Folks call him JT the barber JT Thompson a musician
someone I've known for at least 35 years the
longtime co -host along with Jim Powell and creator
of the gimme 10 podcast Which just concluded
its multi -year run earlier this month. We just
scratched the surface really on this intro to
JT He's a husband a dad He's got two daughters.
He's living the family life, the dad life, and
the American dream. I can imagine, you know,
he'll be back in a few months to fill in some
gaps. You're gonna love it. I'm keeping this
short and sweet. DanTimePod at gmail .com. If
you want to send some feedback, send some criticism,
if you'd like to be a guest on the show. And
you can find me on Instagram. X Facebook and
YouTube at Dan time pod. Okay, let's get to the
conversation. It is JT time. Okay, folks, welcome
back to the Dan time podcast. I am your host,
Dan McCardell. This is an I'm gonna start this
over. Okay, let me get a little sip of water
here. Okay, everybody. Thanks for listening.
You're here. You're back. You're checking out
the Dan Time podcast. I'm your host, Dan McCardle.
It's a fun project, a fun experiment that we're
doing here, creeping up on episode number 30.
I believe this is 29 today. And if you're listening
for the first time... Great. I just, I love the
thought, the idea of new listeners because I
haven't said this in several weeks, maybe a few
months, but I used to always come out and say,
I appreciate you, my friend, as a listener. You're
driving, you're running, you're cleaning up the
kitchen. How many times are you listening to
a podcast and they take a second to just say,
thanks. You've got, there are thousands of podcasts
out there and I appreciate you. And my guest
today, I'm going to get into it in just a minute.
Uh, he knows what I'm talking about. This is
this podcast started kind of as a joke, uh, to
see how far I could take it. I had this silly
idea where I thought, what if I just talked to
other Dan's in the world and Dan talking to Dan,
that's kind of cool. I wanted to do a podcast.
I didn't know what it was going to be. And I
was tired of waiting on the sidelines. So I got
out there with this idea and it. As I said on
the trailer, it will evolve and it has evolved.
And so from time to time, uh, we get out of that
mix and, and bring in people that I know or people
that have some connection, some excuse for being
on the show and they're not named Dan. So anyway,
that's where we are today, where we were last
week, bringing back Jim Powell this week. It
only makes sense to connect the dots to, uh,
JT Thompson You'll have to forgive me here for
not being as eloquent as I would like on the
intro I'm actually trying to trim it up a little
bit, but JT and I go back I just cannot where
does the time go over 30 years since we were
little kids How are you doing today man, thanks
for being on the show and Thanks for making time
for this Of course, I really appreciate you asking
me to be on the show. It's a real pleasure, and
I'm honored to be here. I want to congratulate
you on 29 episodes, man. That's huge. I'm real
proud of you. That's an amazing accomplishment,
so kudos to you. Yeah, man, I've known you and
your family for years and years and years. We
grew up together and went to school together,
college together, worked together in the past.
It's been a very, very long history there, so
it's just really great to To be here and talk
to you and um, i'm just very excited about the
opportunity. I appreciate it It is a uh a real
pleasure I try to stay I try to stay away from
saying oh we got a real treat for you here today.
I feel like we You hear that everywhere Uh, oh
folks, we got a real treat for you this afternoon
jt. Thompson on the show, but jt. I think i've
known you since um since taylor swift was born
if 1989 is the year that She was born and she's
got a record named 1989. I think we were around
that period of the late 80s, fourth grade, fifth
grade. Yeah, that sounds about right. You and
my brother Rob were childhood friends. And then,
you know, we kind of whizzed through the high
school years and we found ourselves reunited
again in our college days, early 2000s, kind
of the blur period. Uh, Mellow Mushroom Pizza
Bakers. That was a fun time. Yeah, that was just
a great, that was a great time to be young and
alive. Um, I just remember I was, I had kind
of drifted out of college and through college
and into college. And there was a handful of
us that I wouldn't say that we were not, um,
go -getters, but we just, I, I think that at
least for my, I can only speak for myself. I
didn't have a clear focus of what I wanted to
do with the rest of my life after high school.
I tell people I got my four year degree on the
10 year program, but I feel like I was with some
kindred spirits at Mellow Mushroom in that regard.
But, you know, we just kind of found ourselves
there and we weren't quite kids, but we really
weren't quite adults. And it was just really
a magical time in my life where I felt like the
world was my oyster and just anything could happen.
And I was, I just considered a real special time.
It was just one of those things where if you've
ever had a work experience where you're with
other like minded people. and you kind of click
and gel. It was really, a lot of people develop
close friendships and people we still talk to
to this day. It was just really, really a special
time in my life. And I look at it fondly and
of course working there with you and Jim and
Dave and a bunch of other people. I mean, there's
a huge list of people that I still talk to and
hang out with from those days. But yeah, it was
just a great time to be alive. It was a real
special time in my life. And I got a lot of fond
memories of that, including reconnecting with
everybody. you have that experience with people
and those memories with people where you know
I've known you since elementary school and then
middle school and high school and college and
now in adulthood and everything it's like I really
as I get older I'll be 46 in July I try and appreciate
all the seasons of life as they come but it's
nice when you get to talk to somebody and kind
of go down memory lane and talk about things
and tell stories and and whatnot it's just it's
really really good it's one of those one of those
things about life that I really enjoy in my older
year or getting getting older years I got up
until Still technically a middle age, but I feel
a little older every day, maybe. I can relate
there. Yeah, back in those days, we were in our
kind of mid -20s, and it felt like we were around,
like you said, kindred spirits. Sometimes when
you're 26, you're not doing the same thing that
sky -high achievers at 20, 21, 22 years old are
doing and shooting for. You're just kind of Not
really sure yet, but you know that you've got,
there's something there, but you haven't figured
it out yet. And you're not particularly in a
big rush to figure it all out either. You're
just, I felt like we were enjoying the moment.
Sure. Yeah. I know. Trying to, trying to shake
it all out, I guess. Yeah. There's a lot of ways
to, there's a lot of ways to approach life and
tackle life and You know, I, God bless the people
that have it all figured out and know exactly
what they want to do and they have a very defined
path, but I was never really one of those people.
And I kind of drifted from thing to thing and
trying different stuff. And I was going to college
when we were working on, most of us were in college
or some sort of grad school or something like
that. But I really, I still didn't know really
what I wanted to do. But I like, it's kind of
like you said, looking back at it now, I'm, I
wouldn't trade the way that my You know, my 20s
and 30s shook out for anything in the world because
I really felt like I squeezed all the juice out
of that fruit. You know, there's a lot of life
to be lived out there. And, you know, again,
I'm not saying anything bad about anybody that
goes to school or goes right to college and then
starts working. But I feel like, you know, I
was able to live a lot of life and we were able
to live a lot of life. And we did a lot of things,
man, like that. You know, I really feel like
I... lived every bit of my youth that I could,
because I didn't just go right, if I'd have gone
right to college out of high school and got right
into a job, I would have missed out on all these
things that I did. I mean, I did kind of, I was
kind of a ship without a rudder for a little
bit there, but those experiences and those times
in my life, you know, I kind of waited, what
people might call a failure to launch, but one
person's, you know, bad experience is another
person's joy, so. I think it was just a fantastic
time to be around, like I said, a group of people
that were kind of doing the same thing. It was
just really, really good the way that we all
kind of clicked and bonded. Isn't it wild? Like
now, present day, someone walks into your shop
and they've never met you before and they probably
just think, wow, he's been doing this for years.
This is, uh, this is his brand. This is JT and
they just have no, nobody really thinks, you
know, here we are 2024. I kind of want to speak
to some people listening. If you're ashamed or
you think that, man, it should have been a little
more straight and narrow back there in 2012 or
2014 when I was screwing around, the people aren't
judging you about that stuff. There's always
a chance to kind of reinvent yourself and just
sometimes lay back and float and try to do the
right thing and you'll wind up in the right place.
So I understand that you, when you did, when
you graduated and got your degree in communications
management, you took a job that was pretty well
paying and you felt like, oh, this feels like
the right thing to do, but you weren't completely
satisfied. Yeah, sure. So, um, I'll, I'll go,
I'll start back a little bit further than that,
if that's okay. I, uh, I graduated high school
in 97 and I, in high school, I originally had
wanted to do what I'm doing now, which is I'm
a barber and I'd wanted to do that then, but
my parents had kind of, as a lot of our parents
in this age range did, they kind of urged me
to go to college because that was kind of the
path that their lives had taken. That's really
all that they knew. And in 97, that was a very
common thought that that's the next logical step
in your progress. So I did go to college, but
I would take time off and, you know, change majors
a lot and I would work a little bit here and
there and do a bunch of stuff. And I really did
enjoy getting into communications management.
And I would have, but if I had stayed in communications
management, I probably would have stayed and
gotten my master's and then my PhD in communications
and become a professor and then taught and done
research. But you know, life has a weird way
of taking you to places. So like you said, I,
when I was getting ready to graduate, I applied
for about 12 different jobs. I interviewed for
six. I was offered three and I ended up taking
because I had student loans and needed to catch
up on some debt. I took the one that was the
money. and that ended up being something that
was completely unrelated to what my degree was
in, but I ended up staying with that company
and kind of moving up the ranks and into several
different jobs over the course of about four
years. So around the four and a half year mark,
I decided I was ready to go. And so I wanted
to get into a job that I thought I would actually
be using my degree and I'd be doing some sort
of like writing or something creative, which
is really what I wanted to do. And I went to
work at a publishing company under the guise
of working, selling ads, but eventually Being
able to move into a creative capacity. So I did
that for a while and I realized very quickly
that it was just kind of a for lack of a better
way to say in a boiler room type of situation
where there really wasn't any light at the end
of the tunnel and so this was around the time
that my my daughter my second daughter was born
so we got two girls were 12 and 14 now they were
much younger than but at the time childcare for
two children was more than our mortgage so I
elected to go back to bouncing and and cooking
and bartending and Staying home with them during
the day for two years and then I would work in
the late afternoons and evenings So I did that
for a while and then after that I kind of got
hired out to another I wouldn't buy they were
going to elementary school I got into another
job basically working as an operations manager
for a company and then I got hired away from
there to be an operations manager for another
company and did that for two years and that was
about the time that I realized That I wanted
to go back kind of to how I felt in the 90s when
I wanted to be a barber so in my late 30s I came
home and told my wife that I was sick of kind
of going from job to job and not knowing what
I wanted to do and that I wanted to give this
a try and that I would hope that she would support
me and be understanding and I went and talked
to the local barber in my neighborhood about
being a barber and I went to the school where
I was thinking about going and talked to the
owner there and so I kind of tried to make the
most educated moves that I could before I just
completely jumped ship but what ended up happening
was I went to barber school and I got out and
I started working at a shop And after about six
months there, I went to another shop. And then
really, the the women that own that shop kind
of took me under their wings and showed me what
really being a working barber is like and how
to make a career out of it and how to make it
work. And I worked there for two and a half years
and then my family relocated and I worked at
another shop in Dothan for three years. And the
owner of that shop, again, kind of like showed
me what it was like to own a shop and how to
be a good owner and how to be cognizant of what
you're doing and I tried to learn from both of
those people that had been in the business for
longer than me and then when we moved back to
Birmingham about six months ago I went back to
the shop I was working at before we left and
ended up buying it so I've been in the industry
for coming up on I guess eight or nine years
now and it was not an easy decision in terms
of feeling like exactly kind of what you were
talking about that you have this education, you
have this thing that you're doing and you're
really kind of having to reinvent the wheel where
you have a family situation and a construct where
everything is going through these motions and
you have things depending on you. But I'm very
thankful to my wife and children for understanding
what I was after and what I wanted to do and
having the faith in me and belief in me enough
to realize that I could make that work. And it's
been just the greatest thing. That's ever happened.
You know, I say it's it's better late than never
and like you said It's never too late to figure
out what you want to do or to make a change and
I did it at almost 40 and if I can do it that
means that anybody can do it if you have You
know the right systems around you and again enough
belief in yourself and what you're doing if you
have enough passion about it You can pretty much
make anything work I think You're absolutely
right on that level. And I like what you said
about your rock your wife Olivia being there
to support you, that's so huge for people that
are trying to follow their dreams, and they're
also trying to support their family. At the top
of the episode, I probably was thinking, how
do I bill JT here? JT the barber, JT my friend,
JT the coast and drive, Jim's gonna be upset
here, but the driving force behind the Gimme
10 podcast. But we're kinda talking about it,
it's multiple hats here, but. Jtthebarber .com,
this will all be in the show notes, but I wanted
to put it at the top of the episode. Folks, you
can also find him on Instagram and Facebook.
Yeah, I think it's facebook .com forward slash
Jtcuttshair and then on Instagram, because Jtthebarber
was taken, that my actual Instagram handle is
Jtthebarber D -O -T -C -O -N, so the dot com
is spelled out. Now, so let's get to it here.
present day in the shop. I was thinking about
this this morning. Everybody remembers, especially
if you're a guy at seven years old, eight, nine,
you know, up to 10 or 11 or 12, what it was like
when you went to the barbershop at that age when
your dad, your mom would take you on those Saturday
afternoons. JT, how exciting is it for you when
that kid walks in and he's excited to see you
because, you know, I mean... compared to the
average person you've got, I would say you're
a brand. You have a likeness, you've got an image,
and you're kind of cool for kids, I think, if
they walk in and it's like, well, there's JT.
And there's the guy in the sign or on the bumper
sticker. How much of that is just really rewarding
for you to make it fun for them? Sure. I mean,
it's absolutely the best feeling in the world.
And when I first wanted to be a barber when I
was younger, it was kind of... exactly what you're
talking about. Like when I went to the barber
shop there was just a bunch of men and kids cutting
up and having a good time and just hanging out
and like it was like you know you always got
a sucker or some chewing gum or something when
you got done and like the barber always knew
your name and asked you like you know how baseball
was going or whatever like you felt special and
like you look good when you left you had a little
spring in your step and like at the center of
that universe there were people that were making
a living doing that and being that every day.
And so I really held onto that for a kid. I just
thought that was just the coolest thing in the
world. And also there was something that was
just very uniquely manly and strong about a barbershop
and a barbershop experience. It was just kind
of something that was almost clandestine or like
a part of a secret world that was for men, you
know, and that really resonated with me when
I was young. And so as an adult, I really knew
that I wanted to do something where I was working
with people because I really do genuinely love
people and love talking to people and getting
to know people and I love relationships and all
of that. But also working with my hands and then
part of kind of what you're talking about is
trying to recreate that feeling that I had when
I was a kid and not just with, you know, children
whose hair I cut but with also adults I cut and
it's such a wonderful two -way street because
when I when I look at my schedule and I see oh
sweet like you know this guy's coming in on Thursday
and I can't wait to ask him about his car or
his trip to California or whatever it is and
then like you really start to make these great
friendships with people and build a sense of
community around the people that come to see
you and um it's really just a blessing to be
able to do what I do because it is it's what
is important to me and what I like and I'm not
it's not lost on me that people wake up every
day and go to a job that they hate and grind
it out and just suffer through it 40 hours a
week or more and like I really enjoy like waking
up in the morning and like go to the shop and
like walking in the door and like looking at
the place and like see like I mean we the shop's
been there since 1967 all of the barber chairs
are super old I mean they still have the ashtrays
in them it's just a very like this just an old
wrought iron magazine rack it's just like your
very classic old school barber shop and I just
really I count my blessings about being able
to go there every day and do that and do it with
the people that I do and the people that I call
my customers and friends. It's just, it's so
rewarding. And it's the same thing with kids.
Like when a kid comes in and you like remember
his name or remember what he's into, or you ask
them about how something went, it really is like.
You get that little glimpse of him feeling special
and having that little burst of self -esteem
and self -worth. And that's a wonderful feeling.
And some of the old guys too, they may. Have
lost their life or there don't really have a
lot of people to talk to they probably really
look forward to that day on the calendar where
they get to go sit in your chair and Yuck it
up for sure. Yeah. Yeah, we've got a couple guys
that Well, okay. So there's one guy that comes
into the barbershop every single day. His name
is Lynn thrash He was the second owner of the
barbershop. He sold the shop to the owner previous
to me and he still has his own pee he comes every
morning and eats breakfast at the hot dog stand
across the street and then he comes and lets
himself in and he'll just stay there for an hour
and a half or whatever just talk to everybody
and then he leaves and that's just because of
the fact that you know for such a long time that's
been his his um his place you know so he's that
still resonates with him i mean he's in his 90s
and every day he comes in and everybody sees
him and he's just he's a lot of fun he tells
funny jokes and he's got a real big personality
and i'm I'm thankful that he's still a part of
the shop. But, you know, kind of to what you're
saying, there's some other people that come in
every week and sometimes they come in between
haircuts. And I think it's kind of what you're
talking about. It's almost like you've got this
cheers kind of vibe where, you know, if you come
there long enough, people know who you are and
they recognize you. And even if it may not be
your customer, you know that person and you know
kind of like what they're going through or what
they've been through or what's happening in their
life. you know again there's just not many places
i know of that are that are like that so um i
do think that holds a special place for for people
and like you said i mean that's that's some people
the only social interaction you know there's
there's one guy that comes and he comes in every
week to get his hair cut he has no family in
town never married doesn't have any kids doesn't
have any friends around him i literally think
that like you said i think coming to the barbershop
is probably the social highlight of his week
i wanted to Call out a couple reviews too. So
folks, if you live in Birmingham, if you travel
on your way up to Nashville through Birmingham,
you need to stop and get a haircut. By all means,
stop in the Village Inn and see JT. But a couple
reviews here, JT. Fantastic value for the money.
A great neighborhood vibe. Good music and conversation
and clean space. JT is a master at attention
to detail and takes his time with every customer.
That's one and then JT is as professional down
-to -earth fun to talk to and goes out of his
way to answer questions highly recommended a
lot of feedback here on the page and That's got
to make you happy too that you're making a difference
there Yeah, I mean again, I think of where I
am in my career and my brand and everything that
that is is Really a culmination of my life experience
over not only going to college, but working in
various fields and doing different things. I
think that you really learn about what customers
want and what people want and how you should
do things and how you shouldn't do things. And,
you know, when I think about bad experiences
I've had in places, I try and do the opposite
of what that was. And I think that it's really
kind of amazing if you give people a little bit
and you give people a little bit more how much
more that pays off and how much people do appreciate
that. I was gone, I moved out of Hoover for three
years. And when I was coming back to town, I
sent out a bunch of emails and of course, did
social media posts to reach back out to my customers.
And it's amazing how after three years, so many
of my customers came back and I'm just really
so thankful for that. And I think again, I'm
not trying to tube my own horn, but I think that
really speaks to. the experience that people
have when they come to the shop and when they
come and get a haircut. And it just means a lot
to me that people feel that way. And I've been
very lucky on social media groups and kind of,
I do think it's important that if you're building
a brand and you're trying to have something,
you don't just, if you're a restaurant, you can't
post every picture of food or anything like that.
I mean, you have to break it up and you have
to decide kind of what your brand is and what
you want yourself to be and how you want to face
toward the world and that's super important when
you're when you're looking at a business or when
you're building a brand you know you have to
think about that and like my personality I think
that that having some humor and having some things
that are funny and silly and light -hearted kind
of matches who I am and it matches the experience
when you come to the barbershop so it's it's
totally on brand but again if you're you know
if you're running a spa or something like that
you might not be fortunate enough to be able
to show that side of yourself but for For me,
it totally works, but that's, you know, again,
that's part of what I want in my brand to be.
Well, we could talk about, um, JT, the barber
and, uh, I could spend another episode. We look,
let's not kid ourselves. I've got to, I talked
to you before we got started on the call here.
I got to catch you up with Jim. So I'm not saying
I'm bringing you right back in two weeks, but,
uh, we got to get a little, a whole horse race
going here or whatever you call it. The whole
podcast thing and the Give Me Ten thing is almost
a whole other conversation. Having a podcast,
as you know, after almost 30 episodes, man, it
takes on a life of its own at some point. It's
just so much fun to do, man. I understand why
there are so many podcasts out there because
having and doing a podcast is so fantastic, so
much fun. On that end, I should have said this
with Jim, but you guys really Should take a victory
lap, a bow. 134 total episodes of Gimme 10. You
did, I think that's right, about 124 before the
reboot. And people, you know, understand something
with podcasts. I consider everything to be a
project, unless you're Mark Maron or Joe Rogan
or some of the just established podcasters. My
goal, I've never stated it, this is the first
time I'll say, but is 52 episodes. So that's
one episode a week, four a year. That's always
been my goal. So if I get to August, whatever
it will be, episode 52, and I'm satisfied, that
might be the end of Dan Time. Might be. But you
know as well as I do that it's a lot more than
just plugging in a mic and talking and having
a good time with the guest. it's a little bit
of work and a little bit of strategy and scheduling
and uh and having especially with um a co -host
having something to talk about that you both
want to sink your teeth into where could i go
with this i just first of all i want to say thanks
for what you put out there the body of work folks
thank you real quick here i mentioned this way
back i think on episode number one which um some
of the the topics that you dived into. Baby paraphernalia,
pizza sandwich, french fries, the birthdays episode
may be my all -time favorite. Oh wow, that's
a good one. A lot of movies, the potpourri episodes,
the fly on the wall stuff, just hilarious. And
rasslin', I think you guys are kind of hanging
out on the sidewalk. I think that was one of
the episodes we did during COVID. So we were
outside six feet apart. So there's probably like
real cricket noises in the background, not like
fake piped in crickets, but you know, we did
the podcast during a very interesting time in
a bunch of different ways. And it's kind of like
what you're talking about, about having an idea
and a concept. we had a very clear concept when
we started Gimmie 10 and I just told Jim what
that concept was and he was on board from day
one and much like you and I we've known each
other for so long it's just talking to each other
is very easy and comes so naturally that you
know him and I it's kind of insane like the only
difference between before Gimmie 10 and after
Gimmie 10 was like we put a microphone in the
room like that's typically what Jim and I's life
when we hang out is it's just like we're just
hanging out and like talking about silly stuff
and going over different things and just talking
about, you know, talking about whatever, man.
And we did, we just happened to put a mic in
the room and put a time limit on it at the beginning.
Um, but that, that was really, that's really
all it was, man. And I think if you have the
right people doing the right stuff, talking about
the right things, man, you can catch that lightning
in a bottle pretty easily. There's just some,
some beautiful, I don't know, that's not even
the right word, but just some, it's, it's elegant
and it's unrefined quality. I just love every
bit of it and I encourage everyone, even though
it's the final episode, we've reached the end,
the actual end. The second end, ending number
two. You're gonna love it. If you've got 10 minutes,
12 minutes, 14 minutes to drive somewhere And
you're kind of stressed and you're going to a
meeting or you're just you're whatever you're
having one of those days put on a gimme 10 episode
about Pizza sandwich or party foods and have
a laugh for a second get yourself together It's
awesome stuff jt, and I so thank you. Thank you
for doing that Um, I got a few little wacky questions
here. I promised you about 30 minutes and in
true Dan time fashion. We are at about 33 minutes
here All right What what are your thoughts when
you're on the phone you got to reach out to technical
support and they're helping you with some kind
of some kind of issue with your computer or your
internet and This is bother you some people don't
even care but my Travis this grates on him. You're
talking to your that representative and they
start getting into that whispery, gravelly voice
and they say like, hmm, let's see here. Hang
on a second. Sorry, my computer's acting up right
now. Hmm, let me see. Is that a problem for you
or are you okay with that when you're on the
line with somebody? No, I listen I don't care
I think um humans and human nature is one of
the most fascinating things about about life
and examining that and as Somebody that's kind
of like an amateur anthropologist I think that
things like that and little quirks and stuff
that people have are really really funny and
it's also really funny too when you have one
that you don't know about and somebody points
it out to you like I was I'm really bad or was
really bad for a while about When I was about
to tell a story or try and make a point, I would
say, listen, and then pause and then say whatever
I want to say. So for example, I would say, listen,
I'm going to tell you about blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah. And so people around me started to
like when we would be in a conversation, they'd
say, listen, and then they would say whatever.
I'm like, oh, you're mocking me. That's great.
And like, I think that's so funny. So when people
do that, then that may be kind of a As somebody
who's worked in call centers and telemarketing
and all kinds of stuff like that, that may be
more a symptom of the fact that you're in a room
with 30 people who are all talking to somebody,
that you whisper or get quiet like that. But
no, I don't think that's, it doesn't bother me
at all. That's not one that gets under my skin.
There are things that get under my skin, but
that's not one of them. What about, let me place
you on a brief hold. What is your idea of a brief
hold versus their idea? I say a brief hold is
two minutes or less, but anytime somebody tells
me they're gonna put me on a brief hold, I'm
expecting eight to 10. Would you like to stay
on the line and take a brief survey after this
call? What's your usual answer to that? It depends
on if the if the rep was genuinely a nice person
and they did a good job And they went out of
their way to help me I'll do the survey to try
and help them out But if they were just if it
was just a dumpster fire of a phone call, I'm
not staying on it anymore Okay, switching gears
here a few 90s bands that you would have loved
to have seen just one more record from Four non
blonde and you can pick more than one four non
blondes blind melon Jeff Buckley, unfortunate
there we didn't get more music from him. New
Radicals, Lauryn Hill, any of those? Yeah, I'm
gonna actually say I'm gonna strike Four Non
Blondes because I can't think of the name of
like her name, but the singer from that band
is actually a really prolific songwriter who
had a very big career in music, though not as
a front woman, but there's a lot of songs that
she has writing credit or co -writing credit
on, so. Jeff Buckley definitely super huge talent.
That's a really good one. What were the other
ones again? Oh, um Yeah, I mean blind blind melon
I think I was not a big blind melon fan not that
I've once wanted something bad to happen him
but the new radicals I think that um What is
there big do you get what you give or whatever?
Um, I think yeah I think that's probably one
of the most perfectly crafted pop songs of all
of the history of pop music I mean they if you
take and break down That song and how it works
and like the song structure and the melodies
everything I mean, that's that's about as close
to a perfectly crafted pop song as you can get
now He also has some songwriting credits to his
name So he continued to work though not under
the new radicals But there's another band that
I really like that had a really really good record
and they were kind of made famous by Beavis and
Butthead or kind of they had their 15 minutes
because of Beavis and Butthead but a band called
Nude Swirl Which made kind of like an experimental
rock record in the 90s The song that was on Beavis
and Butthead was a song called F sharp. And I
really have always enjoyed that song. And it's
such a great album. I would have loved to have
had more, more output from them. Wow. Who else
was in there? I had Lauren Hill and I'm surprised.
We all remember that time period, the late nineties.
I mean, we're, we're plugged in and that was
a huge record. Yes. The miseducation. Yep. It
was, uh, unfortunately the Lauren Hill unplug
was an absolute disaster. I don't know if you've
ever listened to that. that release, it was really
bad. But yeah, I would have liked for her to
do more. I thought she was phenomenally talented.
That record was a really good record. I think
we all should have gotten more out of her. Which
is rare for guys our age, but you're still on
the cusp of new music. Do you have a band or
a solo artist or somebody that you would like
to plug? I do listen to a ton of new music. I
talk to people all day long. for a living and
so I'm fortunate that I hear people talk about
bands and talk about things but one of the bands
I really enjoyed lately which is kind of like
modern experimental rock or metal is a band called
Pure Reason Revolution they've got a couple records
that are really great and good to listen to and
then I mean some of the other bands that I really
like I would say are not unknown, but I really
like idols. They released a new record this week.
Another band from a few years ago that's been
out of the limelight for a while, MGMT, they
have a new record out. Both of those are really
good records to listen to, but in terms of the
other stuff, I would say probably Pure Reason
Revolution. Also, a guy named Charlie Griffiths,
I think his at the album is Tik La Lika, is a
fantastic progressive metal record. If you haven't
listened to that, if you're a fan of progressive
metal, that's a must listen to. Okay, and finally
and this is a real oddball one, but I think it
was you guys discussed this I'm one of the old
episodes of give me ten JT you remember going
back to 1989 and that talk 1990 or so Hot and
now the fast food the ill -fated fast food chain
hot now I did some quick research before our
call today. There is one Franchise, I guess it's
not a franchise. There's one hot now in existence
in Michigan. What are your thoughts when you
think back on those 39 cent hamburgers, 49 cents
cheeseburgers? One thing I want to say here is
that I look at it this way. They didn't lie to
you. They didn't say, they said it was going
to be hot. They said it was going to be ready
right away. They did not promise anything about
taste. So they didn't lie to you. My first question
is when are we making our pilgrimage to Houghton
now? Like when are we gonna get in the car and
go? Because I'm in, I'm such a Houghton now devotee.
I feel like that in the time period when Houghton
now was on the scene, it was also like when.
Taco Bell was just dirt. Like if you walked into
Taco Bell with $20, you came out with stock options.
Like it was just, it was that time period in
our lives where you could just like, we were
young and poor and we needed, you know, we needed
cheap tacos and cheap hamburgers and literally
like you couldn't get the order out of your mouth.
fast and it's like you it's almost like you can
skip the speaker and go right to the window they're
just gonna hand you a bag of food and you give
them five dollars and get a lot of change back
and you like you said you just like well this
i guess this is a hamburger and my favorite thing
about hot my my favorite thing about hot now
is like it was the the opposite of Burger King
like you couldn't have it your way if you're
like I don't want pickles they're like no hot
now just like pull around like you know I don't
want yeah I don't want ketchup like no it's tough
if you get a burger and it's like you said it's
39 cents like either come get it or don't like
I don't care like you're either hungry or you're
not do you have two dollars take this or don't
I don't we don't care it's hot now or leave but
yeah I'm a huge I'm a huge fan I think that there
has to be there has to be a balance it's like
I think if um if you look at Burger King and
having your way there has to be has to be a hot
and now there has to be something to balance
the equation and I almost feel like other than
not getting what you want or being able to make
substitutions it's kind of like that hot and
now was kind of that that that it was the taco
bell or hamburger of taco bell that kind of kind
of the same thing if there was a a hamburger
equivalent of fast food mexican it was just like
it's just cheap and easy and quick and you get
it now it's like you can feed your whole family
for eight dollars you know it's just it's it
was magic i'm such a fan i wish i i wish there
was one closer i'd be there like i literally
just like you're pulling pocket change out of
the sofa and you're gonna eat like a king it's
perfection i mean it really and truly is hot
and now anybody can deliver on those two promises
i mean exactly and Yeah, maybe the one thing
that people could argue about they pull up and
they say well, this is kind of warm Well, we'll
heat it up for you. It's hot Yeah, you notice
they didn't call the chain hot now and delicious
they're like, oh no truth in advertising We're
not gonna say that, you know If they wanted to
expand on the name, they really could have said
hot now and barely edible But they didn't I think
they've made a good marketing decision there.
It was very well But yeah, so Pepsi acquires
hot now places it under Taco Bell's operations
and it all goes downhill from there So they of
course we got to ruin a good thing But I don't
know why I wanted to land on that one, but that
was a great finish JT So much more I want to
get into with you But as we know there's no way
that you're not coming back for a second episode
if you're so willing Oh, of course. Like Dan,
this has been an absolute pleasure. It's really
good to talk. I had so much fun and it was just
really enjoyable. And again, congrats on 29 episodes.
I would be happy to come back anytime if you
would have me. How about next week? No. Let's
do back to back. Right. Yeah. We're, we're, we're
marathoning it. Can't stop us now. Now I'll come
back anytime. I really, I appreciate the opportunity.
It's been a real blast and I. I thank you for
asking me on and for, um, you know, for letting
me talk about the things I'm passionate about
and my work and, um, and what I do and my story.
It's, um, I, I just, I thank you. It's, it's
a great opportunity. I appreciate you giving
me a platform to share. Well, thank you, JT.
You are making a big difference out there for,
for men of all ages, boys of all ages. And you
know, those little kids, they love the guy time
stuff. It's just a little quick. 30 minutes out
of their day, they've been at school, they've
been having to just do all this shuttling around,
and you just know when they enjoy stuff like
that, just being around some of the guys, and
you make it fun for them. And folks, check out
JT on Instagram, go to the website, and remember,
if you get something out of this episode, and
you're 36 years old, and you're still doing something
that's not really the fire in the belly for you,
you're not too old, even if you're 47. No, keep
thinking about it. Keep, uh, maybe put a little
plan together and, uh, get your partner on board
and it can be done. So they never, yeah, never
the never give up on your dreams. Never. That's
right. Well, you guys have a great week and next
week. We're back with another Dan, the first
one, I think, since maybe Dan wine rib, Dan Brody,
but, um, you guys enjoy your week and be good
to each other and we'll see you next Sunday on
the Dan time podcast. Thank you, JT. Great to
talk to you again. It's been 20. Is it? I don't
know. Almost 20 years. Feels like yesterday.
Yeah, it does, man. Well, thank you. It's been
a real pleasure. The pleasure is all mine. Thank
you. All right, buddy. Find and like Village
Inn Barbershop on Facebook. They've been serving
the Birmingham area since 1967. They do men's
cuts, beard trims. Women's and kids cuts and
visit JT the barber calm or connect with them
on The social media channels want to give a quick
shout to my dad who I believe listens Occasionally
he kind of cherry picks the episodes that maybe
are more appealing to him versus others Maybe
he listens to all of them. I don't know but my
dad has been a customer of JT's and Dad, I just
want to say thanks for listening to the Day and
Time podcast. I appreciate you, my friend, my
father, as a listener.