about almost five hours of music I could play. Yeah, it's a lot of music. Wow. Do you ever do you ever? Do you ever go back and re learn something you might have might have forgotten? Yeah, I'll go back and look. But you know, I so I'm old school. You know, all these artists are out with their tablets and like, yeah, you know, I just I still have the old book.

Yeah, I have had my old book on my stand and I flipped through and you know it's about this big yeah. Yeah. But they're like, you're probably kind of my friends. You want to get to talble it. I was like, I'm don't know, because I just I'm used to this this you know, this book because it's full, it's my cover songs. I can't rememborize five five hours of cover songs right right of course. But yeah, that's my lifeline right there. Yeah. Yeah. Are there any other artists that you play a lot of shows with?

You know, sometimes people sort of it happens almost by accident, people sort of team up and end up just on the same bill a lot. Well, speaking of that, not really, but I am with the New Hampshire women Folk Singers. There's four of us actually okay, and uh, there's gonna be a big festival in September, September sixteenth up a way up north um Sugar Shot Campground. Uh. And there's the creator um of the festival, kind of found the three of us to join in with her. Um and it's just a really amazing, amazing group.

You have to if people are interested in hearing this folk group, which I would highly suggest and recommend, It's New Hampshire women Folk. Okay, yeah, it's just amazing. It's going to be a really great event. It's it's focusing non music and for it's locusing on women's music. Yeah, and um, bringing in artists who you know, are independent who don't have a name yet for themselves. Yeah, featuring these people who are very talented who deserve the stage. Is this an annual event? This is the first year.

Oh, this is the first one. It's pretty amazing so far. Yeah. Yeah. So Erica Cushing, Um, she's uh, she's the creator. Okay, yeah, she's a wonderful folk artist as well singer songwriter. She's great. Okay. Is she the headliner at the uh not the headliner, but she's pretty much created the whole thing, gotcha? Yeah? Yeah, Oh that's cool. It's very cool. Yeah, um yeah, it's Um. It's nice to see too, just a lot of live music happening in general, because obviously with COVID, uh, you know, everything really shut down for a while there.

I mean, what is did that? Because you had mentioned too that you know, you would kind of you would really slow down with the music career for a while. Did that play any kind of a role in that, sort of just having that, you know, the pandemic foisted upon you. Yeah, at some point it did. So I had I have my son, he's eight years old. So when I had NOL, I was playing a little bit. But then I just kind of really maybe four times a year I was playing, yeah, very low key. And then over the past year is when I started getting back into it.

But the pandemic I didn't play out at all hardly. But I am a program director for a nonprofit agency in Connecticut and I we serviced people disabilities. Yeah, so I oversee programs where people live there. So during that year of the initial pandemic year, they weren't able to leave their houses. They weren't able to see family, They were like literally secluded in their home. So what I did was I created a Thursday night live music event called Together at Home. Yeah, so I would go online every Thursday at six o'clock and all the group homes would join in and they would be able to see live a live music I did that for an entire year, every Thursday, Oh no kidding.

Yeah, that was pretty awesome. Oh that's cool. Um, were you able to tell how many? Uh? While it was yea, so well it started it's because it was zoom because you could see all the zoom people entering in. So yeah, started off at like five or six people, and then it turned out to be about thirty people, thirty thirty thirty individuals but several locations. So yeah, it was a pretty It was great for them because they were able to have a community during pandemic. Yeah, yeah, um it did. Uh did you write any Have you written any songs about about that that period?

No? Not really, um, because I was working in the group home and yeah, no, I really really didn't because it didn't it wasn't that different for me because we went to work and I couldn't not go to work. Yeah. Yeah, my lifestyle didn't really change exactly. Yeah, no, that makes sense. That makes sense. Um, do you so you're you're up here every weekend playing? Are there also? What's some music scene like in Connecticut? Are you able to or do you even have time to engage in the music scene there because you're you're up here quite a bit.

Yeah, it's just different it's it's weird, it's it's a it's a different kind of scene, like New Hampshire loves music. Yeah, I feel like New Hampshire is just like music driven on the weekends, like local music is really you know, big here. Yeah. I think it's okay in Connecticut. Yeah, it's a it's a it's just a whole different it's a whole different way to approach music in Connecticut. I think booking myself has been difficult there. Really. Yeah, it's really weird. Yeah, is there is there just a lack of Do you think there there's a lack of appreciation for local music?

They're just not Yeah, it's different, it's different. Yeah, I would say I would I wouldn't know if I would say that, but it's definitely a different feel. Yeah, yeah, it's not the same. When I come here, it's like amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Do you do you ever? Do you do shows in Boston or so? I used to play in a band called The Everyday Visuals and I was their bass player. I remember the Everyday Visuals, Yeah I was. I was a bass player for about ten years. Yeah, and we played a lot in Boston and a lot around here.

But yeah, so I haven't been to Boston in a while. But with Hampshire Music Collective, the goal is to get more in math. So okay, yeah, yes, So ten years you were in that band. Ten years all through high school, college and a little bit after college, no kidding, Okay, what when when you left that? I mean, was the band ending or did you know even they kept going? No, you know, I just wanted to pursue my solo career. Yeah. I mean I love the music. I mean it was like four part harmony, three part harmony, awesome band.

I mean we were like a independent rock band, you know, very very very awesome music. Yeah. Yeah, but I just, um, we parted ways. And you know all of my projects that you hear were was were engineered by some of the guys in the band. Oh no kidding. Yeah, So everything everything that's recorded was done by the guys. Yeah. Yeah, do they still Does that band still exist in some former yeah a little bit so. Um, the lead singer Christopher Pappas he does his own thing. Um, Kyle Frederickson was the guitar player, engineer type guy.

He's doing his own thing. And then Joe Cider is the drummer is actually now the drummer for the New Pornographers. Oh okay, no kidding. Yeah, that's pretty good. It is pretty cool. Good for him for him, is right? Yeah. And then and they're torn all the time and yeah he selling out places and yeah, yeah that's wow. He's I mean, all those guys in the band, I mean amazing musicians. I mean Chris was the main songwriter who wrote all the songs and yeah, just very talented guys. Is everything that you're doing now is that all?

Is that all you in terms of the writing, Yeah, yeah, it's all me. Yeah. Do you ever have you ever considered collaborating with anyone or do you want to keep your solo stuff? No? Well, you know Erica I mentioned before her and I've been talking about doing some co writes. Yeah. Um, it's really important, I think to co write because it opens you up to different ways of songwriting. Sure, you know, because you're kind of boxing in your own way, and then if you cart somebody, it's just like, oh I never thought of that, and then you start, you know, start opening up your writing style.

Um. And you mentioned you played bass and everyday visuals. What what was your your first instrument was bass? You started on bass, and yeah, I had a four string Washburn Oh okay, yeah, and then I then I upgraded to a five string Ernie Ball oh, which is a music man, which is an amazing bass. It's a solid rock bass. Yeah. And then I then I got my tailor, my tailor acoustic. See, I'm a bass player, so as soon as somebody mentions more than four strings, I'm like super impressed. I'm like, used to play a five strings.

Oh man, it's the best at loby is that the lowby on that on that bass can make so many different sounds and I'm sure, I'm sure it's awesome. I can't. I've never I've never attempted it. See I started on bass because um, and bass players hate when I when I say this, but it's just the truth. So when I was a kid, I took guitar lessons and unfortunately I was one of those lazy kids who, um, if I wasn't good at it right away, I would get bored with it. So because you know, okay, I you know, I could continue to learn these scales and chords, but I really like that video game and I'm good at that.

So is that kind of thing, you know? I would I. I mean, I took lessons, and but I I plateaued because I just I didn't have the discipline I wish I had. But anyway, so then in high school I picked up a bass, you know, just fooling around with some friends. Musically, I picked up a bass, and I seem to have a feel for it. But I also was keenly aware. I remember that this is the part that bass players hate when I say this, But I remember thinking, two less strings, and I don't have to know any chords.

I think I found my instrument. And then I went on to play bass and a bunch of bands. But that's cool. Yeah, yeah, so so I and I, you know, so I can play guitar a little bit, you know, just power chord, like I could be in a punk band if I would write, probably, but that's about the best I could do. But but so you started on bass and then you went to guitar, Yeah, yep. And then I usually play all the bass tracks on my records usually, Okay, this one, I don't know if I'm going through or not. I haven't played in several years, so I'm a little I'm a little dusty um and that guitar.

You have sound, It's fantastic. It's got a very rich, full sound. Yeah, it's my tailor. It's it's it's only a three fourteen or three fifteen UM, and it's I bought it. That's This guitar is twenty years old, no kidding? Yeah, oh wow? Yeah, has the original um? Has the original Fishman pick up? Yeah, in the in the Taylor because the new tailors have a new a new model okay, and people just love this old model much better. Oh wow. Yeah, and that sounds amazing, Yeah it does. Is that the only guitar you use?

Yeah, for the most part. Yeah, I don't blame you, no, really, I know it sounds it sounds really good. It is a good one. Yeah yeah. Yeah. And it's warmed up over the years. You know, the wood ages and you get that deeper tone because because Taylors tend to have a higher end sound to them. Okay, but you know when you play Taylor for twenty years, it's it's a lot warmer because Taylors are very bright. I've heard people say that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Martins are warmer, Guilds are warmer. Taylors are bright.

Yeah, yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, so I assume that's that's the guitar you use on all the all the oh yeah in the studio. Yeah yeah, oh very nice, Yeah, very nice. It's pretty sweet. Yeah, that's my pal, you know. Yeah. Um, do you have I know, I asked you how many songs do you know? Do do you have any idea how many songs you've written? Um? God, probably like that'll be eighty hundred. Yeah, yeah, I would say maybe like a hundred. Um, do you still play any anything that you know if you think back to early when you started writing songs, do you still play anything that goes there's one there's one song, so the very first one of the very first songs I wrote.

I still do that one, no kidding, yeah, oh yoh yeah, that's a yeah, that's the only one really that I do. That's really old. Oh that's cool. Has it changed over the years or do you stay faithful with the original to the original arrangement. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. Um, and when did so the studio material that we've been featuring on the show, obviously, you know you've got the new one that's coming out, and you said probably July, yes, early Julian. Um. When so the songs that are on your website currently that we've been playing, when did those come out?

Those are twenty fifteen, I think twenty fourteen, twenty fourteen or twenty fifteen. Yeah, it's it still been a while since I've done anything. Yeah, yeah, and that's what That's what I mean. So I was kind of I kind of laid low, but now that I'm back in it, I'm like, well, I gotta get something new out there, right right, no doubt. Um that that song reach Up? Do you do you play that live? Yes? Yeah, oh yeah yeah land to play Boxer, right, I do a lot off that record still yeah, oh yeah, yeah No, that's uh, that's really good stuff.

Absolutely. Um. And what's uh, what's kind of the the future trajectory? So you've got the new album should be done in July, and then, um, you have plans because you you know, you said, you know, things were kind of low key for a while and then started really ramping back up. So do you plan to just just keep going, just keep touring. Yeah. I really would love to do this full time and be able to leave my human service job. Yeah, if you know, once and for all and then perform music, you know, four nights a week and have that be full time and yep, um yeah, I mean with New Hampshire Music Collective.

They're definitely helping me with that. Yeah, it sounds like you're on your way. Yeah, yeah, they're They're great, They've been amazing. Yeah. Do they have is Are they a big Do they have a lot of fun? They have a lot of artists. Yeah, yeah, they have a lot of artists. I'll have to look them up. I'm curious. I feel like I've heard of them, but I'm sure you have. I mean, because they're they they book many venues in the state. Okay, yeah, okay, they've been around a long time, I assume, yeah, for a little while.

Yeah, I don't think very long, but long enough for they have a really yea, they have a lot of venues. Yeah. Yeah, oh that's cool. Yeah. You do you ever open for anybody, any national acts that come through or I've opened up for several in the in when I was playing a while back. Uh yeah, I opened up for Blissed Union of Souls. Oh yeah, yeah, I opened up for Howie Day back in the day. Yeah, I opened up for a couple independent like independent singer song was like Melissa Ferk Yeah, Garrison Star Edie Carey.

Uh yeah, that's that's what I've done so far. And hopefully John Over at a Hampshire was a collective is going to hopefully start getting me into those roles. Do you have a dream headliner you'd like to open for? Yes, the Indigo Girls, no kidding, for years, I've wanted to do that. They m Yeah, they used to come. I don't know if they still don't. They still come around a lot. They used to go to uh Meadowbrook every summer. They're also with the Flying Monkey now every every year. Oh no kidding, at least once or twice a year.

Yeah. Oh so that's so that's good. Well that's geographically, that's uh. I'd say that that tipsy odds in your favor. Yeah, I hope that would be awesome. Yeah, that would be great. It seems like they've been around forever, around to the eighties. Wow, Yeah, what's their so they Um. What I appreciate about artists like that is they're They're an example of someone who's been able to build such a career and a following, a loyal following with very little support from radio, know, and and that is true.

I mean I think there I think there might be one or two songs that yeah, and I'm sure you know, it depends on the format you're listening to. But as far as like mainstream radio really is there is there one song that was kind of big that I've closer or fine, Oh yes, yes, yes, that one. Yeah, that one was on the radio a lot. Yeah, that one was kind of a hit. Yeah yeah, But but they've never had a big presence on radio, and that just always impresses me. Um. Completely different genre obviously, and not someone that I enjoy their their work personally, but just another example that I happen to be discussing on the show the other day with somebody in same clown posse.

Yeah, I don't like them, but you know, they've got this this empire that they've built with no support from radio like at all. Ever, It's that's impressive. It is impressive. In the same thing with Annie to Franco. Oh, I love her. She is like very self made. I've met her. Yeah, Oh, she's she's amazing. She is amazing. Um. I think the last time I saw her was in Providence. Um it was quite a while ago. I haven't seen her in a long time. But yeah, but yeah, you're right, she's another example. Yeah, someone who really you know, she uh started I remember she started her own label.

She probably still has it. Oh yeah, definitely Righteous Babe Records here, yes, yes, and uh yeah really just uh, I remember when she was first starting to really get traction because at the time I was working obviously you remember Strawberries Strawberries Records and Tapes, and I was working at the One and Conquered and uh, that was where I first really became aware of her. And um, people started coming in looking for looking for her stuff, and at first we didn't have it because nobody, it was like, nobody that worked for the company was aware of her.

But somebody was aware of her because we kept having people coming in, you know, asking for Annie de Franco. So finally we started getting her music in. But uh, but yeah, you're you're right. She's another example of because off the top of my head, I can't think of a big radio hit. I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting thirty I think possibly thirty two flavors. Okay, yeah, but but again, someone who's never had a big presence on radio, but who's very successful. Oh my gosh, you knew this. She sells out in a day.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. Um. I always respected that about the Grateful Dead too. Again, I'm not not a big fan. Can't take them, relieve them. But you know, they other than a touch of gray, they didn't really have No, you're right. I mean I think they had one other. They had a few, but nothing never dominant. But Ripple Ripple was pretty big. Yeah, but they could you know, sell out anywhere in the world really, Oh yeah, absolutely when Jerry Garcia was still alive. So and uh, what should people know?

Andrea? As far as well your web. You've got your website Andrea pequin dot com. Did you build that yourself? Yeah, that's just a dragon drop from a squarespace. Yeah. It's like I said, I'm a website nerd. It's a good site. It's not bad. Yeah, it's clear, it's it's you know, it's it's easy to it's easy to maintain, season managed. And I'm gonna use the bands in town. Yeah, keep my my tour listed on there. Yeah yeah, No, I like the layout and I know I'm geeking out on your website. Now, I appreciate it, but I I like the layout.

It is very clean, um easy to navigate, but but modern looking. That's that's what that's what really matters. You know, it's got to look. And you can also go to my link tree, so it's oh yeah, it's it's link tree dot com, forward slash Andrew Pequin and my Instagram, Facebook, you know, my tip jarm, my newsletter, everything's there. Excellent, excellent, So all the lengths of the social media. Yeah, all of that fantastic. Oh and how do you for for the spelling impaired, how do you spell Paquin? It's p a q u I N. Very good.

I'm sure I'm sure everyone can figure out Andrea, but you never know. With E Andrew, with an E an d R e A. There you go. From the studios of w m n H ninety five point three FM in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire. You are tuned in to the best of Matt Connerton unleashed. All right, thank you anonymous? Yeah, yeah, very good, very good. I'm gonna grab my out of the guitar here. Yeah, absolutely absolutely. If you're just joining us, we have Shane Balen in studio with us. He's playing live for us.

He's got a brand new EP and we've shared some studio tracks on the show. But Shane is back live with us in studio and sounds phenomenal. Oh you found your water. That's good. Shane was commenting earlier he thought he'd left it in the car. It gets it gets uh, it does get dry. And here that's for sure with the with the air conditioning going and whatnot. But uh, yep, so uh so Shane is here just just to tell us, um, why the um, why the switching of the guitars. What's different about this guitar? I have some heavier strings on the other guitar.

This guitar has some lighter strings on it. Better for finger picking, sounds better, Oh I got you, I got you, sometimes easier in the fingers. But um, that one's a little bit more heavier gauge. When you when you play out, usually bring two guitars and switch off. Never had really, Yeah that's right because he's just Scott one of them. Yeah that's right. Yeah, an old Gibson, and I was still using it for a while, you know that fifty nine Gibson and I said, I'm not gonna use it anymore. Yeah, so I just kind of put that away.

Oh I got you now and then uh now, yeah, so it'll be great. Um yeah, I'm gonna be uh yeah, I'm gonna be over like I said, I was at the Old Salt that a little thing over there. Um, I'm gonna be playing in Hampton for a couple of parties over there. Excellent Hampton, excellent. So I'm excited about that. And um yeah it's so this Charlie's Hill show coming up Live Love Laugh Festival, that's gonna be coming up um a little bit about a month or so. And then um, you know maybe um my, like my friend Brian Munger, I might have a little show coming up here with him too.

So yeah that's a name I've heard. Um plays a lot in main you know, plays a lot around here too. Yeah yeah, oh yeah, very good, very good. All right. So uh yeah, what are we gonna play next? Um, um you know, maybe I'll let see I'll play play Charlie, I guess okay, cool cool, Yeah, So this is the uh now we should clarify too for people. So on the EP, there's two different versions of this correct there's yeah, yeah, I was recording this and uh and uh, mister goodbars Tim he goes, he's he had an idea already, you know, as soon as he heard it, and he put the bass behind it, and I said, wow, that's great.

You know, I didn't think of that song like that, you know, or any of the songs that I was playing with the fingerpick style. It seemed very folk and slow and I and when you put that to it, it just gives it life and you feel like you can merge the genres like that. Yeah yeah, yeah, a lot with country right now. Oh yeah, yeah, Like he was saying, the beats now have switched from country and and uh, you know R and B or you know, rap kind of switched it. Yeah, it's true hip hop, I should say, yeah, yeah, yeah, but yeah, So this song is this song is called Charlie and it's dedicated to h.

Terry Merrill and her daughter Charlie. And this is she passed away. She was um and several years ago now. But this song I wrote because all the different things um that would remind me of her, of her daughter, and kind of one night just wrote this after waking up and haven't I really didn't know where that well now and I wrote this. Those was the first song I ever wrote. Oh wow, okay, Saturday night jamles and loving hands, pink guitars and bottom card. The distance between us, it's closer than the next time you were in the field.

And this starts gilling. Just remember I'm waiting, hearing, just like campers in your field. With truth. I'm the flickering light, and I am the reason you find. I am the curl in your grind. I'm the chuse on call your neck. I am Louis Souleian, the wind, and I'm a silence when you are living love and laughters survive, and I still keeps that music lying. It's a resonation that still desire in office. You fine.

I'm the flickering light. I'm rising, You're fine. I'm the curl in your grain, and now the ships on your neck. I'm louistling Way and I'm silence when you rest living love and laughter survived, and I still keeps the music life my merril. It's a resonation that still resign. Oh, yes, you'll fine. It's me. It's me, It's me, him amazement, Oh, it's Me's me it's me chily chime. That's the first song you ever wrote. Huh yeah, wow, no kidding. I just recently started playing it more of a song. It was like a spoken word.

Oh okay, interesting interesting, So um when you wrote So, when you wrote that, obviously you knew you're already playing and everything, and and you you you're already h playing covers and so forth, but you just hadn't. Yeah, I was playing covers, lots of covers, okay, but that was your first time. And I think I was playing like, um, some sort of progression, you know, with that, that progression and a song. Yeah, just thousands have the same it's changed slightly, but right, don't call me a cheering but but yeah, it's um.

And then I just kind of applied that into there, and yeah, wow. Then I noticed you get a feeling as a songwriter starting off that you want to keep using that kind of progression. And then I got to change it. My songs are gonna have that same thing, even though you can change it up to make it sound different. But yeah, so I'm trying to, you know, do find different ways to make different melodies here? Yeah? Yeah, and uh, that's another thing that's I'm really excited to keep working with people who are looking for especially you know, like hip hop and uh and be looking for for beats, looking for you know, riffs and guitar pick, you know picking finger picking too, like that because you hear that in a lot different you know trap stuff or oh yeah, so absolutely.

Oh. By the way, the person who sent that message on the text line that was she said, thanks Matt. It's his number two fan, Carrie. His mom is of course number one. Hey Carrie, she's great. Thanks carry Oh very nice, very nice. All right? Oh and uh yar Yardbird Blue Sky says a great song hashtag Shane, thank you. I was gonna play string pain projection. Yeah, yeah, there's This is the title track, right, yeah, this is the title track.

I wrote this song when I was sitting in front of a wood fire and watching a bunch of bands out there. Afterwards, it just takes like one line, you feel, one line all of a sudden. I was watching Van Morrison was talking about that on an old video you can find too, and he says that with Bob Dylan. He's standing there and he says, you know about songwriting, and one line might popped in my head and I don't know why I wrote it down, And that leads to another line, at least to a chorus, And the next thing you know, you have a song.

You always Sometimes you think of something and you I should write it down. But you got to write it down because it might be a good song, right, otherwise you forget it. I wait to snack.

You can't catch me on rain. I'm running instead. You can't catch me on right instead, best on chess. I've got my help. I'm pulling in these Fanish lines before ties a flat, proving him wrong. What they thinking about? That? Right? Is like fing land on my feet, the feelines a bear, The things fight my wing with string pain projection makes my fingers BLEA subconscious mind is draft. I sleep. I'm feeding with them down everything like my cat on my chest, burring and stream. The wind's huming outside like banshee scream.

I'm in all to make a sub strange sing. I love the songs that a stovepipe sing. The creek take somethings when a scream, those swings. I love the songs and stove fight sing

creeks and the things when a screen those swings, And I love the snails out of camp fire brains. The soul kate huge to my bodings. Can't catch me on the radarime running myself best upon her riches. I've got myself pulling in the fanshines four times off of the thing and catch me all right. I'm money and stale, best born witches. I've done my health sits nine sports, eyes all flat even I'm wrong with in bout that. From the studios of w m n H ninety five point three FM in downtown Manchester, New Hampshire, you are tuned in to the best of Matt Connerton unleashed.

Quick call for the band while they're still here six zero three two five six seven six three two five six seven, or I should say while we're all here, because we're we're almost out of show. It goes so quick. Mike from Queen's City Cabinetry, one of our great sponsors here at w m n h's in the chat room, she said, he says, great show today, guys, super talented. So you have a fan and thanks Mike from Queen's City Cabinetry. Are you familiar with Queen City Cabinetry? And I hear all all the time on your rais.

I mean you're the ads. They're in the in the historic Sunbeam mall's named, of course for General Sunbeam. Who was General Sunbeam. That's why it's historic. I thought it was the appliance guy. No, No, General Sunbeam he uh, you know he won the war. I mean if it wasn't for General Sunbeam, who knows what would have happened. I thought the war was over, man, while the war was over when General when General General Sunbeam won it for us. I mean, we could have all been speaking Hungarian right now.

War never changes. General Sunbeam the great I think it was Sunbeam that said war's hell. The greatest military mind since slice spread General Sunbeam and uh and by the way, I suggest you think about that the next time you're enjoying a delicious sandwich. Is how many stars? It was? Like a two stars? He was? He was? He was a five star general. Yeah, yeah, Supreme commander. Think about that the next time you're eating a sandwich, think about think about the freedom that you have to eat that sandwich, and think of General Sunbeam.

Wow, that's right. You feel that feel that salty, mommy uh, gratifying taste in your tongue. Sunbeam did that. That's an ectoplasm. Actually, I just you know, what I just felt was a chill come over me. And I think it's a ghost of General Sunbeam. I think he's here with us. He's watching over us. Yeah, yeah, from a distance, General Sunbeam. I always feel like somebody's watching somebody Sunbeam. That's right, he's General Sunbeam, watching over General Sunbeam. And I can't get no sandwiches. I mean, I don't know, you seem skeptical.

Uh, they're AFRAIDO. I have to. I have to see you seem a little skeptical about the whole thing. It's just the sandwich thing that gets me. Yeah. Yeah, he almost seems like I feel like I earned my own sandwich. Oh I oh, I get it.

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