WEBVTT 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:13.279 All right, good afternoon, morning, night. Welcome 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:16.940 to another episode of Good News York. Mike Brindisi, 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:20.940 your solo host today. Matt is off feeding children 00:00:20.940 --> 00:00:23.660 somewhere, or maybe he's bullying them. I don't 00:00:23.660 --> 00:00:25.800 know. He does one or the other. I can't remember. 00:00:26.179 --> 00:00:29.780 Either way, it's just me for this special segment. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:32.820 I'm very excited. First of all, it's Thursday. 00:00:33.109 --> 00:00:36.270 This is our Friday here. So getting ready for 00:00:36.270 --> 00:00:38.450 the weekend, but more importantly, I have a very 00:00:38.450 --> 00:00:42.850 special guest remote I'd like to welcome to the 00:00:42.850 --> 00:00:47.630 show founder of safe space CNY and route I'm 00:00:47.630 --> 00:00:52.530 sorry route to rise a very special person Tracy 00:00:52.530 --> 00:00:57.409 Dando Tracy thank you. Welcome. Listen, it's 00:00:57.409 --> 00:00:59.369 a little underwhelming because it's one clap 00:00:59.369 --> 00:01:02.780 but I felt it. It's a full crowd inside of my 00:01:02.780 --> 00:01:05.459 head. I promise. How are you this morning? You 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:07.920 know, I'm good. I'm good. I'm bearing this rain 00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:11.340 like the rest of us are. I don't know what's 00:01:11.340 --> 00:01:13.780 going on, but suddenly I wake up and I feel like 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:17.420 I'm in Seattle, Washington every day. But I'm 00:01:17.420 --> 00:01:20.680 glad you're braving the weather. I am so glad 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:22.680 you're on the show. We talked a little bit before 00:01:22.680 --> 00:01:25.840 we went on air. At this point, if anyone's been 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:28.400 listening or watching and following Good News 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:31.239 York, they know I'm... I'm a lot of things, but 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:34.000 one thing for sure is I'm a big advocate for 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:37.079 mental health and mental health awareness. It's 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:40.060 something that still affects me daily, something 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:45.420 I struggle with and I work through, and it has 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:47.959 affected friends and family of mine. So I always 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:51.560 said, throughout the years, I've always used 00:01:51.560 --> 00:01:55.620 my platforms to advocate for that. So thank you 00:01:55.620 --> 00:02:00.010 so much for coming on here. If you go to your 00:02:00.010 --> 00:02:03.609 Facebook or your website, I mean, you do so much 00:02:03.609 --> 00:02:07.530 in the world of mental health. So I guess I want 00:02:07.530 --> 00:02:10.530 to start with, you're such a passionate person 00:02:10.530 --> 00:02:14.189 too about it and full of energy. What was the 00:02:14.189 --> 00:02:16.909 inspiration? Was there something in your personal 00:02:16.909 --> 00:02:20.750 life or was there that like special moment where 00:02:20.750 --> 00:02:23.210 you went, this is what I want to do or how did 00:02:23.210 --> 00:02:27.050 Safe Space, CNY and Route to Rise come about? 00:02:28.780 --> 00:02:33.379 Wow. I mean, it was built out of survival, to 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:36.479 tell you the honest truth. So, no, mental health 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:42.000 was nothing that I ever wanted to get into. It 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.280 was something that consumed my life behind the 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:47.300 scenes. It was something that was incredibly 00:02:47.300 --> 00:02:51.120 shameful for a long time. And it was something 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:55.250 I hid. And so, for the first... probably two 00:02:55.250 --> 00:02:57.710 decades of my life. I struggle with anxiety, 00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:02.629 depression, PPFD, and a pretty bad eating disorder 00:03:02.629 --> 00:03:04.990 that had me in and out of treatment facilities. 00:03:06.289 --> 00:03:09.430 And the reoccurring thoughts in my head were 00:03:09.430 --> 00:03:12.490 always, what is wrong with me? Like, why can't 00:03:12.490 --> 00:03:15.030 I do what everybody else is doing? Why it looks 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:17.930 so effortlessly for everybody just to be out 00:03:17.930 --> 00:03:20.169 there living and doing and dreaming and building? 00:03:20.909 --> 00:03:24.280 Why is it so hard for me to just be in my body. 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:29.379 And, um, so safe space was created because enough 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:32.719 had happened to me here in Syracuse that when 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:37.620 I came back in my early thirties, I needed someplace 00:03:37.620 --> 00:03:40.520 that I felt safe. I was, I had two young children 00:03:40.520 --> 00:03:44.099 at that time and what a treatment facility did 00:03:44.099 --> 00:03:47.479 for me was it created this external safety, which 00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:50.840 was sort of a bubble, but it made me feel safe. 00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:55.229 And so The other big part of a facility was that 00:03:55.229 --> 00:03:57.789 we had these incredible, vulnerable conversations. 00:03:57.969 --> 00:04:01.050 We were real, we were honest, we were open, we 00:04:01.050 --> 00:04:04.789 were our true selves. And I had never experienced 00:04:04.789 --> 00:04:07.969 a type of connection like that in my day -to 00:04:07.969 --> 00:04:11.590 -day life. Like as a teacher and as a mom and 00:04:11.590 --> 00:04:14.490 as a friend, I didn't know how to do that. And 00:04:14.490 --> 00:04:18.170 so I created Safe Space out of a selfish need 00:04:18.170 --> 00:04:22.259 that I needed to feel safe. and survive here 00:04:22.259 --> 00:04:26.139 in Syracuse. That is absolutely inspiring. And 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:29.319 you're giving me goosebumps because I remember 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:34.680 that feeling of the first time I had my first 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:39.199 panic attack. And as you know, first of all, 00:04:39.240 --> 00:04:42.060 this was in the late 90s. And there was not a 00:04:42.060 --> 00:04:44.600 lot of mental health. I mean, there was mental 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:46.740 health awareness, but nothing like there is now. 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:52.589 And so... I remember just explaining to my parents 00:04:52.589 --> 00:04:56.550 that I just feel sick. I feel like I'm dying 00:04:56.550 --> 00:04:59.069 all the time. Or I feel like I'm having a heart 00:04:59.069 --> 00:05:00.769 attack. And then finally someone said, I think 00:05:00.769 --> 00:05:03.829 you're having anxiety. And at that time, which 00:05:03.829 --> 00:05:05.949 is funny to think now with all the transparency, 00:05:06.689 --> 00:05:08.850 I went anxiety. I'm like, isn't that when you're 00:05:08.850 --> 00:05:10.730 just like excited to go to a birthday party or 00:05:10.730 --> 00:05:13.050 something? I didn't even know what that meant. 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:17.439 And you know, fast forward. I too have lived 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:20.399 with anxiety and depression and PTSD from childhood 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:23.660 trauma and who knows what else. But my point 00:05:23.660 --> 00:05:29.759 is, just the word safe space when you're going 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:32.519 through something like that is such a beacon 00:05:32.519 --> 00:05:34.160 of hope. Like, wait a minute, there's others 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:40.160 that feel like me? Because let's be honest, it's 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:41.899 like going to the gym, right? You hear about 00:05:41.899 --> 00:05:45.319 talk therapy. And people say you should go, but 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:47.379 it's very scary if you don't know what therapy 00:05:47.379 --> 00:05:49.019 is about and you think, am I going to lay on 00:05:49.019 --> 00:05:52.379 a couch and they have a clipboard? I'm not comfortable. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.160 And then when you go, you find out, oh my God, 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:58.660 this is one of the greatest things you could 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:02.800 do for yourself. But let's be honest, it's not 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:06.019 always accessible as far as finances go and health 00:06:06.019 --> 00:06:10.839 insurance. What is the difference between Safe 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:14.889 Space CNY and like a traditional therapist, what 00:06:14.889 --> 00:06:17.389 are some of the differences? Great question. 00:06:17.529 --> 00:06:20.329 It's meant to be the first step in because like 00:06:20.329 --> 00:06:22.870 you said, a lot of people do struggle with the 00:06:22.870 --> 00:06:25.069 stigma of going to see a therapist or it just 00:06:25.069 --> 00:06:27.910 might not be their jam and that's okay, right? 00:06:28.410 --> 00:06:31.649 Like mental health is a spectrum and we have 00:06:31.649 --> 00:06:34.149 a toolbox and that toolbox was very different 00:06:34.149 --> 00:06:36.129 for each and every one of us. So the things that 00:06:36.129 --> 00:06:38.689 work for you might not necessarily work for me. 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:42.439 I know talk therapy is one of my things, something 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:44.980 I do every two weeks. It's just like a refresh. 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:47.980 It's a reboot for me, but that's not everybody's 00:06:47.980 --> 00:06:51.160 thing. And so I also realized, like you just 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:54.339 said, that I had spent two decades going to support 00:06:54.339 --> 00:06:57.920 groups. And so it became normalized for me to 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:00.379 sit in a group and talk to strangers about my 00:07:00.379 --> 00:07:04.930 feelings where the basic world. doesn't do that, 00:07:04.970 --> 00:07:07.329 right? And so I knew we were going to struggle 00:07:07.329 --> 00:07:10.089 with that portion of safe space, normalizing 00:07:10.089 --> 00:07:13.410 coming together during times of need. And so 00:07:13.410 --> 00:07:16.189 the goal is for safe space, it's meant to be 00:07:16.189 --> 00:07:19.569 that, that dip your toe into this type of work. 00:07:19.589 --> 00:07:22.209 So you're struggling with anxiety, depression. 00:07:22.449 --> 00:07:24.009 It could be, you don't even know what you're 00:07:24.009 --> 00:07:26.110 struggling with. It might just be that you know 00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:28.930 you're not happy and that it's coming out. You 00:07:28.930 --> 00:07:32.899 might be using drinking or drugs or rolling endlessly 00:07:32.899 --> 00:07:35.300 or whatever, you're coping in all these ways 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:38.000 and you know you're not okay. Safe Space is meant 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:41.199 to be that first step in the door. So it's meant 00:07:41.199 --> 00:07:45.980 to be the walk in, just start, sit down and let's 00:07:45.980 --> 00:07:49.220 see what happens. But for a lot of people, there's 00:07:49.220 --> 00:07:52.279 so much fear and there's so many stories that 00:07:52.279 --> 00:07:54.240 we tell ourselves about doing something like 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:57.680 that. Sure. And I think that's absolutely amazing 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:01.269 because along my mental health journey, it got 00:08:01.269 --> 00:08:05.230 to a point where I realized how much I was self 00:08:05.230 --> 00:08:07.689 -medicating with alcohol. And I came to a point 00:08:07.689 --> 00:08:11.250 in 2020, I finally quit drinking. Congratulations. 00:08:11.889 --> 00:08:14.629 Thank you. And a lot of people said, you should 00:08:14.629 --> 00:08:17.149 go to AA. And at that time, I went, I'm not going. 00:08:17.209 --> 00:08:20.689 I don't need AA. I quit. I went through the withdrawals, 00:08:20.850 --> 00:08:23.810 the mental, physical withdrawals. And I did it 00:08:23.810 --> 00:08:25.949 on my own. And what someone made me realize, 00:08:26.050 --> 00:08:29.259 a friend of mine said, I don't think you understand. 00:08:29.540 --> 00:08:31.579 AA is not to keep you from drinking. It's just 00:08:31.579 --> 00:08:34.139 about meeting other people who are going through 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:35.600 some of the things that you're going through 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:37.879 and just finding that commonality. And it brings 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:40.360 you this peace of mind. And I feel like it's 00:08:40.360 --> 00:08:42.759 kind of the same case with safe space. Am I correct? 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:45.840 Yeah, absolutely. It's finding your community 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:48.340 that understands. Because that was such a big 00:08:48.340 --> 00:08:51.299 thing that there was nobody here in Syracuse 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:53.220 that understood what I was going through with 00:08:53.220 --> 00:08:56.679 the eating disorder. and you feel so isolated 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:59.299 and you feel so alone. And so when you've got 00:08:59.299 --> 00:09:01.580 people around you that are going through a divorce 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:05.620 or experiencing postpartum, or is a man that's 00:09:05.620 --> 00:09:07.860 just trying to figure out his own mental health, 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:10.779 and you're surrounded by people that are like 00:09:10.779 --> 00:09:13.200 -minded that are going through that with you, 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.559 there's just this feeling of not. being alone. 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:19.100 Like, it doesn't matter that their story is different. 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:21.100 It doesn't matter that their addiction might 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:23.899 look different or their coping modalities might 00:09:23.899 --> 00:09:26.879 look different. But they're with you in it and 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:29.360 they just say to you, like, I get it, dude. Like, 00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:32.620 you're not alone. Yeah. Just to hear those words. 00:09:32.620 --> 00:09:36.700 I have goosebumps. Yeah. So comforting. It is 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:40.840 everything. When you are living in sheer terror, 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:42.480 you know, if you're going through some sort of 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:45.299 mental health crisis, Just I've never forget 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:49.659 the first time someone said Yeah, you know I 00:09:49.659 --> 00:09:52.159 too go through this and I had this thought once 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.360 about blah blah blah, and I went wait a minute 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:57.840 I go you had that thought too like for example. 00:09:57.860 --> 00:10:01.059 This is kind of left field, but it's relevant 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:04.779 For example. I saw a funny meme the other night 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:08.740 that said Something to like regards of who else 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:11.639 goes through airport security and thinks oh god. 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:14.799 What if I accidentally have a gun? Which is... 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:17.799 And I was like, that's me! And I was like, holy 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:20.059 shit, like, you know what I mean? You know what 00:10:20.059 --> 00:10:22.440 I'm saying? Like, that's the kind of stuff that 00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.179 you'll find in these peer groups where you're 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:28.360 like, oh my god, I'm not crazy. Yes. Yes. And 00:10:28.360 --> 00:10:30.940 those are the holy shit moments where you're 00:10:30.940 --> 00:10:33.779 like, oh my god, I'm not crazy. Because as you 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:36.980 said, you do feel alone sometimes, all the time, 00:10:37.059 --> 00:10:39.850 in these situations. And you also feel like, 00:10:40.029 --> 00:10:42.129 I'm crazy, no one else is thinking this stuff. 00:10:42.190 --> 00:10:43.889 And it just gives you that peace of mind that, 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:46.309 you know what, I'm OK. Like, this is going to 00:10:46.309 --> 00:10:49.429 be OK. So that's wonderful. So if I was to walk 00:10:49.429 --> 00:10:52.070 into Safe Space, what can I expect? Is it something 00:10:52.070 --> 00:10:55.350 that you lead, or is it more of like, everyone 00:10:55.350 --> 00:10:58.190 shares stories? What is a normal day at Safe 00:10:58.190 --> 00:11:00.490 Space like? Great question, because I think this 00:11:00.490 --> 00:11:02.269 will be helpful for people. Absolutely. Because 00:11:02.269 --> 00:11:05.850 Safe Space is set up like a home. If you head 00:11:05.850 --> 00:11:08.480 to our website, it's We have a yellow ceiling. 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:11.399 It's supposed to be so different from any mental 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:13.279 health facility you've ever thought of. We actually 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:16.000 had a trauma designer come in and design the 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:20.379 space. And so it couches and blankets and like 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:23.580 it's meant to create safety for your nervous 00:11:23.580 --> 00:11:27.620 system is what it meant. And so you come in and 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:29.899 each group is led a little different based on 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:32.600 the facilitator. So our sober women's group. 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:35.820 they do a lot of excursion. They go out. If it's 00:11:35.820 --> 00:11:38.679 nice out, they go walk the lakes. They, you know, 00:11:38.740 --> 00:11:41.879 they need a coffee shop. They go get noctails. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:45.059 That's more about building a community and helping 00:11:45.059 --> 00:11:49.440 create people, create a sober lifestyle. But 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:51.820 our men's group, they have a topic once a week 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:53.919 that they are challenging. They are challenging 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:57.320 their ideas of masculinity and why they do what 00:11:57.320 --> 00:12:00.100 they do and why they believe what they believe. 00:12:00.730 --> 00:12:03.789 they actually are like working on deep seated 00:12:03.789 --> 00:12:08.250 things. And so you take whatever you need from 00:12:08.250 --> 00:12:11.009 these groups. You walk in there and if you need 00:12:11.009 --> 00:12:13.470 to sit there in silence for the first three weeks, 00:12:13.789 --> 00:12:16.710 go for it. But I promise you, the second that 00:12:16.710 --> 00:12:19.269 you sit down and you start to be around these 00:12:19.269 --> 00:12:22.389 types of conversations and hear the type of like 00:12:22.389 --> 00:12:25.389 vulnerability that's getting passed around, it 00:12:25.389 --> 00:12:28.500 usually takes people minutes. to start to open 00:12:28.500 --> 00:12:31.000 up themselves. Because they're finally finding 00:12:31.000 --> 00:12:35.299 a place where they can kind of shed a mask or 00:12:35.299 --> 00:12:38.740 shed the person that they have to be in the outside 00:12:38.740 --> 00:12:41.580 world. And they can just show up as they are 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:43.879 and say, hey, I'm kind of a hot mess right now. 00:12:43.879 --> 00:12:49.169 And I need help. We have a variety, a range, 00:12:49.470 --> 00:12:51.950 and people come and get what they need, and then 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:54.330 the goal is for them to move on. We don't want 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:56.090 you staying in a safe space, and it's probably 00:12:56.090 --> 00:12:58.490 the worst marketing strategy. Get out of here. 00:12:59.649 --> 00:13:03.049 The goal is move on. As you're going through 00:13:03.049 --> 00:13:05.009 a divorce, as you're going through these things 00:13:05.009 --> 00:13:08.190 and you need extra support, let us help you. 00:13:08.490 --> 00:13:11.070 And then you're going to find your footing again. 00:13:11.289 --> 00:13:12.850 You're going to get through it. You're going 00:13:12.850 --> 00:13:15.830 to be OK. And then you're not going to need that 00:13:15.830 --> 00:13:18.629 as much. And like, that's the goal. We're going 00:13:18.629 --> 00:13:21.529 to give you the tools. Now you go use them. That's 00:13:21.529 --> 00:13:23.889 what I tell people about talk therapy. I remember 00:13:23.889 --> 00:13:28.009 the first time going to talk therapy and not 00:13:28.009 --> 00:13:30.509 knowing what to expect. And I remember. And it's 00:13:30.509 --> 00:13:33.100 a legitimate thought. I thought. How is talking 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:35.000 about what I'm feeling going to help me? Like, 00:13:35.039 --> 00:13:36.879 you don't understand the hell that I'm feeling 00:13:36.879 --> 00:13:39.820 physically and mentally. But then you go and 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:42.399 you talk about it. And suddenly you do feel better. 00:13:42.519 --> 00:13:45.919 But on top of it, you start realizing, oh, wait 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:49.179 a minute. They're not going to wave a magic wand 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:50.779 and I'm going to be OK in here. What they're 00:13:50.779 --> 00:13:52.519 doing is they're giving me feedback and telling 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:55.200 me why I'm having these thoughts and what the 00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:57.379 brain does to cause that. And they're giving 00:13:57.379 --> 00:14:01.090 me these tools. The work is done. outside of 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:04.769 the office. And yes, I mean, there is work that's 00:14:04.769 --> 00:14:07.649 done inside there, of course. But people don't 00:14:07.649 --> 00:14:12.570 understand that the work comes outside. And I 00:14:12.570 --> 00:14:15.870 am such an advocate for what you're doing. And 00:14:15.870 --> 00:14:17.629 I think it's wonderful. And I especially love 00:14:17.629 --> 00:14:19.850 that you said the men's group. Because let's 00:14:19.850 --> 00:14:21.789 be honest, and I don't think I'm speaking out 00:14:21.789 --> 00:14:24.629 of school here. You know, I think women have 00:14:24.629 --> 00:14:28.340 always been a little bit more... What's the word 00:14:28.340 --> 00:14:31.179 I'm looking for? Just more able to speak about 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:34.100 feelings. 100%. And there's been more of a stigma 00:14:34.100 --> 00:14:37.419 for men with masculinity in society to be, you 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:41.679 know. So I love that there's a men's group. Do 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:44.899 you have a strong, a male population at Safe 00:14:44.899 --> 00:14:47.279 Space? Yeah, it's actually our strong guess. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:49.340 That's amazing. To tell you the truth. And I 00:14:49.340 --> 00:14:53.000 will give our facilitator all the props for that. 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:57.309 Mac, he's a... He is a teacher in the Syracuse 00:14:57.309 --> 00:15:01.169 City Schools. And for the first probably two 00:15:01.169 --> 00:15:03.230 months of the men's group, he would show up every 00:15:03.230 --> 00:15:05.389 week and there might be one person prickle in 00:15:05.389 --> 00:15:08.549 or maybe two or nobody. And he was like, I am 00:15:08.549 --> 00:15:12.029 determined because he's like, I know how much 00:15:12.029 --> 00:15:14.710 men are struggling out there right now and how 00:15:14.710 --> 00:15:17.659 scary it is to walk into the store. And so we've 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:20.820 probably had over 150 men walk through the door 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:24.320 now and some stayed for a couple of months. We've 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:27.019 had some that have stayed for over a year because 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:29.879 they've met their friends there and like they 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:33.139 they're on this track of getting better and healing 00:15:33.139 --> 00:15:37.000 things and becoming better men. And they're like, 00:15:37.019 --> 00:15:39.340 I'm not leaving this group behind, you know. 00:15:39.419 --> 00:15:42.659 And so, yeah, our men's group is our most popular 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:45.990 group. That makes me so happy. Uh, it makes me 00:15:45.990 --> 00:15:48.889 so happy because, you know, this is, it's not 00:15:48.889 --> 00:15:52.970 just for the people that are suffering. You know, 00:15:53.149 --> 00:15:56.009 as a society, if you zoom out on a, I guess, 00:15:56.149 --> 00:16:00.309 a macro level, you know, the more that we feel 00:16:00.309 --> 00:16:03.889 better ourselves, the more we're going to treat 00:16:03.889 --> 00:16:07.190 others well. And it just, it's a whole trickle 00:16:07.190 --> 00:16:10.509 down of how much this, this helps. you know, 00:16:10.610 --> 00:16:12.789 the people involved, but also society as a whole. 00:16:12.850 --> 00:16:14.929 And it sounds dramatic, but I think you and you 00:16:14.929 --> 00:16:18.870 and I both agree it's true. It is so true. It 00:16:18.870 --> 00:16:24.029 is so true. So where I mean, we have all your 00:16:24.029 --> 00:16:26.549 information, which we're going to post websites 00:16:26.549 --> 00:16:28.529 and stuff like that. But let's say someone's 00:16:28.529 --> 00:16:31.330 interested to go to be a part of Safe Space CNY. 00:16:31.429 --> 00:16:34.850 Where should what's the first step? I would think 00:16:34.850 --> 00:16:37.429 head to the website and head to the website and 00:16:37.429 --> 00:16:40.259 check us out. And then our socials are probably 00:16:40.259 --> 00:16:43.419 our biggest when it comes to upcoming events 00:16:43.419 --> 00:16:45.899 and ways to get involved. And really, you can 00:16:45.899 --> 00:16:49.179 take a look at the branding behind it. It's really 00:16:49.179 --> 00:16:53.159 it's all inclusive. Our brand is all inclusive 00:16:53.159 --> 00:16:56.299 because mental health hits every single one of 00:16:56.299 --> 00:17:00.379 us. And it does not discriminate. Right. We are 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:02.399 all on this journey together. And I think we 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:04.460 like to look at other people and create these 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:06.890 stories of. No, but they're doing it. They're 00:17:06.890 --> 00:17:09.650 okay. I mean, I did that for years, right? But 00:17:09.650 --> 00:17:13.250 COVID was a very clear indicator that nobody's 00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:16.430 okay. Everybody is dealing with their own demons. 00:17:16.910 --> 00:17:19.309 Everybody is dealing with their own work. And 00:17:19.309 --> 00:17:21.269 it just looks different for each and every one 00:17:21.269 --> 00:17:24.950 of us. And so anyway, T &J, head to our website, 00:17:25.130 --> 00:17:29.630 head to our socials. And message, email, like 00:17:29.630 --> 00:17:31.809 reach out if you have specific questions, because 00:17:31.809 --> 00:17:34.829 most people do. Like just signing up. and showing 00:17:34.829 --> 00:17:37.490 up is scary for some people. So if you have specific 00:17:37.490 --> 00:17:40.410 questions, please reach out and we can answer 00:17:40.410 --> 00:17:43.150 or make it as safe as possible for you to do 00:17:43.150 --> 00:17:45.730 so. That's amazing, Tracy. I absolutely love 00:17:45.730 --> 00:17:49.869 that. You know, it's funny. I feel like the pandemic, 00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:52.849 there was like this little part of me that, you 00:17:52.849 --> 00:17:55.529 know, and I'm not making light of the pandemic, 00:17:55.630 --> 00:17:58.390 but I think you know what I mean. I was like, 00:17:58.390 --> 00:18:00.769 you know, everyday people that I knew that never 00:18:00.769 --> 00:18:02.549 understood what I was going through with anxiety 00:18:02.549 --> 00:18:05.809 and depression. Suddenly, it was like they understood 00:18:05.809 --> 00:18:08.390 because now they were feeling it. There was something 00:18:08.390 --> 00:18:10.750 tangible that happened in this world. And I'm 00:18:10.750 --> 00:18:13.390 like, right. What you're going through with the 00:18:13.390 --> 00:18:16.529 pandemic, imagine going through that on a Tuesday 00:18:16.529 --> 00:18:19.650 on your way to the grocery store. Oh, my God. 00:18:20.029 --> 00:18:23.890 No, you spot on. You were spot on. I remember 00:18:23.890 --> 00:18:27.630 living. I lived in Korea. I lived in Asia for 00:18:27.630 --> 00:18:29.849 like six years. And that's when my panic attacks 00:18:29.849 --> 00:18:34.369 started. And I remember being like, okay, so 00:18:34.369 --> 00:18:37.369 if I die, I just need to go into the most crowded 00:18:37.369 --> 00:18:39.750 area. So I would go into like the middle of the 00:18:39.750 --> 00:18:42.809 subway station and just stand there. And I'd 00:18:42.809 --> 00:18:45.690 be like, imagine trying to explain this to somebody 00:18:45.690 --> 00:18:50.170 that you are so terrified that you're not gonna 00:18:50.170 --> 00:18:53.250 survive whatever's going on inside of you, that 00:18:53.250 --> 00:18:57.190 like the extremes you go to, like it's just. 00:18:57.390 --> 00:19:00.069 It doesn't make sense to people who have an experience. 00:19:00.430 --> 00:19:02.529 No, it doesn't. And I don't wish that on them. 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:06.930 And I envy people that don't feel that. But I 00:19:06.930 --> 00:19:08.930 think people don't realize, like, when you say, 00:19:09.349 --> 00:19:12.450 I have anxiety and depression, some people think, 00:19:12.829 --> 00:19:15.589 well, just calm down. Nothing's wrong. And what 00:19:15.589 --> 00:19:18.170 are you sad about? And I try to tell people that 00:19:18.170 --> 00:19:21.089 I don't think you understand that it's not tangible. 00:19:21.549 --> 00:19:25.309 It's a complete physical and mental mind. It's 00:19:25.309 --> 00:19:29.769 a... It's not like I'm sad about something. I'm 00:19:29.769 --> 00:19:36.630 just sad and I feel dread. Imagine when someone 00:19:36.630 --> 00:19:39.549 jumps out and scares you and you're like, now 00:19:39.549 --> 00:19:43.069 just imagine feeling that again on a Tuesday 00:19:43.069 --> 00:19:47.130 in your car for zero reasons. There's so much 00:19:47.130 --> 00:19:49.130 and I'm not going to get into it, but this is 00:19:49.130 --> 00:19:51.470 something that people can share that you would 00:19:51.470 --> 00:19:55.859 talk about at Safe Space CNY. It's absolutely 00:19:55.859 --> 00:20:00.720 wonderful. Have you seen or have you noticed 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:04.759 kind of an uptick post -pandemic? Did you see 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:09.400 more people coming to you? But let's think about 00:20:09.400 --> 00:20:14.220 it. So the pandemic forced people to have to 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:18.170 sit in their discomfort, right? They sat in unhappy 00:20:18.170 --> 00:20:21.250 marriages. They sat in unhappy jobs. They sat 00:20:21.250 --> 00:20:23.369 with their stuff that they hadn't worked on or 00:20:23.369 --> 00:20:26.049 processed. They were forced because the world 00:20:26.049 --> 00:20:29.549 shut down, right? So during that time, we saw 00:20:29.549 --> 00:20:32.970 definitely an influx of groups and participation. 00:20:33.230 --> 00:20:36.750 And because people got to a breaking point, now 00:20:36.750 --> 00:20:39.190 the world has opened back up, right? There's 00:20:39.190 --> 00:20:42.269 plenty of distractions. There's plenty of things 00:20:42.269 --> 00:20:45.829 to keep you busy. And so... There has definitely 00:20:45.829 --> 00:20:48.650 been, like some of our groups kind of dissolved 00:20:48.650 --> 00:20:51.289 on their own and there's been a molding of the 00:20:51.289 --> 00:20:54.910 mission. Like we definitely attract certain people, 00:20:55.089 --> 00:20:57.849 but now what we're trying to do is really partner 00:20:57.849 --> 00:21:01.730 with other organizations out there that are doing 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:04.390 similar things, businesses that are working on 00:21:04.390 --> 00:21:06.769 their mental wellness of their companies. And 00:21:06.769 --> 00:21:09.789 there's ways that, I mean, mental health is ingrained 00:21:09.789 --> 00:21:15.960 in all of that. The organization is molding post 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:18.420 pandemic, but I think it needs to because the 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:21.259 world is changing too. Syracuse is changing, 00:21:21.480 --> 00:21:25.579 right? And it was built off of Syracuse. So I 00:21:25.579 --> 00:21:29.200 wouldn't say it's just growing in different ways. 00:21:29.980 --> 00:21:32.859 Yeah, I couldn't agree more. I could talk to 00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:34.880 you about safe space for another two hours, but 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:37.660 I want to move on so that I don't keep you here 00:21:37.660 --> 00:21:40.289 too long. I want to talk about Root to Rise. 00:21:40.569 --> 00:21:42.789 That's also kind of, it's a separate thing, but 00:21:42.789 --> 00:21:45.829 this is all kind of involved together. Root to 00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:48.789 Rise from what I've read is a, is it a yearly 00:21:48.789 --> 00:21:51.089 retreat that you do? I know it just happened 00:21:51.089 --> 00:21:53.549 on May 3rd. Talk about Root to Rise and what 00:21:53.549 --> 00:21:56.009 that's all about, if you don't mind. Absolutely. 00:21:56.269 --> 00:22:00.529 So Root to Rise was created with two other providers 00:22:00.529 --> 00:22:03.619 and great friends here in the community. Meg 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:06.460 Thomas and Jamie Weisberg. And they both at that 00:22:06.460 --> 00:22:09.960 time have their own spaces. So Meg is definitely 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:14.640 more of our spiritual part. She is a yoga instructor, 00:22:14.900 --> 00:22:18.400 a meditation facilitator, a breathwork facilitator, 00:22:18.619 --> 00:22:23.220 a sound healer. And then Jamie studies and works 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:25.460 in positive psychology and works one -on -one 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:28.000 with businesses and create corporate culture 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.519 in a more positive psychology way. And then there 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:34.440 was me with Safe Space. And so what we wanted 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:37.539 to do was to create another container for people 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:40.440 to start to work on themselves, to start to feel 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:43.660 safe. And so we now know that all of this is 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:45.700 nervous system work. Like you said, like the 00:22:45.700 --> 00:22:49.099 body, the brain, it's all connected. And so you 00:22:49.099 --> 00:22:52.400 have to deal with it sort of in a safe space 00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:55.319 because they have to feel external safety to 00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:58.890 start to do the internal work. And so We had 00:22:58.890 --> 00:23:01.029 been introduced to this property, Vander Camp, 00:23:01.269 --> 00:23:04.650 which is just like heaven on earth up in CNY, 00:23:04.670 --> 00:23:06.769 which so many people have still yet to visit. 00:23:07.130 --> 00:23:08.849 It's on the other side. It's in Cleveland, New 00:23:08.849 --> 00:23:12.130 York. And they're turning it into a retreat center. 00:23:12.450 --> 00:23:15.230 And we were like, we're just going to like run 00:23:15.230 --> 00:23:17.849 a local retreat. And we dreamed up this idea 00:23:17.849 --> 00:23:22.470 of creating a retreat every season. where people 00:23:22.470 --> 00:23:25.309 come for a day they can they there's time for 00:23:25.309 --> 00:23:28.230 them to get child care come after work like we 00:23:28.230 --> 00:23:30.829 tried to make it really manageable for individuals 00:23:30.829 --> 00:23:33.910 here in Syracuse and central New York and we 00:23:33.910 --> 00:23:38.269 take them on this full day journey that would 00:23:38.269 --> 00:23:41.210 take days to do if you were in like if you went 00:23:41.210 --> 00:23:43.970 to a retreat say in the Caribbean or Pennsylvania 00:23:43.970 --> 00:23:49.289 like we we create one day that really like create 00:23:49.289 --> 00:23:53.269 significant change and so Um, we've done that. 00:23:53.289 --> 00:23:55.769 We did it five times last year. We've done, we're 00:23:55.769 --> 00:23:58.829 doing three this year. And so, yeah, it's just 00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:01.849 one more, it sort of builds off what the three 00:24:01.849 --> 00:24:04.029 of us are trying to do in our own communities. 00:24:04.390 --> 00:24:07.069 You know, I love that because there's kind of, 00:24:07.150 --> 00:24:09.690 I try to find comedy in everything. The comedic 00:24:09.690 --> 00:24:12.690 irony about that is I love that you do, I'm assuming 00:24:12.690 --> 00:24:15.210 you do this locally, correct? Yeah. Yeah. And 00:24:15.210 --> 00:24:17.609 see, I love that because for a long time, part 00:24:17.609 --> 00:24:20.789 of my anxiety, was being far away from home, 00:24:20.910 --> 00:24:22.630 you know, because you're afraid to be away from 00:24:22.630 --> 00:24:25.089 home. So ironically, I think it's great that 00:24:25.089 --> 00:24:26.750 you're doing these retreats because there might 00:24:26.750 --> 00:24:29.210 be some people that struggle thinking, Oh God, 00:24:29.210 --> 00:24:31.289 I don't want to go away for three days or how 00:24:31.289 --> 00:24:33.589 am I going to get childcare? So I think it just, 00:24:33.630 --> 00:24:37.410 it all makes sense. And I think that's just absolutely 00:24:37.410 --> 00:24:41.630 wonderful. Now we've got Safe Space CNY. We've 00:24:41.630 --> 00:24:44.069 talked about route to rise. We're not going to 00:24:44.069 --> 00:24:45.549 stop there because there's one more thing I want 00:24:45.549 --> 00:24:48.349 to talk about, which is how I ended up Finding 00:24:48.349 --> 00:24:53.950 you was yeah, I I'm a tattoo guy. I've got a 00:24:53.950 --> 00:24:56.869 Handful of tattoos and when I saw that there 00:24:56.869 --> 00:24:59.910 was a mental health tattoo fundraiser, I thought 00:24:59.910 --> 00:25:03.089 two things I love tattoos and I love you know 00:25:03.089 --> 00:25:06.369 mental mental health awareness and to marry those 00:25:06.369 --> 00:25:08.910 together I think is absolutely brilliant. So 00:25:08.910 --> 00:25:11.509 this is an event going on It is the mental health 00:25:11.509 --> 00:25:14.049 tattoo fundraiser at the artisan tattoo in Liverpool 00:25:14.049 --> 00:25:18.880 on May 31st. It's this Saturday Talk about that. 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:21.200 What do we got going on? How's that working? 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:24.660 No, I love that you connected that because I 00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:28.400 too am fairly heavily tattooed, right? And there's 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:32.779 something about individuals that have experienced 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:35.900 either trauma or... It's a way of like, I feel 00:25:35.900 --> 00:25:39.539 like it's a creative outlet for individuals and 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:43.599 they go hand in hand for some reason. And so 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:46.079 Artisan is actually the one that did my full 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:50.319 arm. And I love these guys. It just, Matt is 00:25:50.319 --> 00:25:54.099 a fantastic human and he attached onto this idea 00:25:54.099 --> 00:25:56.799 right from the get go. And last year we started 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:00.259 it and we probably had 400 people show up and 00:26:00.259 --> 00:26:03.440 we were like, Oh my God. And we could only get 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:08.049 through like, a quarter of the line. And these 00:26:08.049 --> 00:26:11.029 guys, we had five tattooed artists going nonstop 00:26:11.029 --> 00:26:13.769 throughout the whole. Wow. And so we were like, 00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:15.970 yeah. So this year we were like, we got to think 00:26:15.970 --> 00:26:19.950 up another way. And so we started, we're doing 00:26:19.950 --> 00:26:22.609 a raffle. So we've been selling raffle tickets. 00:26:22.710 --> 00:26:25.230 That's now ended where you could get a tattoo 00:26:25.230 --> 00:26:27.910 for 30 bucks. And so we've sold all of those. 00:26:28.430 --> 00:26:31.470 Now we've got 30 spots left. Individuals can 00:26:31.470 --> 00:26:35.660 show up between 10 to four. on Saturday, put 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:37.460 their name in the raffle. We're going to pick 00:26:37.460 --> 00:26:40.480 30 people from that raffle. They will then get 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:44.220 the last remaining spots. And we have two, so 00:26:44.220 --> 00:26:46.559 we, last year we just had one sheet to choose 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:49.059 from this year. We have two sheets. There's like 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:54.319 over 25 tattoos to pick from. I mean, it is insane. 00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:57.180 You can't get a tattoo for that amount, especially 00:26:57.180 --> 00:26:59.720 from Artisan. Like they're insanely talented. 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:04.279 It's just not fun. We have massage therapists 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:07.400 coming out. We have food trucks. We have um, 00:27:07.660 --> 00:27:10.819 we'll have music well It's gonna be more of an 00:27:10.819 --> 00:27:13.160 event this year because we found that last year 00:27:13.160 --> 00:27:15.500 people just stood in line for hours And we were 00:27:15.500 --> 00:27:17.319 like, okay, we have to make this a little more 00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:21.480 so that's yeah And this is I'm assuming this 00:27:21.480 --> 00:27:25.210 is outdoor event They'll tattoo in the shop, 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:27.349 but the rest of the stuff will be outdoors. Yeah. 00:27:27.809 --> 00:27:30.849 Amazing. And where can people go to find out 00:27:30.849 --> 00:27:34.269 about this tattoo fundraiser? Yeah. So it's on 00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:37.710 our website under our event page, and it's also 00:27:37.710 --> 00:27:40.529 all over our Facebook and our Instagram social 00:27:40.529 --> 00:27:43.990 media. So there's an event link with all the 00:27:43.990 --> 00:27:46.410 information. If you've got questions, please 00:27:46.410 --> 00:27:49.230 reach out. Check out the tattoos that are available. 00:27:50.059 --> 00:27:52.799 Recommend if you want one of the one of the remaining 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:55.500 30 spots. I'd get there by 10 so you can get 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:59.579 your Apple ticket. And then, yeah, it should 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:02.680 be just it should be just a fun day. You know, 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:06.180 it's funny you were talking about tattoos and. 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:09.140 I never talk about this stuff since I got on 00:28:09.140 --> 00:28:12.920 this show, I have opened up so much about my 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:15.440 personal mental health just by design because 00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:17.299 I've been, you know, having a lot of guests on 00:28:17.299 --> 00:28:19.259 that where we talk about it. You're talking about 00:28:19.259 --> 00:28:22.180 how tattoos and people who have struggled, they 00:28:22.180 --> 00:28:24.420 go hand in hand. I actually got a tattoo, you're 00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:27.420 not gonna be able to see it, but it's a semi 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:30.799 -colon. Yes, yes. I don't know if you are aware, 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:35.160 there was kind of a trend a few years ago for 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:39.160 people who lost someone who died by suicide or 00:28:39.160 --> 00:28:41.940 struggled with suicidal thoughts. You got a tattoo 00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:44.779 of the semi -colon because as you know, in... 00:28:44.559 --> 00:28:47.180 Grammatically, a semicolon, you can choose to 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:49.339 end the sentence or if you use the semicolon, 00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:52.799 you choose to keep the sentence going. So it's 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:56.680 kind of a like, you know, a, you know, suicide 00:28:56.680 --> 00:28:58.519 awareness kind of tattoo. And I have that on 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:01.160 my wrist and it's very, very special to me. And 00:29:01.160 --> 00:29:04.440 so you couldn't. Thank you. Thank you for sharing 00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:06.700 that. Well, hey, listen, I mean, it's the more 00:29:06.700 --> 00:29:08.380 we share this stuff, the more, you know, there's 00:29:08.380 --> 00:29:10.059 people out there watching or listening that might. 00:29:11.009 --> 00:29:12.970 do what we were talking about earlier. They might 00:29:12.970 --> 00:29:15.109 say, oh my gosh, these people understand what 00:29:15.109 --> 00:29:17.829 I'm going through. And that's so important. Tracy, 00:29:17.950 --> 00:29:20.470 before we go, is there anything else that you 00:29:20.470 --> 00:29:22.910 want to, any events, anything else you want to 00:29:22.910 --> 00:29:26.329 plug? What do you got? Oh, goodness. No, we just 00:29:26.329 --> 00:29:28.630 got through May. So May of mental health month, 00:29:28.849 --> 00:29:31.569 it was one heck of a month. We jam packed that 00:29:31.569 --> 00:29:34.730 puppy. So we will be around throughout the summer 00:29:34.730 --> 00:29:37.920 for sure. Also, Time for our organization to 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:39.700 take care of ourselves just for a little bit 00:29:39.700 --> 00:29:42.819 over the next few months. Sure. But if anybody 00:29:42.819 --> 00:29:45.940 is interested in being a part in joining and 00:29:45.940 --> 00:29:49.759 supporting, like I just encourage you to reach 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:53.119 out like this is our goal is to be so filtered 00:29:53.119 --> 00:29:56.539 throughout the community in so many ways. And 00:29:56.539 --> 00:30:00.160 it's by going into businesses and into community 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:03.109 organizations. It's just like. Coming together 00:30:03.109 --> 00:30:06.369 like that is the goal coming together And so 00:30:06.369 --> 00:30:08.849 I just encourage anybody to reach out if they're 00:30:08.849 --> 00:30:11.710 if they're feeling a pull well Tracy listen, 00:30:11.710 --> 00:30:15.829 I I mean this wholeheartedly I've expressed how 00:30:15.829 --> 00:30:17.509 much you know, I'm an advocate for people struggling 00:30:17.509 --> 00:30:20.130 with mental health mental health awareness What 00:30:20.130 --> 00:30:22.980 you're doing? I don't know if there's a God but 00:30:22.980 --> 00:30:25.119 if there is you are doing God's work you and 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:28.539 the people that you work with and You really 00:30:28.539 --> 00:30:30.839 are because this is it's something you can't 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:33.720 put a price tag on It's the same way as if someone 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:36.799 is is physically ill you go to the doctor and 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:39.599 hopefully they can fix you and it's harder to 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:41.599 explain when the sickness is going on inside 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:44.559 your brain and it's it's people in or people 00:30:44.559 --> 00:30:47.859 like you and organizations like Safe Space CNY 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:51.630 and the route to rise You know, it's you guys 00:30:51.630 --> 00:30:54.710 that are out there, you know, on the front lines 00:30:54.710 --> 00:30:57.390 doing things for people that are saving lives. 00:30:57.410 --> 00:31:00.970 And I can't thank you enough for that. Thank 00:31:00.970 --> 00:31:04.410 you. I appreciate that. Tracy Dando, founder 00:31:04.410 --> 00:31:09.210 of Safe Space CNY, safespacecny .org, Root to 00:31:09.210 --> 00:31:12.450 Rise. Check that out. And the mental health tattoo 00:31:12.450 --> 00:31:15.690 fundraiser at the Artisan Tattoo in Liverpool 00:31:15.690 --> 00:31:18.289 this Saturday. Get there early 10 a .m. It's 00:31:18.289 --> 00:31:21.869 this Saturday, May 31st. Tracy, thank you so 00:31:21.869 --> 00:31:24.069 much for your time and thank you for all you 00:31:24.069 --> 00:31:26.769 do for everybody. Yeah, thank you so much for 00:31:26.769 --> 00:31:28.769 having me. I'm so greatly appreciate it. You're 00:31:28.769 --> 00:31:31.670 so welcome. All right, guys, we will be back. 00:31:31.869 --> 00:31:34.970 We've got two more guests today on this jam packed 00:31:34.970 --> 00:31:39.769 GNY on a Thursday. All right. Welcome back to 00:31:39.769 --> 00:31:43.190 Good News York. Jam packed day. Great interview 00:31:43.190 --> 00:31:46.789 with Tracy Dando. And for the first time ever, 00:31:46.789 --> 00:31:50.500 we have not two guests, three guests. Now, originally, 00:31:50.559 --> 00:31:54.259 I had two guests book, and this next guest, well, 00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:57.500 it was on a whim. If you watched or listened 00:31:57.500 --> 00:31:59.980 to the show yesterday, I was talking about how 00:31:59.980 --> 00:32:02.619 I went to the Dave Matthews band concert. Dave 00:32:02.619 --> 00:32:06.779 Matthews, one of my favorite bands of all time. 00:32:07.299 --> 00:32:11.539 I'm a super fan, and I got to experience something 00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:14.480 different this time. Now, I've been to dozens 00:32:14.480 --> 00:32:17.759 of Dave concerts. And I've always either been 00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:20.140 on the grass or sometimes I've been in the amphitheater. 00:32:20.299 --> 00:32:23.160 One time I snuck down into the pit for a couple 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:26.660 songs, but I'd never officially been that close 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:30.539 to Dave. Well, that changed this past week. When 00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:35.000 I threw the warehouse fan club, I was able to 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:38.240 get first dibs on pit tickets, which were affordable 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:41.500 for once. And on top of that, what I didn't know 00:32:41.500 --> 00:32:44.529 is once you buy a pit ticket, warehouse will 00:32:44.529 --> 00:32:47.970 email you and say, hey, sign up for a raffle 00:32:47.970 --> 00:32:51.650 of about 125 people, and if you're picked, you 00:32:51.650 --> 00:32:54.609 get a VIP escort down to the pit before anyone 00:32:54.609 --> 00:32:57.769 else comes in, you and 124 others. Well, I must 00:32:57.769 --> 00:32:59.529 have had a leprechaun up my ass because I won 00:32:59.529 --> 00:33:04.630 that lottery too. And along the way, it was a 00:33:04.630 --> 00:33:07.410 bit confusing. There was a little bit of confusion 00:33:07.410 --> 00:33:10.750 between the venue and the band and the fan club 00:33:10.750 --> 00:33:13.890 on where to meet. what time to meet, when we're 00:33:13.890 --> 00:33:16.910 going in. And that can be kind of scary, especially 00:33:16.910 --> 00:33:19.730 when you're an anxious chihuahua like me. And 00:33:19.730 --> 00:33:22.609 I happened to meet up with a girl named Lauren 00:33:22.609 --> 00:33:25.750 and her mother and her sister who were super 00:33:25.750 --> 00:33:29.170 nice. We met in line. I thought it was we exchanged 00:33:29.170 --> 00:33:31.809 pleasantries. It would be cool. Oh, it's your 00:33:31.809 --> 00:33:33.569 first time in the pit, my first time in the pit, 00:33:33.670 --> 00:33:36.710 too. Turned out we spent the entire day together. 00:33:36.890 --> 00:33:39.529 We were escorted down together. We stood next 00:33:39.529 --> 00:33:42.559 to each other. We kept each other's spots. And 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:46.240 if you know, if you've ever been on a road trip 00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:49.140 with people that maybe you don't know very well 00:33:49.140 --> 00:33:51.519 or you've been through an experience with people 00:33:51.519 --> 00:33:53.240 you don't know very well, when you come out on 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:55.779 the other side, you kind of have a bond because 00:33:55.779 --> 00:33:57.960 you went through something so cool together or 00:33:57.960 --> 00:34:00.220 something so big. And that's what happened with 00:34:00.220 --> 00:34:02.799 Lauren and her family. So at the end of the show, 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:06.599 after our entire day together, we said, yo, we 00:34:06.599 --> 00:34:08.940 should exchange info. They have tickets for sale 00:34:08.940 --> 00:34:11.500 for an upcoming Dave show. And then it dawned 00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:15.440 on me, now that I'm part of Good News York, wait 00:34:15.440 --> 00:34:17.920 a minute, I can go a step further, I'll have 00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:20.300 them on the damn show. So without further ado, 00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:23.820 enough of my rambling, everybody, it's Lauren. 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:27.739 Let's give it up for Lauren. I know, uneventful, 00:34:27.840 --> 00:34:30.940 we only have one person clapping. Lauren, my 00:34:30.940 --> 00:34:35.440 buddy, how are you? You're the best. So, Lauren. 00:34:36.150 --> 00:34:38.750 Now, first of all, for obvious reasons, I had 00:34:38.750 --> 00:34:40.530 you on the show because I love you. We had such 00:34:40.530 --> 00:34:44.269 a great time together. But you're not just any 00:34:44.269 --> 00:34:48.650 Dave fan. You came decked out in, you know, you 00:34:48.650 --> 00:34:51.170 had your Dave gear on, but you had a captain's 00:34:51.170 --> 00:34:56.869 hat on because of the song Captain. And you were 00:34:56.869 --> 00:35:00.969 just full of energy. You are a Dave superfan 00:35:00.969 --> 00:35:03.829 like myself. I'm so happy you're on the show. 00:35:04.250 --> 00:35:07.099 How are you? I'm good. I'm happy to be here. 00:35:07.199 --> 00:35:09.260 Thank you so much for having me. You're so welcome 00:35:09.260 --> 00:35:12.019 So you were at the show you tell us who you came 00:35:12.019 --> 00:35:16.179 with So I came with my mom who is a die -hard 00:35:16.179 --> 00:35:19.780 Dave fan. She's been to over 150 shows She raised 00:35:19.780 --> 00:35:23.360 me on Dave me and my sister And we just we go 00:35:23.360 --> 00:35:25.980 whenever we can it's our favorite thing to do 00:35:25.980 --> 00:35:29.420 as mom and daughters. It's the best Can I tell 00:35:29.420 --> 00:35:31.840 you how cool that like my parents? I love them 00:35:31.840 --> 00:35:34.630 nowhere near that cool I have been a Dave fan 00:35:34.630 --> 00:35:37.170 since 1995. I don't know what age you are, but 00:35:37.170 --> 00:35:39.130 I know you're younger than me. I can just tell. 00:35:39.150 --> 00:35:44.409 I'm an old man. How the hell do you squeeze in... 00:35:44.409 --> 00:35:50.070 I've only been to maybe 10 to 15 Dave shows. 00:35:51.269 --> 00:35:56.130 150. That is mind -blowing. How does that even... 00:35:56.130 --> 00:36:00.230 How do you or your mom find time? Do you tour 00:36:00.230 --> 00:36:01.889 with the band all summer? How does that work? 00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:05.699 So we, I mean I don't know how anybody has the 00:36:05.699 --> 00:36:08.579 funds to even afford things like that, but my 00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:11.159 mom was into them when they first really started. 00:36:11.320 --> 00:36:13.579 Her and her best friend would like follow them 00:36:13.579 --> 00:36:15.840 basically anywhere that they could go that they 00:36:15.840 --> 00:36:17.940 could access where it was affordable and easy 00:36:17.940 --> 00:36:21.099 to get to, they'd go. So those first like beginning 00:36:21.099 --> 00:36:23.539 years of Dave, they were following, they were 00:36:23.539 --> 00:36:25.760 trailing, Vegas, you know, anywhere around New 00:36:25.760 --> 00:36:28.920 York, down south, they were there. That's amazing. 00:36:29.360 --> 00:36:31.619 That is absolutely amazing. Now, how many shows 00:36:31.619 --> 00:36:34.420 have you been to personally? So, this one in 00:36:34.420 --> 00:36:37.280 Syracuse was my 16th show with the band, and 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:39.880 I've seen Dave and Tim perform once at Farm Aid. 00:36:40.179 --> 00:36:42.260 Beautiful. You knew that right off the top of 00:36:42.260 --> 00:36:44.159 your head. So, you and I are kind of in the same 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:46.780 boat in that I've been to about the same amount 00:36:46.780 --> 00:36:48.340 of shows, and I've seen Dave and Tim a couple 00:36:48.340 --> 00:36:52.900 times. Right. That's... First of all, I love 00:36:52.900 --> 00:36:55.820 your fanhood. You got Dave to sign your hat, 00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:58.619 which we'll talk about all that. But the thing 00:36:58.619 --> 00:37:01.639 that... you and I bonded on the most was, as 00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:03.940 many shows as we've been to, we had never been 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:07.260 in the pit, let alone, you and I were front row. 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:09.599 I mean, we're talking against the rail, baby. 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:14.019 And we were very excited and everything was great, 00:37:14.280 --> 00:37:16.360 but then you and I both realized at the same 00:37:16.360 --> 00:37:18.900 time, like, where the hell do we go from here? 00:37:18.960 --> 00:37:22.659 Like, once you experience Dave front row, how 00:37:22.659 --> 00:37:27.219 the hell are we ever going to go into seats again? 00:37:27.599 --> 00:37:31.110 We don't. A little civil answer, we don't. We 00:37:31.110 --> 00:37:35.389 don't. We're gonna go broke. Yeah. So, you know, 00:37:35.429 --> 00:37:37.949 I feel like Dave Matthews and the Dave Matthews 00:37:37.949 --> 00:37:41.269 band, they're one of those few bands that either 00:37:41.269 --> 00:37:43.650 you're all in or you're all out. I've never met 00:37:43.650 --> 00:37:45.889 a casual Dave fan, you know? It's kind of like 00:37:45.889 --> 00:37:50.730 Springsteen is the same way. Everyone has a story 00:37:50.730 --> 00:37:53.230 of how they got hooked on Dave because, like 00:37:53.230 --> 00:37:56.250 I said, it's either all or nothing. Tell me, 00:37:56.369 --> 00:37:59.190 if you can recall, what was the moment or the 00:37:59.190 --> 00:38:01.909 day or the thing? What made you become a Dave 00:38:01.909 --> 00:38:05.369 fan? So my biggest flex is when I didn't like 00:38:05.369 --> 00:38:08.869 Dave, actually. My mom, when I was born, I came 00:38:08.869 --> 00:38:11.670 into the world to the song Halloween by Dave 00:38:11.670 --> 00:38:13.489 Matthews Band. No way. That's what was playing 00:38:13.489 --> 00:38:15.789 in the hospital. And my mom was screaming to 00:38:15.789 --> 00:38:19.530 turn it off because she was going nuts. But that's 00:38:19.530 --> 00:38:22.110 the first song that I heard. Starting my life 00:38:22.110 --> 00:38:24.550 and as a child growing up I would always tell 00:38:24.550 --> 00:38:26.269 her to turn it off because for some reason I 00:38:26.269 --> 00:38:28.710 just I wasn't into it as a kid and then maybe 00:38:28.710 --> 00:38:31.389 when I was like 20 something just clicked like 00:38:31.389 --> 00:38:33.869 some cosmic Thing happened where I was like, 00:38:33.869 --> 00:38:36.449 this is the best thing I've ever heard and I've 00:38:36.449 --> 00:38:39.190 been hooked ever since you know, that's so weak 00:38:39.190 --> 00:38:43.010 was Halloween on per request by your mother or 00:38:43.010 --> 00:38:46.789 just Okay, I was like what hospital is that awesome 00:38:46.789 --> 00:38:49.860 that they're playing Halloween. Yeah Wow. It 00:38:49.860 --> 00:38:52.460 was just, it was going and then screamed at my 00:38:52.460 --> 00:38:56.019 dad to turn it off. Well, you know, that's a 00:38:56.019 --> 00:39:00.960 high tense moment. Yes. Yeah, I, you know, my 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:03.900 story's kind of similar in that I actually, so 00:39:03.900 --> 00:39:08.780 it was 1995, I was a teenager and Crash had just, 00:39:08.980 --> 00:39:14.380 or yeah, Crash had just come out and a bunch 00:39:14.380 --> 00:39:16.559 of my friends liked Dave and I'll be honest. 00:39:16.710 --> 00:39:18.989 I was like, dude, this guy's weird. Like, his 00:39:18.989 --> 00:39:20.989 voice is... I don't know. I was like, you know, 00:39:21.010 --> 00:39:23.389 I'm busy listening to Nirvana and, you know, 00:39:23.409 --> 00:39:25.349 all the other stuff going on. And I'm like, this 00:39:25.349 --> 00:39:29.010 guy's weird. Like, it's a sound I've never heard, 00:39:29.030 --> 00:39:30.989 and he's got this nasally voice. Like, why do 00:39:30.989 --> 00:39:33.429 you guys listen to him? Fast forward, it's the 00:39:33.429 --> 00:39:35.570 weekend. We wanted to go to my buddy Brett's 00:39:35.570 --> 00:39:37.550 house, and we remembered that he was up at Vernon 00:39:37.550 --> 00:39:40.110 Downs watching Dave Matthews. This was 1997, 00:39:40.110 --> 00:39:42.969 actually. And we're like, you know, back then, 00:39:42.989 --> 00:39:44.429 there were no cell phones and stuff like that. 00:39:44.429 --> 00:39:46.860 So we're like, hey, you know what? Fuck it, let's 00:39:46.860 --> 00:39:49.719 go, let's drive to Vernon Downs and sneak in 00:39:49.719 --> 00:39:55.219 and find Brett. Fast forward, we did, we distracted 00:39:55.219 --> 00:39:57.760 the security guard and we ran, we climbed a fence 00:39:57.760 --> 00:40:00.340 and ran in and they were yelling at us. And I 00:40:00.340 --> 00:40:02.579 got in, this was right before these crowded streets 00:40:02.579 --> 00:40:05.360 came out, I got in for the last four songs and 00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:09.900 I remember it was, the last stop was like the 00:40:09.900 --> 00:40:12.909 first song I heard. And then they don't drink 00:40:12.909 --> 00:40:15.650 the water and Rapunzel. And then they closed 00:40:15.650 --> 00:40:18.210 with Trippin' Billies. And as you know, Carter 00:40:18.210 --> 00:40:20.389 Buford, who I think is the greatest drummer of 00:40:20.389 --> 00:40:24.170 all time, just goes fucking ham wild. Especially 00:40:24.170 --> 00:40:30.289 in 1997. And I never looked back. I was completely 00:40:30.289 --> 00:40:33.889 addicted. Do you remember your... So for me, 00:40:33.989 --> 00:40:36.170 getting addicted to Dave took me going to a live 00:40:36.170 --> 00:40:38.210 show. Do you remember your first live show and 00:40:38.210 --> 00:40:41.269 where was it? Yeah, so my first one was in 2018. 00:40:41.329 --> 00:40:44.210 It was really late in my life, but it was 2018, 00:40:44.550 --> 00:40:47.989 and it was in Albany during their fall tour. 00:40:48.190 --> 00:40:50.489 I think it was probably like November -ish, December. 00:40:50.530 --> 00:40:52.369 If I'm remembering correctly, I really don't 00:40:52.369 --> 00:40:55.809 know. But 2018 was the first time I went, and 00:40:55.809 --> 00:40:58.070 then, like, COVID happened, so we weren't really 00:40:58.070 --> 00:41:00.969 able to, like, go in that in -between span. But 00:41:00.969 --> 00:41:03.590 as soon as 2021 hit and they started going again, 00:41:03.710 --> 00:41:06.110 it was like, okay, let's go, follow them wherever 00:41:06.110 --> 00:41:08.909 we can until they stop playing. Yeah, and you 00:41:08.909 --> 00:41:11.409 had the whole pandemic to catch up on his catalog 00:41:11.409 --> 00:41:15.269 and get pumped up. Yeah. There's something about 00:41:15.269 --> 00:41:17.110 that man that I can't explain to people that 00:41:17.110 --> 00:41:21.829 aren't. He's just the right mixture of of charming 00:41:21.829 --> 00:41:25.349 but mysterious. And as a, you know, as a musician 00:41:25.349 --> 00:41:29.809 myself, you know, he is so original in the style 00:41:29.809 --> 00:41:32.150 that he plays. Even the chords he plays on the 00:41:32.150 --> 00:41:36.630 guitar are unlike other people. I just I absolutely. 00:41:37.300 --> 00:41:40.920 I love that man. Let's talk about, so during 00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:45.239 the show, you had, you were prepared. You had 00:41:45.239 --> 00:41:48.480 your marker with papers and signs. You had your 00:41:48.480 --> 00:41:52.239 hat. Dave ended up signing your hat. Talk to 00:41:52.239 --> 00:41:54.559 me about, take the listeners through that, what 00:41:54.559 --> 00:41:56.960 happened. So it's end of the show. Yeah, so the 00:41:56.960 --> 00:41:58.900 end of the show, I know like at the beginning 00:41:58.900 --> 00:42:00.920 of the show, we made like brief eye contact. 00:42:01.000 --> 00:42:05.079 I felt that with my soul. I watched it. I can 00:42:05.079 --> 00:42:08.409 count twice. that where I legit watched Dave 00:42:08.409 --> 00:42:10.630 lock eyes with you, and I was just in the middle, 00:42:10.630 --> 00:42:13.150 awkwardly feeling jealous, like, man, this is, 00:42:13.250 --> 00:42:15.949 what an amazing moment. It was incredible. So 00:42:15.949 --> 00:42:17.389 that I was like, in that moment, I was like, 00:42:17.429 --> 00:42:19.829 this could happen. So that entire time I had 00:42:19.829 --> 00:42:22.010 my sign, like, please, please, please sign my 00:42:22.010 --> 00:42:24.190 hat, just hoping, like, holding it the entire 00:42:24.190 --> 00:42:26.809 time, that was gonna make a difference. And as 00:42:26.809 --> 00:42:29.389 the show ended, they finished their encore, incredible. 00:42:29.550 --> 00:42:31.989 Like, the energy was great. He went around, you 00:42:31.989 --> 00:42:34.960 know, he did his selfie, he... He signed a poster 00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:37.719 for a girl and then like he, I thought he was 00:42:37.719 --> 00:42:41.039 gonna walk away. So did I, so did I. And then 00:42:41.039 --> 00:42:43.559 he just, he meanders over and he looks at me 00:42:43.559 --> 00:42:46.159 again and our buddy Jay, our security buddy Jay. 00:42:46.260 --> 00:42:48.900 Shout out to Jay. Shout out to Jay. We love him. 00:42:49.059 --> 00:42:51.840 He grabbed my hat, I handed Dave my pen and I 00:42:51.840 --> 00:42:54.739 took everything to just keep my composure and 00:42:54.739 --> 00:42:57.260 he couldn't figure out how to, you know, do the 00:42:57.260 --> 00:42:59.800 Sharpie cause it was a click one. Yeah. And then 00:42:59.800 --> 00:43:02.679 he just, he signed it and it's like. part of 00:43:02.679 --> 00:43:07.480 my... I put it in... There it is! I was hoping! 00:43:08.179 --> 00:43:11.099 My tens, like my Dave Finn, Carter, and then 00:43:11.099 --> 00:43:13.320 now it's gonna go in like some case, because 00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:15.980 I can't wear it, I can't risk... No. Or I'm gonna 00:43:15.980 --> 00:43:18.360 have to get a new one for the shows. I would 00:43:18.360 --> 00:43:22.420 say, I would say, etiquette wise, I would say, 00:43:22.599 --> 00:43:24.739 I think the only time I think it would be proper 00:43:24.739 --> 00:43:27.460 to wear it is at another Dave show. Other than 00:43:27.460 --> 00:43:29.980 that, you gotta shelf it. Yes. And I'll tell 00:43:29.980 --> 00:43:32.440 you, I had some pressure on me because I kept 00:43:32.440 --> 00:43:34.659 telling you during the show, I'm like, oh, he's 00:43:34.659 --> 00:43:37.679 definitely going to sign it. There's no way. 00:43:38.019 --> 00:43:39.760 And so when I thought he was going to walk away, 00:43:39.880 --> 00:43:41.380 I'm like, oh my god, I'm going to feel like a 00:43:41.380 --> 00:43:43.760 real asshole if he doesn't sign this thing. You 00:43:43.760 --> 00:43:46.719 know, I had a funny moment where while he was 00:43:46.719 --> 00:43:49.699 signing your hat, he gives you back the hat, 00:43:49.739 --> 00:43:52.920 and he looked at me. And I'm just looking up 00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:55.889 at him, and I didn't like... That moment felt 00:43:55.889 --> 00:43:58.050 like it was an hour, but it was a split second, 00:43:58.289 --> 00:44:00.289 and I'm like, how do I capitalize on this moment? 00:44:00.369 --> 00:44:02.750 Do I ask him something? Do I say something? And 00:44:02.750 --> 00:44:04.989 then by the time I thought of it, he turned around 00:44:04.989 --> 00:44:08.650 and walked away. But I was living vicarious through 00:44:08.650 --> 00:44:12.909 you. Before we go, this is the most important 00:44:12.909 --> 00:44:14.469 part of this interview as far as I'm concerned. 00:44:15.289 --> 00:44:17.829 So you get your hat signed, everything's great, 00:44:18.369 --> 00:44:20.650 the band leaves, and then the crew comes out, 00:44:20.809 --> 00:44:23.489 and we start noticing that the crew is giving 00:44:23.489 --> 00:44:27.949 away like, pics on the stage, and particularly 00:44:27.949 --> 00:44:30.849 set lists. And something happened that ended 00:44:30.849 --> 00:44:33.250 up pissing me off. I had no idea what was going 00:44:33.250 --> 00:44:36.829 on. It involved your sister. I want Warehouse 00:44:36.829 --> 00:44:39.150 to hear this, because I want to help your sister. 00:44:39.550 --> 00:44:42.789 Tell us what happened. So I was just kind of, 00:44:42.789 --> 00:44:46.409 like, beside myself with what had just happened, 00:44:46.409 --> 00:44:48.670 and as the crew was coming on stage, they're, 00:44:48.670 --> 00:44:50.929 you know, pulling stuff apart, security's getting 00:44:50.929 --> 00:44:53.760 their hands on set lists. and a couple of them 00:44:53.760 --> 00:44:55.800 are handing them out individually and then a 00:44:55.800 --> 00:44:57.440 couple of them are throwing because, you know, 00:44:57.440 --> 00:45:00.719 they don't want to, you know, just show favoritism 00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:03.059 or they don't want to get in trouble type stuff. 00:45:03.360 --> 00:45:05.519 But I'm not sure if somebody handed one to her 00:45:05.519 --> 00:45:07.380 or if it was thrown up. She had it in her hands. 00:45:07.780 --> 00:45:10.260 I physically saw it in her hands. There's no 00:45:10.260 --> 00:45:12.460 doubt in my mind that it was there. Next thing 00:45:12.460 --> 00:45:16.340 I see is my sister's on the ground. Some chick 00:45:16.340 --> 00:45:18.760 that is in pictures with us, you can see her 00:45:18.760 --> 00:45:21.000 right behind my mom and my sister. She'd been 00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:23.630 shoving them. She had been pushing them up against 00:45:23.630 --> 00:45:26.070 the rail. My sister is on the ground because 00:45:26.070 --> 00:45:28.409 she went to go grab the setlist because this 00:45:28.409 --> 00:45:30.210 girl grabbed it. She went to go grab it back. 00:45:30.530 --> 00:45:33.469 She is pushed into the rail. She is like pushed 00:45:33.469 --> 00:45:35.730 to the ground and the girl still takes it from 00:45:35.730 --> 00:45:38.809 her. Unbelievable. And so from my point of view, 00:45:39.570 --> 00:45:42.150 I'm still reeling from your hat being signed 00:45:42.150 --> 00:45:44.829 and I'm looking at you like, I can't... And I 00:45:44.829 --> 00:45:47.670 turn around and I see your sister pop up and 00:45:47.670 --> 00:45:50.989 she looks really... frazzled, and she's got tears 00:45:50.989 --> 00:45:53.309 in her eyes. And I turn, and that woman that 00:45:53.309 --> 00:45:56.690 you're speaking of is, like, standing there like 00:45:56.690 --> 00:45:59.250 this, clenching this piece of paper, and I could 00:45:59.250 --> 00:46:02.010 just feel, like, a bad energy. Like, but I didn't 00:46:02.010 --> 00:46:04.369 know what had happened. And then, fast forward, 00:46:04.650 --> 00:46:06.909 we say our goodbyes, and then we all ran into 00:46:06.909 --> 00:46:09.250 each other walking out again. And then you had 00:46:09.250 --> 00:46:11.650 told me what happened, and it all clicked. I'm 00:46:11.650 --> 00:46:14.250 like, that's... I remember now seeing, like, 00:46:14.289 --> 00:46:16.320 there was some sort of scuffle. So this woman 00:46:16.320 --> 00:46:18.659 just ripped the set list out of your hands. Okay, 00:46:18.860 --> 00:46:21.800 take it straight. Yeah. And here's one thing 00:46:21.800 --> 00:46:24.280 that you and I both know. We knew right away 00:46:24.280 --> 00:46:26.920 she wasn't a Dave fan because Dave fans would 00:46:26.920 --> 00:46:31.659 never do that. No. So, I have a little platform 00:46:31.659 --> 00:46:34.820 here. I can't guarantee anything. But Warehouse, 00:46:34.960 --> 00:46:38.159 if you're listening, you obviously can see how 00:46:38.159 --> 00:46:41.219 sweet Lauren is. Her sister is just as sweet. 00:46:41.579 --> 00:46:46.139 And her sister was, I could say... attacked to 00:46:46.139 --> 00:46:49.019 get a set list. Assaulted is the word that I 00:46:49.019 --> 00:46:50.880 use for sure. Assaulted. She was goddamn assaulted. 00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:54.980 No. Warehouse. Lauren's sister was essentially 00:46:54.980 --> 00:46:59.699 assaulted for this set list. What can we do to 00:46:59.699 --> 00:47:02.940 get Lauren and her mom and her sister a set list? 00:47:03.400 --> 00:47:05.219 Can we do that? I'm not asking for anything. 00:47:05.280 --> 00:47:08.159 I'm a lifelong Dave fan. I love you, Dave Matthews. 00:47:08.159 --> 00:47:10.239 I love you, Dave Matthews Band. But this isn't 00:47:10.239 --> 00:47:12.960 about me. This is about me helping... Lauren, 00:47:13.000 --> 00:47:15.360 who is an incredible Dave Matthews fan and her 00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:17.780 family. Warehouse, if you're listening. Dave 00:47:17.780 --> 00:47:19.460 Matthews band, if you're listening, can we get 00:47:19.460 --> 00:47:23.159 them a set list? Contact us. All right. With 00:47:23.159 --> 00:47:26.880 that being said, Lauren, before I get you out 00:47:26.880 --> 00:47:29.840 of here, I'm going to ask you the most impossible 00:47:29.840 --> 00:47:33.099 question, but I love doing it because it makes 00:47:33.099 --> 00:47:36.900 for good podcasting. Dave Matthews shows up. 00:47:37.880 --> 00:47:41.280 Hey, Lauren, what song you want to hear? He's 00:47:41.280 --> 00:47:43.820 going to sit there. And he's going to play for 00:47:43.820 --> 00:47:46.420 you one song on guitar. I don't know what I would 00:47:46.420 --> 00:47:49.039 pick, but I'm not the one that has to answer. 00:47:49.340 --> 00:47:51.739 What song are you picking? I know it's not Halloween. 00:47:52.460 --> 00:47:54.739 Like, I don't think it would be like, it's not 00:47:54.739 --> 00:47:57.420 my favorite song, but something that I've been 00:47:57.420 --> 00:48:00.739 dying to hear with my sister is the song Sister. 00:48:00.840 --> 00:48:03.440 That's why we continue to go to his shows. We've 00:48:03.440 --> 00:48:05.460 been chasing that song since we started going 00:48:05.460 --> 00:48:07.840 together. That is the song I would pick a thousand 00:48:07.840 --> 00:48:10.639 percent at Sister. God damn it, Lauren. Just 00:48:10.639 --> 00:48:13.719 when I thought you couldn't be any sweeter, you 00:48:13.719 --> 00:48:15.980 go and do that. I have goosebumps. All the more 00:48:15.980 --> 00:48:18.139 reason warehouse to get her a set list. That's 00:48:18.139 --> 00:48:20.639 so beautiful. Well, listen, are you going to 00:48:20.639 --> 00:48:24.219 any more shows this summer? Yeah, so I have tickets 00:48:24.219 --> 00:48:27.639 to go to Saratoga. They're night two lawns. They're 00:48:27.639 --> 00:48:29.500 yours if you want them. I will send them to you 00:48:29.500 --> 00:48:31.840 right now. No, I'll tell you what. Why don't 00:48:31.840 --> 00:48:35.440 we use this platform? I don't know how to safely 00:48:35.440 --> 00:48:37.159 do this. How can someone get a hold of you to 00:48:37.159 --> 00:48:39.559 get those tickets? Let's think about that. So, 00:48:39.659 --> 00:48:43.280 there is a Dave Matthews Band SPAC Facebook crew 00:48:43.280 --> 00:48:46.320 that I'm heavily a part of. There are a lot of 00:48:46.320 --> 00:48:48.820 different Dave Matthews Band groups on Facebook. 00:48:48.920 --> 00:48:51.679 I'm a part of a majority of them. But if you 00:48:51.679 --> 00:48:54.059 also, like if you guys just tag my Instagram, 00:48:54.159 --> 00:48:57.699 I'd be happy to sell them to whoever wants them. 00:48:57.900 --> 00:49:00.860 But you, Mike, if I don't get any takers, they're 00:49:00.860 --> 00:49:05.369 yours. You know what? I will take them just because 00:49:05.369 --> 00:49:10.570 I love ya. And I'll do it. So your Instagram 00:49:10.570 --> 00:49:16.869 tag is itslaurr. It's L -A, so I -T -S -L -A 00:49:16.869 --> 00:49:19.969 -U -R -R -R. Is there a dot in there? There is 00:49:19.969 --> 00:49:23.590 a dot in there. Okay, so if you want lawn tickets 00:49:23.590 --> 00:49:27.889 for SPAC, Saratoga, Dave Matthews Band, coming 00:49:27.889 --> 00:49:32.889 up, tag Laura, Lauren on Instagram. It's dot 00:49:32.889 --> 00:49:36.489 lore. So it's I -T -S dot L -A -U -R -R -R. We'll 00:49:36.489 --> 00:49:38.650 throw it up on the screen when we edit it in 00:49:38.650 --> 00:49:41.030 post -production. But yeah, I'm sure we'll get 00:49:41.030 --> 00:49:42.989 those tickets sold for you. Anything else you 00:49:42.989 --> 00:49:45.710 want to promote or talk about? No, I'm just, 00:49:45.710 --> 00:49:47.969 I'm happy that I got to meet you. It was one 00:49:47.969 --> 00:49:49.989 of the best experiences in the pit. I couldn't 00:49:49.989 --> 00:49:52.369 have asked for a better pit neighbor. You made 00:49:52.369 --> 00:49:55.250 it fun for us. You, Jay, we made friends. We 00:49:55.250 --> 00:49:57.789 had a great time. I hope I get to see you again 00:49:57.789 --> 00:49:59.929 in another show. You know what? Well, we've connected 00:49:59.929 --> 00:50:02.010 on social media, which is what's beautiful about 00:50:02.010 --> 00:50:04.469 social media. There's a lot of bad about social 00:50:04.469 --> 00:50:06.849 media, but one of the great things is that you 00:50:06.849 --> 00:50:09.610 can meet somebody, have a connection, and stay 00:50:09.610 --> 00:50:11.590 connected with them. And I'm really thankful 00:50:11.590 --> 00:50:13.869 that we met. You know, even though I'm a grown 00:50:13.869 --> 00:50:17.289 -ass man, you know, I was nervous being against 00:50:17.289 --> 00:50:19.090 the rail. You know, I didn't know what I was 00:50:19.090 --> 00:50:20.710 picturing. I didn't know if I'd get squished. 00:50:20.750 --> 00:50:22.550 I didn't know if there'd be annoying drunk people 00:50:22.550 --> 00:50:25.360 next to me. And I met you and your family. and 00:50:25.360 --> 00:50:27.980 I had the best time and that's what that's what 00:50:27.980 --> 00:50:29.619 Dave Matthews and the Dave Matthews band's all 00:50:29.619 --> 00:50:32.519 about so Lauren I love you I hope you get those 00:50:32.519 --> 00:50:36.579 tickets sold and uh we'll be in touch and uh 00:50:36.579 --> 00:50:38.780 thanks for coming on Good News York. Awesome 00:50:38.780 --> 00:50:40.900 thank you so much for having me I appreciate 00:50:40.900 --> 00:50:44.039 it. Of course all right we love you all right 00:50:44.039 --> 00:50:48.380 we're back that was Lauren um we will be back 00:50:48.380 --> 00:50:51.280 with Doug Levine from the State Theater of Ithaca 00:50:51.480 --> 00:50:53.880 going to talk to him about the State Theater 00:50:53.880 --> 00:50:56.320 and all the amazing events coming up in my neck 00:50:56.320 --> 00:50:58.159 of the woods. So stay tuned right here on Good 00:50:58.159 --> 00:50:58.519 News York.