Episode 130: On location, Asheville, NC! (Ft talk w/ Comedian Jeff Allen and more!)

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This week's episode of Uncle Dad Talks. I'm Uncle Dad, and with me as always
is the ever so handsome Mike Hampton. Mike, if you can hear,
I'm very excited right now. Yeah, why are you so excited?
Because we are doing an episode featured on something that I have never experienced,
and you talk about this place a lot.
And whenever I get to experience anything that you love, it's amazing.
So we are here live, quotations, in Asheville, North Carolina.

(00:24):
Raise up, put your shirt off, and swing it like a helicopter. Isn't that Petey Pongo?
Yeah, from North Carolina. I know Petey Pablo. Very good. Do you know him personally? Look at you.
We did a song together back in 2005. Really? Yeah.
Everybody go Google that. Actually, everybody tweet Petey Pablo. Hey, you know Cap.

(00:45):
Mike, so this is kind of our opening banter here, and we have a very interesting
show planned. Probably one of our most unique ones we've done in a while.
We're pretty much exploring Asheville and talking to different creators,
comedians, who are either from here, travel here.
I don't know. We're going to talk to an actor, breweries, hopefully.

(01:06):
Like, what do you think about this eclectic episode?
Well, like all things, we have a trajectory set out.
Whether or not that actually happens is to be seen.
But, you know, the intention's there, you know. And Asheville is a place that
brings a lot of people in.
I think I've heard anywhere during the peak of its tourist season,

(01:29):
there's 20,000 extra people here a day just for tourism.
And the town itself, there's about 100,000 residents that live in Asheville
proper. So we'll see how it goes, right?
Yeah, you know, and it's one of our first stops. And you guys will hear this
soon as we're going to, and correct me if I'm wrong, like the Omni?
Omni Grove Park Inn. Okay, that's where we're going. And apparently it is a

(01:53):
pretty big establishment here.
It's a beautiful building. We'll take pictures, post it, all that good stuff.
And we are going to see something a little different for us.
We're going to see a clean comic, the legendary Jeff Allen. Alan. Yeah.
I mean, there's other big comics that do clean comedy, right?
Most notably Seinfeld, which, you know, we've heard him on the Stern show a

(02:15):
few times and he talks about sometimes using dirty words is just a cheap laugh.
And so maybe, you know, I think Jeff's reasoning for doing clean is different
than Jerry's, but nonetheless, it'll be interesting to see and hopefully we laugh.
I believe we will. I believe we will. And for those who don't know,
Jeff Allen's the one who pretty much kind of coined the term happy wife,

(02:36):
happy life. And we all know that term. Ain't that right, Mike? Yeah.
I've heard of that term. I don't know if it's actually true.
Oh, it's true. Sometimes a happy wife still is unhappy life. It depends on the wife.
You know what? There might be some... Depends on what number of wife you're
on. Do you have any experience with that? Maybe.

(02:58):
Yeah, so I'm really excited for this. And Jeff Allen, what's really interesting
about what we're doing here is that we haven't really talked to too many comedians.
I think we only had Suli, I think.
I think you're right. I'll have to look at the list, but I think you're right.
There's too many people to name.
We're over 100 episodes in. No big deal, right? But yeah, Sully was great.

(03:23):
I think comedians offer such great perspectives of life. I mean,
that's why we like stand-up, right? Is that they offer their own perspective of life.
And so Sully's story obviously is different than Jeff's and vice versa.
So it's exciting to see what Jeff is going to offer and see.
And also on top of all that, we have a weekend full of Asheville fun and we
may be even talking to your sister. Is that true?

(03:45):
We may be able to book my sister who manages a fine establishment here in the
Biltmore Village part of Asheville.
So hopefully we can book her. She's busy.
Hopefully we can nail her down. Because she's busy. She's a super stud.
I know. She's always getting out there, making things happen,
shaking hands with presidents. I know, right?
Yeah, she's shaking hands and making calls and, you know, walking downstairs

(04:07):
and doing moves. Doing moves.
I don't know where she gets it from. It must run in the family.
I think so. I think so. But fun fact, everybody, this is good.
If we do book the elusive Monica, I'm going to say it.
This will be her second appearance. Do you remember that, Mike?
Yes, because the first one was at our brewery. Yeah. Our beer release at Clandestine Brewing.

(04:30):
Which you should all visit because they still sponsor this show,
and that is Clandestine Brewing in San Jose, California.
So be sure to go check them out, right Mike?
Please do. Please do. All right everybody, enough talking for us.
We'll be right back and when we come back we'll either be talking about our
experience of the Omni or we're going to be talking to Jeff Allen directly.
So get ready for a fun show everybody and remember to follow us on Instagram

(04:53):
at UncleDadTalks. We appreciate that.
This ad is brought to you by Skyline Smart Energy.
The state of California just approved another rate increase for PG&E,
one of California's biggest electric companies, and the other big companies are soon to follow.
Homeowners' electric bills will increase by an additional 13% starting in January of 2024.

(05:19):
If you could have a locked-in gas price at $2 per gallon for 25 years,
wouldn't you have done so? So by going with solar with Skyline Smart Energy,
that's exactly what you can do.
You'll not only pay a much lower average price per month than your current electric
bill, but you'll also lock in that lower rate for the next 25 plus years.

(05:42):
Skyline is also offering a free year of Brinks home security with no installation
fees when you get solar installed.
So do yourself a favor. Protect your family, your home, and your wallet by texting
or calling 209-573-0589 for a free energy savings consultation and see if your home qualifies.

(06:07):
Skyline Smart Energy.
Take control of rising energy costs now.
Hi, everybody. Uncle Dad here hanging out with Just Mike. Mike, say hello.
Hello, hello. know we have a very special guest
sitting right next to us arguably a legend
in comedy he laughs he laughs but i
believe it's true let's give it up for the

(06:29):
man himself jeff allen what's up
man nothing a legend my gosh that means i'm on my deathbed is that what it takes
to get to be a legend i guess i don't know it's years been around long enough
jeff so right out the gate my question question to you is it's a very simple
question but i hopefully you will be you'll find this fun,

(06:51):
what is or what does comedy truly mean to you oh obviously it's it's my livelihood
and uh at times it's a job but it's it's soul fulfilling at this point in my life i enjoy it so much,
that i at some point i don't know how many years ago it was but i realized this
is what i was meant to do, you know, but it, it's been a long path getting there

(07:16):
to that, but, you know, I started in 1978,
so, uh, but yeah, legend, you know, but, but I figure at this point, it's just all gravy.
I love that. Mike, you had some pretty, an interesting question.
I think you wanted to ask him.
Well, it's all gravy and we do love gravy here in the South,
right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

(07:36):
So your book and kind of like your moniker through this tour is, are we there yet?
You know, the journey from a messed up to a meaningful life.
Is that something that you haven't found yet? Or is that something that like
you're constantly, is there's never an ending to that?
Like it's a it's a it's a search that continuously goes

(07:58):
on i believe it's a search i think that i
wanted the title are we there yet if we lived here we'd be
home now you know like you've seen that and to me it had a double meaning you
know for a christian and i'm a christian that we know this is not our home this
is not our final resting place and then you kind of wrestle with what your life

(08:21):
on earth should look like.
And until I get buried, it is a constant search.
And I talk about it in my show where you got to remember the first time you
laid eyes on your wife, because if you forget what that felt like or what you
felt like, then you're apt to get bored and sidetracked.
But if you can just take those... Somebody told me in an interview recently,

(08:45):
he said, life is just mundane and and boring.
And it's these occasional flashes of just joy and wonderment.
And it's those flashes that have to sustain you through the mundaneness and the boredom.
So I think as a believer, Sartre said that in order for something finite to

(09:05):
have meaning, it has to be connected to something infinite and fixed.
So my infinite and fixed is God. So if I connect my life to that source.
Then i know that this one is not my final
resting place and two i'm just trying to get up and do what's supposed
to be what i'm supposed to do that's in front of me and and
then it it it really isn't difficult you know ice cream dr pepper cheesecake

(09:32):
you know i'm going to enjoy that piece of cheesecake i really am and that's
one of the pleasures in life somebody was gifted enough to cook something like
that and make something like that.
And I told my kids, if whatever you do in life, if you do it for the glory of
God, you'll do it better.
You really will. I mean, whether you're a janitor or whether you're a surgeon, you know?

(09:54):
Yeah, you know, in a lot of your show, you talk a lot about your wife, Tammy.
And I'm curious, when you were originally, like, doing your show,
was that ever a challenge to talk about your wife without having her be upset
about it? Or was she always like, yeah, this is great, do it?
No. Early on, and I write about this in the book, that I was so angry and bitter
that she would leave in tears.

(10:15):
And so she knows the difference between the heart
delivering the material today than it was 30 years ago
so she gets it i mean you know because
people ask her all the time especially in a church are you okay with that and
she always asked her to check clear you know that's all she cares yeah you know
but no she she knows how bad it was and what the difference is now and if i

(10:38):
i I challenge anyone to find any malice in what I say about her. It's just all.
I mean, I could stand up there and tell you all the things I love about her.
And you'd think it was nice, but you wouldn't laugh a whole lot.
And it's the commonality of just human relationships. That's what I talk about.
There's no such thing as a conflict-free relationship. And I'm really pushing

(11:01):
the 20 and 30-year-olds now because they've been raised to think that if you
disagree with me, you hate me.
I mean, really. I mean, it's like there's no room for disagreement with a lot of the young people.
And I'm thinking, my gosh, Tammy and I, we've voted in I don't know how many
elections and probably half of them she voted for the other person.
You know, I mean, you can sleep with, make love to, and have a conversation

(11:25):
with someone who doesn't agree with you.
And as long as you're civil and you love and respect each other,
then it's fine. So that's...
I don't think she, I can't think of the last time I, there was one routine I
did that I was worried about how she would take it.
And it was, she came out of the bedroom with her hair up.
She had all these creams and oils on her face and she was wearing this flannel

(11:46):
thing that she's owned and these sweatpants that she's had so long,
they're almost see-through. They're kind of sexy now.
And this is, this is 30 plus years of marriage lingerie.
You know, it's, it's just wore out sweatpants, you know, you get her in the
right light, you go, Hey, that's kind of, anyway, Anyway, she walks out of the
bedroom and she says to me, I just want to say this and don't get upset,

(12:07):
but you don't touch me at night like you used to.
And I look at her and said, well, I don't know how I missed it.
That outfit screams touch me, you know?
And I was worried about that one because, you know, how she would take that.
And, but that's, yeah, I said, look, you want my attention, come out with nothing
on, but one of my dress shirts and I'm yours, you know, and it doesn't work the other way.
If I just come out with one of her, one of her blouses on, it's just the black

(12:30):
sock, hairy leg blouse thing just doesn't work you know socks and just the top don't work.
Mike yeah you know jeff like you know
you've you've come up in an age of so many comics like
you know rodney dangerfield and george carlin
and like you know and seinfeld like all these different comics
and and you used to be able to just do comedy and

(12:53):
comedy was comedy you know know right and like it
wasn't so to the point where if you
say the wrong thing you're offending someone it's in trouble
but watching your watching your routine tonight
how fun is it for you to just do what you're doing and kind of make fun of the
fact that everything is so sensitive now like do you have fun with that just

(13:14):
let it rip yeah because it seems like it yeah i don't i i don't spend five minutes
thinking again we we go through it i'll call my manager and say look i got this
thing i'm thinking about.
Is it worth the blowback?
You know, the problem I think I, what I have with X or Twitter,
what it used to be is the fact that you, you get, it's just seems to be the

(13:35):
lowest brow and the lowest form,
which is just ad hominem. They call you names until you just give up.
And my question when I was engaged with it was always, what is your end game here?
I mean, if you're trying to change my heart and mind, calling me a nasty name
is, is going about it the wrong way.
I'm open, you know, what's your point? And so that, you know,

(13:58):
again, it's just, it really is a, it's a very large scale form of bullying to
the point where they're destroying careers.
And that's when I ask myself, when I see somebody's career destroyed,
was what they did worth the destruction of their entire livelihood?
And I have yet to find one.
That said or did anything that
was worth it. So to me, it's just a very large, overt form of bullying.

(14:21):
And I'm fortunate. The people that are coming out to see me,
they know me. They know what I am.
And I don't really have that issue. I bailed tonight a little bit on the Biden
stuff because I figured it's Asheville.
I probably had a handful of people here.
So there was no point in it. I mean, I could have made some comments.
And in my head, I'm thinking it wasn't worth it. So I just went into something else.

(14:45):
I did the Gunsmoke and Ice Cream line. And if you've got a problem with that, you've got problems.
Gunsmoke. Yeah, Gunsmoke was a great reference. It's a great reference.
I think one of the reasons why we do this show is to connect with people from
all walks of life, right?
And our audience is so diverse. And I wonder how much of our audience is going
to get the Gunsmoke reference.

(15:05):
But if they don't, they need to go search that because— I was out on tour with
a guy. It was 15 years younger than me.
And I brought up Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched.
And he goes, Gladys Kravitz? What decade is that from?
So we had jokes. He had fun poking at me, all my references.

(15:27):
And again, my audience, if you don't get it, then look it up.
But yeah, that's my father-in-law. When he left, every television in our house,
as soon as you turned it on, went right to Gunsmoke.
You know i feel like comedy should
be like that safe zone right and they're like you just like it
should be a place where like we can all just laugh and it

(15:49):
doesn't have to mean anything other than we're just laughing in the moment right
you know and or get up and leave i mean you know that was the line in the clubs
remember they go there's no anchor on your rear end you know just you can leave
i'm again my goal is not to offend but if you're offended i can't there's six billion people,
Am I supposed to lie awake at night and worry about all $6 billion?

(16:12):
You should. You should, yes. Yes.
And the beauty of the internet, which it made my career was the internet,
is that it will cull like-minded people.
People who share my videos, they share them to people they think will enjoy it.
And tonight I had at least four husbands who brought their wives who have never seen me.

(16:35):
You know and that then you always
wonder you know because tammy and i have different ideas
of what you know i always thought jim carrey was funny in those
uh pet detective movies you know in earnest
i used to take the boys to see earnest you know
loved earnest by the way of course you know but tammy
thought it was sophomoric and and just you know and i said of course it is yeah

(16:58):
of course right pull my finger and shut up you know speaking of film and stuff
i wanted to ask you a question So are you a massive lover of Star Trek because
you were in a short fan film?
Yeah. And I'm curious, do you love Star Trek a lot? And how did you get involved
in that? Holy cow, you did your research.

(17:19):
No, I am not. I don't know. I never. I watched the William Shatner.
I watched those when I was a kid. But no, I'm not a sci-fi.
And they reached out to me to do that just based on the comedy.
And I auditioned. I had to do an audition. There was probably 20 of us.
So anyway, we shot it in a day, I think.

(17:42):
And I saw that when he came, I haven't seen it since. As a matter of fact,
we just got a new script from some screenwriter in Chicago.
And the first thing Tammy said is, this is going to be another one of those
Star Trek things where nobody sees it, you don't make any money.
And I go, I don't know, actually.
But I enjoyed doing it. You know, I mean, it looks fun.

(18:05):
I mean, I think, uh, I think, you know, when you love doing something,
whether it's comedy, film, whatever, right.
You just love to be in that moment and entertaining really, I would say,
right. Like entertaining is everything, right?
Like when you get to entertain people, even if you entertained,
let's say 10 people with that movie, that's okay.
I think that's a win. Oh, again, yeah, you can't get into the numbers, you know.

(18:25):
And I've done shows for 15,000 people. I've done shows for 15,
you know. And again, I enjoy what I do.
So I think that's contagious, you know.
When I stop enjoying it, I hope I'm in a position to, because I did not enjoy
it in the 90s much, but I wasn't in a position financially to get out.

(18:50):
And that was frustrating and I hope I'm in a position now when it just runs
its course that you know I can go visit my grandkids and and live the rest of
my life you know I keep forgetting I'm.
At 67 you know because i
i love it when you young guys come out you know because it's
like holy cow man you're under 50 how'd you get in you know

(19:12):
i thought we were checking ids at the door
you know i love that like i
uh we do have to wrap it up but what's your question there sir well first of
all yes time flies right and what you also coined one of the most famous phrases
happy wife happy life so thank you for that and i think the most of the world

(19:32):
thanks you because because it's a global phrase we all use,
but for those that didn't hear your set tonight,
does that still hold up years later? Happy wife, happy life.
Well, the line itself, I had to drop because people thought I stole it.
You stole it from yourself. Well, it became so ubiquitous that they just hear it.
Matter of fact, I just saw something the other night. Tammy and I were watching

(19:54):
some reality show and the woman said, happy wife, happy life.
She goes, well, look at that.
And I go, yeah. Yeah, so anyway, when I first started saying it back in the
90s, you know, it would get laughs and applause and things.
And then eventually it just got nothing because people go, oh,
yeah, we all earned that.
So I just stopped doing it, you know. And then we had a flood in the basement,

(20:16):
and I found 300 Happy Life T-shirts.
So I'm bringing it back until those shirts are gone, you know. Yeah.
That's funny. Jeff, it has been an absolute pleasure. But one of the things
we've got to mention before we wrap up is you are on tour and can you give a
couple of dates coming up in the next couple, if you have a couple,

(20:37):
a couple of weeks. So what you got going on in March?
Yeah, I would just say go to the website and we got a brand new website.
We just put it up and that's really cool, but it has all the dates.
And then if you sign up for the Facebook page or the Instagram page,
the feed, we post the calendar that they probably 10 or 12 dates coming up in
the nearest, but we're hitting the whole country.

(20:58):
So all the way, we're going to Hawaii in March and I got, you know,
a Milwaukee on Sunday. I don't know when this will air, but,
Florida. We've got a nice Florida run. Boca Raton and Palatka and Naples and Tampa.
That sounds like a fun time. Yeah, I'm going to bring the golf clubs. That's for sure.

(21:19):
Now, can you just tell our audience what that website is? JeffAllenComedy.com
And do you have an Instagram as well?
It's jallancomedy. Nice. Everybody, please go check him out.
He is so funny. And I love it because it doesn't matter. I'm 34.
I'm a young man, I guess. and I feel like it doesn't matter your age.
There is something in your comedy that you can relate to and I absolutely love

(21:41):
that about what you do and it was just, I honestly had a great time.
So thank you for having us and thank you for allowing us to interview.
Thank you for that. That really is nice and it means something when the younger
people say it because it's like, you know, you just, you know,
you walk out and go, it's this crusty old guy, you know.
So I golf with a lot of young guys and every time I come home crippled.

(22:04):
Tammy says you think you're one of them you know and you're
not your body can't take it so i take the cart now thank you again jeff it's
an absolute pleasure and a huge shout out to tammy because you know yeah hopefully
she's still awake all right everybody we'll be right back after this break again
go check out jeff allen uh thank you guys so much.

(22:28):
Hey everybody uncle dad here hanging out with just mike just mike we just had
a great time last night for those who don't know it's now the future in our
time we are in the future in the present and they're listening to the past what
does that feel like wow that sounds so meta,
we're we're currently in the future of the past but when you're listening to

(22:50):
this this happened in the past but you're listening to it in the present crazy
wow wowie wowie indeed uh yeah so So we just got done talking to Jeff Allen.
That was such a great experience. Mike, I'm curious, you know,
we've talked about it off mic, but for our audience, how was that experience for you?
And I mean, I'm sure we both agree that Jeff Allen was amazing to talk to,

(23:11):
but yeah, what was your thoughts on everything?
Well, first of all, Einstein, eat your heart out. And I thought it was fun.
I always enjoy talking to comedians and they just.
They just have really great responses and they know how to talk.
They have great stories and, you know, and obviously he's a seasoned veteran, so he was no different.

(23:36):
And it's great to see his routine and then to, you know, sit and talk with him
in the what room did they call it?
That's right. The name of the room we went into was called the Coolidge Room.
Not a green room, but the Coolidge Room. It's where you cool off to,
you know, and think about Jennifer Coolidge. Thank you.
Thank you, Kelly. Jennifer Coolidge.

(23:59):
You know, and where we were at, we were at the Omni Grove Park Inn,
and that hotel was stunning.
But Mike, I think we should tell the audience a little fun story of how we got
lost for probably like an hour, right?
What do you think, Mike? I would say it was an hour, yeah.
Yeah, I felt like we might get lost when we were walking to the part of the

(24:20):
Grove Inn that had the comedy show.
And sure enough, as we were walking back, we got lost because that place is
huge and there was no real direction for us.
Yeah, it's hard to describe it without actually seeing it, of course,
but there is, I'll do my best to do so. When we parked, we parked, we're with our party.
We leave, we go to the one flight of stairs, we'll go to the elevator.

(24:44):
We then go downstairs, down an elevator to go through what's called the spa level,
level walk through the spa level which is beautiful by the way it's like a bunch
of cavernous it's like walking through batman's bat cave would you agree with
that yeah if batman's bat cave was a spa for well if.
Treatment, yes. So you're walking through that, and then when you get to the

(25:04):
end, you take another elevator going all the way up to the eighth floor.
Then you have to walk around there, get to the grand ballroom, and there is Jeff Allen.
So now we have to do all that backwards, and I just don't think that happened.
Especially after a few drinks. Yes.
But, you know, it was funny at first, and we laughed, and then we started getting
frustrated because it was damn near an hour, and we're like,

(25:27):
how the hell are we going to get out of here?
And so luckily we figured out, well, if we just walk in the parking garage the
exact way we came in with the car, we'll find it that way.
Thank you to my sister who attended the event with us who wants credit for that.
As she deserves. Okay. Yeah. Shout out to Sister Hampton. Let's do it.

(25:47):
Who we'll be talking to later on the show.
I hope so. I hope so. I hope she's ready to be grilled. If we can book her.
She is a busy body person.
Busy body indeed. Yeah. Yeah, so everybody, I hope you're enjoying this experience
with us here in Nashville, and we'll be right back after this little break.
All right, everybody. Uncle Dad here hanging out with Just Mike.

(26:07):
Mike, say hello as always.
Hi, hello, hello. We are at Dissolver Brewery, right? That's correct.
We're at Dissolver Brewery, and we got ourselves a local rock star.
We got somebody who's been around and has done some wild things and has been
able to live a life that I can only dream of.
Isn't that true, Mr. My Captain? I think so, yeah.

(26:30):
I mean, judging by his hair, I think he gets a lot of doors open for him. I think so.
I'm pretty sure somewhere down the line he's related to Brad Pitt.
Brad Pitt is definitely his uncle, maybe even his dad. I don't know.
But please introduce our very special guest. Yeah, so here in Asheville,

(26:51):
there's a band, a jazz band, Brass Band.
Who I've seen a few times and I love, and I love their name because it's Star
Wars themed and we love Star Wars, right?
Yes, of course. We do. The Empire Strikes Brass. And we have the trombone player, Jacob Bruner.
And the trombone is my favorite instrument, jazz brass instrument.

(27:13):
So it's a pleasure to have Jacob on the show. Jacob, thanks for coming.
Absolutely. Thanks for having me, y'all. This is going to be fun.
Now, Jacob, how do you feel that I think you're related to Brad Pitt?
It's crazy. We actually are related. He was having me out in California just the other week.
We were at an award show, the Grammys. We went to the Grammys together.

(27:34):
You know, I believe it. I mean, why would you lie about that?
There's no reason for you to lie about that, right? Absolutely not.
Just I hope Brad Pitt doesn't come see us, but that's a different story.
All right. So, Mike, I know you had some pretty wonderful questions to ask him,
so go ahead and kick it off. Wonderful, wonderful.
Yeah, well, mainly, like, so first of all, you live in Asheville.
Where are you from originally?

(27:55):
I grew up in a town called Cary right next to Raleigh. So when I was about one, we moved there.
And at that point, it was just like small suburbs.
And then by the time I left when I was 18, it was just like condos and mini
malls just like kind of exploded in population.

(28:15):
So that's where I grew up. I saw it change a lot. And then I went to school
in Greensboro, North Carolina. And then I came out here.
With all those moves is there ever a point where it feels like your one is better than the other.
Ashville i would say is definitely my favorite i feel
super at home out here and i it'll only have been three years since i moved

(28:38):
here in may so it's just been an incredible experience so far honestly especially
like joining empire strikes brass and then a bunch of other projects too too.
And just the music scene here is definitely a new family for me that I just never knew I would have.
Yeah, you know, Asheville is a great place for artists, musicians.

(29:02):
You know, I've come to visit here many times since my sister lives here.
And I'm even thinking of moving here just because, you know,
the experience I feel, I feel at home here. It's beautiful.
There's so much great food. there's as you know
there's so much great breweries and and but let
me ask you about empire strikes brass because they're like the the

(29:23):
band i would say uh like the ashville band
and i know you guys don't just play here in ashville but i've been several times
that i've been here coming to see empire is like part of the part of the itinerary
so like how do you get connected like you first of all how long have you been
playing the trombone and then
how do you get into a band that's so well-established here in Nashville?

(29:46):
Yeah, I think with opportunities like that, there's definitely a lot of luck
and timing involved because.
There's a lot of incredible trombonists in Asheville, which is surprising because
not that many people play the trombone.
So for so many to be in one place is pretty unique.
And as far as when I started, I started playing trombone in middle school in sixth grade band.

(30:11):
And I just kind of kept going as my love for music grew.
And I switched instruments a few times doing classical music.
But when I started to take jazz more seriously, I switched back to trombone
and dedicated myself a lot more to that.
So fast forward to when I moved to Asheville, I knew a few people out here.

(30:33):
But no one in really like the funk or jazz scene for the most part.
And so basically what
you do is just go to the jams play with
people learn like the standard songs people
like to play in the area then you can like have that dialogue with
people of like oh we can play the same songs together that was.
Fun and then eventually someone

(30:56):
can't make something life happens and they
need someone to fill in and if you're
in the right place in the the right time there's that luck coming involved
it all comes together and with
the timing of it with me particularly I had
a lot of crazy life stuff happen at
a certain point in time I think about one year after I

(31:19):
moved here and went through that process of like
going to the jams and just showing up in the scene without
being in a band or anything like that and then
a year later I like had quit my
job suddenly and had some other personal stuff go
on and I didn't really have a plan and then
right at that moment was when I got the opportunity to

(31:40):
play my first gig with Empire Strikes Press just as
a substitute but then as they needed someone
to step into that role more permanently I was
well positioned to do it and I had showed up and done a
decent job too so it's like being lucky being
ready and then like showing up and doing
it and also in a band like that that's a

(32:01):
family you know you want to be a nice person to be around too that's kind of
necessary to be in a band you know i want to kind of go back a little bit you're
talking about growing up and stuff and what was the first song you learned how
to play do you remember that oh great question oh my gosh i don't think anyone's
ever asked me that question before.

(32:22):
First song i learned how to play it might have been a piano song or i guess
if we're being like legit it's probably like hot cross buns on the recorder
and like kindergarten really,
what did you call it hot cross ones hot cross buns
i don't think i do do you know that song mike yeah you'd
know it if you'd heard it you would yeah the first song and

(32:44):
beginning recorder quarter kindergarten or whatever
it's like hot cross buns hot cross
buns one of any too many hot cross
buns or something like that i actually don't know that easiest song ever
on any instrument so probably that so next
time you play live we should play that honestly you got
me cooking a little bit because in my i i'm a keyboardist too and i have a trio

(33:07):
called sugar bomb and And we sometimes will take classic songs that everyone
knows and then add some kind of stylistic twist to it that's more like our style.
We would totally do something like that with a song like Hot Cross Buns. I love it.
Hopefully we inspired that for your next session.

(33:31):
So when you're playing with, what's your other band?
Band the trio i just mentioned is called sugar bomb sugar
bone so when you guys play is that your is
that kind of you had had that band and
you kind of steer that ship as opposed to with empire you
you know you're you're part of a i mean there's a lot

(33:52):
of there's a lot of players in that an empire how many are in empire depending
on the show we can operate kind of in different sizes
which is cool because there's so many people in the band but if
it's a big show and we have all hands on deck we'll
probably have nine or ten people on stage that's a
bit i mean and it's great and and it's so fun i'll come
back to that but so so so for your

(34:14):
other band the hot six like is that is that
is that something that you coordinate or or are you is
someone else had kind of headlining that band in sugar
bomb it's i got to give a lot of credit to our bass player eli khan because
he's just so on the ball with like the making things happen side of things and

(34:34):
I can be maybe more of a stereotypical creative and like a bit aloof with that kind of stuff.
So he gets us going a lot, but in the nature of a trio, that's keys, bass, and drums.
Naturally, I have to take a huge lead in that because...
Keyboard kind of is like a lot of the song, you know, I'm like coloring in the

(34:56):
whole picture and then like bass and drums.
It's like very foundational. But Eli is known for his hybrid guitar playing,
which is if you don't know what that is, it's like three bass guitar strings
and four regular guitar strings all on one electric instrument.
So he's an amazing guitar player too and

(35:16):
this is was kind of his first project or so
that he was playing bass on so it's it's very
uh even in that group but then in the past like when
i recorded my own music a long time ago and would
i like to do like big sessions or one time i coordinated
a whole big band new year's eve thing
that i was like the leader of and when you lead a

(35:38):
project like that yeah it's very much more so a dictatorship for
good reason like it just it won't get done if there's not someone that has the
whole list of things that's like this is what needs to be done to make something
happen and then you just like if you can like delegate certain things but at
the end of the day you're still the person that's making everything happen and.

(36:00):
Being in a band like empire it's kind of
nice to be able to share the responsibility with everyone
one i i really wanted to say something for past guys
i'm sorry for that sound in the background we are outside of the
dissolver brewery so i apologize for any certain sound
issues but back to the interview i so when you talk about you know collaboration
and all this stuff for you what is the the most collab the collaboration you

(36:24):
look forward to doing the most do you look forward to like the behind the scenes
collaboration because collaboration is more than just music right?
So what is your favorite part of collaboration?
Another great question.
I guess my favorite part would maybe be just like the moments that don't have
to do with like the task at hand.

(36:46):
Like you say you're recording, you got to go to somewhere, set up all the stuff,
takes a really long time, get it all dialed in.
And then when you're in the process of recording it, it's like kind of high
stress because you're trying to get everything right at the same time.
And that can be high stress. But then say everything's set up,

(37:08):
you're done for the day, maybe you're doing another day the next day,
and there's nothing but time to kill and just like chill out.
And then, you know, those moments, you know, you have a lot of good bonds with
the people that you're collaborating with.
And if you play music with people
i think a lot of the time it works out that you get

(37:29):
along well too and that ideally it
does i think even families fight shall
we say but yeah you
also have a ton of amazing memories with your family that
you wouldn't trade for anything so comes with
both sides yeah you know i like i said
i've seen you guys play you know i've seen empire play a few few times and

(37:51):
i've seen you know your sugar bomb there's a
there's a spot here called the ashville music hall and then beneath it.
Is another spot called the one stop and one
thing i love about those and i so you know
it's very it reminds me a lot of new orleans the style of
the amount of people that play jam and
and brass and just come up and hop

(38:13):
in and hop out it reminds me so much in
new orleans and and i don't think a lot of people even realize that about
ashville is that there's such a scene
like that and and i one of
my favorite memories of coming here was coming to
a funk jam on tuesday nights because you
know otherwise tuesdays suck right i guess which

(38:34):
in new orleans rebirth brass band always plays
on tuesday nights that's like their nights they had many
years running at the maple leaf and now they run at
the rabbit hole but but tuesday night's night so here at
the ashville music hall tuesday night or the one stop
tuesday night's the funk jam like how fun is
that for you like one when you get to play with with empire and one when you

(38:56):
get to just come with with your sugar bum or just yourself and then just hop
in yeah i mean there's definitely a big community aspect to that and i owe so
much to the jams out here because because that's how I ultimately got connected with everyone,
and how you can create that bond with all the other people in the community,
even if you don't play in a band with them.

(39:18):
And it's cool because we're all on each other's team in that way too, where like, I wanna see.
Them succeed and vice versa and i i love that about the one sob too just that
everyone can come together i'm kind of blanking on the original question at
this point sorry be honest i love it,

(39:40):
it's okay sometimes i blink on the questions i
ask so you know when
you're having too much fun out here it's sometimes you just lose track you know
so you know before i want to wrap up soon but before we do i want to ask you
now that you've been doing this and being part of this movement and obviously
you're part of a you know you're part of a band that is as a theme but star
wars right so what is your favorite star wars death scene favorite star wars death scene,

(40:09):
well i guess the end of three doesn't really count as a death scene because he doesn't die.
Yes revenge of the sith so favorite death
oh well can
i say that is kind of the death of of
anakin and the birth so it kind

(40:29):
of is a death and a birth so you could you i
would say that it's fair the death the death of anakin skywalker
yeah i like i actually think i think you're dead on
right mike because i think people argue about that like well yeah technically
anakin died at at that point yeah but then people argue anakin came back at
the end of jedi technically because remember he became his original self and

(40:50):
he was there for luke so he's like jesus he just came back yeah pretty much
pretty much uh he was just trying to get on god's good side real quick.
You know so i have to tell you mine real fast so mine is actually there's all
this hype for this character on i think it's is it is it it's either jedi or
it's strike or strikes back and And it's where we first see Boba Fett, right?

(41:13):
You finally see Boba Fett, and then that motherfucker dies, right?
He gets into the sandpit monster, and he's dead.
Do you remember that? Yeah. Yeah. And it's just like a little anticlimactic
in that way. It's like, wait, he just rolled up.
Exactly. And then he's gone. So I don't know. That's just how I feel.
What is your favorite, Mike? Well, but then he came back because,

(41:35):
you know, now we know that he crawled out of the Sarlacc pit,
and now we have Boba Fett series.
Sure. but at that time that
was never a thing for many years we all thought he was dead yes
rest in peace for many years r.i.p r.i.p all
right so before we wrap up where can our audience connect with you
and learn more about you and the band so you participate in probably just instagram

(41:56):
that's the easiest i uh kind of connect everything through that my handle is
nice and easy to remember it's i am jacob i play music one word yeah all one
word okay i am jacob i play music Wow.
That's fun. I love that. And that all, all platforms?
Yeah, pretty much. Okay. And then do your, do the bands have a Instagram as well?

(42:17):
Yeah, I have all the bands I regularly play on, like in my bio. And then I think that.
Handle also works on band camp to find like my own
music that i put up there and stuff i love that now mike do
you have any last words before we wrap up well yes will
we hear more of the star wars orchestrated

(42:38):
music translated into jazz and brass from
empire going forward well honestly empire
really only plays like one star wars
thing and it's just this really really badass
like ending tag we like to do so we'll play whatever the last song is and then

(42:58):
just in the key of whatever song we just played our drummer nick will just hit
the clicks of whatever ending we're about to do and when he does it for we call
it empire we just all together go.

(43:19):
So that's really the the one star wars thing we actually play but there's uh
i feel like there's definitely potential for something there and i i love star
wars music i think we maybe should i i would love to hear the cantina song at
least like in between two other songs that you guys play maybe do a quick little,

(43:42):
I guess I'll just have to come to the show and see that's it that's it alright
buddy thank you guys so much for listening we'll be right back with more Asheville
content please go support our act
all the people who've been on the show we're so thankful for your time and thank
you again Jacob appreciate you so much absolutely thanks for having me take care.
Music.

(44:48):
What a great week this has been so far. It's been full of fun, fun, fun.
And we just got done talking to Jacob Bruner of Empire Strikes Brass.
I'm curious, Mike, I know you were very excited to talk to him because I know
that world of jazz means a lot to you.
So what was that like to talk to somebody who's also passionate about the music you like?

(45:12):
Yeah, I feel like it's kind of been a theme this month is talking to
jazz and jazz players and
so yeah it's interesting to talk to someone who's not
in the new orleans jazz brass scene and
who comes up in the suburbs of raleigh north carolina and found his way here

(45:32):
in nashville by just you know following that it's the same thing we always talk
about you know you follow that thread of your passion and see the doors that
open when you when and you give yourself up to that.
And this seems to be working out for Jacob. So it was cool.
Yeah, that is a constant theme of this show, I feel.
It's like we talk to people about passion and how it leads them to that certain

(45:54):
moment that gets them to that point to allow them to unlock,
maybe not necessarily their full potential, but their beginning of their dream
or the end of their dream, whatever it is, right?
And what I find really interesting about Jacob's story was that you can tell
he's still relatively young, or pretty young, I would think,
right? and he's in two bands, and you can tell he's so creative,

(46:15):
and it was exciting to talk to him and see his process.
And I haven't seen them live yet, but I hope I get to.
Next time I'm out here, please let me join you, and we'll go see them live. What do you think?
I think we'll try and coordinate when you come back out in the summer that it'll
be when they are playing.
I think that would be a good idea. I think so. We'll do an actual summer edition. How about that?

(46:36):
So when we talk about this show and what we've been doing this weekend,
We have another trip or another special guest lined up next.
And that is the ever so wonderful.
Monica, your sister, your blood.
But wait, we forgot to mention the fact that we were at Dissolver and it was

(46:57):
Twin Peaks Day while we were there, right?
You're right. I don't know why we even talked about Dissolver,
Mike, and I know I forgot.
Yeah, that's right. Before I announced the special guest, spoiler alert.
Yeah, we were at Dissolver and part of the reason we were at Dissolver was because
I wanted to go or I wanted us all to go to be a part of the Twin Peaks Day celebration.

(47:18):
Because for those who don't know, when we recorded this, it was February 24th.
And February 24th is the first day that Agent Cooper arrives to Twin Peaks and
begins the story of Twin Peaks. Now, Dissolver did a special brew.
And I can't remember the name of the, or what was inside the beer.
But what I can tell you is they did a special release for the Twin Peaks day of the beer.

(47:40):
And it was based on a coffee, which makes sense. because Agent Cooper was always,
he was obsessed with the coffee at that little diner in Twin Peaks.
So Mike, I'm curious, do you remember Twin Peaks very well and did you love Twin Peaks?
As you know, I really love this show and I was schooling some of you guys,
but I love, love, love this show.

(48:01):
My memory only has so much space now and the space that Twin Peaks took up is
kind of gone, but I do remember parts of the show and I remember enjoying it.
And honestly, the whole experience, they had a costume contest, they had props set up.
You'll see pictures of it on our Instagram, but it makes me want to rewatch it.

(48:24):
And then they were showing clips of the final episode.
I guess not just the final episode, but anyways, just how crazy that final episode
was. It makes me want to go back and rewatch it.
I think it's, Twin Peaks was David Lynch and it was one of those,
it was so crazy when it came out.
And that was like, you know, was it mid-90s or late 90s? Do you remember? It was more mid-90s.

(48:48):
Again, the memory is just, it's fleeting me at this moment.
Your mind is twin peaks yeah you
know and i think when we when you talk about twin peaks like you
can't talk about the atmosphere like can't like
the atmosphere is so incredible and it was
great to see the like they had a band there playing tunes

(49:08):
from the show i don't know if you noticed that mike did you notice that i
noticed that thank you okay just making sure just making sure and funny
enough i don't know if jacob told you this but jacob knew half the
band did he tell you that yeah and i think that's that's the
that's the music scene out here which is also similar to new
orleans and it's it's it's kind of interesting the parallels
of of of how the two

(49:29):
cities completely different still have that that commonality of of musicians
rotating through bands they kind of all know the scene they know each other
and yeah just fun to see that in a whole different type of way yeah and one
of the things i want to mention before we move on from the the Twin Peaks days,
there's this really dope art that was made by this artist would you say his name is Ake?

(49:54):
If he pronounces it the way it's spelled, it says Ake. Okay.
He did some really cool art and we'll post that too as well and I'm sure his
Instagram is at Ake, if anything like that.
His artwork was so sick. It's Laura and you just got to see it. Her eyes are all crazy.
It's really cool and I love that you can say, there were so many There were

(50:18):
way more people there than I could have expected celebrating Twin Peaks.
Didn't that surprise you?
Yeah, I was. It was packed. There's a huge lineup just to get the limited edition
merch that you were lucky enough to get.
I was very lucky enough to get. And I think it's crazy because these cult shows,
you don't realize the power they have until you see something that does something for them.

(50:42):
You know what I mean? Like an event or even a convention. and then you're
like oh man this still has so much traction
in people's life like it's so crazy how we we just don't those shows mean so
much to people so i don't know i thought it was a great time and i'm so glad
we got to go so now may i announce our special guest now is the time yeah it

(51:02):
seems your memory is fleeting you as well yeah well it's also been a long weekend you know.
So I am so excited to announce that we will have her on for the second time.
Your sister, Monica, who runs the, remind me again?
The Biltmore Village Inn in Asheville, North Carolina.

(51:24):
We're going to talk to her about this place because I believe this place,
and we're going to find out, is a historical, I don't know, monument,
is that the right word? Is that the right word? No. It's a historical building.
Meaning that it has history here. It's been here a long time.
And the person who it was built for was a prominent person back in those days.
So I'll let her talk about that. But it's really cool that during your stay,

(51:47):
you were able to stay in the top suite of the Baltimore Village Inn. How does that feel?
You know, I felt like a 19th century president.
19th century president. It was. I think you did have the presidential suite.
I think I felt like, you know, I was there, you know, we were just getting done

(52:08):
working on the railroads.
And, you know, after a long day of telling people what to do,
I was hanging out in the presidential suite.
No, it was honestly great. I think this whole house, it's such an interesting
energy to it because it feels very positive in here.
It feels very, you know, but also very unique. And when you go to that,

(52:30):
the top suite that I was staying in, it was, it's one floor, multiple rooms.
It feels very cozy, but also very vintage, but in a great way where I felt,
I just, when I, again, like I feel like I was sleeping in the Victorian era
and it was something I will cherish very much.
And hopefully when I come back, I'll be able to stay there again or in this

(52:53):
room too that we're recording in.
Hopefully you took some pictures. I did take some pictures I took a lot of pictures
I took bonus pictures too well let's post those online we'll see we'll see.
I made a joke with somebody recently that we should make it only dads,
you start it and then I'll see how it goes if I join that party yeah,

(53:15):
so we will have Monica on and talk about what she does here and why you should
come visit this lovely building so we'll be right back after this everybody
and thank you guys so much for listening and remember remember you need to follow
us on instagram to see all the content that we have coming out and we're working
on getting our youtube channel finally out and that should hopefully be out,

(53:35):
very soon i don't know when exactly but very soon and we'll be sent we'll start
posting the full interviews we do all right but we'll be right back.
All right, everybody. We're finally here with the elusive, the legendary,
the original innkeeper.
No, I'm kidding. She's not the original innkeeper, but she is an innkeeper and

(53:56):
general manager of the Utmore Village Inn.
Let's give it up for Mike's sister.
Monica, how are you? I'm great. And I'm so glad you didn't say little sister,
by the way, because, you know, I'm an adult too.
Mike, what if I would have called her that? How would you feel about that?
But I would have felt powerful.

(54:17):
I bet, I bet. Well, you're just Mike, so there you go.
So Monica, you know, this building is a historical, is it a historical landmark?
It's historical landmark, yes. It's a registered historical place on the National Register.
Really? It's amazing. So if you can, before we dive into the experience here,
could you tell us a little bit about the history of the building and your role here?

(54:41):
Yeah, so the building is amazing. amazing. It's a Queen Anne Victorian,
which is a beautiful form of architecture.
And it's first of its kind here in Asheville, not Nashville,
Asheville, North Carolina.
We are in Western North Carolina, and we have beautiful mountains surrounding us.
So this house is perched right on top of a hill and has a beautiful turret, two level turret.

(55:09):
Just look it up. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful architecture.
And the house is 135 years old.
So it was the first house in Asheville with indoor plumbing as well. So they say. Wow.
That's amazing. So, and then your role here is to be the overseer. I oversee.

(55:30):
Yes, it's, I'm the innkeeper. So if you've ever seen the movie Innkeeper,
that's kind of what I do. It's kind of funny.
But no, I've been running the inn for 13 years and it's a lot of fun.
I get to meet people from all over.
The farthest I think I've had guests say from is Australia, which was pretty, pretty fascinating.

(55:51):
And they're here on anniversaries, honeymoons, girls getaways.
They're here just to get away from their children after 10 years.
I mean, you name it. And Asheville has, you know, a great, a great tour.
It's a great tourist destination so and we our hope is
to provide a beautiful comfortable place

(56:13):
for them to stay where they have you know they sleep well
and they eat well and then get some great recommendations on
what to do that's amazing like i'm sure you have plenty of
questions because you're new to asheville yes i'm i'm a new i'm a new newville
new viller well there's actually some interesting facts that that monica has
told me as my younger sister who is the general manager of this fine establishment

(56:39):
here on the top of the hill in the biltmore village,
And correct me if I'm wrong, but you said there are about 100,000 residents
in Asheville proper. Is that correct? That is correct.
And at the height of the tourist season, there's an extra 20,000 people here
on any given day? Is that correct?
About 10. So sorry, you weren't correct. But 10 to 12,000 extra people.

(57:04):
We have about 10,000 probably give or take lodging rooms per night in Asheville.
So when I first started running this place 13 years ago, we had about 3,000.
So growth spurt in Asheville for sure.
But yeah, I mean, the Biltmore Estate, if you're not familiar with that,
is the largest home in America built by George Vanderbilt.

(57:27):
And actually this house, the bed and breakfast that I run was his attorney's home, Samuel Reed.
But the Biltmore estate brings most of the tourists to Asheville.
It's a beautiful, beautiful property.
8,000 acres, hiking, beautiful gardens.
Wow. Yeah. We'll be going there too. Mike, do you have something else you want
to ask? I know you do. Oh, I always do. Yes, yes. So-

(57:52):
One thing I'd like to ask is, what's it like dealing with, what are some of
the fun type of people that you get to deal with here? Yeah, fun.
In Asheville in general? Or do you mean specifically at the B&B?
I was referring to the B&B, just being in the hospitality industry.

(58:15):
I'm sure you deal with some interesting folks. folks.
I mean, I don't want to put anything on air maybe, but you know,
I will say I wish I had a lot of funny stories for you, but honestly, I'm pretty lucky.
These guests are generally very kind and thoughtful.
I do believe bed and breakfast visitors are different than your average hotel visitor.

(58:41):
They want to stay somewhere historical. They want to stay somewhere with more
more character, that's more personalized.
And they're just generally very kind and appreciative of all the thought that
goes into every detail here.
But I can tell you, as the event planner, the mother of the groom,
she's always interesting.
I believe that. I believe that. What do you think, Mike? I think we'll have

(59:04):
more off-the-record conversations about such people.
But what about this house? You know, it's an old house. Is there any hauntings here?
Anybody get shot in here?
I don't think so. But, you know, when guests ask me that, I always say, do you want it to be?

(59:27):
I don't want to scare you. I mean, it's – so before I came here,
I was definitely not a, I don't know, quote unquote believer,
if you will, in the supernatural.
Natural but i've had a couple experiences here that
have changed my mind so you know
i won't maybe get in those are some long stories but we

(59:48):
don't have time for that it doesn't seem like but i will say it's an old house
it's how it was housed it housed many people throughout its existence it's if
the walls could talk i guess yeah i imagine during that time era i you know How do I say this?
I feel like people were different. I mean, obviously they were different, but they were...

(01:00:10):
I would just be intrigued to see if I could pull the energy and see the visual
history of the things that happened here 135 years ago to now. I mean, it must be...
Quite interesting the things you would see probably mostly good
there might be some things that could be a little crazy right like especially
if you're like some high power lawyer i don't know you know what's what was

(01:00:34):
the what was uh abraham lincoln's lawyers name do you remember yeah but you
should tell them because i know but i just want to see if you know well i don't remember so.
But you know it's funny because what i was telling him when
i was staying here and thank you again for being so gracious on
hosting me it has been quite the experience the the the
level of detail in the room the comfort of

(01:00:57):
the room is truly something i think people need to experience and
you know i didn't get to try the breakfast but i imagine the breakfast is
just as incredible because it smells amazing so what do you do any like do you
decide hey this week we're going to plan x menu out or x experience out or is
it more just about you kind of catering to what their needs are. You mean for the food?

(01:01:22):
Overall experience. Yeah. Well, I mean, every year, this time of year when it's
slower in the winter, we do sort of an evaluation of the guest experience, if you will.
So we'll actually stay here and pretend like we're a guest and decide if,
hey, you know, this doesn't work or that doesn't work or this could be better.
And I try to travel myself and stay places and get ideas from other wonderful

(01:01:45):
places that I've been able to go to. too.
As far as the food, so we try to be seasonal and local as much as we can.
Asheville has a great community for that, so it's very supportive.
But I have a chef, so I have a chef that I stole from the Biltmore Estate, and he's wonderful.
He's been here for almost six years, and he takes a lot of pride in the food and the quality.

(01:02:10):
As he should, because food is conversation on a plate. Shout out to Ted.
Ted's great. Thank you, Ted. I love that. Mike, do you have anything else like that?
Well, I just would like to say that Monica does a great job,
you know, and as her older brother, she'll always be my little sister,

(01:02:32):
but I'm really proud to see how you come into such a leadership role here and
you have people who work under you you are a wedding planner you could have
a movie about yourself as the wedding planner similar to Jennifer Lopez.
So yeah just I'm really proud of you and to see how you run this this place as a business and,

(01:02:58):
Where's breakfast? Where's breakfast? So before we wrap up, though,
I don't know if I mentioned this or I don't know if we mentioned this.
This is a four diamond B&B, correct?
That is correct. Yes. Four diamond rated bed and breakfast.
For those who don't know what four diamond means, can you tell them what that means?
It's a level of rating that AAA, which everyone's pretty familiar with,

(01:03:22):
they come every year and inspect your property.
It's not like once you do it, you're in forever. You have to be consistent with
your quality and level of service and detail and aesthetic.
So Four Diamond is the highest that we can get because we don't have a spa or a golf course.
But I will say we rank up there, Four Diamond, the Grove Park Inn,

(01:03:46):
the Inn on Biltmore Estate, the Grand Bohemian, Boutique Hotel.
Those are all also Four Diamond places in Asheville and we're up there with
them. Wow, really? So you said the Omni Grove, right?
So we were just there and so that place is only a four diamond?
Yes, they could be a five but they're a four.
Wow, look at you. It's like literally a quarter of the size and you won't get lost here.

(01:04:14):
It's such a cozy experience and I really can't tell people enough to go and
visit this place or at least look at the architecture online.
I'm sure you can find it. Can you tell our audience where they can find how
to book a stay here and all that good stuff?
Yeah, absolutely. So we're bookable online or you can call us.
We like talking to people.
Our website is www.builtmorevillagein.com.

(01:04:37):
B-I-L-T-M-O-R-E.
So builtmorevillagein.com. And you can find us on Instagram with that same name.
I love that. Go check them out and tell them, hey, what's up Mike's little sister?
Is that okay? I'm fine with that.
All right, we'll be right back after this.
Hey everybody, this is Jacob Bruner from Empire Strikes Brass,

(01:04:59):
and you are listening to Uncle Dad Talks.
Hey everybody, Uncle Dad here, and we are at the Biltmore Estate here in Asheville, North Carolina.
And for those who don't know, the Biltmore is probably one of the biggest tourist
things here in Asheville. You would agree with that, Mike?
I think it's what brings most people to come here, yeah. To Asheville.
To Asheville, yes. To Asheville, not North Carolina.

(01:05:21):
Just to Asheville. Gotcha, I gotcha. Yeah. First is the Charlotte Hornets,
and then it's the Biltmore. Right, right. Yes.
So, Mike, we just toured the house. It's a beautiful estate.
It has been here since how long? Do you know when it was here,
started? It started... They started construction in 1889.
And like Monica said earlier in her segment, this is the largest house in the

(01:05:45):
United States. It's just a house.
It's nothing other than just a baller house.
Yeah, cuz it's not like you're not going to like the Like the Winchester.
Well, I guess I don't even count that but like what's the one you had mentioned off?
Can Mike Hearst Castle that was like wasn't intended to be a house, right?
I can't remember. Okay But you know when you think about houses,

(01:06:07):
this is probably the most baller house probably at least in the US I imagine,
Yeah, you know, I I remember feeling a similar thing when I visited the Hearst Hearst Castle was I.
So it's just, it's the earliest form of American excess that there is,
you know? And like, I mean, it's great that he Vanderbilt had the money to do

(01:06:29):
this, but do you really need this?
I think at the time though, property was like how you showed your, not your wealth, right?
That's how you showed you are, were somebody important, right?
Like now we live in a world where people literally make tons of money,
but they live in their van.
You know what I mean? Like, it's just, it's just a different world now, you know?
And I think, and I agree with you, like, did he really need,

(01:06:51):
I don't know if he really did, but it is still a, it's a marvel of architecture.
I mean, I, I, hopefully you would agree with that. Oh, it's,
it's definitely interesting and fun to look at.
And, you know, once you, once you start learning more about the history of it,
that's almost more interesting than the actual building itself.
You know, like it took six years to make this place and basically a whole town

(01:07:12):
was, was was created just to have the people who made the house so they could live.
And the whole railroad system, just to get the materials needed to build the
house to come in and for people to come from the Biltmore Village into where
they're working every day.
Yeah, you know, and something I do need to disclaim right away that this segment

(01:07:34):
is not sponsored by the Biltmore. This is just strictly me and Mike exploring Asheville.
So again, this is not sponsored, but we do recommend you come check it out because
it's quite the event to see.
The paintings in there, the prints in there, the furniture, the wallpaper.
You pointed out something that we were in there that kept blowing your mind

(01:07:57):
was the silk walls, right?
Yes, in his wife's room. They had separate rooms, his wife, Edith.
I believe that was her name. Edith, I'm correct. Yes, her wallpaper was not
just wallpaper. It was silk.
Her walls were covered in silk. Now they're protected with plexiglass,
so we can't get our grubby, oily hands on them. But how about that? Silk walls.

(01:08:23):
If I had silk walls, I would be probably the coolest man on the planet.
I don't know. What do you think, Mike?
I would feel more comfortable listening to Silk the Shocker than having silk
walls. I was hoping that you would say that, yes.
So, do you have any facts you want to throw at us, Mike, since you love this house?
Since I love it. Yeah. Well, so, okay. So, they started construction in 1889,

(01:08:45):
and then they finished in 1895, and that's when Vanderbilt, George Washington
Vanderbilt, his name, opened it to his family and friends.
And, you know, we go on through the tour, and you can listen to the audio tools
that they give you to listen to.
And a lot of these rooms, which to me look like rooms where you would,

(01:09:05):
I don't know, create something amazing,
were just like leisure rooms for people to read a book and curl up and have
tea and or play the piano or as one of the audio tour guides said, have conversation,
which was a form of entertainment during these days.

(01:09:26):
Which, what's crazy is if you kind of think about it, that's what we're doing.
And this is a form of entertainment.
So that was early podcasting. It was, yes. Those rooms were basically early podcasting rooms.
So when we talk about the Vanderbilt, not the Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt,
right? Yeah. The Vanderbilt or the Biltmore.
What was your favorite room in the estate that you saw?

(01:09:48):
Yeah. I think the library seems like the consensus of the group also was my
favorite just because because of all the books.
And I wish, and I understand why not, but I wish there was a way you could kind
of get more into the books. Because some of the books in there were like.
Probably things that there's no other way you're going
to see these like illustrations and histories and

(01:10:10):
and and that stuff's just gone you know those old books are going to go and
i mean that's the history of things so and just the way it looked it just i
think you felt the same way right 100 i think like i wish i could see like the
paintings were a little bit there's so many artwork so much artwork in this
building and you can't really see the artwork because,

(01:10:31):
it's kind of you know there's always like a velvet rope and you can't really
go too close to it but one of the things I found very interesting,
and I guess I don't want to give too much away, but what I will say is that
they talked about printing because a lot of what he owned was prints,
but it wasn't like the print like we know now where you just mass produce it.
You know what I mean? You're printing it based upon, what was it etching?

(01:10:51):
It was etching, you said, right? Etching on the metal plate,
and then you would etch it on the metal plate, and then you would do it in reverse,
and then you would ink it and then print it. We should bring that back.
I think people still do it. Really? It's still an art form. Is it really? The crowd is saying yes.
Mike, do you have any other facts you want to say? Well, you know,

(01:11:13):
being that this place is such a, well, it's actually, like Monica was saying,
it's a national historic landmark, you know, and it took so much to build it.
The guy only, I mean, I guess it's cool, but he only got to enjoy it for 19 years.
You know, like I would think, he was 51 when he died.
Died from his appendix bursting what a

(01:11:34):
painful way to go but you know i would think this
is a place you'd want to grow old see your grandkids and
then have your great grandkids but he didn't get to do all
that and well you know 51 he's done but he leaves behind 87 000 acres of uh
of the estate to the the national united the united states forest service so

(01:11:56):
in addition to to the house and the botanical gardens and greenhouses where we are now,
there's 87,000 acres of forest that you can just, most of it, you can wander through.
There's trails, you can horseback ride, you can bike ride, you can walk your
dog. You could have, you could have talks with your family.
We could have a picnic. You could host a podcast.

(01:12:16):
You could do a podcast without authorization. .
So there's lots here. There is a lot here. And I think it's something that,
you know, as I'm, you discovering that this is like the staple of Asheville
and it really is such a beautiful experience.
And I think getting to go through it. And one of the things I want to mention

(01:12:37):
before we kind of close off the segment here is we got to ride an original elevator
from, she said 1905, I think.
Yeah, it's the original elevator from when they made the house from Otis,
which I guess Otis is the premier elevator with the original motor.
We'll post pictures of it on our Instagram.
So please, please follow us on our Instagram at Uncle Dad Talks.

(01:13:00):
And you can see the photos.
It was the smoothest elevator ride I've ever done in my life.
And it's probably also the oldest elevator ride I've ever done in my life.
Yeah i would i would definitely agree with that and what was funny
what i liked about it was uh there was a there was
there was no like uh what do you call it like a protective there's
a door like a real door yeah there was no real door so

(01:13:20):
that when you slide up you can literally if you wanted to you could touch the
what do you call it this the wall the wall the
the stone wall iceberg going up yeah so
that was quite the experience to to to revel
in because it was something that i didn't expect to do and the
fact that it just was so smooth was something also so very crazy
right like it's just elevators now already i mean

(01:13:42):
are not as smooth as that ride i know you know that right i
yeah i've been in some shady elevators you know there's some
other fun facts about this place so it was during the great depression in the
1930 when when cornelia who was their daughter edith and george's vanderbilt's
daughter decided to open this
place up to the public to generate revenue because everyone was broke.

(01:14:07):
And so it helped preserve the estate.
And then one thing that we learned that was really cool was during World War
II, they actually hid tons of.
Really expensive art and artifacts
during World War II just in case we got invaded and stuff went crazy.
It was hidden here, which I thought was a fun fact. I 100% agree.

(01:14:30):
There's so many fun facts about this place and there's too many to cover.
And because we're not authorized, we're not going to cover them all.
But I will say this, I think the information you gave is a great tasting, a little taste.
Speaking of tasting, in 1985, they opened a winery here on the estate.
So you can now have wine tasting events at Biltmore.

(01:14:51):
So you can just explore the estate, then get some wine, do the wine walk,
if you will, hang out, lay about, you know, have everybody Wang Chung,
have a good time. Are you still allowed to say that?
I think you are. Okay. Okay. Everybody have fun.

(01:15:13):
But yeah that is the Biltmore estate and
if they want to find out more information on the Biltmore estate the website
is I think it's just Biltmore.com they took
it they took it okay Biltmore.com check it out and of course again we are not
affiliated so don't tell them we sent you or you do or demand them to allow
us to come back and do a real feature on them what do you think Mike petition

(01:15:35):
for us to be official coveragers coveragers,
journalists more journalists journalism all right buddy we'll be right back after this lovely break.
Music.

(01:16:11):
Hello, everyone. Welcome to the wrap-up of what I like to call the Asheville
special episode, or the Asheville special. Mike, what do you think?
What should we call this episode?
Uncle Dad on Location in Asheville, North Carolina.
It's the first of many in our On Location series, this one being the first of

(01:16:33):
the first of many. First of many.
You know what I mean. I love it dude I think these on location things are something
we should do more often especially you know we travel a lot so like being able
to celebrate whatever is in that town even though we may not get to cover as much as we like,
what an experience man I mean this is the first time I think you would agree

(01:16:53):
that we've kind of really done something like this right it is the first time
we've done something like this right.
It is. Yeah. Usually our episodes that are quote unquote live out in the field,
not just interviewing, you know, interview style is centered around an event
like a con or a festival of some sort.
Right. So this was the first time we're just like, Hey, we're in a new place together.

(01:17:17):
Let's go see what it has to offer. And we got some good stuff, I think.
Oh yeah. I think the highlight obviously is talking to Jeff Allen,
Jeff Allen, Jeff Allen, man what a what a class act you know i think he he's
so good at being i mean professional right been doing this for years knows what
he knows how to do an interview knows how to talk to a crowd

(01:17:39):
and that's something that i will always cherish in our career of doing
this right like this is something that was very new to me
because we talked to other comedians and definitely comedians who have
been around for a while but there was something about jeff allen and how he
could conduct an interview that was something i never experienced before i don't
know what do you think on that yeah there's definitely some people we've interviewed
that the conversation flows better than others and with him it yeah like we

(01:18:03):
said i think it's he's a pro he's been doing this and.
It's it makes it more fun to do the interview when it's like that as opposed
to you know it feels like you're in a tube going down a river and everything's
just flowing as opposed to you're you're in a stop you're in a new york traffic
and you're stopping every five seconds right,

(01:18:25):
so yeah uh yeah shout out to lenny for uh for hooking us up with the interview
with jeff alan yeah huge shout out to lenny um and lenny when you listen to
this i think we should get you on the show just throwing that out there i feel
like lenny's got some stories to share.
On and off the record probably but yes let's get lenny on here yeah so that

(01:18:48):
was great and then you as an audience that kind of heard our journey and our ride,
we kind of, there were some things, and tell me if I'm wrong because now it's
to be transparent with everybody,
I'm back in California and it's been a few days since I've seen you,
But we were certain things we were also going to try to do that we didn't get
to do. Am I remembering that correctly?
That's correct. Yeah. There was the Asheville glamping, which is check them

(01:19:12):
out on Instagram. They have a huge, huge following and like a one to two year
wait list to get into some of their spots.
They have the mirror, mirror hotels or mirror cabins, I should say, in the mountains.
So you're in the mountains staring at
this huge structure that's completely mirrored

(01:19:33):
on the outside so it's like you're looking at the trees on
the mountains behind you while you're looking at the building it's quite
spectacular wow yeah and there was a there was another we were trying to talk
to someone at dissolver for the twin peaks event and that just timing didn't
work out There was also a comic anime convention that we were on the edges of

(01:19:56):
going into to interview some of the celebrity guests there.
And, you know, there's only so much time in a few days, and they go by quick.
They sure do, man. They sure do, especially when you're like me,
waking up at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
To be fair, you went to bed at 4 o'clock in the morning, not because you were
out partying, but because you are still on West Coast time, Pacific time. Yeah.

(01:20:20):
West Coast time and East Coast time, for those who have done it,
I probably can relate to that. It is quite the change. You're like, oh, man.
And then when you're out there that long, you don't want to fully adjust,
right? So it's like, you know, but yeah, definitely, we didn't reap the benefits of that.
But to kind of talk about the Twin Peaks thing, I do want to talk about that.
We did talk about it a little bit in detail, but there was something I think

(01:20:41):
we didn't really touch on too much was the artist who kind of was the focal
point, I would say, of the Dissolver Twin Peaks day.
First off how would you describe this piece before I talk about who this artist
is the piece that you have the shirt of yes yes well it's it's a,

(01:21:02):
It's a Twin Peaks special.
It's a Twin Peaks special. She's got twin eyes on her face and a laser coming out of one of them.
I'm sure it has a deeper meaning than I understand, but it looks great.
And fun fact, I was down there downtown at the brewery today,

(01:21:25):
and they are looking for the shirt, and they sold out the day of.
I mean, there was a line that was long.
I don't know how long you waited in line when we were there,
but they have no merch left from that. It had all sold out the day of the Twin Peaks event.
So shout out to Blake Lee Ferguson for the cool art. We tried to get him on the show.

(01:21:48):
Timing didn't work out, but Blake, he did awesome work and everyone was happy
with it and I hope you're well.
Yeah, absolutely. Blake, your artwork was incredible. And for those who don't
know what we're talking about, the artwork is kind of how Mike described,
but it's actually Laura of Twin Peaks.
And man, it's just so, so cool. And then his artist moniker, he goes by Ake.

(01:22:08):
And so if you look up, I think, Ake artist, or if you just go to his Instagram,
Blake Lee Ferguson, at one word, you know, at Blake Lee Ferguson,
you'll see all his artwork. I believe he still has prints you can buy of it.
So please go buy those prints. I think an 8x10 is $25 and then a 16x20 is $100.
And honestly, man, they are great pieces of artwork. I think we should get one

(01:22:30):
for the little studio here maybe.
But it is something that I will cherish. And the shirt that I got gets so many
compliments since I've worn it so far. It's like, whoa, it's so gnarly!
Where did you get that?
See, and now they listen. No. No.

(01:22:51):
They still can't get one, but at least now they know. Sure, right.
That's all you need to do is just know, right?
Yeah. So funny. But his art was incredible. But that whole experience was just
so, as we talked about earlier on the episode, just so much fun.
Yeah, I mean, so, you know, Mike, without further ado, you know,
as we wrap this up here, you know, doing these on location things,

(01:23:15):
what is something that you believe?
What was your favorite thing that we achieved doing this
well i think the jeff allen show was
great i think you know being able to
make that happen in the time frame that that we that we had planning for this
because we were originally going to be doing something else that was pretty
big this weekend and so we pulled an audible and you and your uncle dad mastery pulled off

(01:23:43):
whatever you had to to make that work and I think that was a huge highlight and,
And also, I think a big highlight was the fact that you missed your flight going home.
I wanted to talk about that. I definitely wanted to talk about that.
Whose fault was that? I don't know. I think his name starts with Justin and ends with Mike.

(01:24:06):
Yeah. Well, I thought we could cram it in.
We were doing it for the listeners. At the end of the episode,
you hear us at the Biltmore Estate. state and we were doing a bit more estate
looking than we should have been doing and cutting it too close.
And then I missed the exit.

(01:24:29):
So we had an extra bonus day of, of Asheville.
Imagine if we can interview people at the places that we went on the bonus day.
Yeah. Let's not talk about those places.
We did kind of interview them, but off the record. off the record yeah i'll

(01:24:49):
let the audience imagination imagine where we were,
yeah you know just think about it we're in asheville western north carolina,
yeah what do you do what else do you do at two in the morning huh.
Yeah you know it's uh even though i did miss my flight and you know i was a
little worried some of the time i have to tell you that bonus day was probably

(01:25:10):
one of my favorite days during that weekend. It was so much fun.
I really enjoyed checking out. I want to shout this out to the Asheville Pinball Museum.
For those who go to Asheville, you've got to check out the Asheville Pinball Museum.
I think it's $15 and it's unlimited play from open to close, basically.
And you can come in and out. You don't have to stay there. So you can go in

(01:25:32):
the morning, go grab lunch, do other crap, and then come back and experience the pinball lore.
I mean, there's machines in there from like 1935? right,
Yeah, they're some of the rarest pinball machines that are ever made.
And then there's a whole back room where there's all these vintage arcade games.
And even like old Nintendo and Sega Genesis set up on these big flat screens.

(01:25:56):
And some games that you're surprised they have and that they work so well.
So, yeah, and they serve local Asheville beer.
Can't go wrong with that. You definitely cannot go wrong with that.
Another highlight I wanted to bring up, just so we can really make this about Asheville.
Is, and you know what, forgive me. Actually, you know what, I'm not going to
because I can't remember the name fully, but I'll just say we visited a distillery

(01:26:18):
and that distillery had some amazing cocktails.
I think I actually have a picture of it, Mike. Tell me if I'm wrong about that.
You might have a... You might, you may, you know, I think that's the part of
the day where we leave one thing drinking and go to another thing drinking and
the thing starts to get a little fuzzy. It gets fuzzy, correct.

(01:26:40):
Well, I look Can you tell them about the last thing we did that day about the,
what is it called? I'm sorry, the Arts District. All right. Is that where you took me?
You know the river arts district yes yes yeah
so that's this area i don't know
somewhat similar to the winwood district
in miami but not near as as as

(01:27:01):
cool but it's not to say that
it isn't cool here but it's there is an area
where there's all these old warehouses and and abandoned
kind of of recycling centers and just
old buildings and who knows what were there and they're covered
in all these murals and then you know the
artist brought in a brewery and there's a restaurant and

(01:27:22):
then there's an art gallery then there's another art gallery and there's an
art studio and a pottery studio and so there's all these all these these cool
fun things to do that's surrounded by all these different artists and they're
not just local artists there's also artists that look like they've come in there
i've seen some from chicago you saw some from Modesto.
There's lots of cool stuff to see.

(01:27:43):
I highly recommend anyone who's into graffiti and art murals, go check it out.
Absolutely. That was also a big highlight. What I wanted to touch back on is
we went to a distillery and that distillery is called.
Cultivated cocktails that's it
literally cultivated cocktails distillery if you

(01:28:03):
go to their website cultivated-cocktails.com you can see some of the best spirits
i've ever tasted and honestly for very good prices now you can get them shipped
to you but i can't speak for that so be sure to go check that out and funny
enough mike that distillery has a podcast.
Oh does it yes it does be sure

(01:28:25):
to check out the distillery they're sorry their podcast called inside
the distillery where they do basically they literally
record in the distillery and they talk about all their upcoming whiskeys and
brews and all the things they're making so go check them out that was such a
great experience so but yeah mike am i forgetting anything else that we experienced
oh probably um you know you you tried you tried bojangles for the first time

(01:28:49):
that was That was a thing.
We did eat at a lot of great restaurants out here.
And that's one thing that Asheville has a lot of, including,
you know, not only do they have the most breweries, they have tons of great, great restaurants.
And so we ate very heavy while you were here.

(01:29:09):
We did. We ate very heavy indeed. A lot of gravies, a lot of biscuits, a lot of chicken.
Just a lot of, just a lot of a lot.
I mean, hey, it was a working vacation, right?
So you had to experience the culture of the place you were visiting.
What are you supposed to do?

(01:29:30):
Hey, the only thing you can do is have a good time, baby. That's all.
Yeah, man, I think that about wraps it up. I really can't thank everybody who
participated and was a part of our coverage.
Again, this is our first time doing a true on-location experience with interviews,
without interviews, reviews.
Views please if you guys like this and we
want to do more or if there's a town that you like want

(01:29:53):
us to check out email me at uncle dad at uncle dad
talks.com and if there's people out there who want to talk to us we would love
to see if we can make that happen and again the email is uncle dad at uncle
dad talks.com mike is there anything else i'm forgetting or do we just want
to call it a goodbye i think we call it a goodbye and you know as always check

(01:30:13):
out our instagram at Uncle Dad Talks,
and we'll post extra videos and pictures from the trip,
and you can give us all the likes.
All the likes, indeed. And I do want to throw out some special shout-outs.
Huge shout-out to your sister, Big Money Monica.
She was an incredible, absolutely incredible host. Go check out her place of

(01:30:37):
business, and you would have heard that earlier in the episode.
Of course, also a big shout-out to C-Murder, the one and only Callie Dunlap,
and be sure to follow her Instagram. She was a huge help as well.
What was her Instagram again, sir? I know you know it.
I do know it. It's Callie Dunlap Art. Yes.
Please go support our team, because without supporting our crew,

(01:31:00):
we can't make this happen. So thank you, guys. And of course, any last words, Mike?
I think we've said it all. Probably too much.
Amen, brother. All right, everybody. We'll see you all next week.
And remember, we're not uncles, we're not dads. We're just someone you can talk to. Take care.

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

The Nikki Glaser Podcast

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Episode 130: On location, Asheville, NC! (Ft talk w/ Comedian Jeff Allen and more!)

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

The Nikki Glaser Podcast

All Episodes

Episode 130: On location, Asheville, NC! (Ft talk w/ Comedian Jeff Allen and more!)

Dateline NBC