(Mon Early Bird) Meet USMC Corporal Aaron Mankin, Recipient For Building Homes for Heroes + Chris Carrabba From Dashboard Confessional Details How “Vindicated” Unexpectedly Became 'Spider-Man 2' Theme Song & More! + Mailbag: Caught Mom Cheating

We surprise USMC Corporal Aaron Mankin that the money we raise will be going to Building Homes for Heroes to build him a new home! Hear his incredible story and inspiring outlook on life. Then, Chris Carrabba from Dashboard Confessional stops by and shares how he unexpectedly wrote the theme song for 'Spider-Man 2,' why he credits Myspace and Napster to his success and more! Mailbag: A listener thinks she caught her mom cheating after she accidentally looked at her phone thinking it was hers. She saw a text message with some disturbing messages from another man. She wants to know what she should do with this info and we share our thoughts!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wet morning.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Welcome to Monday's show Morning Studio. Right, We're gonna go
around the room as we do on Mondays and do
it get to no question. So I'm gonna ask the
question to give you guys a second think about it.
What is something you're really terrible at, but then you're
really terrible at. I'll go first. My name is Bobby.
I'm gonna go with And I would have said this
even if I hadn't been approached about doing it. But

(00:33):
will of Fortune, I'm so bad at that game. It
can be one letter and I'm still like, I don't know,
is it I don't know? Please, No, it's cheese that bad.
I'm terrible at that with letters, and so will a fortune.
It would be the thing that I'm super weak at, Eddie.

(00:55):
You math, just math in general.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
And it's been tough too because my son he's been
doing pretty bad math and I've been railing him like, dude,
you got to get better at math and you got
to do better than this, And deep inside I'm like, man,
I mean he probably got it from me.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
Let's be real, luch bogs Man. That's tough because I'm
good at a lot of things. So I would say probably,
uh beats like rhythm, Oh yeah, that's impossible for yeah, yeah, yeah,
you're a real bad at rhythm.

Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, anything you do at I mean like you're bad
at rhythm, but he's bad at rhythm. Huh yeah, so
I wouldn't I get there? Does that counter? Yeah, you're
real bad at rhythm. Yeah, I'm bad generally rhythm.

Speaker 1 (01:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Amy singing, I mean too bad. I mean, you're so
bad that we would be like, oh, you're not just singing?
What is to rhythm?

Speaker 5 (01:44):
Right?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
That's bad? That's bad. Yeah, you're welcome, like you're not
a great singer, but you're not terrible. I mean, so
what you were looking for is to tell you you're
not bad that you do you want us to said?
You don't have an answer. Do you want us to
tell you what you're bad at? Driving? Driving? Same August? Oh,
that's good. Avoiding walls when you walk down the hall. Yeah,
that's a good one. Yeah. Yeah, Yeah, I'm gonna stop

(02:07):
because I know what's gonna happen if I keep going.

Speaker 6 (02:10):
That's fine. What's yours?

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Avoiding scams?

Speaker 6 (02:13):
Was that your example?

Speaker 2 (02:14):
That's good? That's good. Falling for scams? I was stopping.
That is right though your example, Oh yeah, I got
another one. No, no, that's my that's my thing. I'm
terrible at. It's well fortunate seeing. Mine's also seeing. Oh
I'm terrible at seeing? Can I kind of do? Amy's no,
no more, no more on her. Okay, I will sell
you thing seeing seeing you see. No, I don't know

(02:39):
what you're gonna say about you. No, I don't, but
I don't even want to guess what you're gonna say. No, No,
it doesn't matter. Okay, Well more, what would your warning
label say if you had to have a warning label
on you going that quake?

Speaker 3 (02:50):
Yep, yep, go ahead, feed this man or he's about
to get angry?

Speaker 4 (02:55):
Okay, lux Fox, Uh, stay back six feet smell straw odor.

Speaker 7 (03:03):
Amy, I guess my should according to y'all, would be
like watch out.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
When I'm generally I just don't watch out always? Do
you have one? Though?

Speaker 7 (03:14):
I mean watch out applies to driving, walking scams.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Watch out scams are coming for you. They're not going
to watch out, don't get me. Mina would be something
like one of those objects in mirror, maybe closer than
it's like death. Perception does not exist. He can hit
you at any point, So, yeah, mine are probably a
vision appaired. Okay, lets I don't want to hear yours
about Amy can please, I don't want to. I just
don't want it.

Speaker 7 (03:37):
I could do one of those things where it's like
I make fun of myself before somebody else does, because
I just figured out what he's gonna say.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
But this is what you should have done, is given
one you're really terrible at, because then they would have
cut all but singing. You're not terrible at singing.

Speaker 6 (03:51):
I don't know, y'all.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Y'all, I am terrible at I am terrible.

Speaker 7 (03:56):
Today's the day y'all tell me I'm not terrible in singing.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
We think you should pursue it. Actually, Okay, I'm not
gonna do you know what he's gonna say, Yeah, I do.

Speaker 6 (04:04):
I figured it out.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Well, I'm not What do you think he's gonna say?

Speaker 6 (04:06):
I am smart?

Speaker 2 (04:08):
No, I'm not gonna say that's not it.

Speaker 6 (04:11):
I'm saying that's what being smart.

Speaker 2 (04:13):
That one. You are smart? Amy, Yeah you're smart. I
was going to say that.

Speaker 7 (04:17):
No, I'm working on using positive language. I was about
to say, I'm not dumb. So that's how I figured
out what lunchboxes is. But I'm trying not to say
the word dumb, So I said, I am smart. I'll
figure it out. I figured it out in his marriage.
He's gonna say marriage, that's what he's gonna say.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
Oh that's what.

Speaker 6 (04:33):
What do you think he was gonna say?

Speaker 2 (04:34):
I didn't know because that one's like so juvenile. It's
like it is. Ain't good at marriage? No, Amy, geez.
He was gonna say, you're terrible at being mean? Yeah, yeah,
you know what good jobs? Wow, I don't know if
you want to go that one.

Speaker 8 (04:50):
You at it? Okay?

Speaker 2 (04:51):
Well we're here Amy taking shots at herself. Amy like that.
You know that's what going. Time to open up the
mail bag?

Speaker 1 (05:00):
Are you friends?

Speaker 7 (05:01):
The GAILI he's pretty it all the air to pick
something we call Bobby's mail bag.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
Yeah, hello, Bobby. I think I just busted my mom
cheating on my dad.

Speaker 6 (05:12):
This is a mail bag.

Speaker 2 (05:13):
Hey, people sending all kinds of stuff. It's not like
I was snooping. But my mom and I have phones
that look identical. I heard what I thought was my
phone buzz with a text message. I realized it was
hers and it wasn't protected with the password When I
opened I saw her text message screen with some rather
disturbing and graphic messages from a dude named we'll call

(05:34):
him Jack. For the record, my dad's name is not Jack.
Now I feel this massive burden on what to do
with this information or if I should do anything. Do
I talk with my mom about it? Do I tell
dad what's up? Do I use the info to negotiate
for a new car for me? I'm kidding about the
last one? Okay? Good? What do you think about this?
Signed son of a cheater?

Speaker 8 (05:55):
Question mark?

Speaker 2 (05:57):
Boy? Mom and dad's different than friends, and I think
you have to talk to your mom first. I don't
run to your dad and go I call mom cheating.
I think you go to your mom and you clear
up any confusion if there is any about what you saw,
and let her explain. And if it's an explanation you're

(06:18):
good with, then you'd be good with it. If it's
an explanation you're not good with, then then you got
to go to the stage, which you're right now. And
so But I think if you end up finding out
that your mom is cheating on your dad and your
dad doesn't know, you gotta go tell your dad. But
I think you have the conversation with the mom first
to make sure that you're thinking the right thing. Sometimes

(06:38):
we see a little nugget and we tell ourselves an
entire story based on what that nugget is that we're
not even translating or reading correctly.

Speaker 3 (06:47):
Inappropriate comments and stuff, Jack, I don't know how graphic
they are.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
I'm just saying, who knows? She could be subscribed to
a tech service?

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Oh lay.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
The fourth time and a few weeks Ramy yelled up roleplay.

Speaker 6 (07:10):
I'm there could be an explanation.

Speaker 7 (07:12):
But if the dad is Jack's.

Speaker 2 (07:15):
Diane, I don't know.

Speaker 7 (07:18):
This happened to my friend like four years ago, and
they went to It was the dad though, and the
siblings got together and went to the dad and and
then the dad handled it like this. Kids didn't have
to go to the mom. The dad owned up and
handled it with the spouse.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
So I think two things that could happen. One, you
could go talk to your mom about it. She's like,
this isn't true, you're this wrong. Let me show you this,
this is what's happened, that could happen. Or she goes
it's true and I'll I'll tell them because I'm embarrassed
in a shame. Yeah, this happened to my cousins too.
Oh my god.

Speaker 3 (07:51):
They found an email and then took it to my aunt,
which is their mom, and she was the one cheating,
and yeah they're not together anymore.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, man, it's crazy. Anybody else was like, yeah, this happened.

Speaker 7 (08:05):
Parents were married, that's how. So a card was found
in the trash, A card like a card. I thought
it was thrown out, like a thank you for touching me.

Speaker 2 (08:19):
I don't know what kind of card, credit card, business card.

Speaker 6 (08:22):
Agreeing Valentine's or something like why would you?

Speaker 1 (08:26):
Why would you?

Speaker 2 (08:26):
Why would you be a straget Valentine?

Speaker 6 (08:29):
Remember listen, it was thrown away, but then somebody found.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
It your fingers, why would you bring in the house?
Why would you even get somebody hand written anything? When
you're valid questions?

Speaker 7 (08:42):
Wow, all valid questions. But the person that found it
took it to my mom. Oh, wasn't you know it
wasn't me.

Speaker 6 (08:50):
I was a kid. No, it was what do you
suggest that clean our house? Sometimes?

Speaker 2 (08:55):
The housekeeper?

Speaker 6 (08:56):
She turned Wow, she loved my mom.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
Wow, that's crazy. This has got so many layers.

Speaker 6 (09:03):
She loved my mom Okay, so what do you think
you cared about her deeply?

Speaker 2 (09:08):
What do you think?

Speaker 6 (09:10):
I think you go to the mom, you talk to
the mom.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
What do you think? Yeah, man, just like my cousins,
just go to the mom and just see see what
the thing is all about.

Speaker 6 (09:18):
I mean, get in your car.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
No, you got to get to the bottom of don't
run to the dad yet. No, no, no, don't get
back to him lunch. Watch what you do and your chili.
I wouldn't mess with it at all. I didn't see it. Parents,
I understand, and their parents, but Chilie, because it's your
dad maybe getting screwed over. Maybe anonymous email Bobby is
really good. That anonymous email Barnary account. Yeah, but hey, man,

(09:40):
I saw your wife about with jack Oof. Okay, we're sorry.
Doesn't happened to you, son of a cheater. That's how
you signed it. We're sorry it's happened to you. Go
to your mom first, let her explain or let her
handle it herself, and also.

Speaker 6 (09:54):
Go to therapy.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
You're gonna need it.

Speaker 6 (09:57):
No, child, you never have to read message from you.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
Did you read messages? You saw the card?

Speaker 6 (10:03):
Damy, No, I've just seen no child, you've.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
Just said, you've just said three things in a row
that matter.

Speaker 6 (10:11):
So one time I saw I saw a text on
my dad's phone and I can't ever unsee it.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
My eyes is a picture.

Speaker 6 (10:20):
No, it's words was better.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
It was like describing it was all.

Speaker 6 (10:26):
I was an adult like that wasn't when I was
a kid.

Speaker 7 (10:29):
Obviously their sex message there wasn't dirty.

Speaker 6 (10:32):
Listen is dirty?

Speaker 2 (10:34):
Also, why do you keep gagging? Okay, thank you? That's
the mail bag? Close it up, we got your game
Man ran on the air and now was found the
clothes Bobby's failed bag. So Bobby Bones Show interviews in
case you didn't know, and Dashboard Confessional one of my

(10:56):
James back in the early two thousands. So Chris is
here from Dashboard going on towards Counting Crows and you
get tickets at Dashboard Confessional dot com. But this is
super cool to me. Let me play some of these
songs Vindicated. I mean that's Spider Man for sure. Ed
do you remember that song? Yes? Oh I do, of course,
thank that song. It's awesome, stolen our hands down, So

(11:27):
it's super cool for us. Here he is Chris Caraba,
lead singer, the guy from Dashboard Confessional on The Bobby
Bones Show.

Speaker 9 (11:37):
Now, Chris Carabba of Dashboard Confessional.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
Chris, it's really good to see you. Good to meet you, man,
and it's good to be here.

Speaker 10 (11:43):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (11:43):
Been a fan for a long time.

Speaker 10 (11:45):
Well, I've been doing it a long time. It's suddenly
occurring to me.

Speaker 2 (11:48):
Now you still I don't know, look twenty four, it's weird.
Do you have an aged moisturizer? Yes? Hey, So I
have a lot of questions, especially about when you first started,
because there are a few people to me, Dave Grohl,
Foo Fighter started that by himself Five for Fighting, was
a single guy, then turned into a band. Dashboard Confessional

(12:09):
similar thing, Right, You started this as a project by
yourself and then made a band a panic of the
Diesco Similar? Is that all kind of am I right
on that story.

Speaker 10 (12:18):
Right about the fact that it was started by myself
and eventually became a band. But I think in my
mind in the early days, I know it is true.
I was in other bands that were proper bands. I
was in one particular called Further Seems Forever that was
I thought the main thing, you know, and it was
only Dashboard was only a side project. But all that
to say. The side project was all my friends are

(12:39):
on tour and all of their bands wouldn't be fun
if whenever they came home we could all play together.
So I'll just call this thing that I'm doing by
myself a band name, so it doesn't feel like preclusive
and it feels inclusive. My friends had come on stage
of their home, and that's not exactly what happened, but
it was my original conception for it.

Speaker 2 (12:59):
So the band is dead again. By the way, your record,
your unplug records are my favorite. I just loved it
so much, and you know, there's a lot to it.
So how many people are actually in dashboard confessional like
the dashboard? How many people in the band.

Speaker 10 (13:14):
Will on this tour?

Speaker 2 (13:15):
So, yeah, it's all different, right, it's you are the
central figure always.

Speaker 10 (13:19):
Well, I guess I've been the constant, and there's been
quite a few long standing members, and there's been people
that when they you know, they leave to go and
do other uh and onto other musical projects or other
life projects, and then they come back. It's kind of
an open invitation to come on back. So like for example,
Scott our bass player has been in the band. I
think for this will be twenty years. That's a long time,

(13:40):
you know. But sometimes I go out by myself, so
Scott's not there.

Speaker 2 (13:44):
So when you're starting this project and you're doing it
by yourself, are you recording it on because everybody has
a bedroom story or a garage story? Like what did that? Actually?
What literally does that mean? Are you recording on like
some four track player? Is that the first dashboard where
you just sitting there singing acoustically into a crappy closet
or microphone? Yeah, it was.

Speaker 10 (14:04):
It was a little task scam four track, but I
bought it a tag sale. That was what I started with.
That's not what the record was, but it wasn't much
better than that. That first record was recorded in a closet,
but you know, it had you know, foam patting on
the wall, so it felt cool, it felt real. But
the early demos I recorded a lot of them in

(14:25):
my van. In the back of the van, I had
like a just a single boombox. I can not a
multi track. So I have a tape of me running
through what would be the first record, which is called
The Swiss Army Romance. I ran through it all just
to see what a cool running order would be. And
I found that tape and it's the running order that

(14:47):
we used.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
Was that about two thousand? Year two thousand?

Speaker 10 (14:49):
Yeah, it was two thousand.

Speaker 2 (14:50):
So you have this tape, And was your expectation to
go out and tour this for Dashboard to exist? Or again,
was it just a fun thing that you friends could
join like I what was kind of the motivation behind
creating this music with just yourself?

Speaker 10 (15:07):
I guess it was a glorified art project or something.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
I think did you expect it to ever be heard
by people?

Speaker 7 (15:12):
No?

Speaker 10 (15:12):
I expected to. What I'd hoped to do was put
out the one recording and maybe get lucky and press
a thousand if we could afford it, and sell them
how and sell them to people like from the van
from the van, yeah, and sell them to people at shows.
And I had one tour booked and it was I
think this one window where further seems forever wasn't going

(15:34):
out and it looked like just this neat opportunity to
go out and travel like just by literally by myself.
But I think it was eleven dates and then I
never went home.

Speaker 2 (15:46):
When did you start to feel traction, even the lightest
bit of traction? Where it's wow, people actually like understanding
and relating to this music.

Speaker 10 (15:55):
I was surprised to find it pretty early on. And
I don't mean that there was many people at the show.
There weren't, but they were five. All five seemed to
get it. Whatever that thing was, they seemed to get it.
And I was really shocked by it by that, because
I thought I was doing something unfamiliar in the setting
of like the punk rock scene. It was definitely unfamiliar,

(16:15):
just to having an acoustic guitar and I looked like
a hardcore kid, but it didn't sound like that kind
of stuff. But it didn't sound like something you'd play
in a coffee shop either, So I didn't feel like
I would have any place where I would find I
was surprised to find like minded people so quickly.

Speaker 2 (16:31):
The term EMAO was tossed around like crazy, everything's emo
in different ways. Was that term prevalent when you started
to create this kind of music or do you feel
like you were one of the first ones to, you know,
really coin that in music.

Speaker 10 (16:46):
Well, I guess no. I didn't feel like I was
one of the first ones, excuse me to coin it,
certainly not. I thought it was I thought it was
a misnomer, almost like and not. You know, that became
a four letter word later to some people. I'm not
sure it ever did to me, But in the early days,
you know, it was I thought I thought it wasn't

(17:07):
deferential to the people that I listened to that did
that music that was already called emo because there's been
a whole wave of it, a proper wave of like
a musical generation of like two to five years already.
And so at first I was like, this is weird
that they would call me that, and I couldn't quite
figure it out, but realized that the thing was evolving,

(17:28):
whatever that scene was, was evolving to include I guess
me and my friends.

Speaker 2 (17:32):
Did you feel like that, because again, your music was
at a time when I was, you know, nineteen twenty
twenty one years old, so that music was very important
in my overall musical growth from where I was as
a kid to now. It was right in that timeframe
of being in college. Did you find that your music though,
was different to people, even though it was still kind
of punk rock, but just because it was an acoustic

(17:53):
that made it feel a bit emo to people that
was a softer feel.

Speaker 10 (17:57):
Oh, it's emo. It feels emo, I mean, but I
guess because of all those obvious reasons that it's softer,
it's a different delivery, it's pretty passionate, and it's got
the It has the benefit of the kind of passion
you'll put into something when you think you're anonymous almost
you know, it couldn't conceive that people would really be
listening to this, so I didn't really hold back for

(18:19):
fear of how I might feel doing in front of people.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
What did your band think as you started to pop
off and you're by yourself that you were in Was
that tricky?

Speaker 11 (18:30):
No?

Speaker 10 (18:30):
Actually, well it became tricky or later when we were
two bands operating at the same time once they had
a different singer and we navigated that really well too,
to their credit, but in the beginning they were the
guys that were like, you got to go do this.
And as a matter of fact, that one of the
first shows I ever had was that was a fish
not I guess unofficially a dashboard show was because the

(18:52):
bass player of my other band, Chad from Further Seam Server,
said come over here, we're playing a festival's further was
He says, there's a guy kind of doing what you're doing.
We should go check it out. But the guy ended
up being me. It was a ruse. He just threw
me up in the middle of a tent and there
was you know, thirty people there.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
And that's funny. Then that's supportive, even supportive time.

Speaker 10 (19:12):
And they're still my best friends that I have. So
I'm grateful that they saw where I was going and
it wasn't where they wanted to go. They were these
all these songs were presented to them as options for
us to play in that band, and they were right.
They didn't fit that band. They were close, but they
weren't on the money.

Speaker 2 (19:28):
Were you reluctant when success and fame started?

Speaker 10 (19:32):
Was confused? Reluctant?

Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (19:35):
I think I was a bit reluctant. I think I
remain a bit reluctant. It wasn't exactly the plan, but
it was a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
Do you get nervous stays right at all before shows?

Speaker 9 (19:48):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (19:48):
I got it?

Speaker 2 (19:49):
Now?

Speaker 10 (19:49):
How am I doing?

Speaker 2 (19:50):
Are you doing great? I would never think you were
nervous at all. You're kidding now, No, I'm not.

Speaker 10 (19:54):
No, No, I get I have a weird roiling of
energy that I'm trying to contain when I go up there,
And when I was newer and younger and greener, I
would find it to be alarming. It would like set
off almost a panic attack. But now I understand it's
just adrenaline, excitement and kind of like the love of it.
But for a while it was hard to.

Speaker 9 (20:14):
Let it go.

Speaker 2 (20:15):
Was there ever a time that you questioned should I
keep doing this? Not because it wasn't working, but because
it really started to work.

Speaker 10 (20:21):
Yeah, things got a little hairy there, like where we
had to where we had to have like security guys
and things like that, and I was all thinking, and
I thought this was a really inclusive scene I was from,
and it remained so it wasn't people trying to like,
you know, rip my clothes off or our clothes off
or anything like that. But it's just like a lot
of people with a lot of stories that they wanted

(20:43):
to do, things they wanted to share with us, personal things,
what have you. And I remember like not being able
to go I don't know, to the to the mall
or whatever it was that you would do, you know,
running errands became this weird thing, and the suggestion was
made that we that we take secure. Yeah, that was
the weirdest thing ever. The nicest people I've ever met
were these giant security guys. But it was it was

(21:05):
not a good fit for me. I was like, this
is bringing more attention. I can put a baseball cap on?
How about that?

Speaker 1 (21:11):
Now?

Speaker 2 (21:11):
Can you go out and put a hat on and
just live a somewhat normal life. Yeah, I'm not on
MTV anymore, and neither's MTV.

Speaker 10 (21:19):
Actually I don't think.

Speaker 2 (21:20):
Yeah, I don't think.

Speaker 10 (21:21):
You know, there's two yeah, yeah, yeah, that's I've been
able to find the thing I'd hope for in the beginning,
which was this this path to be able to play
music for and with people without having to be have
my life totally disrupted.

Speaker 2 (21:37):
What was the first video of yours that was on MTV?
What was it?

Speaker 10 (21:40):
It was screaming in fidelities?

Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah, was that weird for you to see? And there's
a you know, there's a line and you're we'll talk
about the toying with the County Crows, but massive a
massive hand accounting Crows and Adam Durretz was in We
talked to them for a while. But there's a line
even in mister Jones's like, when I look at the television,
I want to see me staring right back at me.
Now that line is him one to see him on TV? Yeah,
if that is that line you at all?

Speaker 10 (22:03):
No, it's not at all. It's not at all. God,
I wish it was. I might have I might have
had a different experience having seen it. But I remember
being like, I mean, I was excited to tell like
my friends, you know, but it was not a thing
I walked in with. I got used to it really quick, though,
Like I'd get excited and to kind of like think

(22:26):
about new video ideas. I got excited about the whole,
that whole corner of what music could be, and it
became really fun.

Speaker 2 (22:32):
Do you think you would be happier or would have
been then happier if you only had mild success where
you could support yourself create your art, but not because
there was a point when you just became so popular
it became pop. Your music didn't change, but you became
so popular it became pop. Was that the hardest time
for you? Or was it awesome?

Speaker 10 (22:52):
It was awesome. It was so great. I didn't really
have to change I did you know? We grew and
our music did evolve, but I wasn't being made to change,
and more and more people were were gravitating towards it.
It was beautiful. I was maybe a little tired, like
physically tired. It's a big world to get to, you know.

(23:16):
And I think there was a point where we were
really doing I don't know how many shows it was,
but it was like three hundred days out of the road,
and that was a long stretch. I was a good
couple or three years that we did that kind of schedule.
That was the only part that was really tough to
grapple with.

Speaker 2 (23:31):
Was it weirder to be home than on the road?

Speaker 10 (23:32):
Yeah? Yeah, maybe maybe always will be and maybe always was.

Speaker 9 (23:38):
So so that.

Speaker 10 (23:42):
That's something I think was probably good for me in
my life.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
Where did you grow up?

Speaker 10 (23:46):
Well, I kind of grew up in Connecticut and then
Florida and found music and all that once I moved
to Florida.

Speaker 2 (23:56):
And what about Florida, Like, were you exposed to a
scene there that opened it up for you or were
you already searching for it? And I don't know, it's warmer,
so you're out. I don't know why Florida.

Speaker 10 (24:06):
Well, I think there was there was a scene. There
was a music scene. Of course, there was one in
Connecticut where I lived. I just didn't know about it.
I was a little bit too young, didn't know an
older kid on the block that might tell me there
was a youth Today show or something. But when I
got down to Florida, a couple things happened. Was I
was really into skateboarding. And this is pre you know,

(24:28):
super popularity of skateboarding. You still get beat up for
having looking like you do it. But I found other
people like that that were into it, and I hadn't
really found that many people like that where I'd grown
up in Connecticut. But it also rains, like it's torrential
rain in the in the afternoons there a certain time
of the year. So we would just like sit in
a car or at the skate shop with music playing,

(24:51):
and I'd pick everybody's brains about it. And then they said,
you know, there's they're playing here. Whoever it was, you know,
we started going to shows and so it was sort
of that just typical youth culture thing. There a friend
with a driver's license, that kind of thing. Well, like
I said, my driver's license, I just have a car,
So a friend with a car, and and the kind

(25:12):
of kind of meshing of those two worlds, the surf
and skate world with the music world. They're really entwined,
and that's how I found the music scene.

Speaker 2 (25:22):
Really, my assumption is it could be an unfair assumption
that you may have been a shy kid. If you
were a shy kid, how in the world did you
become a front man? Wow? Like, what was that proble?

Speaker 10 (25:36):
It was not my favorite thing it was, I should
say it was not my It was not an endeavor
I went into looking for how to be a front man.
I just wanted to play with people, So I guess
kicking and screaming is how I got dragged into being
a front man. To be quite honest with you, I
was really really interested in writing songs. It's just an
okay guitar player, just an okay singer. I was pretty

(25:56):
good at at arranging music. So I was getting in
these bands and and felt like I was integral in
the band. But I was almost always just playing guitar.
That's what I really wanted to do. But I wasn't
like a ripper or anything like that. So I thought
we're contributing as a songwriter. I had a place.

Speaker 2 (26:16):
Then who goes, okay, Chris, we need you to sing.
We've heard you sing like a background vocals.

Speaker 10 (26:21):
That's how it happens. Yeah, that parts, could you somebody
do a harmony there, and I'd just do it, and
it was there, you know, And then you come in
with your songs and you're singing. I was singing the
songs I was writing to the singer, to the rest
of the band, and finally somebody got annoyed with the
time it took to make somebody else do it. Just
you do it fine, and after a while that you

(26:42):
become a singer in the band, not the singer. This
band that I was in, vacant Andy's it's where I
learned to cut, where I really cut my teeth on
all things musical, certainly on all things band like how
to be in a band. But there was at one
point three singers, and then there was for the length
of the band there was two singers, so there was
no front man. It was we were trading off songs,

(27:03):
and we were always singing each other songs, singing on
each other songs. Excuse me. It was later when when
I got into further and those guitar players are like bananas,
and as writers, they were bananas. And I was kind
of like, why do they want me in this band?
And it was simply because they liked my voice, which
was weird because it was never the thing I expected
anybody to I thought it was just something that I

(27:24):
got to do, not that something anybody would want me
to do necessarily. So that's kind of how it came
to pass that I got comfortable being at the center
of things.

Speaker 2 (27:33):
You didn't demand, like I always demanded attention, Like I
demand attention. I'm a type a personality. I want to
be in the front. Now you were the opposite.

Speaker 10 (27:40):
It was the opposite. By okay, I think the opposite
thing might have been a little bit of like a
learned response, right because I was I was a shorter kid.
I have this weird birthmark when my hair grows two colors,
so like it's like it's a blonde right in the middle. Like,
and I was a kid of the eighties, so like
Gremlins is out, so I'm getting called and all this
stuff and beat up for it or whatever, picked on

(28:02):
for it, and I realized, like, okay, I better figure
out how to blend and maybe that was I learned
that lesson too deeply. But once I realized I could
be more who I wanted to be out in the
middle of that stage, I would save it all for
then and really just be the guy and have it
be the key that turned you into the whatever. It
is the real you. I've heard it said, you know, oh,

(28:23):
who are you up there? It's like I don't even
know you or whatever. It's like, No, that's kind of
like I feel like that's me up there.

Speaker 2 (28:28):
So you start this project in two thousand, would you
say that Vindicated is this song that people would know
general public? You think Vindicated your biggest song? Yeah, it's
got to be, right, I would think so, but I'm
a little too close to.

Speaker 10 (28:44):
It, if only because it's in a Marvel movie. Yeah,
it's got to be the most I don't know whether,
like I never remember like charts and things like that
and what songs were successful by certain metrics, but just
that the most people had to have heard it in
the world from that from that man, you know.

Speaker 2 (29:02):
You have your guitar. Could you give us a little
bit of indicated?

Speaker 9 (29:05):
Yeah?

Speaker 11 (29:06):
All right, I hope dangles on a string like slow
spinning redemption, winding in, winding out. The shine of it

(29:30):
is called my eye wrote me in so mesmerizing, so hypnotizing,
eye captivated.

Speaker 5 (29:42):
I am authenticated, I am selfish, I am wrong, I
am right, and I swear I'm right, swear.

Speaker 8 (29:51):
I knew it all along and I am.

Speaker 5 (29:57):
But I am clean up so well, I am saying
on me now the things you swore you saw yourself
so clear.

Speaker 2 (30:08):
That's awesome, that's still so. I mean, it also takes
me back. There are certain songs that you hear and again,
that was a really big It's like when you're like
a young adult and music matters so much to you.
Like I can remember where I was like when I
would hear that song, and I remember being in the movie.
That was a Curse and Dunce version, right, Spider Man,
did you ever did you meet them?

Speaker 10 (30:26):
I did, but don't They usually called the Toby Maguire version.
But yes, I'm back young, you know what, I guess.

Speaker 2 (30:32):
I think it was a good version. That's funny. Yes, yes,
that did you write that song for the movie, Because
we talked with Adam Durretz and County Crows about the song,
the one in the Shrek and he wrote that for
the movie. Yeah, did you write that for the movie? Exactly?

Speaker 10 (30:46):
And actually I had them and I were just talking
about that about accidentally in love the other day, and
it got me thinking, you know, I submitted a different
song to the production when when they when they asked
me about being a part of the soundtrack, and it
was not meant to be. The single wasn't meant to
be in the movie, and I really like the song.
It still hasn't come out. Then they but the cool

(31:07):
thing was they let me see the movie while it
was sort of still like it wasn't quite dailies, but
it was like this the graphics weren't rendered yet. It
would be suddenly just be like in animation in the
middle of it, like a holding place for like something
to come later. It was really a neat way to
see the movie, and it was the story of it
was really in my mind as I left there. They're
just like sort of like the conflict of wanting being

(31:33):
pulled in different directions, wanting things you can't quite allow
yourself to have or aren't allowed to have. And I
got to our last day to that run was in Hawaii,
and we're all going to go surfing, and I picked
up the guitar and it just like kind of spilled out,
and I was like, you know, it's funny. Where did
that song come from? And I was like, oh, well,
there's this line dangles on a string. Maybe it's from

(31:53):
Spider Man. So just that bit of it made me
call home and just be like, would you want to
hear this other song? I know there's no time, and
so just like that, it was written. Maybe an hour
or two later. I called and played it for Leah
Vollak over the phone. She was the head of Sony
Music for Pictures and and she was like, give me
a minute, get me a tape of that. Sent her

(32:15):
a tape. She's like, could you actually I think she
made She's like, could you demo that today? What's like
pre like home studio kind of things like that. And
we were able to do it at the club that
we were playing that night, and they got that tape
home and somehow the next they were like, can you
fly home tomorrow record this? If so, it'll be in
the movie, it'll be the single.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
Wow.

Speaker 10 (32:34):
Okay, well yes, we'll be there.

Speaker 2 (32:37):
How big was MySpace in your career?

Speaker 10 (32:40):
It was so big? Oh, my god, it was so big.
It was the biggest prob possibly the biggest thing in
my career except for Napster. Those were probably two biggest
factors in my career.

Speaker 2 (32:51):
Will you explain because I was big on my Space?
Will you explain on my Space? As to some of
our younger listeners, Well, it.

Speaker 10 (32:58):
Was like a do it yourself Facebook that was run
by renegades. I guess it was this. It was a
it's a social network because the first one I remember
that you that had the framework of what would really
come in social networks like really was very much like
Facebook in a lot of ways. But the way it

(33:19):
wasn't was it was seemed to be music and art
related really heavily, and you could skin your own page
right and you could, so everybody's user interface sort of
looked like their thing. You know who you were going
to see, and there was I think the reason it
got so big was was people were really hungry to
just communicate about the things they felt passionate about, and

(33:42):
no adults were really looking.

Speaker 2 (33:44):
And was it they were using your music as their
song because you could put you had a song, you
put a song up as is your song. Yeah, you
put people came to your page, it was like, this
is the kind of music I like, you're forced to
listen to it? Yep, so is that what happened with
your music? People just started sharing it, but in that way.

Speaker 10 (33:58):
Yeah, like if you're gonna, if we're gonna be friends,
you got to know this about me. It's a big thing,
big way to open the door, an easy way to
open the door. Great shorthand. And we really benefited from
from timing on that one that we were that were
for so many people. We were writing some I was
writing I guess something that they that felt to them

(34:19):
like a way to explain themselves, and my space was
the way they where they could do that.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
And then my space got all weird and you get viruses,
and then it just went away. Yeah, it was really
a napster too, but it napster kind of needed to
go away because when I was a kid, I would go,
I can't believe these artists they want us to pay
for this music. I was so offended. Yeah, I was like,
I can't. I hate mentalica, I hate all They were
obviously right, because you are creating an art and you

(34:46):
deserve to, you know, be able to live your life
based on the art that people are consuming. But at
the time, as a kid, oh, I was so mad.
I was like, I deserve to have this free and
I download every song. I would just hit the letter
D for example, I download every artist started with D,
dashboard confession, all of it. So for you guys, again,
music being shared by like minded people. I got to

(35:06):
imagine that was massive for you guys. For that brief period,
Napster was just killing it.

Speaker 10 (35:10):
Look, I will have an unpopular opinion. I loved Napster.
It made my career. Sure, it like took away the
livelihood I might have had but wouldn't have, So I
can only speak to how it affected me. And I
was I had a record made, but no distribution, And
later when I got on like a small label, they
didn't really have a distribution. And then when we were

(35:32):
popping off, the label that we were on next was
having like a war with their distribution. And that whole
time I could still get my music into people's hands,
and I remember being like, well, we can't get Like
I literally couldn't get my records from the distribution place
when we were at that stage where could not physically
get records, So I'd just be like, look, just buy

(35:52):
it later if you want to, but maybe get it
now so we can sing along together. So, but where
I do think that it did a service societally, I
guess it's a CDs were too expensive. They were artificially
priced in such a way that was that was harmful
to the consumer, I think, and so a Nobster, if

(36:14):
if nothing else, was sort of the great equalizer. Now, yeah,
but it took away a lot of people's paycheck.

Speaker 2 (36:19):
I'm mad again.

Speaker 10 (36:21):
I mean, you shouldn't have it free. There's a you
should have it reasonably priced.

Speaker 5 (36:26):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (36:26):
Well, I was looking at your catalog of songs. You know,
Stolen was such a massive song for you as well
when you hit this stage of your career was when Stolen.
I mean you you're You're a monster by the time
Stolen hits as far as people come into your shows,
I mean, I don't know that there was ever for
me a time to see dashboard and to see it
so large and everywhere you went was this. I don't

(36:50):
know what when I say stolen in that song, where
does that put you in your mind? About that point?

Speaker 10 (36:54):
Oh, I can tell I got it. I got a
chill even with how quickly. It took me back to
think about it. You know, I this, I lived in
basically a beach town, in a tourist town, and so
like when the easy end of the season would come,
you'd kind of get your city back, you kind of
get your town back. But also like everything you loved
about the exciting now of it all when season was

(37:17):
happening and you're a young person and there's you know, action, activity, girls,
new friends, all kinds of things that felt familiar to
me as I was transitioning now into like another place
professionally where it's like, Okay, I wish I could go
back there, but everything ends, and I had this kind

(37:37):
of I was conflating the two things, like the beautiful
temporary nature of it all and how it's all fleeting,
it's all transitional, and like I just it was kind
of a nod to like, I think I need to
acknowledge that I love love it both ways. I love
it when everything's happening, and then I love it when
it's really peaceful. And I always missed the other thing.

(38:00):
Whichever place I'm in, I missed the other place. So
the grass is greener, it's more like remember that it
really isn't greener, it's special in both places, so.

Speaker 2 (38:09):
It's dead on both the grasses of dead or no hope.
Would you mind playing a little bit of stolen for us?

Speaker 8 (38:17):
Sure?

Speaker 10 (38:20):
You watch the season.

Speaker 12 (38:24):
Up It sound Steaks catch the last weekend of last
week before the Gold and the Glimmer have bun replaced
another sun soaked season fades away.

Speaker 8 (38:46):
Stalls. You have Stomdy the melody the.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
Do you write melody first or you a lyrics guy?

Speaker 10 (39:14):
I think it's concurrent most of the time. I think
I do the sort of a babbel as I'm singing
and catch a word here and there, and then I'll
spend some time on lyrics and then sing melody lyrics,
melody lyrics, that sort of hand and glove.

Speaker 2 (39:27):
How fast did that song come out of you? You know?

Speaker 10 (39:30):
I always think about this, You know, those those songs
that you wrench on and you really just really really
are nitty gritty, on the on the on the minute,
shop at all, that take weeks and months or whatever.
By rights, those are the ones that should really connect
with people. But it's the ones that take you know,
if they come into flash, they connect with people.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
And this was one of the latter you your band, dashboard,
professional accounting, Crow is doing a whole lot of shows
together or fifty shows. How'd you guys come together to
you know, we get on this tour?

Speaker 10 (40:01):
Oh, we've been talking about this tour for for a
really long time. So Adam and I have been close
friends for It's hard to believe, but like maybe it
could be like fifteen years or more, maybe twenty, I
don't know. He's kind of been my favorite thing that's
happened about my career. Like people I've met, experiences I've had,

(40:21):
they're sort of always connected right to him. And and
he's my lyrical hero, my musical hero too. So it's
a beautiful kind of thing that is constantly surprising to
me that we're that Like I still listen to records, like,
he's not that guy, like he said this, not the
guy I'm gonna pal around with later. It's a whole
different guy when I listen to music. So how did

(40:42):
it come together? We've been trying to we've been talking
about it, trying to get schedules, trying to get albums
to line up, and we're here, and it did it,
and it did.

Speaker 2 (40:51):
I feel like people need to be quiet.

Speaker 10 (40:52):
At these shows between Dashboard.

Speaker 2 (40:55):
And County Crows, people just did to shut up and
enjoy the show.

Speaker 10 (40:58):
Would you agree, Well, I'm gonna belong to them, so no.

Speaker 2 (41:02):
See, people are talking. I don't care if they sing along,
but if they're talking enough talking, Yeah, if you're playing.
Because I'm again massive Counting Crows fan too, like look
when he sits down at the piano. Yeah, hush yeah,
shut up, everybody, Yeah, this is it.

Speaker 10 (41:17):
It's happening, yes right.

Speaker 2 (41:18):
Now, Chris, I really appreciate you coming by.

Speaker 8 (41:21):
Man.

Speaker 2 (41:21):
We talked about the tour a little earlier, but I'm
gonna say it again. The Counting Crows and Dashboard Confessional
the Banshee season tour. You can get tickets at Dashboard
Confessional dot com. It's over fifty dates and it's all
the hits. You play all the hits. Yeah, man, I
sometimes people and you're getting you're gonna hear all the hits. Chris,

(41:43):
big fan. Thank you so much for coming. I really
appreciate it. Everybody there is Chris Dashboard Confessional. It's time
for the good news.

Speaker 3 (41:53):
Pready Ray Santon was living in Washington a few years
ago when he was working as a garbage man. He
worked for a trash place and his coworkers are like, dude,
you're so smart, you should go to college. He's like,
I had never really thought about going to college. And
they said, dude, we'll help you. So his coworkers gone
online help him get the application. He enrolled into the

(42:15):
University of Maryland, got accepted. Then he graduated from there
in twenty eighteen. He said, hey, why stop there, Let's
go to law school. So he applies for law school
at Harvard and when he gets his acceptance letter, he
shoots a video of it, puts it on social media.

Speaker 2 (42:28):
This is crazy.

Speaker 3 (42:29):
Tyler Perry, the filmmaker, sees the video says, whoa, this
guy got accepted at Harvard.

Speaker 2 (42:34):
I'll pay for his school.

Speaker 7 (42:35):
What.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
So he goes to Harvard, gets his law degree. He's graduated.

Speaker 3 (42:39):
Now he works at a law firm in New York
City and he's raised over seventy thousand dollars to give
back to Harvard janitors. I mean, this guy is amazing
here he is talking about it.

Speaker 2 (42:49):
And in my life was just based off of me
being a community oriented individual. When I got that from
my dad, my dad was like, just because you're going
through something doesn't mean that's an excuse not to help
somebody who can. So this is like eight, tell me
something goods in one probably goes up into the Hall
of Fame. Tell me something good because his workers are like, dude,
you got to go to college. And then they did
some of the legwork to get that going. And so

(43:10):
he goes to University of Maryland, gets accepted, finishes there.
There's your first there's your first two. That's huge the workers,
and then graduate. Look at this guy, did he graduated? Okay? Cool?
Goes to Harvard, he goes to law school. That's three,
but but he doesn't pay for it. And Tyler Perry
jumps in. That's four. And now he has donated back
to other janitors Harvard. That's five. That's this is tell

(43:34):
me something good. Hall of Fame and that's so cool.
And now he works as a lawyer in New York. Hey,
I like them. You like apples? Yeah, you like them out.

Speaker 6 (43:41):
I feel like this could be a movie. Jump on it.

Speaker 2 (43:44):
It's almost like Goodwill Hunting. I'm sure if he thought so,
he'd be on it. He is, Yeah, he was like,
I think Tyler Perch, jump on it. He's listening, and
he's like, you know what, I never thought about that?
All right, thank you, Eddie. That's what it's all about.
That was telling me something good. Internet riddles for kids.
We googled it. But it's a game we play called
Riddle me this. I'll read you the riddle. After the

(44:08):
second time I read the riddle. Yeah, fifteen seconds to
give me the answer? Am you ready? Who riddle me this?
I am full of holes but can still hold water.
I am full of holes, but I can still hold water.

Speaker 8 (44:23):
What am I?

Speaker 2 (44:24):
Correct? Lunchbox? What goes up but never comes down? What
goes up it never comes down?

Speaker 1 (44:36):
Your age?

Speaker 2 (44:37):
Correct, Eddie? What's always coming but never arrives? Well, you
got a hard one to start. These do get like
the generic? But what's always coming but never arrives? Who
riddle me this? I don't know that. I can't.

Speaker 8 (45:02):
I don't know this.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
One's always coming but never arrives. I'm not saying, man,
the answer is tomorrow, okay, tomorrow? All right, We're down
to two. That was quick? All right, mammy? What two
things can you never eat for breakfast?

Speaker 6 (45:24):
Lunch and dinner?

Speaker 2 (45:25):
Correct?

Speaker 8 (45:25):
Wow?

Speaker 2 (45:26):
Wow, shut it out here, quick, lunchbox. What has a
neck but no head. What has a neck but no head?
Don't do it? What has a neck but no head?

Speaker 8 (45:42):
What has a neck?

Speaker 2 (45:44):
Rather? Oh my god, think of the sec buddy. Yeah,
I mean I'm trying to keep my job. Guys, what
my answer? I'm a pass. Let's do it again, all right,

(46:14):
you're idiots?

Speaker 1 (46:18):
Like check?

Speaker 10 (46:19):
Yes?

Speaker 2 (46:19):
Stupid? Okay, Amy, Ready, we'll see who wins this one.
If you drop a yellow hat into the red sea?
What does it become if you drop a yellow hat
into Yeah?

Speaker 8 (46:37):
I mean what?

Speaker 2 (46:39):
Correct? I was gonna say, lost, I'm light as a feather. Youet,
the strongest person can't hold me for five minutes? What
am I? I'm light as a feather? Yeah, the strongest
person can't hold me for five minutes? What am I?

Speaker 7 (46:56):
Who?

Speaker 2 (46:56):
Riddle me?

Speaker 4 (46:56):
This?

Speaker 2 (46:58):
Her breath? Correct?

Speaker 7 (47:00):
What?

Speaker 2 (47:01):
That's crazy? How did you get that? Just came? He
was even doing like curls? Okay? What has hands and
a face but can't hold anything? Or a smile? Thank goodness? Clock? Yeah?

Speaker 12 (47:16):
Good?

Speaker 8 (47:17):
Hurrid on me this?

Speaker 2 (47:20):
What is yours? But mostly is used by others? Amy?
What is yours? But it is mostly used by others? Good?

Speaker 9 (47:29):
Wow?

Speaker 2 (47:30):
Lunchbox? What has a ring but no finger What is
a ring but no finger? Phone? Telephone or doorbell would
have been taken to okay with seven count? Okay, I
am always running, but I never get tired or hot.
Why now I lunchbox?

Speaker 1 (47:53):
Patty?

Speaker 2 (47:53):
This would be yours? Oh it's mine?

Speaker 5 (47:55):
It is?

Speaker 2 (47:55):
Oh did he get the ring one? Amy just jumped
in and made me think it was Can you repeat
the question? Yeah? Sorrybut that I really put you in
the wrong direction. There, buddy, I'm always running, but I
never get tired or hot. What am I any? I
don't know if I'd say yeah, I got I got it?

Speaker 3 (48:09):
Go ahead the time I was running the clock where
I was running that TikTok running the refrigerator.

Speaker 2 (48:18):
Sorry, O man, Amy have keys but no locks. I
have space but no room. You can enter, but you
can't go outside. What am I? I have keys but
no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter,
but you can't go outside. What am I.

Speaker 8 (48:40):
Keys can't go?

Speaker 10 (48:42):
He's he's.

Speaker 8 (48:47):
Space room.

Speaker 6 (48:48):
I can enter, but you can't go piano.

Speaker 1 (48:52):
Oh wrong, Oh.

Speaker 2 (48:53):
You're so close as in a typing keyboard. Space ball,
but no room. Lunchbox for the wind, and we'll go
to a sudden death. What happened? Wheels and flies? But
it's not an airplane? Stay it again? What has wheels
and flies but not an airplane? What has wheels and flies?

(49:17):
But it is not an airplane? What it has wheels?

Speaker 9 (49:23):
The fly?

Speaker 2 (49:24):
What has wheels and flies but not an airplane?

Speaker 1 (49:32):
Time?

Speaker 5 (49:33):
No? See?

Speaker 2 (49:34):
Where are you missed it? Way? And I tried to
say it over and over again. You said wheels, that flies?
It has wheels and flies like actually flies like wheels
and flies at garbage truck? Both missed it. Sudden deaths
for this one. Here we go, Hey, buzz in when
you get it? What tire doesn't move when your car turns? Lunchbox,

(49:56):
spare time? Correct? So Lunchbox wins that around. Now we're
one sudden death away from championship. Eddie, you're not in it.
They both won one. All good, Okay, here we go
sudden death. I have thirteen hearts, but none of them beat?
What am I? I have thirteen hearts but none of

(50:21):
them beat lunchbox?

Speaker 9 (50:23):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (50:32):
That is correct.

Speaker 13 (50:33):
That is how you do it.

Speaker 8 (50:34):
He's not wrong.

Speaker 2 (50:35):
Nice job, Lunchbox. How do you gave me the inappropriate one?

Speaker 8 (50:45):
Round one?

Speaker 13 (50:45):
I did give inappropriate you turn everything dirty, k and
well and and infore.

Speaker 5 (50:56):
We go to jail. Thank you man.

Speaker 2 (51:08):
So Bobby Bones Show Interviews. In case you didn't know,
we're gonna hop over and talk to United States Marine
Corps Corporal Aaron Mankin. In just second. He is in
our Hyundai Virtual green room. He is on with us
from his place, his home. I'm gonna tell you he
does not know that we're on with him to hopefully
build him a home. We've done this six times before

(51:31):
for different heroes that have served and have had catastrophic injury.
Corporal Making has had seventy surgeries. He has and I'll
let him tell the story about the ied that hit him.
And he's got kids, and he's had burns and amputation
and lung damage serving us, serving this country. And so

(51:54):
we have teamed up with building homes for heroes to
help veteran the United States Marine Corps Corporal Aaron Mankon.
We're going to build him a house. He does not
know that. So now we're going to connect him over
so he doesn't hear that part. And he's on now
and here he is on the Bobby Bones Show.

Speaker 9 (52:12):
Now, Marine Corporal Aaron.

Speaker 2 (52:15):
Hello, Aaron, how's it going.

Speaker 9 (52:17):
It's going well.

Speaker 2 (52:18):
Thank you, good to see my friend.

Speaker 9 (52:20):
Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (52:21):
First of all, from all of us, we appreciate your
service obviously, and I want to talk about why you join,
when you join, and what happened to you specifically. And
you know, I was going to be sensitive when talking
about what happened to you. So if I ask anything
that's a little too much, let me know. Okay, I
appreciate it. Okay, cool.

Speaker 9 (52:38):
I'm an open book. I'll talk about anything. I think
it's important for people to not only hear my story,
but the opportunity I've had to educate people about my
experience and what it's like to come home.

Speaker 2 (52:50):
So you enlisted, what year and where'd you live?

Speaker 9 (52:54):
So I enlisted out of my hometown here in Rogers, Arkansas,
back in two thousand and three at the set of
the war, and back then it was an or it
was you know, Operation of Rocky Freedom, when we were
going to liberate the nation. So that resonated with me.
That spoke with me a lot. The idea of you know,
the bush doctor explorting democracy and going out and helping
the world in that way really really resonated with me,

(53:17):
and I thought, you know, if I'm going to join
the military, if if this is what my generation is
going to do with this my generation's war, what what
can I do that that I that I do well
so that I could be an asset to my unit.
And I didn't want to just be another pair of
boots in the sand. So I took my skills as
a as a photographer and a storyteller and decided to

(53:39):
become a combat correspondent. So I started my training in
deployed to a rock in two thousand and five, spent
my time in Fallujah, and was there to tell the
Marine Corps story.

Speaker 2 (53:49):
What does that mean? Tell the Marine Corps story as
someone that's in the Marine Corps? Are you telling it
to people like us or are you telling it within both?

Speaker 9 (53:58):
Actually? So you know, I had a run one hand,
a rifle in the other, and every Marine rifleman so
and especially having you know, combat at the front of
my bill at my job is to be expected. And
so I would write for I would write press releases
for the general for the base newspaper, but then those
were also released online and back here in the States,

(54:19):
and I did videography. I did several reports that would
come through the satellites out of Fallujah and then back
to the States and wind up on the evening news.
So you know, the Marine Corps story is very much
in large part of the American story. And so you know,
just telling those those personal connections between the troops and

(54:40):
the home front.

Speaker 2 (54:41):
Did you find the fulfillment that you were searching for
whenever you went in to the service, into the Marines.
You had been there, you did your training, you were serving.
Did you feel like this is what I was meant
for while you were doing it?

Speaker 9 (54:53):
I really did. I really thought that not only was
I in a place that spoke to me, fed me
as an individual, where I could lean on my skill
set and be valued within my unit and toward division.
I did. I enjoyed it. Best job on the Marine Corps,
hands down, best job. I mean, I loved it. I

(55:13):
mean everything that the Marine Corps had its hands in,
I had the opportunity to go and tell that story.
So if we were doing training and awesome high speed
you know, helicopter operations or you know, mount training, or
a celebrity would come on base to entertain the troops,
if that's where the story was, and that's where I

(55:34):
would be in order to tell it.

Speaker 2 (55:37):
So we had mentioned before you came on that you've
undergone seventy surgeries throughout your recovery. But I do want
to talk about what happened that has well made you
have seventy surgeries. So what do you remember about the
day it happened to kind of walk me through it?

Speaker 9 (55:51):
I survived that blast. I walked away luckily. I don't
know how I escaped it. Why to tell you the
god honest truth. I mean, it took the lives of
six marines and I walked away with no broken bones,
no shrapnel really just a flesh wound. I had to
give my face and my flesh and a few fingers,

(56:13):
but you know, I had my life and got to
walk away from it, and honestly, every day's been a
blessing sense.

Speaker 2 (56:20):
Well, was it an ied that exploded a lot of
times when you know, we talked to you know, people
that have been injured in war, it's either an ID
they didn't know they drove up on. Or is that
what happened with you? Yes?

Speaker 9 (56:33):
Yeah, we were moving from one objective to the other
in our track just happened to hit a stack mine
through a twenty six ton vehicle filled with marines chow
ammunition through us good ten feet in here boo boo
can crash it back down. And we thought it was
an ambush. We thought we were taking fire. But it

(56:54):
turns out that the heat was so intense inside the
vehicle all of our art and that started to cook off.
So all of our our knaves are flares or fifty
calil everything started to cook off inside. It was chaos.

Speaker 2 (57:04):
When you say cook off, does that mean like like
shoot off, like firework, like if a fireworks stand word
to catch fire. But that's like it's like real, real
stuff exactly. Oh man, So what happens then? As in
what do you remember next? Are you do? Wake up
in a hospital?

Speaker 9 (57:21):
So at that point, uh, I'm on fire inside the vehicle.
I opened my eyes. I can see flashes of orange
and the pitch black smoke. My first reaction was to
just gasp, you know, just shocked, and I inhaled all
this fire and debris, and later surgeons would dig out

(57:42):
cardboard and glass out of my lungs, and panics set in,
and I thought I gotta get out. And by that time,
one of our sergeants had muscled open in the back hatch,
and the smoke started to flood out. Daylight kind of
trickled in and I found my try and I just
dove and I just jumped out of the track. I

(58:03):
landed in the road. I stopped and looked at myself
and I was still on fire. And so I started
to roll and roll and roll, and I couldn't I
couldn't put myself out. I just, uh, you know, exhausted
myself trying to extinguish myself, and and I thought this
is it. And this piece came over me, and I thought, uh,
this is how my story ends. And you know, they

(58:24):
say your whole life flashes before your eyes. Ironically for
me being a photographer, I just saw these like pictures.
I just saw these little still frames of all the
people in my life that meant the world to me.
And as I was trying to hold on to him,
I woke up to the sound of my fellow marine Jill,
and put him out. Put him out, you know, they

(58:46):
run over, They dive on top of me, and they're
you know, kicking down on top of me, trying to
put the flames out. And they do, and then it's
like they just evaporated. It's like they just disappear and
they all go to help other marines. And I wasn't
wounded from the waist down. So I stood up and
of course in shock, and I thought, you know, I
need to get to my camera. I need to get
to my mission. And so I started to walk back

(59:08):
toward the track. And it was about then that our
navy corman grabbed me by the collar and say, hey,
you're hurt. You need to come with me. And that's
really where the story of my recovery began. And I
tell that story, you know, to different groups around the country,
and and I'll i'll point that that part out specifically,
and how often we'll walk around in life and not

(59:30):
know how truly wounded we are and take someone else
to come up to us and extend their hand and
their help and their aid. So he gets me to
the casualty collection point, and then they got to get
me on the on the chopper, right, and it's like
every war movie you've ever seen. Let's go get him
on the chop bottle, let's go, you know. And they
load me up on the litter and they start running

(59:51):
through a field to load me up onto the helicopter
to our air support, and sure enough, you know, Murphy's
a lot of things go wrong and somebody fill over
and I came tumbling out. Now I'm back on the
ground and we were so close to the bird, I thought,
you know, I'll just walk. So I started walking toward
the bird and Oliver Eede start yelling at me, Hey.

Speaker 5 (01:00:12):
Hey, hey, let down, leat down.

Speaker 9 (01:00:13):
Your in shock. We got you come on here in shock.
I'm like, I'm shocked that you dropped me right right,
get this. Worried some morphine, so they got me out
the bird and got me out of there. They knocked
me out and then I woke up about two days
later in San Antonio.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
So you're in San Antonio and that's where they start
to really work physically through your recovery. Second third degree
burns to your arms and your face, ambuitated fingers PTSD,
lung damage. I'm assuming the lung damage is from when
you were breathing in and the fire. That's all you
took in there. Yes, so physically it has been extremely tough.

(01:00:51):
Seventy surgeries that so, yeah, when you can't even remember
every star, there's no way I remember seventy surgeries and
you can't even remember every surgery. That's how you know.
You've had a lot of surgeries, right right, Aaron?

Speaker 9 (01:01:03):
Sure?

Speaker 2 (01:01:04):
And so here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna work
together with building homes for Heroes, and our goal is
to repay you and it'll never actually be repayment for
what you gave to this country. And our goal is
to simply build a house. Building a house that is
easier for you to live in, easier for what you're
going through, easier for your family. And so what we're

(01:01:29):
going to do, because you told us your story and
because you served, is we're going to get with our
listeners and we're going to say this is Aaron's story.
If you guys would like to help, can you help?
And over the past six years we've been able to
do just that, and so we've chosen you this year
United States sub Marine Corps Corporate Airmaking and we really
want to hopefully impact your life in a positive way

(01:01:50):
because of how you have impacted ours, if that's okay
with you.

Speaker 9 (01:01:57):
Bobby, I thought we were just talking here. Wow, it's
so huge, I can't wow. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:02:11):
Let us take it from here again. You've done so much,
You've been through so much. It is the least that
we can do. And we will be in touch very soon,
my friend. So thank you again. And by the way,
behind you, I mean I see Captain America. That's who
you are to us, man, that's it. I mean, that's
who you are. You got a little figuring back there,

(01:02:32):
but but you are. You're a corporal freaking America. That's right. Okay,
So we will talk again soon and again I'll thank
you again a million times, but for now I'll just
say we'll talk to you later. Okay, thank you, thank
you so much.

Speaker 8 (01:02:46):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (01:02:47):
All right, Aaron, you have a great day and until
we meet again.

Speaker 9 (01:02:50):
Thank you, Mary. We'll see soon.

Speaker 2 (01:02:51):
All right. There he is United States Marine Corps Corporal
Aaron Macon. And what we do right now, if you
want to go over to the website, it's up. It's
ready for you, Bobbybones dot com. It's right there, and
that's where you can do the deal. That's where you
can get the limited edition Patriotic Pip and Joy shirt.
We have so much up there. We don't keep any
of the money. Zero dollars, zero cents goes to us.

(01:03:12):
We don't keep it all, we don't keep any of it,
and let's do it. Let's build him a house, a
house that he can move freely, in a house where
he doesn't have to worry about restrictions of anything because
of all the surgeries that he's been through, seventy surgeries.
I don't have seventy friends, I mean, and he's been
through seventy surgeries and.

Speaker 6 (01:03:31):
His kids too. Just creating a space for them to
all live together with ease.

Speaker 2 (01:03:37):
Bobbybones dot Com up now the limited edition Patriotic Piping
joy Line. It is on so you will have it
my July fourth. By the way, yes we will, Lunchbuck
will walk it to your house. If if it is not,
I will say yes USA, Yes, go now, Bobbybones dot Com. Again,
we don't keep any of the money, so let's go.
Let's build them. Let's build them a house. You know,

(01:03:58):
not to say it's Marine Corp corporal making. We appreciate
his time. We'll talk to him again soon. And now
it's up to you guys, because you can go. We
have a limited run. Today Friday is gonna be the
big release. But I'm told you better go quick because
we only have like two hundred and fifty or so
we're doing today. I guess I should have said that,
so sick everybody. We only have a few today, but
the big release is Friday. Okay, all right, there you go.

(01:04:19):
Thank you guys. Uber eats is gonna, they say, unleashed
two thousand AI powered robots across the US, so will
drop off food order starting in twenty twenty six. I
saw one in La. It's so legiti that these things
are killing people. Dude, it freaked me out. I thought
somebody was following me.

Speaker 3 (01:04:33):
I turned around as a robot and I had food
in its little clause crazy going down the sidewalk.

Speaker 1 (01:04:40):
It's crazy.

Speaker 2 (01:04:40):
It freaked all of us out. Me and my wife
and my son were like, whoa, what is that thing?
Where's your picture of video? Yeah, I didn't even think
about it. Well, you video everything, and you don't video that.

Speaker 3 (01:04:49):
I was on social media. You know he talks, but
you still record stuff. Well, I just forgot about it.

Speaker 2 (01:04:55):
Is Uber eats is throwing out two thousand of these
four wheel robots may your US cities in twenty twenty six.
They'll be available in the app. If you select it,
the robot brings you your food and I'm telling you,
it's a great idea until all of a sudden robot
not happy. Yeah. Shoot, but yeah, I'm looking at pictures

(01:05:16):
of them now, and that is bizarre. But in that
hotel we were in once in Vegas, the robots brought
you the food, but all that just went to the elevator,
up the elevator to your room. That's still bizarre. Yeah,
but this is like driving across the city on you
seen one on the in the on the street. The
sidewalk is nuts. That's crazy. That's pretty cool though, it
was cool. That's pretty cool. Pile of stories.

Speaker 7 (01:05:37):
Do you feel like your driver's license or your passport
like represents you? Like if you show your fate aport,
they're like, oh, you're the same person.

Speaker 2 (01:05:45):
Yeah, because on my driver's license they let me wear
my glasses which they weren't supposed to. Really, oh special treatment,
huh yeah, celebrity style. Wow, that's cool. Yeah, it's pretty cool.
And be honest with you, I like it. And then
you're gonna act like, but my passport on a serial
killer for her no glasses, I'm like, because they tell
you not to smile, yea, They're like, don't smile, no, glasses.
It looks like I'm like middle easing the bathroom my face.

(01:06:08):
So one yes, one no.

Speaker 7 (01:06:09):
Well, there was this one girl that was sharing how
she got real done up for her passport photo and
she had on the makeup, the hair, all the things,
and then when she went to fly early in the morning,
rolled out of.

Speaker 2 (01:06:23):
Bed, funny that ain't you no makeup?

Speaker 7 (01:06:26):
And yeah, she got pulled aside by the TSA agent
and claiming you're not her.

Speaker 2 (01:06:32):
So I guess the move would be to do medium.
So if you're one way or the other, if you're
like going to prom, but you had to get to
the airport first, if they still know, and also if
you just wake up and no makeup, this is probably
just like medium makeup. Don't go full dolly.

Speaker 3 (01:06:46):
Have you ever seen mine? No, it's it's so stupid.
I have I have a fool beard. Yeah, I mean
it's like James Harden goes down to the bottom of
my neck.

Speaker 2 (01:06:54):
If James Harden was from the valley.

Speaker 3 (01:06:57):
It's ridiculous. Every single time I go to the airport,
they do like three takes. Okay too, it's a weird
time to take a picture. So whenever you're doing something
with your face or body or hair. That isn't common
because you know you're gonna get out of it. One time,
Morgan number one died her hair blonde for a group picture. Yeah,
you bring that up a lot, and I was like,
then you got to stay blonde like she It was blonde, blonde.

(01:07:18):
Usually it's brown.

Speaker 2 (01:07:18):
So we do our show picture and then she's blonde
like Barbie blonde, and like a week later it's brown again,
and then it never want.

Speaker 6 (01:07:26):
How long has she been not on this show and
doing your other stuff.

Speaker 2 (01:07:29):
I don't know, years years. Yeah, go with that, but
I can't. I can't. I can't let love it.

Speaker 5 (01:07:33):
Well.

Speaker 7 (01:07:34):
Also, is you're gonna point out that's literally the last
time we did a show photo shoot?

Speaker 8 (01:07:37):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:07:37):
Probably. We did photoshoot all the time for different things,
Pep and Joy stuff groups.

Speaker 6 (01:07:41):
Oh, I mean like a that was like a real
like we were.

Speaker 2 (01:07:44):
Yeah. Mostly now they maybe pay for it myself and
I just give them mine. Oh that's why we haven't
taken one and one. Yeah, pay for you guys' crab.
I gotta pay for my own, all right. What else for.

Speaker 7 (01:07:52):
Anybody that's dating, it takes nineteen minutes for someone to
know if they want a second date, and the top
things people are looking for manners, personality.

Speaker 2 (01:08:02):
I can tell you a manner is not the first
thing that's looked for by dudes. That may be the
first answer they give, but it ain't the first thing.
Go ahead, Okay, what does the person you look for?
I have a wife and she's beautiful, and she's the
only person I've ever wanted to date a second time.

Speaker 7 (01:08:18):
Okay, Personality comes in, like, listen to somebody that's friendly
and you can actually talk, Yeah, conversations.

Speaker 2 (01:08:24):
I mean, you don't want to go on a second
day with somebody just because they're hot. Like that definitely
helps if you're attracted to them. But if you're attracted
to them and you sit down and you're like, I
don't know what to say to you, Like we don't
have anything in common. You no personality, Like that's got
to be first.

Speaker 6 (01:08:39):
Oh, at what point for you?

Speaker 7 (01:08:41):
Because I assume maybe when Caitlin Sains that's the only
person you've gone out with, she didn't know you were
a radio personality, So she didn't know you were a
talker on air because like the difference, you don't really
talk that much off air.

Speaker 2 (01:08:53):
Yeah, but we had a mutual friend, her friend.

Speaker 6 (01:08:56):
From Oklahoma, so she didn't have to figure out the
two sends you.

Speaker 2 (01:08:59):
I wouldn't even try to date. Oh, she just met
me as like a person. We didn't go on a
date forever, months and months.

Speaker 6 (01:09:04):
Okay, But on the first date, are you talkative?

Speaker 2 (01:09:07):
Oh? Yeah, I'm on. Maybe let's get right.

Speaker 6 (01:09:08):
But when you do you reveal it.

Speaker 2 (01:09:10):
Best representative, let's go.

Speaker 6 (01:09:12):
When do you reveal that you dial it down with
the talking good question?

Speaker 2 (01:09:16):
About third of the way to the first date, I'm like, hey,
like this, you just shut down. It isn't gonna go down.
The power runs out.

Speaker 7 (01:09:25):
Yeah, go ahead, Well nineteen minutes, that's all you got
and you can figure it out. Kenny Chesney was talking
about how he keeps his mental health in check, and
there's three things that he's doing. Breath work, heat, so
I assume some sort of wedding sauna.

Speaker 2 (01:09:40):
Situation and then he no, ser no problem.

Speaker 7 (01:09:47):
In addition to the breath and the heat, he is
very much into the ice baths like everybody else, but
he says he keeps one right outside his bus every day,
pops in and it's the best thing for him.

Speaker 2 (01:09:58):
Ice bath will different than a cool plant. I guess
ice bath you can get into if your body is
inflamed a lot of inflammation, you get the ice bath
used to have, you know, the athletic actually get an
ice bath that hated injuries. Ice bath inflammation out the
cool The thing that's the stupidest thing is the stupidest thing.
I well, yes, it's so dumb. Here's why. First of all,

(01:10:19):
there's not the scientific about it really that tells you
that it's doing anything for your body. And trust me,
I've done a lot of research on this because i
just love to prove people wrong. So I was with
Jake Oh and we were away and he was like,
get the cold plunge, and I'm like, what's the purpose?
He goes gonna make it feel better? I'm like, why
it to go? You usually accomplish something in the morning,
and I'm like, I accomplished plenty all day. I'm good.
He's like, oh, you'll just feel like you're a better person.
You'd be like whoa. And so I'm like, okay, fine, whatever,

(01:10:42):
And so knocks on my door like six thirty in
the morning, and we got to go.

Speaker 5 (01:10:46):
In the morning.

Speaker 2 (01:10:46):
I'd rather slept in why can't we do the cold
plunch at noon in the morning though, really get you going?
And then it's like, don't you feel good you accomplish that,
And I'm like, I know I could accomplish that at
three pm. I could have accomplish more sleep for me.
And he's like, y'all, but it really get your engine going.
I'm like, that's not scientific. There's no engine.

Speaker 7 (01:11:04):
So the I had a doctor on my podcast, he's
super popular, doctor Mark Hyen, and he said, the top
two things if you could recommend to people for longevity
and hacking your body.

Speaker 2 (01:11:14):
Is two things and two things that are very vague,
longevity and hacking your body.

Speaker 8 (01:11:18):
Right.

Speaker 6 (01:11:18):
No, well he's talking. He likes to look at your
own body.

Speaker 2 (01:11:21):
By the way, I'm my body hacked, like you.

Speaker 7 (01:11:22):
Have your chronological age, but then also your biological age,
like you can change it.

Speaker 6 (01:11:25):
He's like, you can get younger.

Speaker 7 (01:11:27):
And the top two things I tell people, obviously, besides
you know food and whatnot.

Speaker 2 (01:11:31):
Is ruth and whatnot. I'm going with whatnot?

Speaker 6 (01:11:33):
We no, these are the two things.

Speaker 7 (01:11:35):
Whatnot means like obviously you you exercise, you eat certain things.
But he said heat through sauna and cold punch.

Speaker 2 (01:11:44):
And what's the benefit of the cold punch other than
saying I got up in the morning and accomplished.

Speaker 6 (01:11:51):
In your research. Did it bring up that it stimulates
the vagus.

Speaker 2 (01:11:54):
Nerve, you know, not the Vegas nerve, not the Reno nerve,
not the Sacramento nerve. None of those cities in the West,
none of those nerves were affected.

Speaker 6 (01:12:01):
Okay.

Speaker 5 (01:12:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:12:03):
My resource is like ten articles, a couple of podcasts,
and I'm a doctor too, so that's a good point.
That doctor on your podcast. Yeah, this doctor on your podcast.
I'll tell you a lot of stuff about the Vegas
nerves well known. Yeah, of letters, give me letters. Let
me tell you about letter A. Yeah, come on, letter
e E, letter I I. That's all I do is

(01:12:24):
battle sounds. Anyway, go plenty of stupid All right, what
is that it?

Speaker 6 (01:12:29):
Maybe that's my pile.

Speaker 2 (01:12:31):
That was Amy's pile of stories. It's time for the
good news. Bobby Lucas Smith this five year old in Wisconsin.
He has turned a community service project into something he
does all the time. Now He's pledged a craft a
handmade birthday card for every kid in a small town
that is in central Wisconsin. Now, his mom talks about it, says, well,

(01:12:54):
he was doing some community service hours, not because he
was in trouble, which just happened to let's be honest,
some of our friends, but because he just wanted to
do something for the town and he was gonna get
like a bonus points at school as well. But he
found that by giving back it made him feel better.
And so that's what he does, is he does these
birthday cards, makes all of them personalized to each kid

(01:13:18):
he gives it to, and he's like, if this is
my little way of doing it, then I'm effecting the
world in a positive way. Again, he's only five years old. Wow,
it's amazing. He's not playing video games in the free time.
That's what my five year old dude, he's not. I
don't know what else they do nothing, that's what he's
not doing. He's thinking about others. And this is the
kind of kid that this grows birthday cards grows into it.

(01:13:39):
B than C then d this is what changes the
world five years old, Lucas Smith. If you're listening, Boddy,
we appreciate that. That's what it's all about. That was
telling me something good