In part two of episode 10, Rory and Greg conclude their conversation with Rich Gaccione from Edict and What Feeds the Fire.

The group discusses middle age, the inevitability of death, their own mortality, and how giving back to the community can make it all bearable. But don't worry, it isn't all grim and serious. Rich closes out the episode with a hilarious story about his legal troubles stemming from the theft of a few Pringles cans twenty years ago while on tour with What Feeds the Fire. (See Common Thread Podcast Instagram for related mugshot.)

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Shout out to them.

You mentioning kind of thinking about death a lot in your 40s is something that I was doing earlier today, which is being in my 40s and thinking about death.

And I find, though, it's, like, weird, because I, you know, definitely, I think being in your 40s, that that happens.

And I think everybody does this math in their head where it's like, all right, it's my birthday.

Hey, I'm 12 years old.

If I double my age, I'll be 24.

Wow.

What'll that be like when I'm 24?

But eventually you get to a point somewhere in, like, the tail end of your 30s, 40s, where you're like, I can't double my age anymore and imagine what my life will be like.

I don't know why I've always done that.

But, like, somebody mentioned that to me when I was a kid, and then it was like a curse.

Now every birthday I'm like, oh, well, double that age.

Oh, well, I'll be 22, you know, in another 11 years.

But the math's not looking so good at, like, 42.

So anyway, you know, I, I, I find that I think about death more in my 40s.

And then on top of that, you, like, have a kid maybe, and then all of a sudden it's like, oh, holy.

I actually have to take care of myself.

Not just so I look sexy with my shirt off, but so that I can, like, survive like this.

This working out actually had had utility for someone else now or, like, eating healthy or whatever.

So doing having kids and being in your 40s is like a double whammy.

But I find that, like, I think about it more in my 40s, but it bothers me less than, like, when I was in my 20s, because I use it to motivate me to, like, try to improve myself and try to, like, help my kids or help people at work.

So I'm glad that you have kind of shared that.

That's, you know, that, you know, you think about that from time to time and that that's, like, motivating you in a similar way.

And I love the, like, the food, the food program that definitely, as Rory kind of alluded to, seems like something that, like, food not bombs.

Like, that that's such an awesome thing.

And I think about, like, food not bombs quite a bit in my own line of work, you know, and, like, I work for the government.

Obviously, it's a public library.

I'm not, like, independently wealthy and letting people borrow my personal collection.

But, like, I, I try to bring that mentality to my own work too.

Like, we're having this clothing swap coming up for kids and you know, again, thinking about kids and people in need, you know, like, I just have so many children's clothes that like my kids have worn three times and then they, they grew like a weed and it doesn't fit anymore.

And then we also kind of notice that there's like all these like, buy nothing groups on Facebook, which I guess I never would have become aware of if I didn't have kids because I just like, do so many, you know, toy swaps.

And we don't need this thing anymore, like some swing we thought we were going to put our baby in all the time and we used once, you know.

And so I like combined those two things, like my memories of food not bombs and like the popularity of just like trading stuff with people in your community.

So we're going to like have this event where people can like drop off kids clothes that don't fit their kids anymore.

And then we're going to just make them available to anyone who wants to take them.

And we're not like asking questions like, are you on assistance?

Do you really need this?

Like, you can be as rich as the day is long and want a free T shirt for your kid and here, take it.

And in some ways that's like, fine to me and part of the plan because it breaks down the stigma for the people who, who you know, like, have no choice but to.

To.

To make use of that type of service.

So sorry to make this about me for, for five minutes while I ramble on.

I love hearing it, but it's, it's so cool to hear, hear like business owners giving back in that way.

I wanted to also make sure that we talked a little bit about Edict and some of your other bands, you know, that you've been in.

And I'm impressed.

Like, Edict is a pretty active band and then, you know, on top of that, you've got a business which always, you know, impresses me.

What, what does like, what does Edict have coming up?

Looking, looking ahead.

How was, how was your summer with the band?

Let's hear a little bit about that since, you know, we're not just like, about punk rock business, owning and changing the world.

It's also a little bit about the music too, somewhat.

Yeah, Edict.

Edict took a little bit of like a, like a little bit of a pause because we did go through some band member changes in like the beginning of the year.

So we were at a sort of impasse where it was like, do we continue?

Do we find new?

We.

We swapped some things around and we continued on because we put a lot of work into it.

Then we felt like giving up would be a waste of all the effort and time and money and all the stuff that we put into it.

So over the summer, I was very busy this summer.

So this last few months was a learning experience on how to balance exactly what you're asking, like, how to balance being in a band that plays shows, out of stage plays weekends and stuff, and also owning a business that I feel like I need to be at 100% of the time.

And, Rory, I'm sure you can attest to this.

I don't know.

I'd love to talk to you more at another point about this very thing, but it's like, when do you start feeling okay about being away from your shop for more than one day?

Yeah, I'm still.

I'm still working on it.

I'm still new at it, but I'm doing a lot better than I was a while ago.

However, Edict has been a good thing to actually play around with that because I don't want to say no to shows.

I am the guy in the band that, like, is kind of like, well, I don't know if I can, because I got to do this, that.

And everybody understands.

And it's.

It's just the nature of me owning my own business.

And everybody else is.

Has like, quote unquote, regular jobs.

You know, we.

They have weekends off, so we can go play a weekend.

But for me, the weekend is the busiest time, of course.

Restaurant, food, service.

So it's a little bit of a flip flop, right?

Everybody has a weekend off.

I'm always weekend on, and I always want to be.

The shop played a bunch of shows over the summertime.

We've been trying to write new music.

It's one of those things where it's like, our show spacing is perfectly timed, where, like, we can't start writing because we have to practice for a weekend of shows.

And the, like availability for, like, a practice night for everybody is so sparse that it's like, are we going to write or are we going to practice?

Are we going to write or are we going to practice?

Always end up being like, all right, let's practice.

Because we don't have, like, we can't spend hours at the practice space because everybody has to do some stuff.

However, we do.

Maddie, who is our new bass player, Shout out.

Maddie.

He is amazing.

He is an old friend.

He's been a fan of the band.

He helped record the band and now he's in the band.

He has a home studio.

He records a bunch of bands and stuff on his own as well.

But the positive there is that we can just write songs at his house.

So what Maddie and George do, they'll hang out one day instead of practice and, you know, whatever riffs or whatever they were working on.

Maddie can program drums and we'll have like a skeleton of song.

Like one practice night.

Like, if I can't make the practice on Thursday, Thursday night, 10 o', clock, we get a Dropbox link in the group chat.

It's like, hey, we wrote two songs.

So we're like.

We've got like that vibe.

It's like so different for me too.

And I vocal.

I was vocal about this with my band, so I'm not afraid to talk about it.

Like, out loud is like.

I hate that so much.

I don't like putting pieces of things together on a computer.

I am so old school.

Like, I want to be in the room with five other people and I want to play a riff and then have the drum do the thing and then the other guitar do the thing.

And I want to look at people and I want to put the songs together.

I'm just old nowadays.

That's not how bands do stuff, especially if people in the band are younger.

But we managed to, like, put together like five songs.

One of them is, like, done and we played it once.

We're kind of one of those bands where we, like, we have recorded released material.

We've been playing it so much for the last four years that, like, we really need to put some new stuff out.

So that's where we're at right now, like playing like one show a month, two shows a month at this point, because we're all just kind of all over the place.

But we are playing in New York City in two weeks.

We're playing this, like, this Death Metal Fest at the Monarch in Brooklyn.

I think it's.

Yeah, I think that's the venue.

Waking the Cadaver is the headliner for the main stage.

And we're like a side stage headliner, which is very cool.

There's a bunch of bands with squiggly logos that I can't read.

I'm also getting.

I'm getting very old in that respect.

I love death metal, I love Slam, but I can't read logos anymore.

So I have no idea who I'm playing with because nobody translates anymore.

I feel so old when I look At a flyer.

Nowadays, I'm like, on Instagram, I, like, tap it to see if they tagged the band so I could figure out the hell.

And then we're bands that logos look like a bird's nest.

Exactly, Exactly.

It just like.

But no, but, like, we're in a spot where we're like, we have the motivation and ability to write songs and record new material.

And we've discussed, like, I don't want to say out loud because it isn't a thing officially, because we are on Unbeaten records from upstate New York.

So we have, you know, we have a record label that relies on us, and we're like, we are making some decisions about what we're doing as far as recording, and we have some cool ideas.

I don't want to say big things coming soon, but, like, that's kind of like the.

The vibe is we have some ideas.

We're going to be playing some shows October.

We're playing a few times.

I think we have shows all the way into, like, January or something.

Unfortunately, the fact that I am so wrapped in my shop, I have, like.

I've become like, oh, we're playing a show this weekend.

Like, I am, like, so out of the loop sometimes that I'm like, oh, man, I better make sure that I have coverage at the shop because I got to play a show.

I'm exaggerating a little bit, but, like, I am just kind of like, at this point, I'm like, as long as it's not going to take me away from the shop for, like, three days straight, you just tell me where we need to be and I'll be there.

And sometimes I'll even drive myself.

Like.

Like, if it's a couple hours away or three hours away or something, like, the band will take the van and they'll go.

Then I'll work like a half day and then shoot up to wherever I gotta be, play some riffs, and then shoot back home.

So I'm at work the next day because that's.

Mentally, that's kind of like what makes me feel the best.

It's a lot of work to, like, be at work, drive three hours, play a show, get home at three in the morning, go back to work.

But I just want to show up for my team.

I want to show up for my customers.

I also want to show up for my friends and my band.

So that's like, kind of what works for me.

And that's where we're at.

I enjoy playing an Edict.

It's been such a interesting ride.

Especially when the member changes.

We have a new singer, new bass player, and a lot of stuff was kind of up in the air.

But we figured it out and it was, it was a. I hadn't really been in that spot before in a band where I was like so invested.

Like we, we've recorded two records, we played a lot of shows, we're on a record label and then all of a sudden it was like, oh, is this band just going to be done?

So there was, it was a very interesting and tumultuous time.

But I'm glad figured it out and we're still playing shows.

There's.

We have some really amazing.

I hate saying the word like people who like urban.

I don't say fan.

Fan is such a weird word to use for like a band like mine.

But like people who like Edict are like some of the best people that I've ever met.

They're like, they love our band and I'm so thankful for it.

It's like there's people out there that legit have ordered like one off shower curtains with our logo on it because they like.

And that's, I'm like, that's a true.

One of these people who like our band was like, yo, will you make a shower?

And George straight up made a one off like shower curtain for this dude.

And it's like that's the kind of people who are into our band.

So I'm like that when I say I want to show up for my band.

It's also I want to show up for the people who like enjoy coming to see us play.

So yeah, it's fun, it's.

But it's like I will admit, and this is like, it's kind of a serious thing to say.

It's like I'm having also a tough time being in a band and owning a full time business because I, it's like I, I have to make decisions sometimes that four other guys are going to be disappointed with.

And then there's like the times I'll make a decision.

I have four employees who are gonna be like, oh shoot, okay.

You know, like I'm never gonna like put my business in a position where like something's gonna go wrong or whatever.

But I just feel like having me in the building on a busy Saturday is better than not having me in the building on a busy Saturday.

You know what I mean?

Sometimes like this past weekend we, we played up in Albany on Saturday, the Unbeaten Records Fest.

There was a whole bunch of bands like Death Before Dishonor Played and wisdom and war and Clock out and stuff like label mates and stuff from Unbeaten Records.

We played in at Empire Underground.

And that was a Saturday.

It was like an all day Saturday thing.

It was the first sad all day Saturday that I took off for band stuff in a while.

But I want to shout out my crew.

They like, I've gone away before.

I've left the shop and everything's gone fine.

But I hated it, you know, Like, I just.

Just.

I'm like, always looking at my app and, like, seeing what's going on and, like, messaging the group.

Everything cool.

Like the helicopter of mom, you know, I mean, like, everything cool.

So I had a run of time where I hadn't taken any time off for the band.

Left the.

Left the shop.

And this was the first, like, full Saturday where I, like, didn't even go in on Saturday, because sometimes I'll go in in the morning and then.

Then go.

I just was like, all right, I'm gonna be off.

And I let the.

I told the kids, dad's not gonna be around, and everybody.

And I. I should, like, everybody that works for me is the best, that we all respect one another.

So I know there's never going to be any issue.

Everybody gets everything done.

It's just me just having a really high standard and also just real high stress level because I just.

If something does go wrong, I'm not there.

That's the worst case scenario.

Right.

But we had a great.

I had a great show in Albany.

They had almost one of our busiest days ever at the shop.

I came in the next day, halfway through the day, and everything was fine.

So that was like the first, like, big, like, deep breath.

And then, like the next day, I was able to exit tail and it was like, that's fine.

That can happen.

But as you know, Rory, that is a very difficult thing to navigate because you just.

That's just how it is when you own a business.

You have a lot riding on yourself.

So.

And sorry, Greg.

To sort of derail, like, you know, you were asking about the band and I'm talking about.

No, that's.

That's perfect.

That's perfect.

That's like, exactly what happens is like, I want to talk about something else.

And it always reverts back to the shop because that's all I have going on.

Well, and that's.

And that's kind of what I was kind of hoping to get out of.

Out of it.

Because, you know, owning your own business is such an ambitious thing.

Not everyone can do that, even under the best of circumstances.

But then to add in being in a band, which is in itself somewhat like a business, if you approach it with that mindset, you know, it can be like pulling double duty.

And I like hearing about how you balance it and you know, finding that like letting go a little bit can actually be beneficial because like one of the big mistakes I made in my life was when I like got my big boy important job at like 29.

I was like, I don't have time for anything other than this.

You know, I was in charge of a staff of 40 people and I felt like I got to make all the right decisions and I got to do it right the first time because if I up some of these people could lose their job and then whoa, then if that's my fault, they can't pay their mortgage or something like that.

And in hindsight that was like a huge mistake because I was like not replenishing myself by participating in communal life and you know, doing creative acts of self expression through music, which I needed in order to show up as the person I wanted to be at work, you know, bright and early on Monday, making, making all the big hotshot decisions.

So I'm glad that you've like found a way to, to do that because I like struggled with that for, I don't know, probably like six years.

And if I could give myself one piece of advice, it would, would be like, don't lose connections with your community.

Don't stop, you know, the creative effort that at least on paper isn't really integral to you showing up at work and making the right decisions because behind the scenes in your subconscious mind, it actually, it actually is so not derailing at all.

That's, that's exactly, I think what we're looking for in this podcast and is really a fantastic thing.

I'm glad, yeah, it's, I'm glad you said so.

It's like, it's just, just a unique situation is you know, being a business owner and being in a band especially like, you know, just like a hardcore band.

Like there's no, it's not like I'm in like some big thing that needs so much of my attention.

But as we had spoken about earlier, it's just we care.

We as in the band members and people in the, in the community, we care so much about that thing.

And it's like I am learning in real time how to, how to create boundaries, how to respect my own and others boundaries and also how to communicate in a way that I haven't communicated before you know, it's like I've learned how to say what I need to say directly with a period at the end of the sentence and let it process to the other people.

Because there's times where it's like I need to focus on my shop and, and this just doesn't go for just the band.

It could go for relationships with my mom, with my.

Anybody, any, any person I'm speaking to who might need something from me.

I've been learning to just be clear, concise and have a, have a period at the end of the sentence is one of the biggest, bigger things for me.

Now there's no like ending the sentence with an open ended sort of statement because and especially with running a team and being the leader and the owner and the manager, you need to be able to be definitive about things.

You need to be able to have people understand that what you're saying is, is the point there, there can't be any sort of question.

And so with being in a band with four other people whose opinions and, and decisions might be all 50, 50, I've been learning to just be like, to sort of eliminate a lot of the back and forth is to be very clear and concise about what I need, what I feel, how I need to approach things.

So it's a very unique experience being in a band that is actively being booked for shows and a business that's like actively growing day by day, like looking at my, like my charts just like the, you know, the transactions and numbers and everything just constantly, you know, little by little going up.

So it's, it's just, it's a new thing.

But I'm glad that it's happening because I'm learning something.

It's a very cool thing to learn.

I'm sure there's been some, some verbal disagreements on, on both sides about things, but that's going to happen.

Like that's just the nature of the beast.

I'm not a confrontational person.

So I realized that by eliminating confrontation is being as to the point as possible because there's no question this is, it might hurt someone else's feelings to read a statement that is so blunt and full of fact.

But it is the way that I will avoid confrontation by not leaving any question at the end of a statement.

So it's just, there's just a lot of communication.

Things I've learned by owning a business as well and also all the businesses that I've worked for, I've worked for good businesses and I've worked for bad Businesses I've worked for, mediocre ones.

We all probably had our big three of like, great place to work, awful place to work.

And like, that was fine, right?

There's just probably.

And what I tell people about how I run my life now and running the business and being a band and having all, you know, all a bunch of side things is that I took lesson from all the bad things that happened to me at jobs and all the good things that happened to me.

And I sat there and I literally wrote down these things.

I could remember what I hated happening at work and what I loved happening.

And when I opened the doors and I hired people at my shop, I promised myself and them that those bad things are never going to happen.

And the good things are going to happen because the culture of a good workplace is set in stone by the people who own it and run it.

There's the.

A toxic workplace is, is the worst situation to have anybody in.

When there's, you know, people talking behind each other's back, people coming in that are in bad moods because of whatever, whatever.

I don't tolerate it.

And I tell people even in the hiring process that that's how, that's how I am.

That's how we are.

We are respectful, we communicate.

There's not going to be any argument that.

And like, I'm straight and like I'm, you know, I'm very proud of myself to get to this place to be like, this is how it is, period.

If you do not like that, I have no problem with you not being here.

You know what I mean?

And I've been able to translate that business aspect to the band communication as well.

When things come up like, hey, we got an offer to do this kind of thing.

Sounds pretty good.

And I look at my calendar and I'm like, that's a really bad time.

I have to be like, I cannot do it.

If you want to get a fill in or, you know, give an option, I don't want to let you guys down.

If you feel like you want to do it, go for it kind of thing.

But that's in the position.

That's the position I'm in right now.

You know, five years ago, I'd hem and haw about the whole thing.

I wouldn't say how I felt.

I would, you know, give an answer that I knew somebody would want to hear instead of what I really felt.

So to kind of bring it all around is that owning the business and taking from all the places I worked has really gotten me to a positive Place in communicating with people, communicating with friends, my family.

I do have to shout out Timeless Coffee in Oakland because rj, the owner of Timeless, was such an influence on what I'm doing now as an owner of a vegan small business, rj, you know, raised money, opened an all vegan coffee shop.

They still exist today with multiple locations.

He helped me.

We had like an hour long conference call before I actually opened.

He helped me with some information about stuff that I was like, rj, man, I know you did this.

Can you help me?

And he took time out of his day and he did.

And I have to shout out rj because he's just like, after all these years of, you know, from working with him and not working with, he was there for me when I needed it.

And yeah, it's just like, I just, I'm just proud of where I'm at with being able to balance multiple dudes in vans and multiple team members in a deli and then like multiple friends that I have reconnected with after like not speaking for a long time.

So, yeah, I think the part about communication and being able to talk to others has, is one of the main things about being a small business owner that is like, helped me.

I've elevated my way of doing that just like you, and also not taking things personally, like when receiving that, you know, when, when, when someone's setting a boundary, I'm like, thank you for setting a boundary that allows me to understand where you're coming from and it allows me to operate in a better way.

I love that that's so important.

I love that you said that because I'm constantly dealing with that.

And I love when people tell me what they need for that exact reason.

Because I never want to cross a boundary or put somebody in position where they're uncomfortable or upset or feel any form of negativity.

So telling me what you need and how you feel about it is like.

I'm like, that's, that's what I need.

You're doing great because everybody's going to succeed that way.

Exactly.

It's, it's, it's.

And it's the only way I think businesses that care about people can operate and believe and trust each other to extend that kindness to others in that space beyond just the team, you know what I mean?

Because that goes then further along the path that we want to serve others and make sure other people feel comfortable in our spaces.

And I think that's huge.

And it's so simple, but it's so hard.

That's the most true thing about it.

You're right.

It's so simple and so hard.

It's like every single person communicates a different way.

Every human being is different than the other one, right?

Whether they're.

You're.

You could be similar, but everybody communicates in their own unique way.

And getting to a point where you can sit down with a stranger, like, I'm a small business owner and I sit down with somebody who said, hey, and I'm actively doing this right now.

I'm.

I'm hiring for a position right now, getting the email, setting up an interview, and then sitting down with a stranger and communicating with them in the way that I do.

And funny enough, this goes back to poker playing is that I.

Using the skill of reading people, body language, tone of voice, eye contact, all that kind of stuff.

I can tell within a minute if I'm going to hire this person or not.

It's.

It sounds dramatic, it sounds kind of like extreme, but there's things that I look for in somebody's initial interaction that I'll know if they're going to be a good fit in that environment or not.

And a lot of those.

And I mean, I've been doing this for a long time.

Not.

Not poker player.

Well, yeah, poker I did do for a long time, but interacting with people, hiring people, I. I've been doing this for a long time.

And sure, I am going to communicate with that person and I'm going to give everyone an equal opportunity to talk and interview and all that sort of stuff.

But just communication isn't just how we're speaking to one another.

It has.

Does have a lot to do with eye contact, body language, tone of voice, a lot of those things.

So I think like giving people the respect also that we do not all communicate the same way.

And then I will end an interview the same way I end an interview with everybody else.

And then I'll sit and I'll process it and I'll know with just a few factors, I think.

I mean, I think that's the key of being a successful business owner.

And I.

A big thing for me is efficiency.

You know, like, I don't want to waste anyone's time, a new hire or myself.

If there's any doubt that, like, what I'm looking for and what environment I might bring this person into might not be the right one, I should know that.

And if I don't know that in the interview, then I'm doing something wrong.

So it's just one of those things where I Feel like I've come to a great place with all the experience that I've had over the years.

Being a hiring manager, being a manager and just being around people and communicating with people.

So, yeah, it's a crazy thing to have to be able to read people, But a successful business owner or manager has to be good at that.

You have to.

This might not be for everybody.

Like, my approach is like, if.

If I'm in the back of house and one of my employees seems off, I'll ask them, are you okay?

Are you all right today?

I'm not gonna pry.

I'm gonna, are you okay today?

And whatever answer I get, I will respectfully either continue the conversation or move along with just knowing that.

Either.

Yes, they're okay.

No, they're not okay.

And I give people the opportunity to speak to me.

I will never try to pry something out of them.

I won't try to, like, speak to them in a way that might make it worse.

Sometimes you bring something from, you know, outside into work, but you're still at work, right?

So you made the choice to come in, and you have the respect to be there.

You're there.

You're showing up.

So I'm going to respect you, and I'm not going to try to, like, get something out of you that you might not want to talk about.

And we're showing each other respect, and that's a big thing for me, is just, like, the respect level of communication.

And if somebody wants to talk to me, I'm all for it.

Like, what we were just saying.

Like, creating that boundary is also feeling comfortable enough to be like, hey, can I just talk to you for a minute?

Of course you can't.

Please talk to me.

Like, I want to make your experience here as awesome as possible.

So I will show up for you as your manager, but also your friend if you need something like that as well.

You know, there is.

There's.

So there's this.

I'm sure you know this too.

There is such a crazy, fine line of, like, friendship and employee and acquaintance.

Like, all these, like, different lines of who you have to be to people in your workplace, especially as the owner, especially as a manager.

One of the things I try not to do is hire friends.

That's a slippery slope.

And guess what I've done?

I've hired friends, but it's worked out fine.

So I took.

I took the risk.

And.

But it's one of my rules.

But, like, I. I can tell the story because it's.

It's funny.

I hired Our employee, Matt, he's.

I. I've known Matt since He was, like, 13 years old.

He's, you know, 40 years old now.

He came to me because he needed a.

He was, like, looking for something, and I was looking for someone, but I was like, matt, you're my friend.

I don't want to hire you.

Like, I was just kind of straight up.

I was like, I know you would work out well, but I don't want to hire you.

It's just like, I'm just.

Just one of my rules.

But Matt's such a sweetheart, and I needed somebody I know he could do the job.

So I was like, all right, Matt, I'm gonna hire you.

And I was like, I don't like that I'm hiring you.

But joke around like that, because he's my friend.

I was like, I don't like that I'm doing this, but I'm gonna hire you.

And Matt is a superstar at work.

I knew he would be, but he understood the tongue in cheek.

Like, I don't want to hire you because of my friend.

Like, I don't know.

And I'll joke with him still.

I'm like, still to this day, he's been working for me for almost a year, and I'm like, I still shouldn't have hired you.

You know what I mean?

But sometimes you take a risk and it works out.

But, like, one of the things I can say as, like, advice to people who might own a small business, be careful about hiring friends, because it might put you in a position that you and your friend do not want to be in.

You might have to have a hard conversation.

You might run into a situation that you didn't want to deal with.

There's a lot of layers to it.

When it's a stranger who has experience in the.

The industry that you're hiring for, and you hire them and they're not doing a good job, or you need to let them go.

It's a lot easier to have a conversation, sit down, and be like, so and so, I'm sorry, this isn't working out.

I'm gonna have to let you go.

But if you're sitting down with somebody who you've sat in a van with, who you've had dinner at their house, or you've seen their sibling get married, you've seen them have a kid, and then you gotta sit down, and you have to be like, hey, I have to fire you.

You have to think about.

Think about the long term, and just be careful about it, because you Don't.

Sometimes that's not gonna be the best decision.

So that's just my kind of, like, word of advice to people out there who might be like, oh, I'm going to start this business.

I'm going to hire all my friends.

It's going to be awesome.

It's not going to be awesome.

Even if you're all.

Your friends are awesome in the long run.

Just think about it.

That's the one thing I can say is, like, don't just figure it out with all your friends.

You got to figure it out for yourself.

But leave your friends to the side for a moment.

Yeah.

Think about those friends that you may have lived with that didn't do the dishes and how frustrated you were.

Exactly.

I applaud and support that decision of not hiring, hiring friends because I've leaned into that as well.

And I also lean into not hiring employees that are already on our team's friends, which.

Which is when I tell people that they're like, why?

And I'm like, well, you know, I don't want this to be this overly clicky, cool place.

Like, if people get along authentically and organically, that's one thing.

But if you bring in a group of friends, then it becomes like, our cool thing.

Right.

Right.

You know, and that's a slippery slope.

Yeah.

And you can walk into that and you can feel that.

You.

You know, like, it's like, oh, I'm not part of this, like, club.

You know, it's like jocks in high school kind of thing.

It's like, I don't want to.

I don't want to be a part of that.

So, you know, I. I definitely applaud that one.

One thing that, you know, you touched upon band stuff and.

And things.

And you mentioned timeless Shout out.

Timeless.

You were working there when Chris and I were on our Honeymoo.

Great.

I remember that vividly.

Yeah, that was awesome.

Loved, loved that.

And you know, rj, someone else that came from hardcore and punk, which is awesome.

And, you know, the Rochester story, I want to bring up with you, Rich, and maybe you were going to think about this coming up, but when you were on tour with what Feeds the Fire, and you're on your way to playing the Penny Arcade.

All you had to say was, what Feeds the fire?

Rochester.

And I know exactly what's going to happen.

Yep.

Go ahead.

Do you want.

Do you want.

No, I want.

No, I want.

I want your.

I want you to tell it.

Because I've had to reiterate this quite a bit in the last couple of years.

I want to hear your telling.

And also as someone that was at the show at the Penny Arcade.

So what Feeds of Fire were scheduled to play?

It was a bane.

And I forget who else.

You were probably at the show as well, Greg.

I don't remember.

Yeah, no, it definitely was.

And well, Fees of Fire showed up very late.

And the reason for that was that Rich was caught stealing from a. Thru a rest stop.

Was it a bag of Skittles or something?

Was it.

It was Pringles.

Pringles.

It was Pringles.

It was.

It was multiple cans of Pringles.

Do you want to.

You want to hear the details?

Do you want me to.

Yeah, let's.

Let's see.

Is it okay to talk about.

Absolutely.

Statute of limitations is long run out.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Yeah.

I will try to make this as concise as possible because I can go this.

There's so many small details that have been like.

Like I've remembered by telling it more over the last few years.

We're getting.

We're getting it on tape now.

Yeah.

So, yes, Rory, you're right.

We were on it.

We were playing two shows that day.

We were playing Syracuse and Rochester.

Okay.

We're playing Syracuse in the afternoon and then Rochester second, if that makes sense.

I know we were playing shows that day and we missed the first one.

And then we got to the Rochester show.

So we.

We stopped for gas on one of these New York Thruway rest stops where they have like the little booth, like in the middle where you would pay.

Right.

Now you have to visualize, because this is very important that you visualize what happened is so the booth where the person sits and collects the money, on the outside of the booth, there's like an air conditioner, like built into the wall, right.

So you have this structure on the side of the booth where they.

For whatever reason, they had a display of cans of Pringles that were like in like a triangle, you know, like four and then three, then two.

You know, like whatever reason.

That's it.

Like, it was like.

It was an end cap at a grocery store.

Exactly.

But like, like out in, like.

So they were like.

The cans were all sun bleached.

It was just like.

That's, that's.

So picture that, right?

And I'm the driver of a 15 passenger van and I'm sitting there, arm out the window, like we were getting gas.

So the van is in park.

I'm just kind of sitting there.

So I was 24 years younger.

So I was 23 years old, 22 years old, whatever it was.

And all of my friends are also around 20, 22 years old.

And we had a van full of idiotic friends just doing their worst to get me to steal something.

And I, at that point in my life, had never stolen any.

Not a. I'm not a.

Like, oh, like, I got a candy bar from the.

I wasn't that kind of person.

But I was sitting there and we had.

Whoever it was, my bandmates or friends.

I.

Everybody I can remember was like, all of my friends are just, oh, yo, yo, grab, Grab a thing of Pringle Grab.

And I'm like, no, no, no, no, I'm not gonna.

I'm not.

Blah, blah, blah.

So whoever was pumping the gas was done with the gas.

They got back in the van.

I start the van, and mind you, the entire time there's like a cacophony of people telling me to steal.

It's just like, you know how we are in the.

Like.

And I'm like, no, no, no.

So I put the van in drive and at the very last second, I decide to put my arm out the window and like, scoop the entire display of Pringles into the van.

So, like, I don't know, do we do video?

Do you do video of this podcast or is this just all audio?

So I have to describe.

So like, like with, like when you're in the supermarket, like, you wish that you would, like, put your arm down the shelf and then like scoop it all into your cart.

Like, that's what I did to this display of Pringles.

And I like, hooked them in the window.

So, like, you know, four out of the nine cams made it inside the van.

And as I'm doing that, I'm like, I floored it.

Like, I just literally, like in a 15 passenger van with equipment and like 10 people, I made the van Gogh, like, spun the wheels, and I took off back onto the New York State Thruway.

And this.

And this all happened in like three seconds, right?

And everybody is just losing their minds because I finally decided to steal at this rest stop.

Okay, part one.

That's.

Okay, there's part one.

Now we fade into part two.

We're driving down the thruway.

It's probably a Saturday.

I'm assuming it was like a Saturday.

Beautiful Saturday, whatever.

We're in the middle of New York upstate.

Trees everywhere, no civilization, and everybody's munching on Pringles because I just Stole them.

And it's just.

And suddenly, for no reason, that there's traffic, like, building up in front of us.

We're like, what's, what's going on?

Somebody hit a deer.

We're upstate New York, whatever.

And we see that there's, like, a trooper, like, parked in the middle of the road checking people.

You know, it's a, it's a, it's a stop.

It's a traffic stop in the middle of the thruway where there shouldn't be one.

So we're like, oh, that's weird.

And everybody's, you know, blow.

And we get, dude, this is so funny.

We get to the police officer, I roll down the window, and I look out, and everybody kind of goes quiet because we don't know what's going on.

And the police officer says, so, who wants to get arrested today?

And all, like, you could have sucked the energy out of our van.

And I still didn't understand.

And it, like, you know, a couple beats go by, and he goes, he looks me in the eyes and says, you didn't have to steal those Pringles.

And I.

My body just def.

I. I've never felt so scared.

And like, the realize, like, you know, like, when people say, like, the.

The whole room gets, like, sucked out.

Like, you don't hear anything.

That's how I felt.

I could not believe that they set up a roadblock on the freeway to stop our van because I stole, I, quote, unquote, stole four tubes of Sun Pringles that my friends were eating while the police officer was still talking to us because we didn't understand we were being stopped because I stole the Pringles.

So he goes on to say, the rest stop wants to press charges because you stole the Pringles.

You have to come with me.

You're under arrest.

And I've never been arrested before.

I, I'm like, the good kid, right?

Like, I, I, I'm the rule follower.

Everybody in my van has probably stolen or, or been arrested or, or something, but I'm the one who gets in trouble because of peer pressure.

So I get out of the van, and mind you, I have.

Okay, I get out of the van, he puts me in handcuffs.

He puts me in the police car.

He tells whoever I think Alyssa was driving or whoever they were, like, just follow the police car.

We're gonna have to take you to the station to book you.

The.

The good thing is that the judge is at a wedding reception at the event thing that's connected to the police station.

So he can try you when we get there and we'll have this all taken care of.

This all sounds so crazy, but this is all true.

True.

So, okay, I'm in a police car in upstate New York with a police.

I've never.

This is just crazy.

I've, like, literally can't hear anything.

My body is just like, vibrating.

I'm like, I'm arrested right now.

We drive wherever we get to this police station.

It's literally like a tiny room with a desk in it.

And then like.

Like a small, like.

Like courtroom.

There was like a bench and then some seats.

It was like.

It was like a little cab, like a log cabin, but it was a police station.

So I go inside.

The van is parked up, like, basically.

So if you're driving the van, it's parked.

If you're looking out the window, it's this giant bay window, right?

And it looks right into the courtroom.

It's like they parked right in this big window that's.

That's in the courtroom.

So I'm inside getting booked.

The police officer is taking my mug shot with a Polaroid camera.

And he goes, do you want one?

And I went, yeah.

So I currently have my mugshot Polaroid on my refrigerator right now.

Me holding up a paper sign with my number on it, my hat crooked, baggy shorts, bead necklace.

So he's like, hold on, we gotta go get the judge so we can get this over with.

I'm like, okay.

The judge comes in with, like a tucked in polo and jean shorts and, like, dad sneakers.

And he, like, pulls off the wall like his.

His.

His robe, his judgment.

He's like, all right, let's go.

And we go into the next room, which was like this.

Make.

Not even make sure.

It was like a small, like, courtroom.

He gets on the bench, and of course I look out to the left.

And who is watching my.

My situation?

My entire band.

Who is in the van that's facing this giant bay window that's in perfect line with.

Just see me standing there.

Did you steal the pringles?

Yes.

Okay.

$375.

And like, like the whole, like, literally, like, gavel and everything.

Like, all official.

They're eating the Pringles as they're watching.

This is like the craziest thing.

They're like, like, literally it was like, like movie food.

Craziest part is that I had brought up poker a little while ago.

I used to carry around a lot of cash because I would play poker all the time.

And at that time, I was playing tons of Poker.

And I just, like, habitually would carry around, like, almost like $1,000 cash, just in case I had to play poker.

The judge is like, $375.

Have a good day.

And he walks out.

And the judge and the, you know, police officers, like, okay, so how.

And I'm like.

I literally, like, okay.

I reach into my pocket, I peel off $305 cash.

I'm like, here.

He's like, okay.

And he likes, you know, sign some official, like, looking like ticket, like paper.

He's like, all right, have a good day.

Don't steal again.

And I get back in my van, and everybody, of course, is laughing, is dying, like, just watched their friend be arrested and tried and then let off right in front of them like a tv.

So we get back in the van, fade out, Fade back in.

We're driving.

We missed the Syracuse show.

Obviously, the whole.

The whole vibe has shifted because everybody knows that I'm very upset because I just got arrested.

I had to spend almost 400 cash for some Pringles that everybody else ate because whatever.

You know what I mean?

Like, that was, like, the thing.

Like, I couldn't even eat the potato chips.

So we're.

So we're trying to make it to Rochester.

We stop at a rest stop, and this is the icing on the cake.

We had to get gas or we had to do something.

Everybody goes inside, come back out, and we're.

We're getting ready to go again.

And Jim goes, hey, man.

Like, what?

Because Jim was one of the big instigators of, like, hey, man, steal a Pringles.

He goes, I got you this.

And he had stolen a keychain of, like, porcelain little squares that say rock and roll on them, like, that he found inside the rest stop.

He's like, I got you this.

I'm sorry.

He went in and stole something for me as penance for getting me arrested.

And I had that keychain on my keys for quite a long time until it finally, like, broke off or whatever.

And.

And then we made it to Rochester and played a show, I guess, because remember that part?

I can remember getting arrested for sure.

So anytime I see Pringles nowadays, I usually just flip them off just for.

Yeah, that's.

That's the one.

I.

And my mom didn't know I got arrested until very recently.

Like, this whole entire time.

Wow.

Told my mom that I got arrested because she would have been really upset.

And to try to explain that whole story and, like, how light hearted that whole thing was was she would have just Fixated on the fact I got arrested, right?

Oh, you're not going to be able to get a job.

You're not going to, whatever.

But what happened is I tried to get into Canada at one point.

We were going to go for Mark.

We were going for Mark Hundley's bachelor party.

We were going to go to Montreal.

We were going to try to get in through Vermont.

Not even.

We're going to try.

We were going to.

Because we didn't realize none of.

We were just like, well, let's go in this.

At this point, you didn't have to.

There was no.

You didn't need your passport.

You were an American citizen.

You just.

Right, Canada, right?

We get to the border and sure enough, I can't get into Canada because of the Pringles incident.

And the Pringles incident was like five years prior.

I. I had zero clue that this was on my record.

And I was like, what?

And they're like, yeah, you're, you.

You've got like a misdemeanor on your record.

This doesn't come off for another, like, five more years.

It was like a 10 year something on my record.

So we couldn't get into Canada.

We had these plans.

Couldn't get into Canada.

So I'm like, okay, cool.

So I avoided going to Canada somehow for, for however many years.

I'm going up through Maine and I was like, my partner at the time, I was like, I'm like, all right, listen, I got arrested.

I wasn't allowed in Canada, like, like 10 years ago.

I looked it up online, it should be all set, but I wasn't allowed in, so I don't know.

And she was like, ah.

And I was like, ah.

So we just went.

We get, Dude, I can't believe this.

Followed me around for so long.

We get to the, we get to the border and I give the passport.

She looks at my partner's.

Okay.

She looks, well, immediately.

She looks at mine, scans it, looks over and gives me like a scrunchie face.

And I went, no.

She's like, yeah.

Like, I knew exactly what she was talking about.

It was the Pringles thing.

I was like, are you serious?

She's like, it's been long enough, but it's still there.

I'll take care of it for you.

And I was like, thank God.

Like, literally not even at the border checkpoint for five seconds.

And I got the face from those damn Pringles.

It's haunted me for that long.

But finally, like, she like, clickety click clack.

And like, she's like, you don't have to worry about it anymore.

I was like, thanks.

So that's the.

That's us playing in Rochester at the Penny.

Yep.

Common Thread is co hosted by Greg Benoit and Rory Van Grohl, with creative support from Rob Antonucci.

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