Podcast appearances and mentions of tommy scott

Welcome to episode #231 cruisers! In any conversation you may havre about cruising, eventually, you will definitely discuss two things: food and beverages.  In this new episode, Scott had the opportunity to interview Varun Salian, Food and Beverage Director on Majestic Princess, during his recent fall colors cruise. Varun shares his career story with Princess Cruises and the hard work he does to make sure their guests have a phenomenal culinary experience.   There are a lot of responsibilities and logistics involved to keep his department running smoothly. He has an incredible team that not only serves the cruise guests but the crew themselves as well. It was an eye-opening interview to learn how hard everyone works in this very important department. We hope you enjoy this interview! Thank you for listening and supporting us in 2025. We have some great plans for 2026 and look forward to a fantastic year! Happy Cruising! Tommy & Scott

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones this year. It's always a delight to visit and catch up with friends, and DuVaul is one of our cherished cruise friends that we've had the pleasure of knowing for many years. Full of life, humor, and unmatched energy, DuVaul is one of Princess Cruises's favorites among cruisers. In this special episode, Scott has the unique opportunity to share the "behind-the-scenes" stories and changes that have been made to the Majestic Princess during its recent dry dock renovations. Definitely, an entertaining and insightful interview. We hope you enjoy the show and happy cruising! Tommy & Scott

Welcome to episode 229. We are so happy to interview our friend and celebrity mixologist Rob Floyd! Since 2017 Rob has collaborated and partnered with Princess Cruises where you have probably enjoyed his creative cocktails throughout bars onboard their ships, at his amazing Good Spirits bar or at Spellbound by The Magic Castle on Sun Princess and the new Star Princess.  Now, Rob has a brand new collaboration with Princess Cruises - his first book! “Sip at Sea” is a first of a kind interactive cocktail book that features embedded video tutorials where Rob teaches how to mix your favorite Princess Cruises cocktails. We dive in to find out what it means to Rob when he tells us to always “Sip Boldly!”  Along with mixing his uniquely created cocktails, Rob's gift of storytelling combines his passion and mission to “living life with flavor” to cruisers around the around the world. So many fun and interesting stories - this was a awesome nterview! “Sip at Sea”, both hard cover and ebook are on Amazon.com are available today! Hardcover: https://amzn.to/42ExKsR E-Book: https://amzn.to/3IyPKOy Follow Rob Floyd on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drinkwithrob?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== We hope you enjoy the show! Happy Cruising,  Tommy & Scott

Welcome To episode #228! On this new episode we answer some of your questions regarding the recent changes Princess Cruises has made to their “Princess Plus Package” and “Princess Premier Package” beverage programs. We believe that your cruise vacation is always better when you research and plan what is important to you and your family in advance before you board the ship. Understanding what your options  are and what fits your budget, is the key that unlocks the door to a great cruise. On this new show we go over questions that you may of not thought of and clarify the changes and benefits of the new drink packages. To us, we like having options to pick and choose. One size doesn't necessarily fit all. Hopefully, you will gain a better understanding of your options and look with great expectations on your next dream cruise  Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Welcome to episode #227! Today we are taking a closer look and discuss the recent changes Princess Cruises has made to their “Princess Plus Package” and “Princess Premier Package” beverage programs. One of the best things about cruising, is you can pick and choose what you like to do. From selecting a interior cabin to a grand suite, or maybe you just enjoy having casual meals at the buffet or you can splurge for specialty dining every night, or maybe you just enjoy a glass of wine at dinner but your spouse likes trying and discovering new distilled beverages without breaking the bank. The bottom line is that you get to determine what is important to you and what makes your cruise vacation unique and special. And that is a good thing. We share our thoughts and would like to hear how you plan and create your dream cruise vacations.  Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Welcome to episode #226! Carnival Cruise Line has announced their new loyalty program, Carnival Rewards, which will be launching June 1, 2026.  Benefits include priority check-in, embarkation and disembarkation, complimentary laundry services, beverages, speciality dining meals and more. Scott's first mate, Pam joins the show to give her perspective as a “loyalty rewards savvy consumer”. Always watching, researching and getting the most out of these programs' benefits and why you should study and become a savvy cruise consumer too. We know that this new program has created a lot of commentary all over social media, but we would love to hear your thoughts as well.  Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

32.035 Let's go, kats! Dig a brand new 3 hour blast of true blue, all-American rockin'billy music! It's DJ Del Villarreal and he's here in the Motorbilly Studio delivering a fresh episode of the award-winning "Go Kat, GO! The Rock-A-Billy Show!" Pleased to be able to present the NEW Sirocco Bros. single "Wickerman" tonight as well as hot numbers from Union Avenue, The Helletones, Willie Barry, Jimmy Dale Richardson, Untamed Youth, Hillbilly Casino and Isaac Rother and the Phantoms! Wishing country, bluegrass and early rockabilly legend Ramblin' Tommy Scott a happy birthday tonight (he'd be 105 years old!) and honoring the 81st birthday of classic rock guitar god Jeff Beck as well. Plenty of real variety and a scorching mix of twangy, 50's-styled Americana music! Make a request for a future show: del@motorbilly.com Good to the last bop!™Please follow on FaceBook, Instagram & Twitter!

Welcome to episode #225!  Carnival Cruise Line is setting the bar higher and expectations for all cruise passengers aboard their ships. A few days ago, they released a letter that encourages everyone to “Have Fun, Be Safe."   “Our experience has taught us that everyone has a better time when a spirit of community and neighborliness is shown by all.”  The letter's guidelines reinforces their policies and they clearly state they will take drastic measures to maintain the “comfort, enjoyment, safety or well-being of other guests or crew." We share our thoughts on this timely and important letter and commend Carnival Cruise Line for taking action. What are your thoughts?  Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Welcome to episode #224! We dust off our microphones and catch up with latest scuttlebutt and cruise happenings in Southern California. The competition is heating up again and we are going to see new cruise ships and even a new cruise line coming to the west coast!  Are you ready for Real ID, renewing your passport or traveling to Europe soon? We have some updates and information for you. And finally, we share about the beautiful and stunning Sun Princess. Princess Cruises has launched its first Sphere Class ship and it is truly a luxurious ship with fine dining experiences, unique entertainment shows, and introducing Spellbound by Magic Castle, a spectacular new magical venue. Tommy shares about his time aboard this phenomenal cruise ship. Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Traveling to and from a cruise port can be a challenge especially if you are unfamiliar with the area. Ride sharing services and vehicles aren't able to handle a family, luggage and such. What other options are available? Recently, Scott and his family travelled to Texas for a cruise and they hired a private car service for the first time and had a very interesting conversation with their driver. A impromptu interview was recorded about the features and benefits of hiring a private car service for your upcoming cruise. You will ride in style and comfort, and start your next cruise vacation worry free. Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott 

Hey Cruisers!  The last few months of 2024 was a whirlwind of cruising and busyness, but still we have a lot of catching up to do and audio content to share.  The decision was made to produce a few “flashback” episodes along the way as 2025 gets underway. On this new episode, we gathered with  amazing cruise content creators to share our thoughts and excitement about our upcoming media cruise on Sun Princess!  It's a rare and unique opportunity to have Don @eatsleepcruise, Sheri @cruisetipstv, Doug @cruiseradio Ilana @lifewellcruised and JT @cruisingwithjt all in one place at the same time. It was truly such a special moment - thank you friends!  And next up, Cruise Director Corinne Steele shares her nautical journeys and things you should not miss seeing, doing and of course, eating on Sun Princess.  We hope you enjoy this special flashback episode! #sunprincess #princesscruises #cruise #cruising #food #travel #hosted Happy Cruising! Tommy & Scott

During the Thanksgiving holiday, Scott and his family cruised the Western Caribbean on the stunning Regal Princess. Scott was able to spend some time with Cruise Director Olivia and record a very special interview about her life's journey in the cruise industry. It is fascinating and very insightful that we are sure you will enjoy to hear. Thank you Olivia for coming on to the podcast! Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Hey Cruisers! Scott just recently sailed on the Majestic Princess on a wonderful repositioning cruise from Vancouver, British Columbia to Los Angeles, California. He had fantastic opportunity to interview cruise director Jason Allen and he shares five important things about the Majestic Princess that we need to know. We think that you will find this information entertaining and insightful with Jason and Scott. Happy Cruising! - Tommy & Scott 

Have you wondered what kind of special deals and offers you can get when you visit the Future Cruise  office? Scott recently was on the Majestic Princess and had the opportunity to speak with Brandon and asked all the questions. This in-depth interview will give you all the answers that you have been looking for to book that perfect future cruise. Now is the time to treat yourself and your family with that special vacation of a lifetime that will make memories you will cherish forever.  Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Royce and Donald, along with the Royce Glamour Show International Political Analyst, Max Blair,and Doctor Al Greer, Ron Shields, Tommy Scott, and Ronald gaines, chat about the election.

With school now back in session and as we are entering into Fall, we take some time to share about our summer vacations. Scott and his first mate Pam, sailed on the Navigator of the Seas to Mexico for a time of relaxation and fun. Then Scott flew back East to join up with his daughter Dyllen for a road trip with a stop at the Niagra Falls. And they even took an exhilarating boat cruise to the bottom edge of the majestic falls. What memorable and incredible experiences! Enjoy the new show! - Tommy & Scott

In this episode, Michael Frampton catches up with renowned surfer and coach Matt Grainger to talk about the highs and lows of surfing, the challenges of big waves, and the innovations in the sport. Matt shares his experiences with heavy waves, gnarly wipeouts, and the current state of surfing on the Sydney Northern Beaches. The discussion dives into the recent swells, the changing conditions, and how they impact surfers of all levels.Matt also discusses his latest project, the "Surfer's Compass" app, a comprehensive guide for surfers to improve their techniques, mindset, and fitness. He shares the inspiration behind the app, the process of its development, and the exciting features that it will offer. Episode Highlights:Matt's Recent Surf Trip to Indonesia: Matt shares the story of his recent trip to Indonesia, where he suffered a significant head injury after a day of surfing at Macaronis. He details the moment the injury occurred, the aftermath, and the crucial steps taken to avoid infection.The Importance of Surf Safety: Despite years of experience, Matt explains how ego and overconfidence led to a dangerous situation. He emphasizes the importance of wearing a helmet in heavy conditions and the risks of surfing over shallow reefs.Injury Management and Recovery: Matt provides valuable insights into managing injuries in remote locations, including the use of bottled water, antibiotics, and proper wound care to prevent infections from coral cuts.Mobility and Strength Training for Surfers: As a coach, Matt discusses the significance of maintaining mobility and strength as surfers age. He highlights the role of a balanced training program in injury prevention and long-term surfing performance.Mindset and Longevity in Surfing: Matt touches on the importance of a positive mindset, quoting Bruce Lee on the power of words and how they influence our physical and mental well-being. He encourages surfers to stay active, eat well, and maintain a youthful outlook to continue enjoying the sport well into their later years..Surf Culture Evolution: The changes in surfing culture, including the influx of new surfers and the impact on traditional breaks."Surfer's Compass" App: Insight into Matt's development of this app, aimed at improving surfing techniques, fitness, and mental strategies.For more insights and tips from Matt Grainger:Follow Matt Grainger:Instagram: mattgraingersurf.Linkedin:: Matt GraingeFollow Michael John Frampton:Instagram: @surfmasteryWebsite: https://surfmastery.com/.Full Show Transcript:[00:00:00] Matt Grainger: I think so. You look at all the surfers now. It's all legs. Hardly any upper body. Only back and legs. You don't want any chest, and you don't want to overload the shoulders as well in your rotator cuff. Exercises are really good. So light weights on the shoulders, nothing heavy. So you can still get that mobility in your padel. And you've got the power for your back for your paddle. So a lot of the strength training is like just Olympic rings, pull ups, maybe some skin. The cat. Um, um, dumbbell pull ups as well off the bench, all that kind of stuff. And then a lot of, a lot of, um, obviously squats with the. [00:00:40] Michael Frampton: Back to the Surf Mastery podcast. I am your host, Michael Frampton, and the ethos of this show is education and inspiration for better surfing and a better surfing life. And Matt Grainger, today's guest, not only was a huge part in the inspiration for the birth of this show, but he epitomizes that ethos as well. He is in his mid 50s now, and he's still out there surfing a ton and stays fit and healthy for surfing, and also teaches others to be better surfers and better people through better surfing mindset, health and fitness, etc. Matt is just a pure inspiration in the surfing world and just an absolute frother and a rips. He rips. He's an incredible surfer and stoked to get him back on the show. And like I said, he first appeared back in episode number one. He's. This will be his fourth appearance. Uh, he also appeared in episode 30 and episode 55 as well. And, uh, without further ado, I shall fade in my conversation. My fourth conversation on this podcast with Matt Grainger from Manly Surf School. How did it happen? Was it just a freak random thing, or was it a lapse in concentration or what? [00:02:07] Matt Grainger: Yeah, it was a bit of the ego took over and ego took over. Um, we'd had. Every day was the best day ever. We had this the first swell in June. And, um, this one day just got bigger and bigger, and it had a lot of south in it. There was two swells. It was like a south swell and a bit of south west as well. So you could get a chip in, you could chip in from behind, behind the tower, and you could backdoor where you'd usually take off. So you'd get like more barrel time. And I was riding this magic six zero Psi Pro, one that I've had for about a year. Felt unreal under my feet. Been riding it for days straight. And then, um, this guy Sean came out from South Africa. He rocked up on a boat. Him and I started paddling up the reef and just trading wave after wave and making him. So just making these unbelievable tubes and no one came up there because, you know, it was pretty gnarly. So if you fell, it was like two foot deep and it was like an eight foot swell. So when Max, probably 8 to 10, you probably saw footage of Nathan Florence. I don't know if you saw some of the footage of him and he's it was like 10 to 12 foot hits that day, whereas Max doesn't get bigger, it just gets thicker. So it's probably 6 to 8 foot, but really thick, like a chokes kind of way. You get this, you can make this really nice drop and then come in with speed. [00:03:28] Matt Grainger: And just if you made it, you're fine. But if you didn't make it, that's what happened. So after five hours, I actually wasn't even tired. I was after like five hours, I was just just getting cocky and I probably should have gone in. It was more like one more, one more. And Shaun and I were trying to outdo each other, and he he actually snapped his board, his board on his last wave, and I snapped my head, but I took off, made. It made. The drop. Drop was on the foam ball. As I was pumping on the foam ball, the wave turned the corner. So kind of that south west angle of the way though, turned a massive corner. So I've just got catapulted on the foam ball and I got thrown out head first, and that's as soon as my head landed, the lip hit the back of my neck and just drove me straight into the reef, like, instantly. It was only like two foot deep. It was low tide and I just it was just like, bang. I was like, no, I got a bit on here. And then I went into worry, went into warrior mode. You know, when you when I'd said us the way, way my eyes. Okay. It's actually got a cut there as well. So I've got to cut. I got cut either side. I got cuts either side of the nose down here on the bottom of the nose as well on this eye. [00:04:43] Matt Grainger: And obviously here I have about 25 stitches here, five stitches here. And I just went I knew the session was over and I just paddled back. Everyone was like, we'll get a boat. Everyone's screaming, get a boat, get a boat! That's it. I'm like, I'm good, I'm good. Getting myself back almost on my own. You know, like one guy got scared. Good on ya. Um, this guy Hans from America. He goes, good on you, tough guy. I'm like, nah, I've got this, I got this. Anyway. So I went back and got on the pontoon and just started pouring bottled water over my head. And then I got the boat back to Max and then looked for Shaz, and she was already stitching up my brother. He had a little cut on his back. So. And then someone said,, Matt's looking for you. Cut his head and neck. And she thought,, if he's asking for something, he's in a bad way. So then she saw my head and she thought I'd cracked. I'd actually, like, fractured my skull, but it was actually bits of coral coming out of my head. .Far out. So she pulled that, pulled the bits of coral out. He got some local, which was good. We'll just put it in the carts and then pulling bits of coral out the tweezers, and then got a toothbrush for an hour and just scrubbing it. That was the gnarly part. I just had to. [00:06:01] Michael Frampton: Scrubbing and all this peroxide or iodine or something. Yeah. [00:06:04] Matt Grainger: With, um. Yeah. Just with, um. Yeah. Like light alcohol. Yeah. Just. And just so you don't kill the flesh too much. Like, not too gnarly. Um, but just getting it all out, and that's. I reckon that saved me for sure. And then obviously took about two hours to stitch up, which was gnarly. And I was just doing I've been doing a lot of breath training like coaching, apnea training. And I saw resonance breathing, which is like a second inhale six second exhale. . So just going into that just and that helped big time. That was like a three hour ordeal which could have been a long time. Felt like a long time. But it wasn't as long as I thought. And then she put like a face mask over it so I couldn't see. And then, um, yeah, The rest is history. And then I surfed the next day., you did not. Yeah I know. He taped it up. I just said, I'll get two. I'll get one. Wait, I'll get one wave. And I did some tests, like I was jumping on one leg to see if I had concussion and then, no, I'm not well in the head anyway, uh, and then I came. I wore a helmet, of course, and then I didn't surf for after that day. I didn't surf for three and a half days. And then after that I was good to go because I was on. [00:07:21] Matt Grainger: I was having, uh, four courses of antibiotics. I four, four tablets of antibiotics every day, washing it with, um, fresh water. And we're getting she was breaking up antibiotics and putting it inside the cup as well. Yeah. And she and she left a little bit of one of the gnarly cuts. Didn't do it too tight. So bits of coral would still come out if it did. There's still little bits popping out, far out. But yeah. So I'm wearing a helmet from now on when it's gnarly like that. So I went to G-land. After that we had another swell at Max and Surf Greenbush, but I had one of those soft shell helmets that Tommy Scott wears. Yeah. By, um, DMC. It's like a rugby helmet. Yeah, yeah, but they're nice and light, but they're, um. Yeah. So that that felt good. And then I wore it in g-land every surf even because I didn't want to get hit and break the cuts open anymore. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got the stitches out after six days and they healed well. Yeah. So wow. But from now on I'm going to. If it's gnarly and low tide and heavy, I'll be wearing a helmet. Yeah. No. Fair enough. But I was lucky I didn't get concussion and brain damage or lose an eye or nose or whatever. Yeah., yeah. [00:08:32] Michael Frampton: And I mean, and any sort of coral cut infection is such a huge risk, right? [00:08:38] Matt Grainger: I reckon like, even there was a girl, it was actually a girl out in the water. She. Her name's Kat. She does immense heavy new for about six months with a with harm. So her partner and they they had a long boat with um with a solar panel on top and just go around the islands and she, she had a cut on her foot. She went to seek a cut and just had a shower. So that got that sort of told. And she told me this story like a week before. And then she got this, this flesh eating, um, microbe in her foot. And she basically went delirious and had to go to she went to Padang and their hospital was too dirty and gnarly. So the hands got her out of there, carried her onto the fast ferry, then went to Jakarta and she had like three skin grafts and then back to LA. Yeah, just from that. So that straight away I was like, I'm not getting my head touching any, any, um, any shower water. So I was just it sounds very first world, but I was just every time I wash my head, I was just with bottled water. Yeah. Yeah. So that's a good tip for people out there. yeah. Yeah. Look after your carts. Yeah. Always look after my carts. Even feet. You know, I went to Chofu. First time I went to Chofu in 2000. A tiny little cuts on my feet. And it was the last day. And I was like, last day, who cares? And then I got home and I got stacked. I couldn't walk. I went to my. I went to my glands. And straight away I was on antibiotics and prednisone and it went away. But that was nasty. So it taught me a good lesson. Yeah. So get on, get on to your rep cards quickly people when you go to the tropics. [00:10:17] Michael Frampton: Yeah. You got to clean them eh. I remember I touched the reef in Arugam Bay in Sri Lanka once. Like just got this tiny little graze. Thought nothing of it. Just put like a little bit of iodine cream on it. That's all I did. And then two days later, it's just like 50 cent welt that's throbbing. [00:10:33] Matt Grainger: And I had to hit. [00:10:35] Michael Frampton: Yeah. Had to get some antibiotics. So should have just scrubbed it out with a toothbrush and done the right thing at the time. But it was such a small cut, you thought nothing of it. But they must have just been little bits of coral in there or something. [00:10:47] Matt Grainger: Yeah, yeah, that was one of the ones where the feeder chirps. Tiny little, like little nicks. Yeah. So, yeah, to get that tape. Yeah. So the tip from Shaz. Doctor. Shaz, my partner. Get. Take her. I always have, like, a spare toothbrush. That's clean. You can't even get it from that. If you get it from the hotel. But you never brush your teeth with it, so it's totally clean. And just scrub it. Scrub it. Um, use the little wipes. The the iodine alcohol wipes. So you do one offs and not nothing else dirty. And then just keep checking it. Yeah. And there's that. There's that tayo gin. That's pretty good from Indo. You know that Chinese, that red bottle. That's always cool. That Chinese. It's called tayo gin or the ayam. They don't use cream. She said use because it just festers in the tropics. Use the powder. The powder? Yeah. The powders of the guy. Yeah. Okay. So that's a go and then cover them up. Yeah. If you do your feet too. I always wear shoes. People give me heaps of crap in Indo because I'm always wearing. If I've got cuts, I'll put shoes on because you're walking around. You get dirt in the cuts. Yeah. So it's important if we always forget especially. Yeah. You're like, oh nah, I'll be right. Or, you know, you see so many guys just get smashed and don't even do anything. Yeah. [00:12:03] Michael Frampton:yeah. It's not worth the risk. I used to you're still out charging, catching heaps of waves. [00:12:07] Matt Grainger: Yeah, still surfing a lot. Um, pretty much surf every day. Sometimes twice. Um, got the gym. Surfer's gym. Which is good. That keeps me fit and healthy. They working on the mobility that you taught me years ago, and. Yeah, just building on that. I think that's a big key is mobility. As we get older and even the younger athletes that we coach too. I've got some pros that train at our gym and and we've got them on a mobility program. Whereas strength training and I found lately like in the last few years, like having the ability and also the strength training is huge just for reducing, reducing injury, keeping strong. Like I'm 55 this month. I don't even talk about your age too. It's really important what you say out of your mouth. You know there's a, there's a quote by Bruce Lee is like be careful what you say with your words because that's why it's called spells and spelling. Like you're saying, you hear heaps of guys walk around and go, I'm done. I'm old, I'm an old man and all this. And you're like, hey, mate. Like, no, it's all relative. Like it's it's you know what? It's time. Really anyway. You know, like just this thing we've made up, but, you know, there's biological age. And if you keep yourself fit and healthy and moving and eat well, sleep well. You can keep keep rocking till you're in your 80s, I reckon. [00:13:29] Michael Frampton: Yeah, man, I was just reading. Listening to a book, actually, about all of that. And this Harvard professor did an experiment where she got a bunch of 80 year old men, and she put them in a house where everything in the house was as if it was 30 years ago, and they were only allowed. So the TV programs, the books, the furniture, and they were only allowed to talk, talk about things as if it was 30 years ago in the present. And within a few days, their eyesight improved. Health, like blood pressure, improved everything just by just like placebo. Like extreme placebo effect. Wow. [00:14:11] Matt Grainger: That's awesome. Yeah, it's rare to get that book. [00:14:14] Michael Frampton: It's a rare book. I'll. I'll forward it to you and I'll put it in the show notes for listeners, too. I think it's called the mind body Connection or something. I'll put it in the show notes and I'll send it to you. [00:14:23] Matt Grainger: And even when I was at, um, not trying to name drop here, but when I was at Nazaré, I came in, I totally led back to the harbor because he broke down. It's quite funny. Like it was a big day. Like 60 foot. Perfect. Nazaré. And I was with Lucas Pereira, who's from Mavericks, who trains with me. He was towing with me on that. We were just shifting partners all day. And then I said, you lead like I don't even know lead any way from then. And I said, you make leads out to sea doing nothing. We should go check on him. And he's like, yeah, right. So we hammered out the lead and he goes, yeah, I ran out of fuel, guys. And you're like, why? He goes, I was having too much fun. You know, every time the beeper light came on the warning signal that was low on fuel, I just turned it off. And because it was a really good day and it was a really good Nazaré, like, clean 60 foot faces and whatnot. Anyway, so I, we hooked up my ski to his ski and towed him back to the harbor. And we got back to the, um, got back to the wharf, and I was just chatting to him about how we've got a gym and I've been following what he does working XPT programs, and I do a lot of breathwork, but I really like breathwork. [00:15:36] Matt Grainger: And and I said, yeah, yeah, we don't we don't talk about age, you know, in our gym because what you said the word, don't you ever say that word in front of me again. And he got really gnarly. And I was like, okay, man, settle down. And um, so it's there's a lot of truth to it. Hey, I see, like, Chaz is, um, she's my wife. She's over 60, and she's getting better because she only started 20 years. And there's guys at the beaches that used to rip when they were 20, and they've given up at 50, or probably given up at 50 because it's in their mindset., my knees and stuff and my back stuff. And you're like, well, what do you do about it? Do you um, do you do any mobility or you know, what are you eating? What are you how are you sleeping? Or you know, I don't know. They're like, I don't know, you just like, okay. So yeah, it's funny isn't it? And I think I think we were lucky our age like we've, we've been introduced to a lot of stuff. And if you're curious about it, which you are and I am, there's so much stuff you can learn going down that rabbit holes. [00:16:41] Michael Frampton: yeah. It's never ending. Kind of. [00:16:42] Matt Grainger: Ten. The crew ten years before us, probably a lot of them missed out on that eating poor food, poor movement. Um, yeah, I think it's good. I've got the hoop. I've had the hoop for, like, uh, probably five years now. I find that's really good because I'm. I'm really diligent about my sleep. It can be gnarly some days, and it gives you a bad sleep score. You've got to kind of let that go, and not even your day is ruined. Because I know some athletes who will like that, and they're like, I had to get rid of it because it said I had a bad sleep score and I'd have a bad day. I'm like, no, no, you got to get past that. But sleep is huge. Hey, like and probably read that book by Matthew Walker that was, you know, everyone knew how important sleep was. You know, we cure cancer and all sorts of ailments. Balance. Yeah. So yeah, they'll always I try to have a little nap in the Arvo if I get time. Yeah. Try to have a nap every Arvo. And I think it's good to have a nap if I have the luxury, because you're just not talking. You're not thinking. You're just having a little break from the world and then back into it. Have a training session at the gym with the crew and then dinner in bed again. So that's my little routine. Yeah. And not being and not used to have to always wake up super early or to plan that I ought to be up early and out there for stuff. But if now if the waves aren't that good, I'm not going to get up early just to punish myself for the early just for the sake of being the first guy out there. So now, because I've found on the sleep on your sleep scores, when you do actually sleep that extra hour in the morning. Yeah. You get a lot of benefits. It's crazy. And if you do go to bed early. Yeah. Mm. [00:18:18] Michael Frampton: Does does is surfing the main motivator for you to stay fit and healthy? [00:18:23] Matt Grainger: Yeah. For sure. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. Like I couldn't give a stuff like what I look like. I just want to actually be able to catch waves and still be able to surf. My brother and I just went to Macaronis together and we were both chatting that we probably surf better now than we were in our mid 20s, just because the boards are better. We've got more knowledge and we've kept our bodies good. Yeah. Yeah. So we've had no we've had no serious accidents though which is lucky. you know obviously head knocks and all that kind of stuff but nothing like haven't broken any major bones like bony broken hands and a few things like that, but not, you know, haven't broken a femur or anything, you know. So some guys obviously are disadvantaged if they have a major injury but haven't had any major injuries. And then now I've realized I used to always think when I was have had a niggle like a, like a niggling hip or, you know, you had to go to the chiropractor and you had to do this, you had to do and now you can kind of push through it and move through it. [00:19:24] Matt Grainger: I found that like. And if it's really serious, obviously go and see a physician, which is good. and you can get a really good massage or just to break that tissue down. But I found now you can move through pain and throughout the whole day like not, you know, everyone thinks, I've got to train for an hour and that's it. So I don't do it. You know, you can do little snacks like ten minutes here, you know, ten minutes in the morning, another ten minutes at lunchtime, another two minutes here, and then another two minutes and eventually kind of work through it. I remember when we were working together, you were pretty onto that early in the early days. Good diets. I love I like got into my fasting, which is good pretty much two meals a day. Love the bone broth. I'm doing a coffee, obviously. Black coffee, a little bit of coconut oil. So, yeah, that's just all these little hacks that we're learning. Just helping along the way, I reckon. [00:20:21] Michael Frampton: Yeah, but you've got that motivation. You want to keep surfing, you want to keep going to Indo and that's what. Yeah. That's what get you. Okay. No I'm not going to have that donut. I'm going to and I'm going to go to bed early because I want to I want to go and get barreled at Indo like. [00:20:36] Matt Grainger: no, it's such a good motivator. Yeah. And and it's, it keeps you young. Yeah. It keeps you young and young in the head too. And looking at boards that, you know, I'm still riding shore boards and my short boards like a five, five, nine. And I've got A53 Bobby quad that I ride in the wave pool. Yeah. So I can still ride short boards. yeah. And just having that and and the boards have gotten so good. Now, you know, just the rockers and the things all the shapers. And I remember Mike, Michael Ho was talking with his son Mason. I saw in an interview that he said, oh, dad, why do you think you're ripping so much now? And he goes to the boards and Michael's like, doesn't care. You know, he just he doesn't have Instagram or Facebook. He's just surfing and I've I've seen Coco out in the water when she's in Indo or here and she said, yeah pops. Just he just the proper. So he's, he's, he's not thinking about how he's 60 and he's charging you know. Yeah he's right. He's got, he's got new blades and getting tubed out back door and ripping on the backside at Alma-Ata and things like that. But yeah, that's the motivation is surfing. Yeah. And it's, it's such a fun sport. And I just always say to people, it's a puzzle. [00:21:51] Matt Grainger: You know, you every time you go for a surf, you're trying to work out that puzzle. It doesn't matter if it's one foot onshore or it's 20 foot bommies or it's crazy tubes in Indo, you're still trying to figure out how you're going to paddle in. How are you going to get to your feet? How are you going to generate speed? Is it a straight down drop? Is it a knifing drop? Am I going to get in my front foot early? All these little things that just come into play from all those years of experience, and you're trying to work out that puzzle, and then it's one foot. You just want to go out and do one big turn on a one footer and you're happy. So that's what keeps me motivated. Some days, even if it's crap, I'll still go out for like three waves and just I'll get my three waves and go to work and train. And I've got the training to, I've got rid of the cardio. So I'm sort of not really doing the cardio so much now. It's just strength and movement because if you do a good movement flow, you can get good cardio from that anyway. Yeah, I forgot my heart rate monitor and you're actually getting flexi, whereas you don't want to get stiff and then just doing the right strength training. [00:22:53] Matt Grainger: So you look at all the surfers now it's all legs, hardly any upper body, only back and legs. You don't want any chest and you don't want to overload the shoulders as well in your you know, the rotator cuff exercises are really good. So light weights on the shoulders, nothing heavy. So you can still get that mobility in your paddle. And you've got the power through your back for your paddle. So a lot of the strength training is like just Olympic rings, pull ups, maybe some skin. The cat. yeah. dumbbell pull ups as well, off the bench, all that kind of stuff. And then a lot of, a lot of,, obviously squats with the barbell, goblet squats, front squats, split squats, all that kind of stuff. It's super important, I reckon. So getting that mobility and doing the weights and getting that connection and feeling when you're doing the weight, not just doing it for the sake of it, like doing those reps and really thinking about that rep and just getting your body in those positions that you could do in the water on land. So when you go out there like a martial artist, you're you're ready to go. You've drilled it so many times it becomes second nature. Yeah. [00:24:01] Michael Frampton: No, strength training is so good. It's also for like strength training gives you it increases your body awareness actually, and just increases your maintains your bone density. And it's just it's so helpful. And if you're doing it do upper body. Lower body. It's it's about as doesn't get any more hard of a cardio workout than doing like a strength training circuit if you want to, you know, get the heart rate up. [00:24:26] Matt Grainger: What sort of work? What sort of stuff are you doing these days, like in your regime? [00:24:30] Michael Frampton:. Mine's so I had I've got,, I had ACL surgery in my early 20s and it's now almost, you know, bone on bone, basically. So a lot of my, a lot of my training is just keeping on top of that. so like, slow moving, heavy stuff with,, you know, have you seen the knees over toes guy? [00:24:55] Matt Grainger: Yeah, yeah. He's awesome. [00:24:56] Michael Frampton: Hey, backwards walking on the treadmill and just. Yeah, following some of his stuff. Uh, and just to keep the legs strong. Because it's interesting. Because they say it's bone on bone, right? And it can get like that, but your cartilage is gone. Your cartilage doesn't really come back. But there is scar tissue forms where the cartilage was. As long as that scar tissue is there, you're fine. If you do too much stuff and that scar tissue wears away. So if you do too much volume and you don't allow that scar tissue to to heal and reform and the fluids to come back, then it can be bone on bone, you get a real sore joint. But so now, as long as I keep the volume of what I'm doing on the knee, it's fine. You can actually you can actually go. [00:25:39] Matt Grainger: How many reps? [00:25:41] Michael Frampton: Actually, I would just sort of more like six reps. Only a couple of sets. But you know, because I've got a history of strength training. I know the form. I'm strong, I know what to do. But a backwards walking on the treadmill and some and lots of balance work as well, because it's actually those small little twitching movements in the joint that do the most damage. So if your balance is on point and your joint is nice and stable, then it's one of the big things as well. So keeping the balance, like standing on one leg with your eyes closed. Little things like that. Yeah I do. [00:26:16] Matt Grainger: I love the pendulum jumps with the, you know, the pendulum jump. So it's a one legged jump. Yeah. and we'll do that. More eyes closed as well. Yeah. When I coach a lot of the athletes as well, like before, they were competing, like, I'd say, like they'll do five jumps, eyes open, and then the last five closed. And it helps for that body awareness, you know, for late drops and. yeah, no big drops out of the lip and being aware of where their body is. Yeah. Yeah. And I even did it when I crack my head to check if I had concussion, I was like, yes, I'm fine. You know. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a doctor. But if you can jump one legged with your eyes closed, you pretty much. And you're fine. You don't have concussion. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [00:27:03] Michael Frampton: No, I do a bit of sprinting. Sprinting as well. Sprinting is really good for you. So I do a bit of that and I still do like the bodyweight gymnastics style strength training as well. Still doing that. Following a guy called, uh, Nardi. Oh, man, I can't even pronounce his name. Nardi Orejuela or I can't remember how to pronounce it, but it's functional performance training. He's doing a lot of really unique stuff. He's worth a follow. He's pretty out there with some of what he says, but he's also got some really interesting tips. A lot of, you know, not necessarily heavy weights, but functional, functional stuff. Just he's worth a follow. [00:27:39] Matt Grainger: Cool. yeah. [00:27:40] Michael Frampton: And just keeping on top of the diet, diet and sleep, man, that's like you mentioned, man. Just keeping a clean diet, getting enough sleep and giving a good balance of rest and stress. [00:27:49] Matt Grainger: Because, yeah, life can get stressful, but it's only what you make it really like. But yeah, if you if you sleep well, if you have a good sleep, you can conquer anything. Really. Hey, I'll find two. The shoulders are important. Like the rotator cuff muscles. Important to keep that on top of that. Just like maintenance work like prehab, like lightweights, like 10% of your body weight, just getting in all those different angles because you do you can, you know, when you're, you know, those days when you're paddling super hard trying to make that wave where it's hollow, you're going to put a lot of stress on the shoulder joint. And I've had seen so many mates like you look at you got to look at your mates who had surgeries, you know what I mean? Like, it's always so, shoulders, knees and hips if you look after those. And spine pretty much ahead of the game. Yeah. Yeah. [00:28:40] Michael Frampton: Hanging dude. Hanging for your shoulders. Really good. [00:28:45] Matt Grainger: Just hanging. Awesome. [00:28:46] Michael Frampton: Active and passive. Hanging. And, I mean, I'm lucky. When I was living in the US, I did. I did three different DNS courses., yeah. [00:28:55] Matt Grainger: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember you doing that. Yeah. [00:28:57] Michael Frampton: And so I do a lot of that sort of rehab style training still. And that's really good for shoulders and and core that helps keep my shoulders in check. [00:29:07] Matt Grainger: I remember, I remember you got injured and I did the Ido portal course. Yes, I remember you did. Yeah, I think you did your hamstring right. Yeah. That's right. Yeah. And I was a day before and he said, Matti, can you do this? And I went, yeah. And did a whole week with it. [00:29:22] Michael Frampton: Yeah. That's right. [00:29:23] Matt Grainger: Yeah. He was massive. It was massive on hanging. Yeah. And you know, the ring and the rings too. Yeah. And I find the rings or rings are better for a surfer too. Like doing chin ups, pull ups on a ring because you get that nice. Like you get that movement in the shoulder joint where it's just a straight bar. You don't really get that movement because we actually reach out and rotate our shoulder as we paddle. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah, yeah. You know, it was it was pretty. It was an interesting guy. Cool guy. Full on. Yeah. He is. Yeah. But yeah, I learned a lot. Yeah. [00:29:59] Michael Frampton: cool. Are you still doing ice baths? [00:30:01] Matt Grainger: Still doing that. [00:30:02] Michael Frampton: Yeah. [00:30:03] Matt Grainger: And our boss. And so on. Got an ice bath in the backyard and a sauna, which is lucky. And we got two at the gym now. We got two saunas and two ice baths. Wow. So. Yeah. Yeah. It's good. Everyone loves them. Yeah. Everyone's created a little community there. Yeah, yeah. It's awesome. [00:30:21] Michael Frampton: What about LA? Have you looked into Light Health? [00:30:24] Matt Grainger: I have seen it. I haven't really done it personally. And it just looks it looks pretty interesting. It's just a matter of time and money. Yeah. In our in our sauna. I do have some infrared, but, like, not, some lighting, but, you know, it's not huge. Have you been looking into it? Well, it's it's just really interesting. [00:30:42] Michael Frampton: There's this guy, Jack cruise, who's been on about it for years, but now that there's sort of like 20 years, but now there's all these scientific studies coming out proving his theories right about how important, sunlight exposure is for health and how it turns on certain genes like the Pomc gene and and how if you're exposing yourself to too much blue light after the sun's gone down, how that affects blood sugar and circadian rhythms. And but if I mean, if you're getting up and going, surfing every day and getting to bed on time, it's funny, that's all. [00:31:14] Matt Grainger: Like Huberman and all that, like, yeah, they say go out and play, you know, go get the sun. Yeah. And, I, we live on the East Coast here, so every early surf, you're like, looking into the sun exactly in the morning. You know, you're blinking, going oh. And, you know, different on the West Coast. Yeah. If you go to bed at the right time. And I try not to look at my phone before I go to bed. So, Yeah, I just try to banish that, put it away because. Yeah, that's a bad habit, isn't it? Just before looking at the screen, try to look at computers as well. So onto that in that way. Yeah. Yeah. You can just go. Yeah. Just basic stuff. Yeah. Keeping those circadian rhythms. Yeah. Haven't done the glasses or anything like that. Like the. [00:31:58] Michael Frampton: The blue blocking glasses. Yeah. [00:32:01] Matt Grainger: Dave Asprey and whatnot. [00:32:02] Michael Frampton: Yeah. Yeah, they get into it a lot. They go hardcore on everything. [00:32:06] Matt Grainger: They go hardcore. I'm like, no. How am I? It's none of them. Don't you think there's a fine line between how much time you got in the day and. [00:32:15] Michael Frampton: exactly. But I mean, David Beckham and his mates, they're spending a lot of money on, like, days. Dave Asprey has a goal to live to 120. I think he might have even said 100, 150. But like and be healthy and functional at that age. So he's making sure that, you know, every day he's doing as much as he can. So those guys are going. I don't know. [00:32:38] Matt Grainger: I don't know if I want to live that long. Yeah. It's damn sad. You know what I mean? Like, you kind of want to just die normally. You know, like. [00:32:45] Michael Frampton: With dignity. Yeah. [00:32:47] Matt Grainger: Dignity? Yeah. Like you don't have to go. Yeah. Yeah. [00:32:50] Michael Frampton: Because if you're the only, you're the only one doing it. And like, you're you're still alive and healthy. Yeah. Friends are dead. You're like. [00:32:58] Matt Grainger: What was that? I mean, let's talk about that all the time. Yeah. They just overboard and and almost bring a lot of anxiety, I think, to like trying to keep on point. Like you're not actually like they want to get to this goal of being this age, but they're not actually having fun in the present. Like it's like I've still got to live your life. Hey, you got to still have fun with your friends, with your friends. And, you know, like, I'm not like, a total. I'm. There's no way I'm a total monk. Like, I'm. I still eat really well, but if I, you know, if I'm with with friends and family, I'm not going to go. I'm not eating that because I'm this, you know, like, yeah, I'll still want to be part of the group, you know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. It's not going to kill me. Yeah. I don't want to have a good time with with my friends. I'm not going to be that guy that's like, oh, no, I don't do that. Because, I want to live to 150. [00:33:46] Michael Frampton: Exactly. Yeah. I'm going to go to bed at 8:00 on Christmas Day because you want to live to 150? [00:33:55] Matt Grainger: You know, it's kind of like. Yeah, it's counterintuitive. Really? [00:33:59] Michael Frampton: Yeah. [00:34:00] Matt Grainger: What about if you get to whatever, you get hit by a car? Exactly. You know. Exactly. I don't mean that in a bad way.. You got it. Still? Yeah. And it's funny, like, all this grounding, you know, we we hardly wear shoes in was, you know, you hardly wear shoes when I, when I hang out with you. Yeah, but hardly shoes. Oh, Maddy, you're wearing shoes today. That's weird. I'm like, oh, well, I had to go to remaining shoes. [00:34:27] Michael Frampton: I hate. [00:34:28] Matt Grainger: It. Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:34:30] Michael Frampton: No, but that's the thing. All the stuff that's coming out in the latest health stuff, all these guys, it's what we do anyway. Especially as surfers. We get early morning sun. We're getting lots of grounding work because we're surfing in the ocean. That's the best way to get your. Your grounding done is in the ocean or walking on the sand in bare feet. We're getting it done anyway. But it's just interesting, all these studies coming out and and proving that. [00:34:55] Matt Grainger: You can you can buy a grounding mat and walk outside. Put your feet on the on the cold grass, you know, like, the cold sand. Like I'll be surfing the wave pool a lot lately and it's super fun. But you still don't get that, feeling of the energy or the ocean. Like, you know, it doesn't matter if your body surf, surf, body board, whatever. If you dive in the ocean for a swim, you always come out feeling amazing, don't you? Yeah. Just from it's from the negative ions though, isn't it. [00:35:24] Michael Frampton: Yeah. That's part of it. Yeah. [00:35:25] Matt Grainger: Yeah, yeah part of it. Yeah. And just maybe the salt, the energy of the waves just being in nature and. Yeah, it's funny, you can go on the wave pool and you have a good time. You don't get that buzz of that feeling on your whole body from the natural waves. Yeah. And the salt and all that. Yeah. [00:35:46] Michael Frampton: How much time have you spent in the wave pools? [00:35:49] Matt Grainger:there's a new one in Sydney now. Sydney and I. Every Thursday I teach a fitness class to the staff. I've been doing that for the past six weeks. So I go out every Thursday and I make sure I serve from 4 to 5, and then I run the class at 530 to 630. So that's pretty cool. Like, I'll ride my little five three Bobby quad and, get about 20 waves. And then we ran our we ran a pretty cool course the other week. We did a get ready for your master class. It was like an endo masterclass clinic. So we taught people how to ride left tubes. So we had the expert mode, which is just a barrel. It's pretty cool. You take off, you can do a Rio or just a set up turn and get this nice tube. That's a pretty cool tube. Like the barrel is wider than it is high. Yeah, you got to get quite low in the tube. And then it kind of turned the corner a bit like macaronis. So we did um, we did about 30 minutes. I broke down all the best surfers in the world getting tubed on the TV screen have had eight participants, and so we broke that down for placement, for backhand front side, you know, getting and then we did movement patterns like mobility patterns to open up people's hips and, and ankles, because that's pretty much what you need when getting low in tubes and most tube riding. [00:37:08] Matt Grainger: So we did that, we went and surfed for an hour. Everyone got about 12 waves. And then we there's a I it's crazy. They film this. I called Flow State on the left and the right, but we're only on the left. You come in and it's got all the clips of you. So I got a coaches password. So I went through everyone's clips and broke down what they were doing. Right. What they're doing wrong. Yeah, it was rad. And then we had had lunch and then we did apnea training. So then we went into the leisure pool, which is heated because the wave pool is only about 11 degrees at the moment. So yeah, it's quite it's quite cold. Yeah. So they just pulled 28. So we, we taught them the science of breath holding. Then we went and did it in the water. And then she did a chat on our endo. What's it like in your first aid kit? And, you know, rough cuts? Yeah, it was awesome. That was a that was a full day. It was fun. [00:38:00] Michael Frampton: All right. So I did. [00:38:01] Matt Grainger: That., had some fun days with the Surface Gym crew. We'll book out the pool for two hours. And so two different modes, one the tube, the expert modes and tube. And they've got advanced, which is half turns, half tube. Yeah. It's pretty cool. Good fun. And then Isabella Nichols two. She'll fly down and we'll I'll coach her for two days before an event. So before Huntington, we tested out two of the boards. See what you actually got. Two brand new boards of the HD and then obviously had more, but she had these two boards that she thought were going to be the ones. And they were so pretty cool to work that out. Yeah, we did some also some work before Bolido. So it's not a it's a good coaching tool. Yeah., because you got you guaranteed getting one left and right, so I'll book it. We'll book a session on the right and the left, and you're right there that she can come in and break it down each wave and go through some foot placement and hand placement stuff where you place the board on the wave and back out there. Yeah. So it's pretty cool. And you got all the footage on film as well and also got the flow state. [00:39:04] Michael Frampton: All right. It's like the driving range for surfers. [00:39:07] Matt Grainger: Yeah it is. It's the full driving range. So it keeps you fit too. Like it's actually it's a full leg workout because the way you get weaker, you've got to stay right in the pocket and push real hard with your feet and your hips. Yeah a lot of. Yeah. It's pretty interesting. Yeah. It's good. Good fun. You feel like especially in the tube major. Every time I'm just on the tube I feel like a 15 year old kid again. Like you're guaranteed a barrel. You know, you're guaranteed 15 to 20 barrels that up and. Yeah. Pretty amazing. [00:39:34] Michael Frampton: Oh, that's so good. you're still doing good. Did you. Are you still taking people to macarons as well? [00:39:40] Matt Grainger: Yeah, we've got one coming up, yeah. Next February, March 2025. We're doing. Chaz is doing the movement, and I'm doing the surfing right. Yeah, we've got two and I got a goose and Ari, who helped us as well as coaching. They're awesome guys and good coaches. Yeah. Yeah. It's rad. Yeah. So we basically surf from 6 a.m. till 1130 and there's two filmers there. So they the filmers get all the footage and then we, we break down the footage at 1:00 for about an hour, and then we'll go surfing again. And then sometimes if the waves are small, we'll do apnea training in the pool. So that's like a week, seven day classes or seven day clinics. So and then some people do two weeks. Yeah. Wow. But yeah it's super fun. And you know, we go to the Thunders as well because, uh, McKenzie's small. It's always two foot bigger up there. So yeah, it's good fun. Yeah. It's an awesome, awesome clinic because it's such a mechanical wave that goes from 1ft to 6 foot. Such a rippable wave. You know, just in the pocket. You can work on people's techniques and you see people improve real quick because they've got a running wall. It's not like a, you know, sitting right here, but sometimes you can just get close down. If it's the south swell you just got, you know, the people can only do one turn if that. Obviously if it's perfect, no swells here. Great. You know, all the all the, all the beaches are lining up. Machias is unbelievable. You can do four turns so you can really work on people's, you know how they you know how they sort of start the wave speed generation where they do their bottom turn, their top turn and good place for an upper body rotation. Yeah. It's cool. Yeah. It's good fun. Yeah. All right. That's it. [00:41:29] Michael Frampton: They all filled up. Clean up? [00:41:31] Matt Grainger: Uh. Not yet. No, I think there's still some spots left. Yeah. So they're filling macaroni, doing the marketing right now for next year, but yeah, they get. Yeah. We got some good numbers this year. I think next year is going to be even better. Yeah. So it's a good gig? Yeah. It's good fun. Yeah. And, you know, good, good bonding with people. Everyone's there to learn and have a good time. [00:41:51] Michael Frampton: I'll put a link to to details about that. Show notes. [00:41:55] Matt Grainger: Awesome. Yeah. Awesome. [00:41:57] Michael Frampton: You guys had a big swell there a few days. Yeah. We had. [00:42:01] Matt Grainger: Yeah. Last week. Uh, last. Yeah, we had a massive swell. Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. Only bummer had really strong southerly winds. So we, being the captain, towed the car and naughty bomb in the mornings when it was southwest. And then the wind just came up and blew it out. The dead man's was on. Yeah. We got to surf that on our own. Dead man's pumping. Have a look at that. [00:42:27] Michael Frampton: I saw the footage. Yeah, some of it, but it was. [00:42:30] Matt Grainger: It wasn't many people making them. Hey, it looked pretty gnarly. How cool is it? If you have a look at, uh, this is living by Carl how often he flew. He flew all the way over for it. [00:42:41] Matt Grainger: He does that. does that blog and, Yeah, he did. He didn't even make a way. Like a proper big one. He didn't make one way. He broke in the board, got smashed. He was coming this way. Gnarly. Cuz it's kind of like the heavy cake. Then it's got a step. Yeah. And if it doesn't open up, it just collapses on you. Yeah. And you don't know when you're paddling in. You're going to be a good one or not. there's one guy called Sam Jones. Got a cracker like he made. He actually made a really good one. But the rest of the crew. Yeah. Pretty much got smashed. There was a lot of carnage. Choo choo. Kelleher did a big airdrop. Dislocated his elbow joint., he got that? no. He just airdropped and then went back over the fall. Popping the elbow. Yeah, I'm kind of done with that wave. I know it's pretty gnarly backside. You just be looking for an injury and it's crowded now. Like I have to surf it on my own with, like, you know, 4 or 5 people. And now it's everyone's out there trying to get their photo taken or their clip, which is cool. You know, they're all younger and there'll be 30, 40 people out on a semi-closed reef that's 10 to 12 foot. [00:43:52] Matt Grainger: So we can get the jet skiing off the off the car and step on it. Right? Yeah. Yeah. And then we can check out Makaha, you know, go. Makaha. German banks, North Bay cruise around being the captain. It's fun. Yeah. Yeah. You got to be ready to go for dead man's like I've. I've snapped boards out there. I've had 30 sea urchins at my 40 out there once. I just went over the falls and landed feet first. And that was pretty gnarly. Injury. Went to hospital. Like, I, I couldn't walk, so I had to paddle back to North Steyne, back to the school, and drove up to the hospital. And they couldn't even get they left about four in there. And then three stayed. Three stayed in there for about three months. And and I Right when I popped out about that big, like three months later when I went snowboarding. gnarly. I remember Barton Barton Lynch actually got. He had to go to surgery with sea urchins out there. Scotty Romaine broke his back about four years ago. Out there, captains broke ins, MCL, PCL. Just copy breaking your ribs. Yeah, that's a good way to get injured. But it's if you're young, young buck and you want to charge, go for it. [00:45:03] Michael Frampton: Well you gotta you gotta pay to play sometimes. [00:45:06] Matt Grainger: Yeah. Yeah yeah. The, the the risk out there that have outweigh the rewards. But yeah there's some really there's some good surfing going on. Some of the young guys the young guys in pressure like so grueling. Lex O'Connor, some of the young dudes are like 18 year olds just charging it and making barrels, too. So. But this last world was pretty wonky. But we had a real good swell a week before that. Like a beast or a swell like Narromine was off its face, mouth narrower. We had like nor'west winds and eight foot barrels and that was that was pretty fun. So yeah, that was a more user friendly. And it was pumping north out or the whole East Coast. Yeah. On the Sydney Northern Beaches was going off. So yeah that went that went for three days. So we've had a really good year. Last year was about like a pretty bad winter. Yeah. To be here for Sydney and the sandbanks are good because we had that big swell. But yeah, pretty pretty stoked. What about yourself? Any waves your way? [00:46:05] Michael Frampton: Some. Not. Not too many. We've had a shit winter, actually. We've had heaps of. Usually you get the southerly swells here where I'm staying at the moment, but,, I've just been heaps of northerly nor east swells of low period for some reason. Almost like summer had weird weather patterns here. The south swells that come through have heaps of west in them, so they just go straight past. I don't know. [00:46:27] Matt Grainger: And the baits are good. [00:46:28] Michael Frampton: There's there's points and river bars around here. So we just need a decent high, long period swell and it turns on, but it still goes surfing but. And get waves and had a great summer. Great summer with the kids. Yeah. [00:46:42] Matt Grainger: Awesome. [00:46:43] Michael Frampton: But the winters. Yeah. Average winter here. And it's pretty. [00:46:47] Matt Grainger: Crazy. We've actually got,, the water's cold, like, it's, 14 degrees. Yeah. So sometimes it'll be. It'll be 20 in winter usually. But this year it's cold. Yeah, but the good. Yeah. So every morning pretty much offshore. So that's kind of cool. Yeah. With this with this cold water being lucky. Yeah. Random. [00:47:06] Michael Frampton: The water here, the water here is warmer than usual. I can still go surfing in A23 at the moment. No way. Yeah. The water's so warm here. It's just all these east and northeast flow. It's keeping the water warm. [00:47:19] Matt Grainger: That's pretty cool. Yeah, we. The wave pools. The wave pool. Actually, the concrete holds the cold. yeah, I bet I pulled about about 1111. [00:47:29] Michael Frampton: That's 43 bodies business. [00:47:31] Matt Grainger: Yeah, yeah, I just I don't wear booties, but I the guy's wearing gloves and hoods and just make sure you paddle out real quick and keep yourself warm. But yeah, last year we were last year we went to, Mexico and I. Yeah. So that was cool., but this year I'm just going to hang back. I've been building this app called The Surfer's Compass, so I want to get that out by the 1st of September. Hopefully I'll be doing that for a year. So just breaking down all the best surfers in the world. Women and men take offs, paddling, bottom turn, top turns, cuttings, airs, tubes and then throwing in movement patterns that will help those maneuvers and then breathwork and mindset. Yeah. So that's been a fun little project. [00:48:15] Michael Frampton: All right. [00:48:16] Matt Grainger: So yeah be working on that. I was helping with the graphics and Joe Barker with all the edits. But yeah, that's keeping me busy. It's like a, you know like you've done a lot of projects and you just want to get it done? Yeah. I mean, I'd want to do it right, but we were told we probably could have had it done in May, but I want to do it perfect. So yeah, hopefully we get it out by. Yeah. So I got like Ethan Ewing, Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater, Jeff Gilmore, Aaron Brooks, Isabella Nichols. [00:48:42] Michael Frampton: Parker cool. Look forward to seeing it. [00:48:44] Matt Grainger: Yeah. So that's what's keeping me busy. Yeah, yeah. And all the other stuff. The surf school and and the surf gym. [00:48:51] Michael Frampton: And all the barrels. [00:48:53] Matt Grainger: All the barrels. [00:48:54] Michael Frampton: Oh, sweet. You have to let let us, let us know when it's when it's released. And I'll spread the word. [00:48:58] Matt Grainger: Sure. That'll be awesome. Yeah. But yeah, you can't beat a barrel, can you? I always say to people, once you get it, why don't you get tubed? You're done. You won't be able to hold a relationship or a job and. [00:49:09] Michael Frampton: Yeah, it's addictive. Yeah. Healthy addiction though. It's on my list. I'll probably sit down with the boys this evening and we'll watch the replays and stuff. Yeah, one. [00:49:18] Matt Grainger: Of the local boys did really well, so yeah, it's pretty, pretty good result. You got to check it out. Yeah, it's actually awesome spectacle. How was,. Did you see the the big day? Yeah. [00:49:29] Michael Frampton: Yeah. No, I watched that with. [00:49:31] Matt Grainger: Joe and Ramsey. Booker. Joe, do you reckon they were charging harder than the WSL because there was more on the line, like, you know, medals and, like, they always charge in the WAFL that they go hard as. But some of them are not the nailing. Some of the Wipeouts were heavy weren't they. But yeah. [00:49:47] Michael Frampton: And also. [00:49:48] Matt Grainger: Connor O'Leary. [00:49:49] Michael Frampton: Though also like they had different camera angles too to the. So I don't know if they had even more expensive cameras to it just. Yeah different like just a higher level production as well. I think that helped. but certainly in the Medina it was just always everything Medina does just looks effortless, doesn't it? [00:50:06] Matt Grainger: It's that good, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. He's amazing. Yeah. He's. He's,. Yeah. There. Ethan Ewing. Yeah. They're solid as those guys. But it was good seeing the other guy from Peru. Yeah, it was Cabrera, wasn't it? Yeah. Like,. Yeah. Just seeing the other countries. That's pretty good, isn't it, about the Olympics, like, cared a lot more diversity. Yeah. I mean, I love the WAFL, but especially when they do the cup after the cup is just too much familiar., everyone's too familiar. You know, you go,, I've seen this heat before, even though it's in a different location. But it's good when you get wild cards and that variety and you just think,, I've seen another angle of surfing, you know, like, wow, this guy's insane. [00:50:48] Michael Frampton: All right. Matt. Hey, it's just gone 3:00. I better go in there. I got to do school pickup now, but thanks for thanks for doing the show again. Really appreciate it. [00:50:57] Matt Grainger: Awesome, mate. Awesome, brother. Take it easy. [00:51:00] Michael Frampton: Good to catch up. [00:51:01] Matt Grainger: Good one. Hopefully. See you when you come to Sydney. [00:51:03] Michael Frampton: That'd be great. Yeah. For sure. We'll be over there at some point., yeah. Keep me in. Keep me in the loop. Yeah, yeah. Keep me in the loop with the app. So. Yeah. Excellent. [00:51:13] Matt Grainger: That'd be cool. Awesome. Awesome, mate. [00:51:15] Michael Frampton: Thank you for tuning in to the Surf Mastery podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend. Also, the best way that you can help support and grow the show is to subscribe, rate and review on whatever app you're using, be it Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and of course, we are now on YouTube, so you can watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube. Be sure to check that out. Also, go to Surf mastery.com for more surfing tips via the blog. You can also book in a personal online surf coaching session with me, also at Surf mastery.com. There are two free downloadable PDFs, one with the five best tips from this show, and one the five best exercises to improve your surfing. So go to Surf mastery.com on the home page there. You'll see them. Until next time, keep surfing. Matt Grainger on the Surf Mastery Podcast

Cruise Dude Scott has a special interview for you today! He welcomes Cruise Director Joey of the Carnival Firenze on to our show. They take a deep dive into all the exciting things you find on this newly refreshed ship now sailing from Long Beach, California. Also, don't miss the YouTube version of this interview as well. Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

On this new episode, Scott has recently returned from his cruise on Southern California's newest ship, Carnival Firenze! Carrying on the ship's original theming from sailing under the Costa brand, this refreshed ship embodies Carnival's motto "Fun Italian Style"!  From the staterooms, restaurants, bars, public areas, dining rooms, specialty restaurants and more you will find yourself surround by the Italian flair. Scott dives in deeply on everything he tried to see, do and eat - and shares it all with us. Enjoy the show! Happy Cruising! Tommy & Scott

Scott and his wife Pam recently cruised from Galveston, Texas for the first time sailing on the Carnival Breeze. Their seven day Western Caribbean cruise was filled with food, fun, and frivolity. Adventures included exploring Mayan pyramids and water filled caves. Hear all about their amazing vacation on land and sea! Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

It was a cruise like no other! On this new episode, Tommy shares about his family's experiences on the Discovery Princess to the Mexican Riviera for the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse.  This cruise was sold out for two years and Princess Cruises made this cosmic event very special in many different and exciting ways for their guests.  And watching a total solar eclipse from a cruise ship is experience like no other. It was a highlight of our lives that our family cherished together and will never forget. Thank you Princess Cruises for making this phenomenal cruise possible! Enjoy the show! - Tommy & Scott 

On this new episode we explore cruising with your kids. We think taking a family cruise is awonderful way to spend time together, try new things, visit new places and learn about othercultures. However, most of your time will be enjoying the cruise ship and all of its amazingkids programs and activities. We discuss what you can expect and experience on Royal Caribbean,Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Princess Cruises. Do you have a great experience that youhad with your kids that you would like to share with us, let us know! Enjoy the show! Keep On Cruising! Tommy & Scott

We are back with part two examining the suspiciously clickbait article titled "What A Cruise Is Really Like - Fantasy Versus Reality" by Nicole Castelino. It is very apparent that this was written by AI and not by a real travel/cruise writer. This poorly written article was published to draw readers who are drawn into fake drama and negative stories, with unsupported "facts". This article's sole purpose is to create controversy to feed the search engines algorithyms that like negative stories, videos, etc. We are exposing their tactics. Keep On Cruising! Tommy & Scott    

Scott recently ran across a blog post about cruising with a suspiciously clickbait title "What A Cruise Is Really Like - Fantasy Versus Reality" by Nicole Castelino. We take a dive and read through this article which was full of straw man arguments, untrue accusations and just poor writing about cruising. Why was this even published? Who is Nicole Castelino? What is Livstyl.com all about? It became more apparent as we read through this "article" we felt that an AI bot wrote this. Is this the future of cruise blogging? Listen and let's discuss. Share with us your thoughts on this show. Keep On Cruising! Tommy & Scott    

This is a different kind of episode. Normally, we like to keep it positive and such, but we have notice some trends and attitudes that need to change amongst our cruising community. We all have seen some crazy things that happen on cruise ships, and most of the time, people just turn a blind eye to it. But not today. We are going to call out somethings and hopefully, some of you will change your tune. And if you think there is something else we should call out, let us know and we will share it on a future show. We want everyone to have awesome cruise vacations, so hold on to your handrails and enjoy the show! Keep On Cruising! Tommy & Scott

On this new episode, we welcome Kat and Lewis Sutton from the Dis Down Under Podcast. The Sutton's are super Disney fans from Perth, Australia. They have visited all the Disney theme parks around the world and also love cruising They are excited to have Disney Cruise Line come to their homeland. The Disney Wonder travelled from west coast of the United States to Sydney, Australia for the Christmas holiday season through February 2024. Kat and Lewis enjoyed two cruises, with one that included a New Year's celebration. This interview has a lot of great information, fun cruise stories and more. Be sure to follow them on social media and check out their podcast as well! We hope you enjoy the show mates! Keep On Cruising! Tommy & Scott

"Beale Street Boogie" - The Delmore Brothers; "Rockin´ Chair Money" - Bill Carlisle; "Papa´s Getting Old" - Fairley Holden; "What A Line" - Jimmie Widener; "Four Or Five Times" - Luke Will´s Rhythm Busters; "She´s A Backwoods Woman" - Mel Cox & The Flying Ranch Boys; "Three Strikes and You´re Out" - Cowboy Copas; "Brother Drop Dead (Boogie) - Redd Stewart; "Rockin´ and Rollin´" - Tommy Scott; "You´ll Make Our Shack a Mansion" - Grandpa Jones; "Tend To Your Business" - Clyde Moody; "Goodnight Cincinnati, Good Morning Tennessee" - Shorty Long; "Grandpa Stole My Baby" - Moon Mullican; "(I´m A) Hi-Ballin´ Daddy" - Ann Jones; "Money Bag Woman" - Luke McDaniel; "Day Done Broke Too Soon This Morning" - Jack Cardwell; "I Ain´t Got A Pot (Too Peel Potatoes In)" - Louie Innis; "I Put My Britches On Just Like Everybody Else" - Hardrock GunterTodas las músicas extraídas de la recopilación "King Hillbilly bop ´n´ Boogie: King/Federal´s Roots Of Rockabilly 1944-1956 (Ace Records, 2002)Escuchar audio

Hey Cruisers!   We are back with part two of sharing tips and ideas on how to make your holiday cruise extra special. Also, we have exclusive interviews with Raymond Grills, Food and Beverage Director and DuVaul Gamble, Cruise Director on the Discovery Princess!  These are fun and informative interviews detailing of what you can expect to enjoy and make your upcoming cruise a most memorable experience. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and are grateful that you listen and support our show. Please keep sharing us with your family and friends.  Keep On Cruising!  Tommy & Scott 

I am so thrilled to have Tommy & Scott of Balloons by Tommy on the show for the final 2023 interview! I've always held them in my mind as the gold standard of balloon businesses and appreciate even more how kind each of them are with their knowledge and experiences. Tommy's balloon dreams started very young and he has never swayed from those dreams. We hear how he ran and grew his business while going to school, until Scott came along and they became this dynamic duo that started to scale rapidly. They tell us about the ups and downs they've experienced along the way as they've built their team and managed production, time away, etc. You'll also hear what actual technologies they use to run the business, including group chats, their CRM, email management and mockups. And don't miss the tips they share about New Year's Eve bookings! We wrap up the conversation by hearing how they plan their years, make goals for the business and think long-term about their direction. These two are clearly leaders within our industry and it was such an honor to have them on the show. From the UGlu Hotline, we have a question about whether to use contracts in donation work. I share not only my guidelines on donating services, but also my approach for making the service happen.    RESOURCES MENTIONED: 17hats (get 50% off your 1st year)  Balloon Suite  Havin' A Party Wholesale (save 5% with code BRIGHT)  UGlu by Pro Tapes (save 5% at Havin' A Party with code BRIGHT)  Call into the UGlu Hotline to ask a question or leave advice! (262) 221-8514 ‬Balloon Boss Mastermind & Summit   PremiumConwin 2024 Bright Balloon Business Planner  ALOFT (save $10 with code BRIGHT) Balloons by Tommy  ____________________________  Join the book club  50 Ideas for Email Marketing | Join the Bright Balloon email list  courses | templates | planner  @thebrightballoon  The Bright Balloon on YouTube 

Hey Cruisers! We have fun and interesting episode for you. Have you ever wondered or wanted to cruise during a holiday? Scott just recently returned from a Thanksgiving cruise on the Discovery Princess and he shares about what to expect, some of the special things to see, do and of course, eat! He also has a few tips and ideas on how to make your holiday cruise extra special too! We hope you enjoy the show!  Keep On Cruising! Tommy & Scott

We were invited to Princess Cruise's press event for the revealing of their new experience "Spellbound" by Magic Castle and we are here to reveal what we learned. We also have a special interview with Erika Larsen and Randy Pitchford from the Magic Castle sharing with us about their exciting collaboration with Princess Cruises. This mysterious venue will bring world class magicians to cruise guests in a intimate magical realm. Spellbound will be debuting on the new Sun Princess in early 2024.  Enjoy the show!  Tommy & Scott

On this new show we share about our recent fine dining and wine experiences on our Alaskan cruises on the Royal Princess and Discovery Princess. From Winemakers Dinner to Chef's Table Lumiere to the exciting and new 360 Experience (No Spoilers!).  We expanded and explored with our palates upon a culinary journey of new flavors and experiences. Did you know that Scott is a winemaker? He shares his great insights and information about harvesting grapes, wine tasting and more. We hope you enjoy the show! ^Tommy & Scott

Welcome to episode #201! Well, Scott had the unexpected pleasure on his Alaskan cruise to celebrate with Bernie “Dr. Adam Bricker” Kopell, aka “Doc” on the Royal Princess, his 90th birthday! Cruise Director Corrine Steel conducted a interview with Bernie where he shared some of the behind the scenes moments from The Love Boat TV show as well as answering questions from cruisers. It was full of humorous memories of his acting days with Hollywood's biggest stars. Everyone got sing Happy Birthday to Doc and afterwards Bernie generously spent time taking photos with the cruise guests. What a wonderful surprise and experience. We hope you enjoy listening to this memorable day.  Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Welcome to episode #200! How did that happen? While cruising through Alaska last month, Scott was able to interview our special guest, Corrine Steel, the current cruise director on the Royal Princess. Corrine shares her seven year journey from Yorkshire, United Kingdom studying theater to performing and working on cruise ships. Corrine updates us on the future of Princess Cruises newest ships, new additions to the North To Alaska enrichment series, Puppies in the Piazza and so much more. Thank you Corrine for coming onto our show and sharing your passion for cruising with our listeners. Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

We have a very special and exclusive interview for you! Cruise Director Dan France graceously share with us his life story and how became part of the Princess Cruises' family and the Sky Princess. We discuss many things from food to entertainment to relaxation to things not to miss on board this beautiful ship. Dan also has a few cruise pointers and tips on how to make the most of your next cruise a fantastic vacation. Please follow Dan on Instagram @danfromtheship to see his cruising adventures. Enjoy the interview! Tommy & Scott

Part 2! Tommy shares about all the cruise ports that he and his wife visited in Norway and Belgium. Should you always book an excursion through the cruise line or should you just roll the dice and see what you can find that day? What was the weather like in the Arctic Circle during the summer time? How does it feel to have sunlight 24 hours a day? What were the best port stops? What was the best activity? These questions were answered and so much more. Want to see more photos and video? Go to our Instagram page and follow along with this show. Norway was phenomenal in so many ways: fjords, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers, wildlife, and more. The Sky Princess crew and Princess Cruises made Tommy and Lena's 40th anniversary cruise was an exceptional and memorable experience of a lifetime. Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Tommy is back from his 40th wedding anniversary cruise on the phenomenal Sky Princess! This 14 day cruise went from Southampton, England into the Arctic Circle and all the way to the most northern town in Europe, Honningsvag, Norway, North Cape. This cruise had 8 port stops in Norway and 1 stop in Belgium. On this  show we are going to talk about the Sky Princess a bit and then get down to business and discuss all the wonderful food he had onboard the ship. From room service to the main dining room, from Alfredo's Pizzeria to Crown Grill. And wait to you hear about the 36 ounce bone-in rib eye steak for two experience - it was a one of the best meals ever! Listen today! Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

Tommy Scott desired and felt drawn toward God throughout his life. At the age of 16, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on June 17th, 2023. In the Fall at a high school football game Tommy started talking to a young woman who was a member of the church. He had questions about her church. She invited Tommy to come to church and learn more. Tommy accepted her invitation and showed up early on a Sunday morning eager to learn more and feel God's love. Join me today as Tommy shares his journey of being drawn towards God. President Nelson said, "My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth. So my question to you is “Are you willing to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel?” Please think about it.”....................Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you! I testify that the gathering is now, and it is real.” June 2018 bethnewellcoaching.com bethnewellcoaching@gmail.com

Tommy Scott desired and felt drawn toward God throughout his life. At the age of 16, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on June 17th, 2023. In the Fall at a high school football game Tommy started talking to a young woman who was a member of the church. He had questions about her church. She invited Tommy to come to church and learn more. Tommy accepted her invitation and showed up early on a Sunday morning eager to learn more and feel God's love. Join me today as Tommy shares his journey of being drawn towards God. President Nelson said, "My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth. So my question to you is “Are you willing to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel?” Please think about it.”....................Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits—perhaps, I might say, His finest team—for this final phase. Those noble spirits—those finest players, those heroes—are you! I testify that the gathering is now, and it is real.” June 2018 bethnewellcoaching.com bethnewellcoaching@gmail.com

On this new episode, Tommy shares all about his wonderful cruise on the Caribbean Princess!  Seven wonderful days to the Eastern Caribbean, with port stops at Princess Cay, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We cover all of this including watch shopping, food, entertainment, travel tips and more. Also on this show, we share about all of upcoming cruises for the rest of 2023. Enjoy the show!  Happy Cruising! Tommy & Scott

On this new show, Scott recaps he latest cruise on the Carnival Radiance and shares the details about his amazing stateroom and plus his newest "Cruise Food Hacks".  We also chat about Tommy's upcoming Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean Princess during Easter break and finally, we round out the show with a discussion about 100th anniversary of luxury cruising. Keep on Cruising! Tommy & Scott

Scott just got back from his first cruise on the Navigator of the Seas! There was so much to see, do and, of course eat, he decided to make the focus of this cruise all about the dining experiences onboard the ship. This show is all about the delicious food, where to find it and what to eat. Scott tells us about some of his famous food hacks you must also try. We are not resonsible for any damages that may you inccur due to drooling that may happen as you enjoy the show!   Keep on Cruising! Tommy & Scott

Hi Cruisers! We are back with another fun and informative interview for you. Scott was able to interview not one, but two cruise directors, Sophie and Dan, before they made their job transitions, on the Diamond Princess. (Sophie is now the full time cruise director on Diamond Princess and Dan went to be the entertainment director on the Sky Princess.) They share with us their favorite things not to miss on this beautiful ship, but also a few of their best kept secrets that you need to experience and enjoy onboard. Along with the game changing, Princess Medallion, the cruiser's experience is second to none on Diamond Princess. The ship will be soon be returning to Japan and sailing voyages  to Asian destinations. We can't wait to hear about all about her new adventures! Enjoy the show! Tommy & Scott

This week we have special and exclusive intervew with Princess Cruises executive chef, Paolo Merio. He shares with Scott a peek behind the scenes what it takes manage and serve over 3,000 guests and crew daily on the Diamond Princess. It's a facinating and informative interview. Thank you Paolo for sharing your stories with us! Enjoy the show cruisers! Tommy & Scott

What do you give the podcast listener who has everything? Answer:  an episode on Them's 1966 garage hymn "I Can Only Give You Everything", which has everythang: a gravedigger riff with fuzz, overdriven organ, pounding drums, a snarling vocal performance, some wild modulation and a messed up chord change (1:51)! Ain't that enough? Of course not! A couple of months later, the co-songwriter and producer of Them's initial onslaught, Scotland's Tommy Scott waxed his own interpretation (56:53). In this one, we detect some traditional folk and skiffle sounds,  and we especially dig how the organ sounds like bagpipes - Tommy Scott Wha Hae!! From Ireland, to Scotland to ... Motor City? In 1967, The MC5 released a scorching rendition that adds a little  more to the everything - cool cadence, spastic strumming, and a spine-tingling psych solo (1:25:04).  The denouement of our discussion comes when we spin Beck's 1996 sorta hit, "Devil's Haircut," which revived the riff for slacker kids (1:48:08). It's not nothin', but does it have enough "everything" to be something? Tune in and find out!

Tommy and Scott discuss their experiences at the Discovery Princess naming ceremony. The last of the Royal Class of Princess ships, this beautiful vessel is the crowning achievement of Princess Cruises. With it's fine appointments, beautiful staterooms, stunning Piazza, relaxing Enclave, delicious Slice Pizza, specialty restaurants, and more, the Discovery Princess takes you to a new place of rejuvenation, relaxation and revitalization.  Scott shares about his recent Alaskan cruise on the Discovery Princess as well. Highlighting some of the most memorable moments of his cruise vacation.  Scott was able to enjoy a presentation on the ship with Libby Riddles, the first woman in the world to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/MaG_s82hNic We hope you enjoy this new episode! Tommy & Scott  

The Fantastival Podcast is now #80 and what a way to do so as Steve is joined by the brilliant songwriter & frontman from Space, Mr Tommy Scott…  It was great chatting to Tommy as we caught up talked all things music, from his early memories to his current tour with Space, their formation and rise up the charts, the unexpected success of ‘Spiders', the story behind the huge ‘Female Of The Species' and how a drunken slur has become a singalong line, the song on which ‘Neighbourhood' is based, being on The Austin Powers Soundtrack and hanging out with Mike Myers, singing with Cerys from Catalonia, falling out with the record label, how Space came to an end, but how a tragedy got them back together, their recent albums & Tommys awesome solo album ‘Marionette', his upcoming release with The Drellas on Aviator, future Space albums and their plans as Tommy also collated his Fantasy Festival.  If you've enjoyed the Fantastival Podcast please give us a follow on Twitter @FantastivalP and remember to check for our new episodes which are released every Sunday at 9am.  Spread the word... and the word is Fantastival! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/the-fantastival-podcast/message

Episode 125 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Here Comes the Night", Them, the early career of Van Morrison, and the continuing success of Bert Berns.  Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a twenty-minute bonus episode available, on "Dirty Water" by the Standells. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources As usual, I've created a Mixcloud playlist, with full versions of all the songs excerpted in this episode. The information about Bert Berns comes from Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues by Joel Selvin. I've used two biographies of Van Morrison. Van Morrison: Into the Music by Ritchie Yorke is so sycophantic towards Morrison that the word "hagiography" would be, if anything, an understatement. Van Morrison: No Surrender by Johnny Rogan, on the other hand, is the kind of book that talks in the introduction about how the author has had to avoid discussing certain topics because of legal threats from the subject. I also used information from the liner notes to The Complete Them 1964-1967, which as the title suggests is a collection of all the recordings the group made while Van Morrison was in the band. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Today we're going to take a look at a band whose lead singer, sadly, is more controversial now than he was at the period we're looking at. I would normally not want to explicitly talk about current events upfront at the start of an episode, but Van Morrison has been in the headlines in the last few weeks for promoting dangerous conspiracy theories about covid, and has also been accused of perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes with a recent single.  So I would like to take this opportunity just to say that no positive comments I make about the Van Morrison of 1965 in this episode should be taken as any kind of approval of the Van Morrison of 2021 -- and this should also be taken as read for one of the similarly-controversial subjects of next week's episode...   Anyway, that aside, today we're going to take a look at the first classic rock and roll records made by a band from Northern Ireland, and at the links between the British R&B scene and the American Brill Building. We're going to look at Van Morrison, Bert Berns, and "Here Comes the Night" by Them:   [Excerpt: Them, "Here Comes the Night"]   When we last looked at Bert Berns, he was just starting to gain some prominence in the East Coast recording scene with his productions for artists like Solomon Burke and the Isley Brothers. We've also, though it wasn't always made explicit, come across several of his productions when talking about other artists -- when Leiber and Stoller stopped working for Atlantic, Berns took over production of their artists, as well as all the other recordings he was making, and so many of the mid-sixties Drifters records we looked at in the episode on "Stand By Me" were Berns productions. But while he was producing soul classics in New York, Berns was also becoming aware of the new music coming from the United Kingdom -- in early 1963 he started receiving large royalty cheques for a cover version of his song "Twist and Shout" by some English band he'd never heard of. He decided that there was a market here for his songs, and made a trip to the UK, where he linked up with Dick Rowe at Decca.    While most of the money Berns had been making from "Twist and Shout" had been from the Beatles' version, a big chunk of it had also come from Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, the band that Rowe had signed to Decca instead of the Beatles. After the Beatles became big, the Tremeloes used the Beatles' arrangement of "Twist and Shout", which had been released on an album and an EP but not a single, and had a top ten hit with their own version of it:   [Excerpt: Brian Poole and the Tremeloes, "Twist and Shout"]   Rowe was someone who kept an eye on the American market, and saw that Berns was a great source of potential hits. He brought Berns over to the UK, and linked him up with Larry Page, the manager who gave Rowe an endless supply of teen idols, and with Phil Solomon, an Irish manager who had been the publicist for the crooner Ruby Murray, and had recently brought Rowe the group The Bachelors, who had had a string of hits like "Charmaine":   [Excerpt: The Bachelors, "Charmaine"]   Page, Solomon, and Rowe were currently trying to promote something called "Brum Beat", as a Birmingham rival to Mersey beat, and so all the acts Berns worked with were from Birmingham. The most notable of these acts was one called Gerry Levene and the Avengers. Berns wrote and produced the B-side of that group's only single, with Levene backed by session musicians, but I've been unable to find a copy of that B-side anywhere in the digital domain. However, the A-side, which does exist and wasn't produced by Berns, is of some interest:   [Excerpt: Gerry Levene and the Avengers, "Dr. Feelgood"]   The lineup of the band playing on that included guitarist Roy Wood, who would go on to be one of the most important and interesting British musicians of the later sixties and early seventies, and drummer Graeme Edge, who went on to join the Moody Blues. Apparently at another point, their drummer was John Bonham.   None of the tracks Berns recorded for Decca in 1963 had any real success, but Berns had made some useful contacts with Rowe and Solomon, and most importantly had met a British arranger, Mike Leander, who came over to the US to continue working with Berns, including providing the string arrangements for Berns' production of "Under the Boardwalk" for the Drifters:   [Excerpt: The Drifters, "Under the Boardwalk"]   In May 1964, the month when that track was recorded, Berns was about the only person keeping Atlantic Records afloat -- we've already seen that they were having little success in the mid sixties, but in mid-May, even given the British Invasion taking over the charts, Berns had five records in the Hot One Hundred as either writer or producer -- the Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout" was the highest charting, but he also had hits with "One Way Love" by the Drifters:   [Excerpt: The Drifters, "One Way Love"]   "That's When it Hurts" by Ben E. King:   [Excerpt: Ben E. King, "That's When it Hurts"]   "Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)" by Solomon Burke:   [Excerpt: Solomon Burke, "Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)"]   And "My Girl Sloopy" by the Vibrations:   [Excerpt: The Vibrations, "My Girl Sloopy"]   And a week after the production of "Under the Boardwalk", Berns was back in the studio with Solomon Burke, producing Burke's classic "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love", though that track would lead to a major falling-out with Burke, as Berns and Atlantic executive Jerry Wexler took co-writing credit they hadn't earned on Burke's song -- Berns was finally at the point in his career where he was big enough that he could start stealing Black men's credits rather than having to earn them for himself:   [Excerpt: Solomon Burke, "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love"]   Not everything was a hit, of course -- he wrote a dance track with Mike Leander, "Show Me Your Monkey", which was definitely not a big hit -- but he had a strike rate that most other producers and writers would have killed for. And he was also having hits in the UK with the new British Invasion bands -- the Animals had made a big hit from "Baby Let Me Take You Home", the old folk tune that Berns had rewritten for Hoagy Lands. And he was still in touch with Phil Solomon and Dick Rowe, both of whom came over to New York for Berns' wedding in July.   It might have been while they were at the wedding that they first suggested to Berns that he might be interested in producing a new band that Solomon was managing, named Them, and in particular their lead singer, Van Morrison.   Van Morrison was always a misfit, from his earliest days. He grew up in Belfast, a city that is notoriously divided along sectarian lines between a Catholic minority who (for the most part) want a united Ireland, and a Presbyterian majority who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. But in a city where the joke goes that a Jewish person would be asked "but are you a Catholic Jew or a Protestant Jew?", Morrison was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, and for the rest of his life he would be resistant to fitting into any of the categories anyone tried to put him in, both for good and ill.   While most of the musicians from the UK we've looked at so far have been from middle-class backgrounds, and generally attended art school, Morrison had gone to a secondary modern school, and left at fourteen to become a window cleaner. But he had an advantage that many of his contemporaries didn't -- he had relatives living in America and Canada, and his father had once spent a big chunk of time working in Detroit, where at one point the Morrison family planned to move. This exposed Morrison senior to all sorts of music that would not normally be heard in the UK, and he returned with a fascination for country and blues music, and built up a huge record collection. Young Van Morrison was brought up listening to Hank Williams, Sister Rosetta Tharpe,  Jimmie Rodgers, Louis Jordan, Jelly Roll Morton, and his particular favourite, Lead Belly. The first record he bought with his own money was "Hootin' Blues" by the Sonny Terry Trio:   [Excerpt: The Sonny Terry Trio, "Hootin' Blues"]   Like everyone, Van Morrison joined a skiffle group, but he became vastly more ambitious in 1959 when he visited a relative in Canada. His aunt smuggled him into a nightclub where an actual American rock and roll group were playing -- Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks:   [Excerpt: Ronnie Hawkins, "Mary Lou"]   Hawkins had been inspired to get into the music business by his uncle Delmar, a fiddle player whose son, Dale Hawkins, we looked at back in episode sixty-three. His band, the Hawks, had a reputation as the hottest band in Canada -- at this point they were still all Americans, but other than their drummer Levon Helm they would soon be replaced one by one with Canadian musicians, starting with bass player Robbie Robertson.   Morrison was enthused and decided he was going to become a professional musician. He already played a bit of guitar, but started playing the saxophone too, as that was an instrument that would be more likely to get him work at this point.   He joined a showband called the Monarchs, as saxophone player and occasional vocalist. Showbands were a uniquely Irish phenomenon -- they were eight- or nine-piece groups, rhythm sections with a small horn section and usually a couple of different singers, who would play every kind of music for dancing, ranging from traditional pop to country and western to rock and roll, and would also perform choreographed dance routines and comedy sketches.    The Monarchs were never a successful band, but they managed to scrape a living playing the Irish showband circuit, and in the early sixties they travelled to Germany, where audiences of Black American servicemen wanted them to play more soulful music like songs by Ray Charles, an opportunity Morrison eagerly grabbed. It was also a Black American soldier who introduced Morrison to the music of Bobby Bland, whose "Turn on Your Love Light" was soon introduced to the band's set:   [Excerpt Bobby "Blue" Bland, "Turn on Your Love Light"]   But they were still mostly having to play chart hits by Billy J Kramer or Gerry and the Pacemakers, and Morrison was getting frustrated. The Monarchs did get a chance to record a single in Germany, as Georgie and the Monarchs, with another member, George Jones (not the famous country singer) singing lead, but the results were not impressive:   [Excerpt: Georgie and the Monarchs, "O Twingy Baby"]   Morrison moved between several different showbands, but became increasingly dissatisfied with what he was doing. Then another showband he was in, the Manhattan Showband, briefly visited London, and Morrison and several of his bandmates went to a club called Studio 51, run by Ken Colyer. There they saw a band called The Downliners Sect, who had hair so long that the Manhattan members at first thought they were a girl group, until their lead singer came on stage wearing a deerstalker hat. The Downliners Sect played exactly the kind of aggressive R&B that Morrison thought he should be playing:   [Excerpt: The Downliners Sect, "Be a Sect Maniac"]   Morrison asked if he could sit in with the group on harmonica, but was refused -- and this was rather a pattern with the Downliners Sect, who had a habit of attracting harmonica players who wanted to be frontmen. Both Rod Stewart and Steve Marriott did play harmonica with the group for a while, and wanted to join full-time, but were refused as they clearly wanted to be lead singers and the group didn't need another one of them.   On returning to Belfast, Morrison decided that he needed to start his own R&B band, and his own R&B club night. At first he tried to put together a sort of supergroup of showband regulars, but most of the musicians he approached weren't interested in leaving their steady gigs. Eventually, he joined a band called the Gamblers, led by guitarist and vocalist Billy Harrison. The Gamblers had started out as an instrumental group, playing rock and roll in the style of Johnny and the Hurricanes, but they'd slowly been moving in a more R&B direction, and playing Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley material. Morrison joined the group on saxophone and vocals -- trading off leads with Harrison -- and the group renamed themselves after a monster movie from a few years before:   [Excerpt: THEM! trailer]   The newly renamed Them took up a regular gig at the Maritime Hotel, a venue which had previously attracted a trad jazz crowd, and quickly grew a substantial local following. Van Morrison later often said that their residency at the Maritime was the only time Them were any good, but that period was remarkably short -- three months after their first gig, the group had been signed to a management, publishing, and production deal with Philip Solomon, who called in Dick Rowe to see them in Belfast. Rowe agreed to the same kind of licensing deal with Solomon that Andrew Oldham had already got from him for the Stones -- Them would record for Solomon's company, and Decca would license the recordings.   This also led to the first of the many, many, lineup changes that would bedevil the group for its short existence -- between 1964 and 1966 there were eighteen different members of the group. Eric Wrixon, the keyboard player, was still at school, and his parents didn't think he should become a musician, so while he came along to the first recording session, he didn't sign the contract because he wasn't allowed to stay with the group once his next term at school started. However, he wasn't needed -- while Them's guitarist and bass player were allowed to play on the records, Dick Rowe brought in session keyboard player Arthur Greenslade and drummer Bobby Graham -- the same musicians who had augmented the Kinks on their early singles -- to play with them.   The first single, a cover version of Slim Harpo's "Don't Start Crying Now", did precisely nothing commercially:   [Excerpt: Them, "Don't Start Crying Now"]   The group started touring the UK, now as Decca recording artistes, but they almost immediately started to have clashes with their management. Phil Solomon was not used to aggressive teenage R&B musicians, and didn't appreciate things like them just not turning up for one gig they were booked for, saying to them "The Bachelors never missed a date in their lives. One of them even had an accident on their way to do a pantomime in Bristol and went on with his leg in plaster and twenty-one stitches in his head."   Them were not particularly interested in performing in pantomimes in Bristol, or anywhere else, but the British music scene was still intimately tied in with the older showbiz tradition, and Solomon had connections throughout that industry -- as well as owning a publishing and production company he was also a major shareholder in Radio Caroline, one of the pirate radio stations that broadcast from ships anchored just outside British territorial waters to avoid broadcasting regulations, and his father was a major shareholder in Decca itself.    Given Solomon's connections, it wasn't surprising that Them were chosen to be one of the Decca acts produced by Bert Berns on his next UK trip in August 1964. The track earmarked for their next single was their rearrangement of "Baby Please Don't Go", a Delta blues song that had originally been recorded in 1935 by Big Joe Williams and included on the Harry Smith Anthology:   [Excerpt: Big Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers , "Baby Please Don't Go"]   though it's likely that Them had learned it from Muddy Waters' version, which is much closer to theirs:   [Excerpt: Muddy Waters, "Baby Please Don't Go"]   Bert Berns helped the group tighten up their arrangement, which featured a new riff thought up by Billy Harrison, and he also brought in a session guitarist, Jimmy Page, to play rhythm guitar. Again he used a session drummer, this time Andy White who had played on "Love Me Do". Everyone agreed that the result was a surefire hit:   [Excerpt: Them, "Baby Please Don't Go"]   At the session with Berns, Them cut several other songs, including some written by Berns, but it was eventually decided that the B-side should be a song of Morrison's, written in tribute to his dead cousin Gloria, which they'd recorded at their first session with Dick Rowe:   [Excerpt: Them, "Gloria"]   "Baby Please Don't Go" backed with "Gloria" was one of the great double-sided singles of the sixties, but it initially did nothing on the charts, and the group were getting depressed at their lack of success, Morrison and Harrison were constantly arguing as each thought of himself as the leader of the group, and the group's drummer quit in frustration. Pat McAuley, the group's new keyboard player, switched to drums, and brought in his brother Jackie to replace him on keyboards.    To make matters worse, while "Baby Please Don't Go" had flopped, the group had hoped that their next single would be one of the songs they'd recorded with Berns, a Berns song called "Here Comes the Night". Unfortunately for them, Berns had also recorded another version of it for Decca, this one with Lulu, a Scottish singer who had recently had a hit with a cover of the Isley Brothers' "Shout!", and her version was released as a single:   [Excerpt: Lulu, "Here Comes the Night"]   Luckily for Them, though unluckily for Lulu, her record didn't make the top forty, so there was still the potential for Them to release their version of it.   Phil Solomon hadn't given up on "Baby Please Don't Go", though, and he began a media campaign for the record. He moved the group into the same London hotel where Jimmy Savile was staying -- Savile is now best known for his monstrous crimes, which I won't go into here except to say that you shouldn't google him if you don't know about them, but at the time he was Britain's most popular DJ, the presenter of Top of the Pops, the BBC's major TV pop show, and a columnist in a major newspaper. Savile started promoting Them, and they would later credit him with a big part of their success.   But Solomon was doing a lot of other things to promote the group as well. He part-owned Radio Caroline, and so "Baby Please Don't Go" went into regular rotation on the station. He called in a favour with the makers of Ready Steady Go! and got "Baby Please Don't Go" made into the show's new theme tune for two months, and soon the record, which had been a flop on its first release, crawled its way up into the top ten.   For the group's next single, Decca put out their version of "Here Comes the Night", and that was even more successful, making it all the way to number two on the charts, and making the American top thirty:   [Excerpt: Them, "Here Comes the Night"]   As that was at its chart peak, the group also performed at the NME Poll-Winners' Party at Wembley Stadium, a show hosted by Savile and featuring The Moody Blues, Freddie and the Dreamers, Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, Herman's Hermits, Cilla Black, Donovan, The Searchers, Dusty Springfield, The Animals,The Kinks, the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles, among others. Even on that bill, reviewers singled out Them's seven-minute performance of Bobby Bland's "Turn on Your Love Light" for special praise, though watching the video of it it seems a relatively sloppy performance.   But the group were already starting to fall apart. Jackie McAuley was sacked from the group shortly after that Wembley show -- according to some of the group, because of his use of amphetamines, but it's telling that when the Protestant bass player Alan Henderson told the Catholic McAuley he was out of the group, he felt the need to emphasise that "I've got nothing against" -- and then use a term that's often regarded as an anti-Catholic slur...   On top of this, the group were also starting to get a bad reputation among the press -- they would simply refuse to answer questions, or answer them in monosyllables, or just swear at journalists. Where groups like the Rolling Stones carefully cultivated a "bad boy" image, but were doing so knowingly and within carefully delineated limits, Them were just unpleasant and rude because that's who they were.   Bert Berns came back to the UK to produce a couple of tracks for the group's first album, but he soon had to go back to America, as he had work to do there -- he'd just started up his own label, a rival to Red Bird, called BANG, which stood for Bert, Ahmet, Neshui, Gerald -- Berns had co-founded it with the Ertegun brothers and Jerry Wexler, though he soon took total control over it. BANG had just scored a big hit with "I Want Candy" by the Strangeloves, a song Berns had co-written:   [Excerpt: The Strangeloves, "I Want Candy"]   And the Strangeloves in turn had discovered a singer called Rick Derringer, and Bang put out a single by him under the name "The McCoys", using a backing track Berns had produced as a Strangeloves album track, their version of his earlier hit "My Girl Sloopy". The retitled "Hang on Sloopy" went to number one:   [Excerpt: The McCoys, "Hang on Sloopy"]   Berns was also getting interested in signing a young Brill Building songwriter named Neil Diamond... The upshot was that rather than continuing to work with Berns, Them were instead handed over to Tommy Scott, an associate of Solomon's who'd sung backing vocals on "Here Comes the Night", but who was best known for having produced "Terry" by Twinkle:   [Excerpt: Twinkle, "Terry"]   The group were not impressed with Scott's productions, and their next two singles flopped badly, not making the charts at all. Billy Harrison and Morrison were becoming less and less able to tolerate each other, and eventually Morrison and Henderson forced Harrison out. Pat McAuley quit two weeks later,    The McAuley brothers formed their own rival lineup of Them, which initially also featured Billy Harrison, though he soon left, and they got signed to a management contract with Reg Calvert, a rival of Solomon's who as well as managing several pop groups also owned Radio City, a pirate station that was in competition with Radio Caroline. Calvert registered the trademark in the name Them, something that Solomon had never done for the group, and suddenly there was a legal dispute over the name.   Solomon retaliated by registering trademarks for the names "The Fortunes" and "Pinkerton's Assorted Colours" -- two groups Calvert managed -- and putting together rival versions of those groups. However the problem soon resolved itself, albeit tragically -- Calvert got into a huge row with Major Oliver Smedley, a failed right-libertarian politician who, when not co-founding the Institute for Economic Affairs and quitting the Liberal Party for their pro-European stance and left-wing economics, was one of Solomon's co-directors of Radio Caroline. Smedley shot Calvert, killing him, and successfully pled self-defence at his subsequent trial. The jury let Smedley off after only a minute of deliberation, and awarded Smedley two hundred and fifty guineas to pay for his costs.   The McAuley brothers' group renamed themselves to Them Belfast -- and the word beginning with g that some Romany people regard as a slur for their ethnic group -- and made some records, mostly only released in Sweden, produced by Kim Fowley, who would always look for any way to cash in on a hit record, and wrote "Gloria's Dream" for them:   [Excerpt: Them Belfast G***ies, "Gloria's Dream"]   Morrison and Henderson continued their group, and had a surprise hit in the US when Decca issued "Mystic Eyes", an album track they'd recorded for their first album, as a single in the US, and it made the top forty:   [Excerpt: Them, "Mystic Eyes"]   On the back of that, Them toured the US, and got a long residency at the Whisky a Go-Go in LA, where they were supported by a whole string of the Sunset Strip's most exciting new bands -- Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, The Association, Buffalo Springfield, and the Doors. The group became particularly friendly with the Doors, with the group's new guitarist getting thrown out of clubs with Jim Morrison for shouting "Johnny Rivers is a wanker!" at Rivers while Rivers was on stage, and Jim Morrison joining them on stage for duets, though the Doors were staggered at how much the Belfast group could drink -- their drink bill for their first week at the Whisky A Go-Go was $5400.   And those expenses caused problems, because Van Morrison agreed before the tour started that he would be on a fixed salary, paid by Phil Solomon, and Solomon would get all the money from the promoters. But then Morrison found out how much Solomon was making, and decided that it wasn't fair that Solomon would get all that money when Morrison was only getting the comparatively small amount he'd agreed to. When Tommy Scott, who Solomon had sent over to look after the group on tour, tried to collect the takings from the promoters, he was told "Van Morrison's already taken the money".    Solomon naturally dropped the group, who continued touring the US without any management, and sued them. Various Mafia types offered to take up the group's management contract, and even to have Solomon murdered, but the group ended up just falling apart.    Van Morrison quit the group, and Alan Henderson struggled on for another five years with various different lineups of session men, recording albums as Them which nobody bought. He finally stopped performing as Them in 1972. He reunited with Billy Harrison and Eric Wrixon, the group's original keyboardist, in 1979, and they recorded another album and toured briefly. Wrixon later formed another lineup of Them, which for a while included Billy Harrison, and toured with that group, billed as Them The Belfast Blues Band, until Wrixon's death in 2015.   Morrison, meanwhile, had other plans. Now that Them's two-year contract with Solomon was over, he wanted to have the solo career people had been telling him he deserved. And he knew how he was going to do it. All along, he'd thought that Bert Berns had been the only person in the music industry who understood him as an artist, and now of course Berns had his own record label. Van Morrison was going to sign to BANG Records, and he was going to work again with Bert Berns, the man who was making hits for everyone he worked with.   But the story of "Brown-Eyed Girl", and Van Morrison going solo, and the death of Bert Berns, is a story for another time...

Chet Atkins - "Wheels" - Travelin' [0:00:00] Music behind DJ: Duane Eddy - "Because They're Young" - Duane Eddy's 16 Greatest Hits [0:02:40] Hank Snow - "Ninety Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street)" [0:05:02] Tommy Scott's Country Music Circus - "Don't Blame The Car (Blame The Devil At The Wheel)" - Out Of This World [0:07:20] Carl Perkins - "Pop, Let Me Have the Car" [0:10:19] Ferlin Husky - "Slow Down, Brother" - Early Country Favorites [0:12:24] Curtis Leach - "Wheelin' And Dealin'" [0:14:47] Music behind DJ: Chet Atkins - "Wheels" - Travelin' [0:20:02] Jim Nesbitt - "Tiger In My Tank" - Truck Drivin' Cat with Nine Wives [0:20:26] Lowell Varney & Jim Horn - "The Silver Bridge" [0:22:44] C.B. Kelton - "Hitchin' A Ride" - Town And Country [0:25:18] Bob Arlin and his Band - "East L.A." [0:27:45] Ernest Tubb - "Beyond The Last Mile" - Just Call Me Lonesome [0:30:30] Music behind DJ: Duane Eddy - "Because They're Young" - Duane Eddy's 16 Greatest Hits [0:34:27] Glen Campbell - "Long Black Limousine" - A Satisfied Mind [0:36:37] Bobby Bare - "Long Black Limousine" - The Travelin' Bare [0:39:21] Tex Rubinowitz - "Hot Rod Man" [0:42:13] Ronald Parker - "What I Need With A Car?" [0:44:27] Matty Moroz and the Merry Men - "Lost Highway" - Country Style [0:46:50] Music behind DJ: Duane Eddy - "Because They're Young" - Duane Eddy's 16 Greatest Hits [0:49:23] Charlie Ryan and The Timberline Riders - "Hot Rod Lincoln" [0:51:52] Red Simpson - "The Rules Of The Road" - The Man Behind The Badge [0:54:21] Joe Prater - "Highway "41"" [0:57:02] Music behind DJ: Duane Eddy - "Theme from C&W Jeopardy!" [0:59:21] https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/96891

My first guest on the Tami Jackson Show* tonight be Captain Roger Hill. Captain Roger Hill is a West Point graduate, combat veteran and Bronze Star recipient who had dreamed of being a soldier since he was six years old. In 2007, Hill takes command of Dog Company, an 89-man unit of the famed 101st Airborne. The unit is full of rough-and-tumble men who are brilliant in combat but undisciplined at home. Through tough love, Hill and his First Sergeant, an old-school former drill instructor named Tommy Scott, turn the company into the top performers in the battalion. In 2008, Hill and Scott lead Dog Company into combat in Wardak, the most violent province in eastern Afghanistan. For six months, the unit faces off against the Taliban. They survive ambushes, rocket fire and IEDs almost daily, and the number of wounded cuts into Hill's unit by a third. Meanwhile, Hill himself battles his own battalion commander, a charismatic but archly political man who threatens to relieve Hill at every turn. After two Dog Company soldiers die in combat, Hill, Scott and a counterintelligence team learn the reason for the mounting casualties: A dozen Taliban spies posing as local national workers have infiltrated their base. After he captures the spies, Hill is abandoned by his higher command, setting off a ticking clock: he has just 96 hours to either release the spies and expose Dog Company to further casualties — or defy the Army's rules on prisoner treatment. In a true story that weaves the combat action of Band of Brothers with the military courtroom drama of A Few Good Men, Hill and Scott must ultimately choose: Sacrifice their careers or sacrifice their men. Capt. Hill and Lynn Vincent detail the true story in a new book, sure to be a best seller, Dog Company: A True Story of American Soldiers Abandoned by Their High Command. Listen as Capt. Hill and I discuss how current Rules of Engagement (ROE) are politically motivated and represent a grave danger to troops on the ground. This segment is guaranteed to make every patriot steaming mad! ******************* In the second 1/2 hour I will be joined by Christiana Holcomb. Christiana Holcomb, Esq., serves as legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, where she is an invaluable member of the Center for Christian Ministries. Since joining ADF in 2012, Holcomb has worked to protect the freedom of churches, Christian schools, and Christian ministries to freely exercise their faith without government interference. She also advocates for these issues as an Alliance Defending Freedom Regional Legal Academy faculty member and as a conference speaker throughout the country. Holcomb earned her J.D. at Oak Brook College, graduating summa cum laude in 2010. She also completed the Alliance Defending Freedom leadership development program to become a Blackstone Fellow in 2010. She is admitted to the bar in California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Christiana will be Erik Stanley's Deputy on the “The Playground Case,” the biggest case left on the SCOTUS docket, which will be heard on Wednesday, April 19. Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Pauley, dubbed “The Playground Case.” ABC called it “the most anticipated case in the April sitting.” Fox further described it as “arguably the biggest church-state case in recent memory.” Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Pauley involves a Lutheran preschool in Columbia, Missouri that was denied state funds to improve its public playground due to a law prohibiting government aid to religious schools. This case needs to be watched particularly closely because it will be the barometer for years worth of rulings striking at the heart of America's culture and political war. In fact, on Monday, April 17, just two days before "The Playground Case," the Supreme Court "DISTRIBUTED for Conference" the extremely controversial Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission for possible hearing later this fall. Behind the case representing Trinity Lutheran (and Masterpiece Cakeshop) is Erik Stanley of Alliance Defending Freedom. This will be such a timely discussion: Eric Stanley, Christiana Holcomb, and the rest of the ADF legal team have been working tirelessly on this case, scheduled on the SCOTUS docket for tomorrow morning, Wednesday, April 19. And now that the High Court is at full complement with newly sworn in Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Americans will eagerly await the court's opinion. Follow Capt. Roger Hill on Twitter at @CPTRogerHill, Dog Company Book at @DogCompanyBook, Christiana Holcomb at @ChristianaADF, and me at @tamij AND tweet your questions/comments during the show using hashtag #tjrs. *Sponsored by Rentacomputer, your premier source for Server Rentals , by ROBAR® Guns, a True Custom firearms and firearms finishing shop located in Phoenix, AZ, and found online at RobarGuns.com, and by Dispatches, your site for the BEST conservative resources to fight and win the information war.