August 23, 2022 • 43 mins
Em and her high school buddies Fed and Avery set the ship computer to those glorious teenage years we all so “fondly” remember. Traveling at light speed through powderpuff football, Fed’s hidden characters, Em and Avery’s hidden gayness, and a phone call to a mysterious hippie. Meanwhile on Glork, Gem mines Gems to ensure Beyoncé’s immortality.
Featuring: Avery Watson and Federico Slezynger
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I hate you the same. Let's go to a man
one ready for a same launching. Okay, guys, we are
(00:29):
here in our own world. Actually today I want to
make an announcement. Unfortunately, Jem has had to take the
side pot. She had to go to another planet. It's
called Glork. It's on the other side of the universe.
I love Lord. Well. She actually is on a mission
to find and mind a rock that will keep Beyonce
(00:50):
alive forever. She's doing the hard work. She's doing the
work that we all need. So actually, Jim, are you there.
Let's check in with you real quick. Comp check bab
I'm here, but not for long. Listen, tweety Avery. I
am so sorry. I'm not there to be with you, guys,
and you fell all the way all here to see us.
(01:11):
But listen, I had to and it's magical. There are
giant bees everywhere. I can't believe I got down here
without even so much as a camera to take pictures
of it. But listen, I gotta go. This might be
the world's only chance. Listen, have the best time. Don't forget.
A diva is a female version of a hustler, and
praise you on. Stay till the end of time. Goodbye, guys, bye,
you are doing the work that we all need. Baby,
(01:33):
Thank you. Beyonce shall live forever thanks to you and
nobody forget it out there. All right, guys, Well, today
is a very special episode. You are in Emily's world.
So I've known these two people who are here that
are about to introduce themselves for a minute now. You
(01:56):
all have been very special to me in my life,
and that's why I'm glad that you're here sitting with
me today. So thank you, Mama. We are talking about
high school. We're talking about your formative years. We're talking
about the experiences you have when you're growing up, how
they shape you as a human being, and just exploring
and vibing out. So, without further ado, I would like
(02:19):
to introduce introduce yourselves. You go for a twig Hi. Hello,
I'm fed that equal. Emily knows me as Twiggy. We'll
talk about that light. My name is. I'm here from Miami.
I known Emily from high school. You're in the school
band together. We were school rivals. Yeah, why not, let's go.
(02:45):
Let's go there. We'll feel We'll figure it out as
we go. Um and we've been both little music Meister's
jam buddies. He's being a little bit modest right now.
I guess so I was in awe of you. I
always was like, look at this cat. Okay. I looked
(03:07):
up to you like he's in drama, he draws, he's
playing music like. I always looked up to you as
this kid who was all around, you know, like showing up,
and I wanted to be kind of like that. Also,
when you're in high school and you're growing up. I
was talking about this with Avery, which we're about to
introduce right now because she's going to punch me in
the face. Swear's here. She's here, but we're gonna go
(03:33):
to aves now. But my point is that when you're
in high school, because we all went to high school together.
When you're in high school, you don't realize, like now
we're about to be twenty eight right than that. But
you know what you look back, like, how do you
think about a fifteen year old sixteen had children about
(03:54):
like fifteen year old me? And I see kids now
at that age and it's like I was once there.
I completely changed, Like I realized how in a way
there was confidence you have at that age where you
wish you had confidence in other places, and where you
had confidence you wish you did not. You swallowed your
pride a little bit. Yeah, you can't help as that
(04:18):
age to not know how to swallow your pride. What
did I just say? I said, you feel like you're
an adult, but you're not. I feel like the more
removed I am from that period, the more I take
from it. I don't know if that makes sense you.
As much as you think it's a moment for you
to grow and figure things out, I have yet to
(04:40):
completely figure out what I'm doing. You know. I've realized
that even as a kid, like there was a moment
where it just kind of like clicked for me, that
even adults are still figuring it. Always I'm constantly changing.
I don't know who I will be at thirty. I
don't know who I'll be at a sixty five. Even
like a year from now, we could be like you
(05:01):
could have a life thing that just seventy I'm gonna
be like leather skin with like a hem shirt attle vest.
But I was like, hello, my girlfriends half my age Now,
I don't want to do that. That's not that's not
the best going for if it's thrown at right? How
am I to say? No? Right? I don't mind being
used anyway? Are you guys talking about Okay? Wait, so
(05:25):
now now it's time for Avery, my second flight attendant today.
Thank you for joining us on this flight. By the way,
did you get a degree in spaceship stuff? Yes? I
went to Rye for spaceship stuff. Oh my god, so Aves,
Avery mother Evan Watson. Who are you? What do you do?
How do we know each other? Well? I am Avery
Mother Evan Watson. UM met you in ninth grade, so
(05:49):
high school started that and we headed off. You know,
we're friends from the start and like always got along.
I could laugh and have fun. I love I looked
up to both you guys. I loved the whole art
stuff and the music. I love singing. But I'm like
a more car and shower. Yeah, but we merged more
(06:09):
in the sports world because you're a little athlete, so
we um did like powder puff football. That was the best.
I love that this girl can play football like no. Sorry, listen,
whoever was present for that Miami Country Day powder puff
football game, Avia and nine down get around us breaking
ankles out here, literally, like we were sophomores. Okay, here
(06:32):
we go. We're going into the high pool. Welcome, Welcome
to high school. Go back and see your high school years.
Guys out there, wherever you are. We're going to get
into this. But you know, I want to hear Twiggi's
perspective because Avery and I are both jakes. We're gay. No,
did you know that Avery and I both got infected
(06:55):
by the gay virus. I'm so sorry it happened. I'm
so sorry. We get the vaccine for the gay We
tried to get the vaccine for the game, but didn't happened.
But anyway, well, we were in high school. We were
great friends, but we never talked about our sexuality. We
never talked about, you know, what was going on. I'm curious,
Twiggy question, did you ever think either of us were gay?
(07:19):
I'm serious because I knew you were gay? Oh you knew,
like Avery, Avery I was, but I was a hundred
like yeah, but like there's the first off. I mean,
being gays a spectrum, right, as is everything. You know,
Like as much as I could have been like, oh
I'm at least totally gay, I was like we could
(07:40):
be a big gay, like I have to paint a
picture of who Emily was in high school. I'll just
describe it it And you had the same look through
like all of high school, and that was that's my
next question. But played the picture the picture like pigtails,
those fraids, braids really um but not like raggedy Ann braves.
(08:01):
There's more like the bassist for Metallic. But it was
bad though, really bad like that literally that haircut, glasses,
and would never wear any kind of dress or skirt.
Hated it, always in shorts, jorts, pants, the rocker look,
and just like hated the idea of being seen as feminine.
(08:22):
And you thought it was like being forced upon you
and you were like, no, I want to wear this.
Sometimes when I put on girly clothes feminine clothes, I
feel more masculine, Like it makes me feel like it's forced,
so makes me feel like I'm not not wearing what
I should be. Like, oh, that's what you want me
to right, I have like I like my sporty kind
of attire and whatever. Um, but if I'm wearing like
(08:42):
more femine stuff, like it to be sexy, not like
cute and pretty, I don't like it's like like when
I look cute and pretty, I feel like it looks forced,
it looks yea, and I feel out of body right.
But for me, it was like, this is my this
is my complaint. You're gonna tell me, Oh, you look
pretty with your hair down. Oh, I'd love to see
your legs. I'd love to see your body. By the way, Avery,
(09:02):
we were athletes, we had rocking bodies, and there's no
reason why we shouldn't have been showing our bodies. But
it made me feel so uncomfortable. I was always thinking that.
I was like, why is an Emily showing her body?
Because if you don't feel comfortable, it feels like you're naked. True.
I never saw it as like weird though. I just
(09:24):
saw it as something of your own. I never like
the first thing I'm thinking like if I if I
knew you in that way, I didn't think, oh, that's
very strange. There's plenty of people who do the same thing.
You know. It felt like something that wasn't enough for
me to have like an intervention for you. Imagine if
I had come up to you in high school, be like,
(09:44):
just like a girl hump. You and me are going
to the classes we're gonna get some girly clothes and
we're gonna put that on you and you're gonna like it.
I didn't mean it like that. I meant like the
we all when you're in high school, that's the point
when you're growing and you're learning and you're whatever. You're
(10:05):
not trying to judge other people. You want to love
them for where they are at, whether it's good for
them or not. That's what I feel like is the
beauty of camaraderie and friendship. We had such incredible times
and we all had our own ship, you know, but
(10:25):
you still love people for where they're at. If somebody's insecure,
you can still acknowledge as an insecurity, but you don't
push them right, you don't love their insecurity or that's
who they are. How do you feel about that? Aves like,
have you ever been insecure? Definitely? In high school for sure,
was more so of the insecurity. Um. I feel like
more in college everyone was more accepting. In high school,
(10:47):
you want to try to go to that norm and
you want to fit in that societal norm of like
the popular girls, and you want to wear this stuff
and go out and do these things and say these
things and college, Noe gives a funk and like, if
you definitely find yourself more. And I found my up
more and I keep finding myself. Like we said, what
did you study in college? I studied exercise science. What
is that? It is? Um a bridge path to being
(11:09):
a physical therapist. So I did that Florida State Donal's
exercise science and then I went to f i U
and go Panthers for physical therapy school. So that's what
I do now. And your physical therapists, yeah, doctor of
physical therapist. Excuse me, excuse me say it again one time,
doctor of physical therapy, so Aves. This is something that
(11:31):
I just I just love. You grew up in Miami,
right bone and raised three or five. And when you
grew up in Miami, you're raised in Miami. You hear
Spanish all the time. See, but you went down your
physical therapy path whatever. And then one day she calls me,
she says, oh, you know, everybody that I work with,
most of the people they speak Spanish. And I want
(11:54):
to communicate with the people that I work with. I
want them to feel like they are heard. These fucking
bitch taught herself motherfucking Spanish, and she sounds like a
Cubana not really am honorary, but you have laay, Okay,
(12:24):
that's annoying, but it's amazing. Where did you so? How
did you study after that? You just just know working
in the hospital and like listening and just practicing it,
and I just let myself do it, you know, not
being afraid all right stuff. But the patients who speak
Spanish are like very happy and like they are grateful
that I speak Spanish, you know, and it does help
(12:44):
me get better rapport with the patients, and like they
trust me better when I speak Spanish. Most of the
people you would learn from work Cuban. Some Cuban Spanish.
I cannot understand it. I'm like, okay, look at let's
start talking to me like, oh, you know Spanish. Then
I'm like not that well, it's annoying because I have
three accents. Really, you know, I'm Venezuelano, was born in Venezuela,
but I grew up out here. You were born in Venezuela.
(13:07):
When did you come up? When I was two years old?
The year it was Chicago ninety seven. Day is a
suspect of scum. I'm a squeen tet. Sorry um. We
all have a D. We all have a D. We'll
(13:28):
discuss that later, and we'll remember to discuss it later.
I know you have a couple of impressions you want
to give us some of, so I'll introduce this truth.
(13:53):
I am a paid voice actor, are you. Yeah, I've
been getting paid to do some voice acting for the
first all. So you'll see some Italian cartoons that I'm
gonna be in. You'll see some Russian children's shows that
I'm doing. The narrator for the normal is like an
elephant with tusks, and then uh so the most recent one,
(14:17):
which I'm not I can't talk about it too much.
I'm gonna be an orc. I'm gonna be like an
ogre who's like the best friend of the main character,
who's like the true guy, and I'm like the jockey bigger.
I'm patrick sorry, So I'm gonna do it for you.
Hey man, what's up? I can see it. He's like
he's a little younger and he's got a little dreads
and stuff, so and it's, uh, he's kind of like
(14:39):
laid back a bit. He's like, I don't know about that.
The dragon's coming. We need to find the crystals and
it's just me like doing that voice for like an hour.
Give me your Christopher walking, Um, I am walking? Um
a lazy. It's so did to see you. I hope
(15:06):
a part about people that do voice acting. Their face
morphs into the person like you become them as you
got any impression pretend you know. I don't really do
impressions per se, but accents. Okay, you're telling said before,
I have a really good English accent. I think at
least um whatever Clark, Emilia Clark or Emma Watson my
(15:28):
distant cousin. Um, she got the acting genes. Unfortunately I
did not. Sorry, and I know right this is what
am I even sayings from Liverpool? Liverpool? Hey am oh yeah, Harrison,
(15:52):
Oh that was pretty good spe So, speaking of the
Beatles older times, let's go back to high school. We
all met in high school where we're diverting, all right.
When we met, Like Twiggy mentioned, Avery and I played
sports together, although you were on the soccer team and
I played basketball and I never played soccer and you
(16:14):
never played battle the same same season down here in
South Florida, those are on the same season, the same store,
Northern listeners exactly. If you were playing basketball and soccer.
You never played them at the same time. In the
Southern Hemisphere, the toilet actually spends backwards. Is that what
we're talking about? You play sport? Did you play sport?
I was in the swim team for a summer, and uh,
(16:37):
boy that I get just so written. Okay, So and
then I get to school starts and it's like, oh,
so you're gonna be the swim team. Now I trained
you to become part of the swim team. You're in it, right,
And you know. I was part of the arts in country,
and like our school, I really was like so interested
(16:58):
in trying everything because I didn't know what I wanted
to do. I of doing so many things, and so
I did theater and I did the school band because
I really enjoyed them, and I put as much time
into those as I could. And I would draw during
class when I should have been listening to, uh what
I was studying. Even though I got good grades, by
the way, just great grades. So when the moment I
(17:18):
had to like sacrifice one of those to go every
morning to exercise and do swimming, which was fun. I
didn't give a shit about. I wasn't passionate that was
the first time I realized, like, what like a passion man.
I was like, I went in to the coach. I
was like, I don't got the I don't got the
fire in me for this. I have the fire in
me already for a bunch of other things. So I
(17:40):
can't just give it. I can't throw away those fires.
So you want to hear a very real thing. I've
played basketball since I was ten years old. I'm five too.
I was a point guard. I was five too. Yeah,
you know, I can't see it like it's your personalities,
(18:02):
like large personalities eight feet bitch. It's touching the ground,
it's swinging, it's just dragging along. But so yeah, so
I was working every day. You know, let's let's play,
let's focus, that's whatever. And that's the thing like when
you're in high school and you're learning about who you are,
it's kind of like, oh, well, I want to be there.
(18:24):
I want to do this thing, but within limits, you
know what I mean. It was like a little bit
complicated for me. So I got to a point where
my high school basketball coach, you know, he was trying
to form the best team possible, which, again, this is
what I'm gonna say about high school like their children.
We are children in high school, and I feel like
(18:45):
this is my opinion, and you guys can disagree. They
are pressuring us too much to be know what we want,
know what our passions are. You know, push us to
be the best person that you are when you're fifteen
years old. That's never gonna happen. Like we're trying to
figure out who we are. Stop trying to make us
(19:07):
the basketball star, d one school, this, that whatever. So
in my experience, I was following a passion, following a
hobby that I really loved, like basketball, and then it
became too serious. It became like, oh, you don't get here,
you don't you don't excel, blah blah blah. Well it's
not gonna happen. And then for me, literally one day,
(19:30):
my mom picked me, but I was sobbing. I was
crying because I didn't want to let my team down.
When you are a part of a sport that teaches
you discipline, that teaches you camaraderie, wealthy loyalty, that teaches
you how to be a part of a team. Whether
you want to be an athlete or not, sports are
such an important part for me of what it means
(19:52):
to know what discipline means. I will always say thank
you for having that experience. However, when it came to
the point that I was like, this is getting too serious.
I'm fifteen years old. I'm not worried about being in
a D one school. I'm trying to get good grades
and figure out what I like. I'm fifteen. Yeah, I
(20:13):
don't even know my sexuality, right, yeah. So the whatever
you're in the that like teacher or coach, whatever, wants
you to just focus on that only. But it's like, hey,
we have all these other parts of our life that
we have to focus on as well and give time to.
Like you're saying earlier, when you focus more on one thing,
other things in your life fall off and you don't
give attention to it, or don't give the energy to it,
or because you can't. And it's like, no, we have
(20:33):
to be able to freely explore safely what we want
to do. That's something you have to learn how to do,
to learn how to like let go of something because
you know you have other responsibility, and that's not easy.
That's not easy because you could stick staying to the
same thing for so long because you feel like you're
expected to and you don't get to think you have
the chance to try something else. And I was scared
(20:54):
because my coach, he should have been in the NBA.
He's an incredible basketball player. An injury and you know,
he ended up where he ended up and it was like,
you guys got to be the best. And I'm like,
he was tough and he was pressured to be the
best of his pressure? Are you guys as kids? Though,
there's definitely kids in that situation that excelled in that situation,
(21:18):
But at that moment, once it really pushed into what
that could be, it pushed out the kids that didn't
fit that exactly. But should you push kids at that
age to be that way? That's a good question. I
just want to play basketball in my school, you know,
I'm just trying to have fun, right, it's not But again,
I don't take it away from him because guess what,
And I'm going to give this to him the day
(21:40):
that he dies. I will say this right now to
everybody out there. I was so scared. I cried to
my mom in the car. I said, I don't know
what I'm gonna do. I can't let my team down.
I can't let my coach down. He's counting on me.
I want you to be the point guard. I want
you to this and that. But if I'm not happy
and I'm not there, how much am I servicing him?
(22:03):
If I am lying, if I am showing up in
a way that he doesn't want me to show up.
So my mom took me to see the Dalai Lama.
Thank god, I have the privilege and the honor to
be able to you know, I went to you, am,
and he was doing a speech and and he said,
you have to do what fulfills you, what gives you happiness.
(22:28):
And in that moment, right there, right that moment, in
that moment, I said, the moment we leave here, I'm
going to talk to the basketball coach. I will not
wait one more day because I am showing up not
prepared to be a part of this team. I'm already removed. Yeah,
And I was fully expecting him to say, fuck you
(22:50):
go run ten laps, you're a piece of ship, whatever
the funk. And you know what, I went up to
him like a fucking warm man baby, and I went
up to him and I said, coach O, I love you,
I love being a part of this team. But this
is too serious. I'm way more serious about music than
I am this, and I am feeling way too overwhelmed.
(23:12):
And you know what he said to me, Okay, thank
you for speaking to me to my face. The moment
you want to come back, the door is open. Beautiful.
That's how it should always be. That's what he said.
But you know what I'm saying, I was expecting the worst.
(23:32):
And look how he responded to my you know, quote
unquote manning hashtag woman ing up, put your money where
your mouth is. Stop being afraid to talk to people.
And she and she offered, and she offered, do you
want going to go talk to him? No? No, I'm
(23:54):
going to deal with it myself. And it was so
painful and so terrible, but it was a beautiful sperience
that shaped my life. It doesn't matter. I don't remember algebra,
I don't remember this and that, and I have terrible grammar.
I can't spell for ship. But you know what, I
remember that moment right there, or I was able to
(24:14):
feel like I manned up and he respected me. That
is That's awesome, And unfortunately it's not always like that.
That's probably the more rare side, but that that shapes
you for sure. Did you have a weird moment like
in sports? Like how was your experience? Because you were
very talented Avery, she was like a soccer star. Her
dad was a soccer coach, and I'm sure that must
(24:37):
have been really difficult for you, but you always excelled.
Did you ever feel like, you know, I have to perform,
like hmm, I think it was probably I felt it,
but it was like I just was literally kind of
came out the wound playing soccer and my brothers playing soccer.
I looked up to them and I like loved because
I wanted to do what they were doing. Um, but
in school, you I was expected to do it, but
(24:59):
I loved it. You. There were some hard times of
like just this is intense and I never really wanted
to go to college for it. I remember one summer
I was helping my dad with his soccer camp he
does every summer called Simple Soccer. Remember it was just
so hot out there in that damn field gets really
really hot now sweating, and I'm in high school and
I'm like, I have better things to do quote like
air quotes, better things to do than coming here, at
(25:19):
whatever time of the day, burning hot, sweating, helping with
him with kids and whatever. And I told my dad,
like I don't even want to be here. Then no, no,
and then like he my dad is the most kind
person in the world, like doesn't curse, doesn't anything, And
I could just I was telling my dad this, but
I was kind of coming at it, coming at it
with a bad attitude a little bit. I loved your dad. Yeah,
I wasn't in any sports. I thought your dad was fantastic. Yeah,
(25:42):
it's just you could hear him from the other side
of the school, you know. Yeah. What I was saying
is like if you're a teacher in high school, which
is what we were talking about before, like you have
to realize that, like when you're a fifteen sixteen year old,
you're thinking, you know, you got it all figured out.
That's not the case. Like those are children, Yeah, they're
so impressionable, so when you act a certain way, they're
(26:02):
going to take that. And like think that that's what
adulthood looks like, and like it is. But it's like
you think now, like teachers are our age. We could
be teachers teaching fifteen years that's normal. Like we think
that these people have it all figured out and what
they say is the word of God, and like, oh,
I do something wrong because they're reacting like this and
they're telling me this, and it's like we're doing nothing wrong,
you know, per Sae, unless you're my sister just got
(26:23):
out of high school going to college. Now, yeah, speaking
of cool, this is a perfect moment. We went to
Country Day. When we went to Country Day, there's somebody
that we all have in common that I actually want
to take a little moment. Let's let's try to Calum.
Let's see what the fun is it. But when we
went to Rock Obama Daddy, I'm like, I'm good to
(26:50):
hear you. How are you hey, Michelle? Thank you? Wow. Wow.
My best friend to this day and also in high
school was Groovy Pantesco A k A. I'm not going
to say his name because it ruins the illusion. If
(27:12):
I tell you what his name is, it it ruins
the fact that his name is. If I tell you,
I'll tell you. I'm going to cut this out right now,
no way. So anyway, so when I was in high school, um, Groovy,
who is my best friend? He came up to me.
(27:34):
He had our band director Mr Wicker, who you know,
all of us know, even Avery, who wasn't a part
of the band, like Wicker loved you like we were
all a part of that that vibe, like that crew.
And so he was a part of our high school
experience because he was helping us with like sound and
you know, setting up the band and everything. So we're
(27:54):
gonna call him. Let's call Groovy. We're gonna call Groovy
right now. Let's see what's the number you have dial business? Hey, Groovy,
welcome to in our own world. Groovy, how are you?
I'm good? Where are you good? Tell us right now,
don't lie, be honest. Where are you? I'm at I'm
(28:15):
out a bar. I was just jamming with some friends,
ran outside. What song did you just play? I played
Little Wing, Hey Joe and Mustang Sally. Oh fuck yeah. Alright,
So listen, we are here with Avery, fed and me,
and we're talking about high school and talking about our experience,
(28:35):
and we got to the point where we're like, oh fuck,
Groovy was a part of that ship. So tell us,
how do we all know each other? We know each other.
I met Emily in ninth grade, plain Little Wing, Literally,
how I met you? I got called in to play
for the class, which I thought was very bizarre, but okay,
(28:57):
got to actually, here, you guys, when you did the
Beatles Medley that's right, yeah, from Abbey Roads, and Twig
and I would switch off on the drums and Groop.
I was not in high school. I was gonna say
I was the high school. But like, why aren't you
trying to take the opportunity to make yourself seem like
(29:19):
you're you know, in your twenties. Ain't gonna happen. Happen.
But I'm trying to throw you a bone. I'm trying
to make it seem like you know, and here you are.
So Groovy's my fucking best guy. And not only have
we all been in high school together and everything, but
he has been the reason why I have evolved my drumming.
(29:43):
When I was in high school with Twig and playing
drums and playing sports with Avery and everything, Uh, Groovy
was like, hey, come play drums with me, and I
was like, okay, and I was ready for rehearsal whatever.
It's like rehearsal funk that you're gonna show up up,
You're gonna play, and we're gonna make it work. And
So I've been playing with Groovy since I'm thirteen years old.
(30:06):
He's my writer or die, and he has made me
the musician that I am, truly, I'm going to say
that right now. And also in that process, in the
last year, he has written the most unbelievable fucking album
all Right down the Road. And it wasn't for him,
(30:27):
I wouldn't have gotten through that record. That's not true,
because the point is that when you're a musician, when
you're an artist, high school and everything like, you need
friends in your life to make you push you to
be your best self. And you do that for me,
and I do that for you ten years down. Then
I'm still a kid when it comes to playing music.
(30:48):
I'm still the same way I was when I was fifteen. Weird,
but I think about that. You know, I still love
music like I did then. And I know a lot
of people when they get older that are musicians and
they kind of like beer out of it. It's weird.
A lot of people beer away from it and they,
you know, it's not as close to them. They still
love music, but it's not like their end all. And
(31:08):
for me, I have to be listening to music all
the time when I'm driving all the time, it's playing
you know, different albums. You know, you know that. I
just got done driving for eleven hours. I've been up
for twenty eight hours. Here I am at a gig
to sit in with another band. Fuck yeah, you know that. That.
It's like that. It's just what drives me. It's what
(31:29):
keeps me alive. Yeah. Man, you gotta follow your passion.
You gotta do what makes you happy. That's what I
felt from you when you met me. I never in
a million years would have thought that you would have
invited me to play with you, you know, to be
a part of your world. And as a result, we
have this friendship that is going to be till the end,
till the day I die. Baby, you know You're important.
(31:52):
Is one of the most important things in my life,
is our friendship. I feel the same way. Well, anyway,
go back to the bar. Bitch, love you. I love you, guys,
I love you, we love you. That guy is just
the coolest guy. We're like watching all of you guys
on stage and stuff, and like him doing all the
other background stuff and whatever sound checks he would control,
he would he would have the soundboard, he'd control the
(32:14):
audio all the time. We went to a school that
gave us a lot of facilities to learn the things
we wanted to do extracurriculars. They gave us all the
tools needed to make that happen in the confines of
how they do it. Had a lot of rules, it
was structured. At the same time, I should have been
just like forming a band outside of school and doing
(32:34):
gigs and like getting into trouble. I should have been
taking risks in that regard. But I had a school
that was very like eager to have us make things
in the confines of our school. Part of it. We
were very privileged, all of us, whatever reasons we were
to be able go to a private school. But I'll
say this to this day, like I still say thank you.
(32:55):
I acknowledge when you're private school, however, you have to
have that outward experience where you have to also realize
where children were growing, we're learning, you know, Like even Avery,
I remember like one day you came up to me
in the hallway because you were always an incredible student.
And that's another thing, like how did you balance students?
And like I feel like there's a lot of pressure now,
(33:19):
a lot of pressure you have to be an amazing athlete.
You have to do something, or you have to whatever.
Like did you ever feel Avery's dad was a soccer
coach and she was a soccer star. Just a side note, Avery,
I would study with you and the other smart kids
on purpose so I could get better. That's so funny
because I never thought of myself as a smart kid
at all. I was in just like the regular normal
(33:39):
like science, and I did well in my chemistry class
and then I got put into honors physics and that
was not for me out with all the smart kids
of like the smart kids in our class. So my brain,
I guess just naturally was more like science based, math
based kind of stuff. Because physical therapist now, but I
always wanted to be more of the like theatrical musical,
and I have that passion for it and I love
it because I love singing and I love the arts,
(34:00):
and I loved watching guys performing and the drama performances.
I'll just sing. I sing to my patients all the time,
like if I yeah, when they're no, they hear me
and they're like, you have a great voice, and I'm like,
thank you, that's great. All right, let's hear your singing voice.
Hit different, doctor, Um, I gotta, I'll bring my guitar down.
You want to sing, I can show you that. I
(34:23):
can show you those right. I was telling Twick that
I had kind of a different experience in high school
(34:43):
because my father worked there. My two brothers went to
school there, and they're always watching, always watching, always listening,
always around the corner. So I was in ninth grade
when my middle brother was in eleventh grade, and my
oldest brother was in twelfth grade. So we were in
high school together, you know. And it's very SMA high school.
Our class was eighty nine kids, so yeah, very very intimate.
(35:04):
I knew everybody small exactly. We knew everyone in high school.
So um. But also with like coming out like which
I probably wouldn't have come out in high school anyway
if my dad wasn't there or my brothers weren't there.
But I feel like kids can come out earlier now,
or like I feel like it's just more talked about
and hope they can. It feels like a big shame.
Here's my thing. You shouldn't be forced to come out
(35:27):
until you're ready, because I don't even believe in coming
out like if you're if you're figuring yourself out, nobody
should make that decision for you, however, other than your priest. Yeah,
when you're that age and stuff and you think about
coming out or doing anything, just different from the status quo,
the norm. It's, yeah, you think about everyone how it's
(35:48):
gonna affect everyone else, and it shouldn't be that way.
You know. It's like, oh, how my family, how's my
dad gonna like take this? Now he's at school and
has all this talk about his daughter been gay. So
it's like that one through my mind. But also I
was terrified of coming out anyways, regardless of that. So
but a little different of a did you come out? Um?
Not really, I guess they found out. And then when
(36:09):
I went to college, I kind of like was able
to be myself more like I got I got a
girlfriend and like my freshman year of college we started
dating and data for four years on cash up on
cash up. Yeah, she hit me up there on farmer
Finder farmers only dot com. That's my top of girl
out there. How did Darlin? Where you at? Rat rat
(36:31):
rat rat aves, Like all of us have had incredible
memories together, Like I'll never forget that powder puff moment
that you mentioned. But also I'll never forget the day
that high school ended. This is like one of my
core memories. I guess it is. It really wasn't a
big deal to me, but it was. Yeah, that's so funny.
When high school ended, it was like, oh, the seniors
(36:54):
bells about to ring whatever, like go go outside and whatever.
Fed decides to put me on his shoulders. He's six three,
I'm five too. He decides to put me on his
shoulders and run around the football field leaning forward with
me on his shoulders, and I'm like, I started, I
started sprinting and purposely pretended I was dropping her. I
(37:15):
was like like scooped her up face plants into the turf.
Oh my god, you're the youngest I've had, like a
little sister that I had, Like I had practice a
small infant on my shoulders, So bitch. My point is
that it was just a euphoric moment, like school was over,
(37:38):
I was on your shoulders, were running around like it
was amazing, And those are the things that life are
made of, Like you have to mark those moments, enjoy them.
When I first met Emily, we were in the school
band and I was really fascinated with her, like your
mom was like like I didn't give a ship, you know,
Like I was like, oh, she plays drums like she's
(37:59):
really fun. I was like, oh, like she's so small.
This was like even like it was we were young.
It was like freshman year high school. So she was
like just small, and I shot up like a rocket.
I was already six to six three by like middle school.
Like I have the stretch marks to prove it. So
I've always been like the tall guy, tall ish, you know,
but I kept on it. There was this bit that
(38:21):
I had with like with all these other guys in
the band, like Aaron Weisman, who was just like on
a fighter a fighter, and I tried to like go
to you. We didn't know each other well enough, and
I was like I want to fight. Were like in
the buzz and there was a moment we like wrestled
or something too. I really wanted to likeing like Greek wrestle.
You yeah, I know, but in great in wrestling, she
(38:43):
would have the advantage, Like I knew that she could
eat people. You were in basketball team, so you were fit.
So I was like I know that Emily could were
being the operative work. Yeah, you're preaching to the choir now,
but no, I think in high school you have to
have that good clean but you have to as a kid.
(39:04):
You have to just find your thing, but try everything
you know and have fun with it and just like
love and have fun in that moment, because high school
is a form formative years for sure, and you got
to like the last day of high school was like amazing,
and like adults were like, oh yeah, just high school.
But it's like no, you gotta live that and feel
it and like be in the moment and like make mistakes,
do stupid things, but like you gotta fully thoroughly enjoy it.
(39:26):
This is my message for tonight guys. Whatever happens in
your life, you have friends that have been with you
for a minute. There have been moments where we don't talk, Like,
you know, Avery and I just recently reconnected again, even
though we were super close and fed and I you know,
we went to college in the same you know, yeah,
(39:48):
like he went to Emerson and I went to Berkeley,
so we were able to continue our friendship at the
same time exactly a lot of trouble. The point is
that you have to reconnect to the people who bring
you joy talk about your past. High school is a
very formative time. It's not about what you learn, it's
about the experiences that you have. Because I'm telling you, man,
(40:09):
it doesn't matter if you're fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, what you
go through during that time. Even to this day, you remember,
you think about it. We keep coming back to each other.
It's even subconscious that, like, you learn so much stuff
that like you don't you can't articulate or like remember,
but you still learn so much exactly you you you
process it later, but in the moment you're learning, not
(40:33):
what you're writing on the paper. To ask me about
any history question, I have no idea exactly, but I
love my history. Mr Mellman. I loved him because he
was just Thailand. But um, yeah, you learn so much
in high school. But like like being a human, being
a good person, like keeping your friends. You know your
friends speak to who you are amen to this day,
(40:55):
which is why I say you you both have beautiful hearts,
beautiful like you just the energy you radiate, which is
why I want to continue to be around you guys.
So before we end the flight, by the way, Jem,
I really fucking hope you found that rock to keep
Beyonce alive because she needs to be alive. Shout out
to Jem mining those gems, hey, gem mining gems, Gem
(41:20):
mining gems. The gems are mining the gems. Are you
minding them? Are you minding hey? Are you minding them? Anyway?
So before we leave you guys tonight, thank you so
fucking much for flying with us one more time. Your name?
What are you up to today? Where can people find you? Like?
(41:42):
Give people the Rigamar role. Let's start with as Riggamo role. Here.
It is um Avere Watson physical therapy right here. Um,
don't ask me to work on you. I'm expensive, I
worked at a hospital and my Instagram is Avery wats
hit me up for all your for all your if
you don't, if you don't want to use w m D,
(42:03):
you get her Instagram exact. That's your plan b on
that one. Any questions you've got, all right, Fed, what's
your vibe? Here's fed equal check me on instagramento. I'm
an illustrator. I got my new animated music video out
for the band Heat Boys. It's called Lonely Parentheses in
(42:23):
cell Anthem and it's exactly what you expected to be
whoever's out there right now listening. You need your friends
to lift you up, to make you feel good, to
make you feel empowered. When was the last time you
talked to your school friends? Make sure they're okay, call them,
check how they are. Don't and people will always be
happy that you reached down. Don't be like, oh, it's
been too long, they forgot me. When I've had a
(42:45):
couple of people like recently reach out and be like,
oh my god, I'm like, it's just so, it's so
nice and so warm feeling, and I'm like, Wow, I've
made an impact on their life enough for them to
reach back out, and I'm so grateful and I need
to learn from nextuse I need to do it. I
need to reach out. And on that note, thank you
for flying with us today. They been in our own
world with beds Lesinger, Avery Watson, Emily is Stefan. Thank
(43:08):
you for flying what baby, We love you? Where in
space Cosm. This is a Moonflower production in partnership with
I Hearts Mike was bet Up podcast Network. For more podcasts,
(43:31):
visit the I Heart Radio app or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
I hate you the same. Let's go to a man
one ready for a same launching. Okay, guys, we are
(00:29):
here in our own world. Actually today I want to
make an announcement. Unfortunately, Jem has had to take the
side pot. She had to go to another planet. It's
called Glork. It's on the other side of the universe.
I love Lord. Well. She actually is on a mission
to find and mind a rock that will keep Beyonce
(00:50):
alive forever. She's doing the hard work. She's doing the
work that we all need. So actually, Jim, are you there.
Let's check in with you real quick. Comp check bab
I'm here, but not for long. Listen, tweety Avery. I
am so sorry. I'm not there to be with you, guys,
and you fell all the way all here to see us.
(01:11):
But listen, I had to and it's magical. There are
giant bees everywhere. I can't believe I got down here
without even so much as a camera to take pictures
of it. But listen, I gotta go. This might be
the world's only chance. Listen, have the best time. Don't forget.
A diva is a female version of a hustler, and
praise you on. Stay till the end of time. Goodbye, guys, bye,
you are doing the work that we all need. Baby,
(01:33):
Thank you. Beyonce shall live forever thanks to you and
nobody forget it out there. All right, guys, Well, today
is a very special episode. You are in Emily's world.
So I've known these two people who are here that
are about to introduce themselves for a minute now. You
(01:56):
all have been very special to me in my life,
and that's why I'm glad that you're here sitting with
me today. So thank you, Mama. We are talking about
high school. We're talking about your formative years. We're talking
about the experiences you have when you're growing up, how
they shape you as a human being, and just exploring
and vibing out. So, without further ado, I would like
(02:19):
to introduce introduce yourselves. You go for a twig Hi. Hello,
I'm fed that equal. Emily knows me as Twiggy. We'll
talk about that light. My name is. I'm here from Miami.
I known Emily from high school. You're in the school
band together. We were school rivals. Yeah, why not, let's go.
(02:45):
Let's go there. We'll feel We'll figure it out as
we go. Um and we've been both little music Meister's
jam buddies. He's being a little bit modest right now.
I guess so I was in awe of you. I
always was like, look at this cat. Okay. I looked
(03:07):
up to you like he's in drama, he draws, he's
playing music like. I always looked up to you as
this kid who was all around, you know, like showing up,
and I wanted to be kind of like that. Also,
when you're in high school and you're growing up. I
was talking about this with Avery, which we're about to
introduce right now because she's going to punch me in
the face. Swear's here. She's here, but we're gonna go
(03:33):
to aves now. But my point is that when you're
in high school, because we all went to high school together.
When you're in high school, you don't realize, like now
we're about to be twenty eight right than that. But
you know what you look back, like, how do you
think about a fifteen year old sixteen had children about
(03:54):
like fifteen year old me? And I see kids now
at that age and it's like I was once there.
I completely changed, Like I realized how in a way
there was confidence you have at that age where you
wish you had confidence in other places, and where you
had confidence you wish you did not. You swallowed your
pride a little bit. Yeah, you can't help as that
(04:18):
age to not know how to swallow your pride. What
did I just say? I said, you feel like you're
an adult, but you're not. I feel like the more
removed I am from that period, the more I take
from it. I don't know if that makes sense you.
As much as you think it's a moment for you
to grow and figure things out, I have yet to
(04:40):
completely figure out what I'm doing. You know. I've realized
that even as a kid, like there was a moment
where it just kind of like clicked for me, that
even adults are still figuring it. Always I'm constantly changing.
I don't know who I will be at thirty. I
don't know who I'll be at a sixty five. Even
like a year from now, we could be like you
(05:01):
could have a life thing that just seventy I'm gonna
be like leather skin with like a hem shirt attle vest.
But I was like, hello, my girlfriends half my age Now,
I don't want to do that. That's not that's not
the best going for if it's thrown at right? How
am I to say? No? Right? I don't mind being
used anyway? Are you guys talking about Okay? Wait, so
(05:25):
now now it's time for Avery, my second flight attendant today.
Thank you for joining us on this flight. By the way,
did you get a degree in spaceship stuff? Yes? I
went to Rye for spaceship stuff. Oh my god, so Aves,
Avery mother Evan Watson. Who are you? What do you do?
How do we know each other? Well? I am Avery
Mother Evan Watson. UM met you in ninth grade, so
(05:49):
high school started that and we headed off. You know,
we're friends from the start and like always got along.
I could laugh and have fun. I love I looked
up to both you guys. I loved the whole art
stuff and the music. I love singing. But I'm like
a more car and shower. Yeah, but we merged more
(06:09):
in the sports world because you're a little athlete, so
we um did like powder puff football. That was the best.
I love that this girl can play football like no. Sorry, listen,
whoever was present for that Miami Country Day powder puff
football game, Avia and nine down get around us breaking
ankles out here, literally, like we were sophomores. Okay, here
(06:32):
we go. We're going into the high pool. Welcome, Welcome
to high school. Go back and see your high school years.
Guys out there, wherever you are. We're going to get
into this. But you know, I want to hear Twiggi's
perspective because Avery and I are both jakes. We're gay. No,
did you know that Avery and I both got infected
(06:55):
by the gay virus. I'm so sorry it happened. I'm
so sorry. We get the vaccine for the gay We
tried to get the vaccine for the game, but didn't happened.
But anyway, well, we were in high school. We were
great friends, but we never talked about our sexuality. We
never talked about, you know, what was going on. I'm curious,
Twiggy question, did you ever think either of us were gay?
(07:19):
I'm serious because I knew you were gay? Oh you knew,
like Avery, Avery I was, but I was a hundred
like yeah, but like there's the first off. I mean,
being gays a spectrum, right, as is everything. You know,
Like as much as I could have been like, oh
I'm at least totally gay, I was like we could
(07:40):
be a big gay, like I have to paint a
picture of who Emily was in high school. I'll just
describe it it And you had the same look through
like all of high school, and that was that's my
next question. But played the picture the picture like pigtails,
those fraids, braids really um but not like raggedy Ann braves.
(08:01):
There's more like the bassist for Metallic. But it was
bad though, really bad like that literally that haircut, glasses,
and would never wear any kind of dress or skirt.
Hated it, always in shorts, jorts, pants, the rocker look,
and just like hated the idea of being seen as feminine.
(08:22):
And you thought it was like being forced upon you
and you were like, no, I want to wear this.
Sometimes when I put on girly clothes feminine clothes, I
feel more masculine, Like it makes me feel like it's forced,
so makes me feel like I'm not not wearing what
I should be. Like, oh, that's what you want me
to right, I have like I like my sporty kind
of attire and whatever. Um, but if I'm wearing like
(08:42):
more femine stuff, like it to be sexy, not like
cute and pretty, I don't like it's like like when
I look cute and pretty, I feel like it looks forced,
it looks yea, and I feel out of body right.
But for me, it was like, this is my this
is my complaint. You're gonna tell me, Oh, you look
pretty with your hair down. Oh, I'd love to see
your legs. I'd love to see your body. By the way, Avery,
(09:02):
we were athletes, we had rocking bodies, and there's no
reason why we shouldn't have been showing our bodies. But
it made me feel so uncomfortable. I was always thinking that.
I was like, why is an Emily showing her body?
Because if you don't feel comfortable, it feels like you're naked. True.
I never saw it as like weird though. I just
(09:24):
saw it as something of your own. I never like
the first thing I'm thinking like if I if I
knew you in that way, I didn't think, oh, that's
very strange. There's plenty of people who do the same thing.
You know. It felt like something that wasn't enough for
me to have like an intervention for you. Imagine if
I had come up to you in high school, be like,
(09:44):
just like a girl hump. You and me are going
to the classes we're gonna get some girly clothes and
we're gonna put that on you and you're gonna like it.
I didn't mean it like that. I meant like the
we all when you're in high school, that's the point
when you're growing and you're learning and you're whatever. You're
(10:05):
not trying to judge other people. You want to love
them for where they are at, whether it's good for
them or not. That's what I feel like is the
beauty of camaraderie and friendship. We had such incredible times
and we all had our own ship, you know, but
(10:25):
you still love people for where they're at. If somebody's insecure,
you can still acknowledge as an insecurity, but you don't
push them right, you don't love their insecurity or that's
who they are. How do you feel about that? Aves like,
have you ever been insecure? Definitely? In high school for sure,
was more so of the insecurity. Um. I feel like
more in college everyone was more accepting. In high school,
(10:47):
you want to try to go to that norm and
you want to fit in that societal norm of like
the popular girls, and you want to wear this stuff
and go out and do these things and say these
things and college, Noe gives a funk and like, if
you definitely find yourself more. And I found my up
more and I keep finding myself. Like we said, what
did you study in college? I studied exercise science. What
is that? It is? Um a bridge path to being
(11:09):
a physical therapist. So I did that Florida State Donal's
exercise science and then I went to f i U
and go Panthers for physical therapy school. So that's what
I do now. And your physical therapists, yeah, doctor of
physical therapist. Excuse me, excuse me say it again one time,
doctor of physical therapy, so Aves. This is something that
(11:31):
I just I just love. You grew up in Miami,
right bone and raised three or five. And when you
grew up in Miami, you're raised in Miami. You hear
Spanish all the time. See, but you went down your
physical therapy path whatever. And then one day she calls me,
she says, oh, you know, everybody that I work with,
most of the people they speak Spanish. And I want
(11:54):
to communicate with the people that I work with. I
want them to feel like they are heard. These fucking
bitch taught herself motherfucking Spanish, and she sounds like a
Cubana not really am honorary, but you have laay, Okay,
(12:24):
that's annoying, but it's amazing. Where did you so? How
did you study after that? You just just know working
in the hospital and like listening and just practicing it,
and I just let myself do it, you know, not
being afraid all right stuff. But the patients who speak
Spanish are like very happy and like they are grateful
that I speak Spanish, you know, and it does help
(12:44):
me get better rapport with the patients, and like they
trust me better when I speak Spanish. Most of the
people you would learn from work Cuban. Some Cuban Spanish.
I cannot understand it. I'm like, okay, look at let's
start talking to me like, oh, you know Spanish. Then
I'm like not that well, it's annoying because I have
three accents. Really, you know, I'm Venezuelano, was born in Venezuela,
but I grew up out here. You were born in Venezuela.
(13:07):
When did you come up? When I was two years old?
The year it was Chicago ninety seven. Day is a
suspect of scum. I'm a squeen tet. Sorry um. We
all have a D. We all have a D. We'll
(13:28):
discuss that later, and we'll remember to discuss it later.
I know you have a couple of impressions you want
to give us some of, so I'll introduce this truth.
(13:53):
I am a paid voice actor, are you. Yeah, I've
been getting paid to do some voice acting for the
first all. So you'll see some Italian cartoons that I'm
gonna be in. You'll see some Russian children's shows that
I'm doing. The narrator for the normal is like an
elephant with tusks, and then uh so the most recent one,
(14:17):
which I'm not I can't talk about it too much.
I'm gonna be an orc. I'm gonna be like an
ogre who's like the best friend of the main character,
who's like the true guy, and I'm like the jockey bigger.
I'm patrick sorry, So I'm gonna do it for you.
Hey man, what's up? I can see it. He's like
he's a little younger and he's got a little dreads
and stuff, so and it's, uh, he's kind of like
(14:39):
laid back a bit. He's like, I don't know about that.
The dragon's coming. We need to find the crystals and
it's just me like doing that voice for like an hour.
Give me your Christopher walking, Um, I am walking? Um
a lazy. It's so did to see you. I hope
(15:06):
a part about people that do voice acting. Their face
morphs into the person like you become them as you
got any impression pretend you know. I don't really do
impressions per se, but accents. Okay, you're telling said before,
I have a really good English accent. I think at
least um whatever Clark, Emilia Clark or Emma Watson my
(15:28):
distant cousin. Um, she got the acting genes. Unfortunately I
did not. Sorry, and I know right this is what
am I even sayings from Liverpool? Liverpool? Hey am oh yeah, Harrison,
(15:52):
Oh that was pretty good spe So, speaking of the
Beatles older times, let's go back to high school. We
all met in high school where we're diverting, all right.
When we met, Like Twiggy mentioned, Avery and I played
sports together, although you were on the soccer team and
I played basketball and I never played soccer and you
(16:14):
never played battle the same same season down here in
South Florida, those are on the same season, the same store,
Northern listeners exactly. If you were playing basketball and soccer.
You never played them at the same time. In the
Southern Hemisphere, the toilet actually spends backwards. Is that what
we're talking about? You play sport? Did you play sport?
I was in the swim team for a summer, and uh,
(16:37):
boy that I get just so written. Okay, So and
then I get to school starts and it's like, oh,
so you're gonna be the swim team. Now I trained
you to become part of the swim team. You're in it, right,
And you know. I was part of the arts in country,
and like our school, I really was like so interested
(16:58):
in trying everything because I didn't know what I wanted
to do. I of doing so many things, and so
I did theater and I did the school band because
I really enjoyed them, and I put as much time
into those as I could. And I would draw during
class when I should have been listening to, uh what
I was studying. Even though I got good grades, by
the way, just great grades. So when the moment I
(17:18):
had to like sacrifice one of those to go every
morning to exercise and do swimming, which was fun. I
didn't give a shit about. I wasn't passionate that was
the first time I realized, like, what like a passion man.
I was like, I went in to the coach. I
was like, I don't got the I don't got the
fire in me for this. I have the fire in
me already for a bunch of other things. So I
(17:40):
can't just give it. I can't throw away those fires.
So you want to hear a very real thing. I've
played basketball since I was ten years old. I'm five too.
I was a point guard. I was five too. Yeah,
you know, I can't see it like it's your personalities,
(18:02):
like large personalities eight feet bitch. It's touching the ground,
it's swinging, it's just dragging along. But so yeah, so
I was working every day. You know, let's let's play,
let's focus, that's whatever. And that's the thing like when
you're in high school and you're learning about who you are,
it's kind of like, oh, well, I want to be there.
(18:24):
I want to do this thing, but within limits, you
know what I mean. It was like a little bit
complicated for me. So I got to a point where
my high school basketball coach, you know, he was trying
to form the best team possible, which, again, this is
what I'm gonna say about high school like their children.
We are children in high school, and I feel like
(18:45):
this is my opinion, and you guys can disagree. They
are pressuring us too much to be know what we want,
know what our passions are. You know, push us to
be the best person that you are when you're fifteen
years old. That's never gonna happen. Like we're trying to
figure out who we are. Stop trying to make us
(19:07):
the basketball star, d one school, this, that whatever. So
in my experience, I was following a passion, following a
hobby that I really loved, like basketball, and then it
became too serious. It became like, oh, you don't get here,
you don't you don't excel, blah blah blah. Well it's
not gonna happen. And then for me, literally one day,
(19:30):
my mom picked me, but I was sobbing. I was
crying because I didn't want to let my team down.
When you are a part of a sport that teaches
you discipline, that teaches you camaraderie, wealthy loyalty, that teaches
you how to be a part of a team. Whether
you want to be an athlete or not, sports are
such an important part for me of what it means
(19:52):
to know what discipline means. I will always say thank
you for having that experience. However, when it came to
the point that I was like, this is getting too serious.
I'm fifteen years old. I'm not worried about being in
a D one school. I'm trying to get good grades
and figure out what I like. I'm fifteen. Yeah, I
(20:13):
don't even know my sexuality, right, yeah. So the whatever
you're in the that like teacher or coach, whatever, wants
you to just focus on that only. But it's like, hey,
we have all these other parts of our life that
we have to focus on as well and give time to.
Like you're saying earlier, when you focus more on one thing,
other things in your life fall off and you don't
give attention to it, or don't give the energy to it,
or because you can't. And it's like, no, we have
(20:33):
to be able to freely explore safely what we want
to do. That's something you have to learn how to do,
to learn how to like let go of something because
you know you have other responsibility, and that's not easy.
That's not easy because you could stick staying to the
same thing for so long because you feel like you're
expected to and you don't get to think you have
the chance to try something else. And I was scared
(20:54):
because my coach, he should have been in the NBA.
He's an incredible basketball player. An injury and you know,
he ended up where he ended up and it was like,
you guys got to be the best. And I'm like,
he was tough and he was pressured to be the
best of his pressure? Are you guys as kids? Though,
there's definitely kids in that situation that excelled in that situation,
(21:18):
But at that moment, once it really pushed into what
that could be, it pushed out the kids that didn't
fit that exactly. But should you push kids at that
age to be that way? That's a good question. I
just want to play basketball in my school, you know,
I'm just trying to have fun, right, it's not But again,
I don't take it away from him because guess what,
And I'm going to give this to him the day
(21:40):
that he dies. I will say this right now to
everybody out there. I was so scared. I cried to
my mom in the car. I said, I don't know
what I'm gonna do. I can't let my team down.
I can't let my coach down. He's counting on me.
I want you to be the point guard. I want
you to this and that. But if I'm not happy
and I'm not there, how much am I servicing him?
(22:03):
If I am lying, if I am showing up in
a way that he doesn't want me to show up.
So my mom took me to see the Dalai Lama.
Thank god, I have the privilege and the honor to
be able to you know, I went to you, am,
and he was doing a speech and and he said,
you have to do what fulfills you, what gives you happiness.
(22:28):
And in that moment, right there, right that moment, in
that moment, I said, the moment we leave here, I'm
going to talk to the basketball coach. I will not
wait one more day because I am showing up not
prepared to be a part of this team. I'm already removed. Yeah,
And I was fully expecting him to say, fuck you
(22:50):
go run ten laps, you're a piece of ship, whatever
the funk. And you know what, I went up to
him like a fucking warm man baby, and I went
up to him and I said, coach O, I love you,
I love being a part of this team. But this
is too serious. I'm way more serious about music than
I am this, and I am feeling way too overwhelmed.
(23:12):
And you know what he said to me, Okay, thank
you for speaking to me to my face. The moment
you want to come back, the door is open. Beautiful.
That's how it should always be. That's what he said.
But you know what I'm saying, I was expecting the worst.
(23:32):
And look how he responded to my you know, quote
unquote manning hashtag woman ing up, put your money where
your mouth is. Stop being afraid to talk to people.
And she and she offered, and she offered, do you
want going to go talk to him? No? No, I'm
(23:54):
going to deal with it myself. And it was so
painful and so terrible, but it was a beautiful sperience
that shaped my life. It doesn't matter. I don't remember algebra,
I don't remember this and that, and I have terrible grammar.
I can't spell for ship. But you know what, I
remember that moment right there, or I was able to
(24:14):
feel like I manned up and he respected me. That
is That's awesome, And unfortunately it's not always like that.
That's probably the more rare side, but that that shapes
you for sure. Did you have a weird moment like
in sports? Like how was your experience? Because you were
very talented Avery, she was like a soccer star. Her
dad was a soccer coach, and I'm sure that must
(24:37):
have been really difficult for you, but you always excelled.
Did you ever feel like, you know, I have to perform,
like hmm, I think it was probably I felt it,
but it was like I just was literally kind of
came out the wound playing soccer and my brothers playing soccer.
I looked up to them and I like loved because
I wanted to do what they were doing. Um, but
in school, you I was expected to do it, but
(24:59):
I loved it. You. There were some hard times of
like just this is intense and I never really wanted
to go to college for it. I remember one summer
I was helping my dad with his soccer camp he
does every summer called Simple Soccer. Remember it was just
so hot out there in that damn field gets really
really hot now sweating, and I'm in high school and
I'm like, I have better things to do quote like
air quotes, better things to do than coming here, at
(25:19):
whatever time of the day, burning hot, sweating, helping with
him with kids and whatever. And I told my dad,
like I don't even want to be here. Then no, no,
and then like he my dad is the most kind
person in the world, like doesn't curse, doesn't anything, And
I could just I was telling my dad this, but
I was kind of coming at it, coming at it
with a bad attitude a little bit. I loved your dad. Yeah,
I wasn't in any sports. I thought your dad was fantastic. Yeah,
(25:42):
it's just you could hear him from the other side
of the school, you know. Yeah. What I was saying
is like if you're a teacher in high school, which
is what we were talking about before, like you have
to realize that, like when you're a fifteen sixteen year old,
you're thinking, you know, you got it all figured out.
That's not the case. Like those are children, Yeah, they're
so impressionable, so when you act a certain way, they're
(26:02):
going to take that. And like think that that's what
adulthood looks like, and like it is. But it's like
you think now, like teachers are our age. We could
be teachers teaching fifteen years that's normal. Like we think
that these people have it all figured out and what
they say is the word of God, and like, oh,
I do something wrong because they're reacting like this and
they're telling me this, and it's like we're doing nothing wrong,
you know, per Sae, unless you're my sister just got
(26:23):
out of high school going to college. Now, yeah, speaking
of cool, this is a perfect moment. We went to
Country Day. When we went to Country Day, there's somebody
that we all have in common that I actually want
to take a little moment. Let's let's try to Calum.
Let's see what the fun is it. But when we
went to Rock Obama Daddy, I'm like, I'm good to
(26:50):
hear you. How are you hey, Michelle? Thank you? Wow. Wow.
My best friend to this day and also in high
school was Groovy Pantesco A k A. I'm not going
to say his name because it ruins the illusion. If
(27:12):
I tell you what his name is, it it ruins
the fact that his name is. If I tell you,
I'll tell you. I'm going to cut this out right now,
no way. So anyway, so when I was in high school, um, Groovy,
who is my best friend? He came up to me.
(27:34):
He had our band director Mr Wicker, who you know,
all of us know, even Avery, who wasn't a part
of the band, like Wicker loved you like we were
all a part of that that vibe, like that crew.
And so he was a part of our high school
experience because he was helping us with like sound and
you know, setting up the band and everything. So we're
(27:54):
gonna call him. Let's call Groovy. We're gonna call Groovy
right now. Let's see what's the number you have dial business? Hey, Groovy,
welcome to in our own world. Groovy, how are you?
I'm good? Where are you good? Tell us right now,
don't lie, be honest. Where are you? I'm at I'm
(28:15):
out a bar. I was just jamming with some friends,
ran outside. What song did you just play? I played
Little Wing, Hey Joe and Mustang Sally. Oh fuck yeah. Alright,
So listen, we are here with Avery, fed and me,
and we're talking about high school and talking about our experience,
(28:35):
and we got to the point where we're like, oh fuck,
Groovy was a part of that ship. So tell us,
how do we all know each other? We know each other.
I met Emily in ninth grade, plain Little Wing, Literally,
how I met you? I got called in to play
for the class, which I thought was very bizarre, but okay,
(28:57):
got to actually, here, you guys, when you did the
Beatles Medley that's right, yeah, from Abbey Roads, and Twig
and I would switch off on the drums and Groop.
I was not in high school. I was gonna say
I was the high school. But like, why aren't you
trying to take the opportunity to make yourself seem like
(29:19):
you're you know, in your twenties. Ain't gonna happen. Happen.
But I'm trying to throw you a bone. I'm trying
to make it seem like you know, and here you are.
So Groovy's my fucking best guy. And not only have
we all been in high school together and everything, but
he has been the reason why I have evolved my drumming.
(29:43):
When I was in high school with Twig and playing
drums and playing sports with Avery and everything, Uh, Groovy
was like, hey, come play drums with me, and I
was like, okay, and I was ready for rehearsal whatever.
It's like rehearsal funk that you're gonna show up up,
You're gonna play, and we're gonna make it work. And
So I've been playing with Groovy since I'm thirteen years old.
(30:06):
He's my writer or die, and he has made me
the musician that I am, truly, I'm going to say
that right now. And also in that process, in the
last year, he has written the most unbelievable fucking album
all Right down the Road. And it wasn't for him,
(30:27):
I wouldn't have gotten through that record. That's not true,
because the point is that when you're a musician, when
you're an artist, high school and everything like, you need
friends in your life to make you push you to
be your best self. And you do that for me,
and I do that for you ten years down. Then
I'm still a kid when it comes to playing music.
(30:48):
I'm still the same way I was when I was fifteen. Weird,
but I think about that. You know, I still love
music like I did then. And I know a lot
of people when they get older that are musicians and
they kind of like beer out of it. It's weird.
A lot of people beer away from it and they,
you know, it's not as close to them. They still
love music, but it's not like their end all. And
(31:08):
for me, I have to be listening to music all
the time when I'm driving all the time, it's playing
you know, different albums. You know, you know that. I
just got done driving for eleven hours. I've been up
for twenty eight hours. Here I am at a gig
to sit in with another band. Fuck yeah, you know that. That.
It's like that. It's just what drives me. It's what
(31:29):
keeps me alive. Yeah. Man, you gotta follow your passion.
You gotta do what makes you happy. That's what I
felt from you when you met me. I never in
a million years would have thought that you would have
invited me to play with you, you know, to be
a part of your world. And as a result, we
have this friendship that is going to be till the end,
till the day I die. Baby, you know You're important.
(31:52):
Is one of the most important things in my life,
is our friendship. I feel the same way. Well, anyway,
go back to the bar. Bitch, love you. I love you, guys,
I love you, we love you. That guy is just
the coolest guy. We're like watching all of you guys
on stage and stuff, and like him doing all the
other background stuff and whatever sound checks he would control,
he would he would have the soundboard, he'd control the
(32:14):
audio all the time. We went to a school that
gave us a lot of facilities to learn the things
we wanted to do extracurriculars. They gave us all the
tools needed to make that happen in the confines of
how they do it. Had a lot of rules, it
was structured. At the same time, I should have been
just like forming a band outside of school and doing
(32:34):
gigs and like getting into trouble. I should have been
taking risks in that regard. But I had a school
that was very like eager to have us make things
in the confines of our school. Part of it. We
were very privileged, all of us, whatever reasons we were
to be able go to a private school. But I'll
say this to this day, like I still say thank you.
(32:55):
I acknowledge when you're private school, however, you have to
have that outward experience where you have to also realize
where children were growing, we're learning, you know, Like even Avery,
I remember like one day you came up to me
in the hallway because you were always an incredible student.
And that's another thing, like how did you balance students?
And like I feel like there's a lot of pressure now,
(33:19):
a lot of pressure you have to be an amazing athlete.
You have to do something, or you have to whatever.
Like did you ever feel Avery's dad was a soccer
coach and she was a soccer star. Just a side note, Avery,
I would study with you and the other smart kids
on purpose so I could get better. That's so funny
because I never thought of myself as a smart kid
at all. I was in just like the regular normal
(33:39):
like science, and I did well in my chemistry class
and then I got put into honors physics and that
was not for me out with all the smart kids
of like the smart kids in our class. So my brain,
I guess just naturally was more like science based, math
based kind of stuff. Because physical therapist now, but I
always wanted to be more of the like theatrical musical,
and I have that passion for it and I love
it because I love singing and I love the arts,
(34:00):
and I loved watching guys performing and the drama performances.
I'll just sing. I sing to my patients all the time,
like if I yeah, when they're no, they hear me
and they're like, you have a great voice, and I'm like,
thank you, that's great. All right, let's hear your singing voice.
Hit different, doctor, Um, I gotta, I'll bring my guitar down.
You want to sing, I can show you that. I
(34:23):
can show you those right. I was telling Twick that
I had kind of a different experience in high school
(34:43):
because my father worked there. My two brothers went to
school there, and they're always watching, always watching, always listening,
always around the corner. So I was in ninth grade
when my middle brother was in eleventh grade, and my
oldest brother was in twelfth grade. So we were in
high school together, you know. And it's very SMA high school.
Our class was eighty nine kids, so yeah, very very intimate.
(35:04):
I knew everybody small exactly. We knew everyone in high school.
So um. But also with like coming out like which
I probably wouldn't have come out in high school anyway
if my dad wasn't there or my brothers weren't there.
But I feel like kids can come out earlier now,
or like I feel like it's just more talked about
and hope they can. It feels like a big shame.
Here's my thing. You shouldn't be forced to come out
(35:27):
until you're ready, because I don't even believe in coming
out like if you're if you're figuring yourself out, nobody
should make that decision for you, however, other than your priest. Yeah,
when you're that age and stuff and you think about
coming out or doing anything, just different from the status quo,
the norm. It's, yeah, you think about everyone how it's
(35:48):
gonna affect everyone else, and it shouldn't be that way.
You know. It's like, oh, how my family, how's my
dad gonna like take this? Now he's at school and
has all this talk about his daughter been gay. So
it's like that one through my mind. But also I
was terrified of coming out anyways, regardless of that. So
but a little different of a did you come out? Um?
Not really, I guess they found out. And then when
(36:09):
I went to college, I kind of like was able
to be myself more like I got I got a
girlfriend and like my freshman year of college we started
dating and data for four years on cash up on
cash up. Yeah, she hit me up there on farmer
Finder farmers only dot com. That's my top of girl
out there. How did Darlin? Where you at? Rat rat
(36:31):
rat rat aves, Like all of us have had incredible
memories together, Like I'll never forget that powder puff moment
that you mentioned. But also I'll never forget the day
that high school ended. This is like one of my
core memories. I guess it is. It really wasn't a
big deal to me, but it was. Yeah, that's so funny.
When high school ended, it was like, oh, the seniors
(36:54):
bells about to ring whatever, like go go outside and whatever.
Fed decides to put me on his shoulders. He's six three,
I'm five too. He decides to put me on his
shoulders and run around the football field leaning forward with
me on his shoulders, and I'm like, I started, I
started sprinting and purposely pretended I was dropping her. I
(37:15):
was like like scooped her up face plants into the turf.
Oh my god, you're the youngest I've had, like a
little sister that I had, Like I had practice a
small infant on my shoulders, So bitch. My point is
that it was just a euphoric moment, like school was over,
(37:38):
I was on your shoulders, were running around like it
was amazing, And those are the things that life are
made of, Like you have to mark those moments, enjoy them.
When I first met Emily, we were in the school
band and I was really fascinated with her, like your
mom was like like I didn't give a ship, you know,
Like I was like, oh, she plays drums like she's
(37:59):
really fun. I was like, oh, like she's so small.
This was like even like it was we were young.
It was like freshman year high school. So she was
like just small, and I shot up like a rocket.
I was already six to six three by like middle school.
Like I have the stretch marks to prove it. So
I've always been like the tall guy, tall ish, you know,
but I kept on it. There was this bit that
(38:21):
I had with like with all these other guys in
the band, like Aaron Weisman, who was just like on
a fighter a fighter, and I tried to like go
to you. We didn't know each other well enough, and
I was like I want to fight. Were like in
the buzz and there was a moment we like wrestled
or something too. I really wanted to likeing like Greek wrestle.
You yeah, I know, but in great in wrestling, she
(38:43):
would have the advantage, Like I knew that she could
eat people. You were in basketball team, so you were fit.
So I was like I know that Emily could were
being the operative work. Yeah, you're preaching to the choir now,
but no, I think in high school you have to
have that good clean but you have to as a kid.
(39:04):
You have to just find your thing, but try everything
you know and have fun with it and just like
love and have fun in that moment, because high school
is a form formative years for sure, and you got
to like the last day of high school was like amazing,
and like adults were like, oh yeah, just high school.
But it's like no, you gotta live that and feel
it and like be in the moment and like make mistakes,
do stupid things, but like you gotta fully thoroughly enjoy it.
(39:26):
This is my message for tonight guys. Whatever happens in
your life, you have friends that have been with you
for a minute. There have been moments where we don't talk, Like,
you know, Avery and I just recently reconnected again, even
though we were super close and fed and I you know,
we went to college in the same you know, yeah,
(39:48):
like he went to Emerson and I went to Berkeley,
so we were able to continue our friendship at the
same time exactly a lot of trouble. The point is
that you have to reconnect to the people who bring
you joy talk about your past. High school is a
very formative time. It's not about what you learn, it's
about the experiences that you have. Because I'm telling you, man,
(40:09):
it doesn't matter if you're fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, what you
go through during that time. Even to this day, you remember,
you think about it. We keep coming back to each other.
It's even subconscious that, like, you learn so much stuff
that like you don't you can't articulate or like remember,
but you still learn so much exactly you you you
process it later, but in the moment you're learning, not
(40:33):
what you're writing on the paper. To ask me about
any history question, I have no idea exactly, but I
love my history. Mr Mellman. I loved him because he
was just Thailand. But um, yeah, you learn so much
in high school. But like like being a human, being
a good person, like keeping your friends. You know your
friends speak to who you are amen to this day,
(40:55):
which is why I say you you both have beautiful hearts,
beautiful like you just the energy you radiate, which is
why I want to continue to be around you guys.
So before we end the flight, by the way, Jem,
I really fucking hope you found that rock to keep
Beyonce alive because she needs to be alive. Shout out
to Jem mining those gems, hey, gem mining gems, Gem
(41:20):
mining gems. The gems are mining the gems. Are you
minding them? Are you minding hey? Are you minding them? Anyway?
So before we leave you guys tonight, thank you so
fucking much for flying with us one more time. Your name?
What are you up to today? Where can people find you? Like?
(41:42):
Give people the Rigamar role. Let's start with as Riggamo role. Here.
It is um Avere Watson physical therapy right here. Um,
don't ask me to work on you. I'm expensive, I
worked at a hospital and my Instagram is Avery wats
hit me up for all your for all your if
you don't, if you don't want to use w m D,
(42:03):
you get her Instagram exact. That's your plan b on
that one. Any questions you've got, all right, Fed, what's
your vibe? Here's fed equal check me on instagramento. I'm
an illustrator. I got my new animated music video out
for the band Heat Boys. It's called Lonely Parentheses in
(42:23):
cell Anthem and it's exactly what you expected to be
whoever's out there right now listening. You need your friends
to lift you up, to make you feel good, to
make you feel empowered. When was the last time you
talked to your school friends? Make sure they're okay, call them,
check how they are. Don't and people will always be
happy that you reached down. Don't be like, oh, it's
been too long, they forgot me. When I've had a
(42:45):
couple of people like recently reach out and be like,
oh my god, I'm like, it's just so, it's so
nice and so warm feeling, and I'm like, Wow, I've
made an impact on their life enough for them to
reach back out, and I'm so grateful and I need
to learn from nextuse I need to do it. I
need to reach out. And on that note, thank you
for flying with us today. They been in our own
world with beds Lesinger, Avery Watson, Emily is Stefan. Thank
(43:08):
you for flying what baby, We love you? Where in
space Cosm. This is a Moonflower production in partnership with
I Hearts Mike was bet Up podcast Network. For more podcasts,
(43:31):
visit the I Heart Radio app or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Hosts And Creators
Gemeny Hernandez
Emily Estefan
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