Entertainment
Ep. 23 Manufactured Superstars
In Episode 23 of 'Manufactured Superstars,' the hosts delve into the revolutionary impact of B-port on the dance music industry. They discuss the evolution of music consumption from vinyl to...
Ep. 23 Manufactured Superstars
Entertainment •
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Interactive Transcript
spk_0
I know even though the right word to describe you guys, but I think revolutionaries.
spk_0
And I don't know if that's too harsh.
spk_0
How do you guys feel about that?
spk_0
It's quite generous.
spk_0
You don't think so?
spk_0
Like with B-plort and what you guys did, I mean, I'd love to talk about that and kind
spk_0
of the formation of that.
spk_0
And that might be jumping the gun a little bit.
spk_0
Like I want to know what your childhood is like.
spk_0
But before we get to that, do you feel like that was what you created with B-plort?
spk_0
Yeah, I think we created something that was super important and needed.
spk_0
And I think it's lasted for a long time and still pretty successful.
spk_0
So I think whenever you create something, basically with an idea from scratch, you wanted
spk_0
to have some longevity and multiple generations now have been able to use it.
spk_0
And I think it's made a lot of people like dance music, probably a lot more and made it
spk_0
a lot more accessible.
spk_0
Sometimes maybe too accessible, but I think it's revolutionary.
spk_0
I wouldn't know if I go that far.
spk_0
Oh, I don't know.
spk_0
Part of the culture, for sure.
spk_0
Can you describe it a little bit and like kind of how that, what it does and how it came
spk_0
to be?
spk_0
I mean, so B-plort is Ola Cart downloads focused on DJ.
spk_0
So high quality dance music purchased one song at a time all around the world, 130 countries,
spk_0
but at least when we left, every country that FedEx delivers to.
spk_0
But when that started, that was what, 2004?
spk_0
Come on.
spk_0
Even if you said what you said this now in 2004, if you were to look at you.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, I would have revolutionaries, right word?
spk_0
I would say like industry changing, like it completely changed the entire industry from
spk_0
vinyl, you know, to digital media.
spk_0
Revolutionary to me is like launching satellites, like, you know, and take making, you know,
spk_0
Elon Musk landed that one on KTN, Internet free for the whole world.
spk_0
Yeah, yeah.
spk_0
I think that necessary though, as, you know, without B-port or Apple Music or track
spk_0
source or whatever, it was still a physical, it's a physical job.
spk_0
So you have to go down to the store and buy the record and have the record player and
spk_0
all that stuff.
spk_0
And so B-port kind of eliminated that, you know, definitely needed digital CD player, whether
spk_0
it's a laptop or a CDJ or a Serato or a tractor.
spk_0
But I think it just made it a lot more accessible and gave a lot more people the opportunity to
spk_0
quote unquote, call themselves a DJ.
spk_0
So when you came up, was that your idea or how did that kind of evolve?
spk_0
It wasn't really, no, it definitely wasn't my idea.
spk_0
It was more Jonas and Eloy.
spk_0
Those guys kind of came up with it and they were a little bit more nerdy when it came to
spk_0
like digital software.
spk_0
And then I think Eloy was the one that bought either tractor or final scratch.
spk_0
And so I think he was still on like Linux.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
He went to Jonas and said, hey, this is really dumb that I have to encode my vinyl to an
spk_0
MP3.
spk_0
Why don't we just make an MP3 and just sell the MP, you know, because it doesn't, doesn't
spk_0
make sense to go from vinyl to an MP3 then to go back into a laptop to be able to DJ.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
I came along a little bit after that, probably six months after they kind of came up, came
spk_0
up with the idea and it was more like, well, you guys don't really know anybody.
spk_0
And so, you know, at that point I was a pretty big promoter.
spk_0
I'd done my rave parties with together productions in Denver.
spk_0
spk_0
In Denver.
spk_0
Yeah, together productions with Jason, you know, we did our Skylab parties.
spk_0
We were doing pretty big parties about that time.
spk_0
And then we moved into the church and vinyl as a promoter.
spk_0
At that time we were bringing quite a bit of talent.
spk_0
And so, and that your role was just promoting like you're getting people to come into
spk_0
the show, you're booking the talent.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
When I was working for Regus, yeah, I was kind of like Thursdays at the church and Saturdays
spk_0
at vinyl.
spk_0
So I would book the DJs, you know, promote it, build the flyer with the firm graphics and,
spk_0
you know, get the flyer street team to distribute it.
spk_0
And so this was all going on at the same time.
spk_0
And so I clearly knew in my brain that, you know, the music was moving from vinyl to digital.
spk_0
Um, just, this is like, Napster era.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
But you could just see it in the raves, you know, from everybody playing turntables.
spk_0
And then, you know, the CDJ 100 came and then the CDJ 1000.
spk_0
And then by the time, you know, we started B port, you know, at that point we had four CDJ
spk_0
1000s.
spk_0
They weren't being used maybe 10% of the time.
spk_0
But, you know, fast forward to 2008 and the, and the CDJ 1000s were used 90% of the time.
spk_0
So there was this like flip exactly on that time when the world was moving from analog
spk_0
to digital.
spk_0
So I always say, if it wasn't B port, it would have been track source or DJ downloader.
spk_0
Somebody was almost the right plays right time.
spk_0
Would have emerged as the, the, the winter.
spk_0
But, you know, we had a cool brand.
spk_0
We built a cool brand here in Denver.
spk_0
And then our European offices were in Berlin.
spk_0
That was at that time the coolest city in the world for electronic music.
spk_0
So the combination of those two, I think, made B port, you know, pretty iconic.
spk_0
And then Sean, when you, when you come into the picture, like right, because it was kind
spk_0
of an infancy of B port as well.
spk_0
spk_0
Right right there at the beginning.
spk_0
I mean, I was there years, but a year before we launched the company.
spk_0
So, you know, help build up the brand with Brad and everybody.
spk_0
And then, you know, I remember when we launched, I just saw a picture was the 20 year anniversary,
spk_0
right?
spk_0
Like a couple of weeks ago.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
That trippy guys out.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
We're like, we looked a little younger than you.
spk_0
He can a lot skinnier.
spk_0
Well, it's funny because even as manufacturing superstars, you guys threw on the gear and the,
spk_0
and the jumpsuits, like the, the space astronauts, and it's like, had such an identity.
spk_0
When did that start to form?
spk_0
So B port was a success.
spk_0
And then when did you make this evolution into like, all right, cool.
spk_0
I'm a promoter.
spk_0
And then what, what did you do, Sean?
spk_0
Before before B port, I went school for music engineering before that I went school for electrical
spk_0
engineering.
spk_0
So I mean, numerous different, you know, roles.
spk_0
And then you guys were like, Hey, you know what?
spk_0
Let's, let's do some music together.
spk_0
No, no, no, Sean was a drum and bass producer.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
Oh, so when he moved to Denver, this is 99.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
When we were throwing Skylab and our rewind parties, our drum and bass party, Sean immediately
spk_0
he had a DJ partner named Echo.
spk_0
And so those guys were pretty big drum and bass producers and DJs.
spk_0
And so they would, they would play for us quite a bit.
spk_0
Then when I took over the church and vinyl, you know, by then whenever we do drum and bass
spk_0
with Fury, it was kind of Fury Echo and Sabotage.
spk_0
Those were kind of the three drum and bass producers that we used.
spk_0
And so when we, when we started B port, we brought in why we brought in Sean, we brought
spk_0
in Liz, like those were the three people that were really close to us to kind of run
spk_0
the company.
spk_0
And, you know, then for manufacturers superstars, I know exactly how it started.
spk_0
And Sean might have a different story.
spk_0
But I like that he laughs right away.
spk_0
Like he does.
spk_0
I'll tell you my version.
spk_0
No, I think it's pretty close.
spk_0
So we were down in Buenos Aires at the South American Music Conference and I very vividly
spk_0
remember above and beyond was playing.
spk_0
And they were in Richie Houghton.
spk_0
In Richie Houghton.
spk_0
Yeah, it was a big, I mean, it was a big TST was there.
spk_0
It was a big like 20,000 per...
spk_0
How many hours was that 2007?
spk_0
Around there.
spk_0
Like you'd find a picture, probably.
spk_0
But there was a, it was like a 20,000 person party beat port.
spk_0
We were like the flagship sponsor of the South American Music Conference.
spk_0
A couple years, B boards been in...
spk_0
Yeah, they've been most...
spk_0
We're starting to get bigger.
spk_0
spk_0
The first two years we were so tiny.
spk_0
Nobody knew about it.
spk_0
So I mean, it took us two years to get 300 labels.
spk_0
Yeah, so...
spk_0
Because people weren't down low in songs.
spk_0
People would still be like, no, no, no, we're going to play vinyl.
spk_0
They'd be like trying to get you to switch back to shoot this in film.
spk_0
I tell your producer like, we're going to film tomorrow.
spk_0
You can't shoot digital.
spk_0
But no, I mean, 2004 was small.
spk_0
2006 it started escalating by 2007.
spk_0
2008 was really.
spk_0
And this is when you're doing the show then at that point.
spk_0
And at this point we have big enough budgets to be...
spk_0
That we're sponsoring Miami Music Week,
spk_0
we're sponsoring So-Nar.
spk_0
It's sponsoring the South American Music Conference.
spk_0
So we're down in bonus areas.
spk_0
And at this big festival that we're sponsoring.
spk_0
And above and beyond's headlining.
spk_0
And I go to Sean, they're planning to enable to live.
spk_0
And I was a little bit confused.
spk_0
I'm a promoter.
spk_0
See DJs every week, you know.
spk_0
And I've never really seen anybody DJ like they are.
spk_0
They're playing strictly pretty much off the laptop.
spk_0
So I asked Sean, I was like, hey, what are they doing?
spk_0
He's like, they're playing Enable to Live.
spk_0
And Ableton was built out of the company
spk_0
out of Native Instruments from Berlin.
spk_0
So they are another Berlin company.
spk_0
So kind of familiar with Native Instruments and Ableton.
spk_0
Soundcloud, all those companies were in the same place in Berlin.
spk_0
So he kind of explains it to me.
spk_0
He's like, oh, they made their album in Ableton.
spk_0
And they're just basically playing their album.
spk_0
And so I was like, so not really DJing.
spk_0
He's like, they are kind of DJing, but not really.
spk_0
And I was like, so kind of stuck in my head.
spk_0
And I think we're flying back.
spk_0
It's like a 12 hour flight.
spk_0
And so I was just like, so you mean to tell me, I could put all
spk_0
my favorite songs into the software.
spk_0
And we can hit the button.
spk_0
It's real quick.
spk_0
I think the ball goes crazy.
spk_0
And we can technically play it.
spk_0
And he's like, well, it's not really meant for that,
spk_0
but probably.
spk_0
And then that just kind of, in my opinion,
spk_0
that's how we kind of started Manufacturing Superstars.
spk_0
Well, it was, well, I mean, it's definitely that.
spk_0
But it was also the fact that you couldn't find anybody
spk_0
to book on Friday nights and all the other DJs weren't selling
spk_0
any tickets.
spk_0
So we kind of started.
spk_0
Yeah, I was at that point.
spk_0
I was really annoyed with my resident DJs,
spk_0
because we were, you know, just like now,
spk_0
the every promoter will tell you that the talent just escalates.
spk_0
Just keeps on getting more expensive.
spk_0
And so, you know, every year that was a promoter or under
spk_0
club or whatever, the DJs got more expensive.
spk_0
And so they would sell any more tickets.
spk_0
spk_0
And so they want more money, but that's a key jadeflation.
spk_0
And so I was more like I wanted to build up some more and put a lot
spk_0
of money and time and resources into building up local DJs
spk_0
to try to get them to like get over the hump.
spk_0
And I was more like, this is at the church in vinyl still, right?
spk_0
Yeah, this is a bunch of vinyl.
spk_0
So it was more of like a case study like, you know, can we do it?
spk_0
Can we do it?
spk_0
But it was really also just to kind of take our own music and try to
spk_0
make a good party and fun.
spk_0
I mean, the first 10 or 15 shows we did were all super themed.
spk_0
Mm-hmm.
spk_0
Manufacture Superstars, prom, manufactured Superstars, Halloween,
spk_0
manufactured Superstars, New Year's Eve extravaganza.
spk_0
I mean, I don't even know what it is.
spk_0
And it was as you do have fun almost.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
I mean, 100%.
spk_0
We were still at the full time.
spk_0
We, you know, we might have done like we started doing this stuff
spk_0
with Paul Oganfold and Vegas, but that was also a themed event too.
spk_0
Perfecto.
spk_0
They would do the dancers and the fire and the whole planet thing
spk_0
in a moment, the space theme.
spk_0
That's kind of where the spacesuits came from.
spk_0
The kind of jump forward a little bit.
spk_0
The spacesuits came.
spk_0
We started getting booked a little bit more and was like kind of hard
spk_0
to figure out what to wear.
spk_0
Like we have a lot of it.
spk_0
Both of us are like, I don't know the genre of them.
spk_0
Just as fast as you do.
spk_0
Or different, but we were starting to get booked more and it was just like
spk_0
figuring out what to wear is kind of a pain in the ass.
spk_0
And so Skylab was the big space themed, you know,
spk_0
rave that I used to do.
spk_0
And Planet Perfecto was where we played for Paul Oganfold.
spk_0
The residents there and that was a space theme.
spk_0
And so it was really easy like, oh, let's just wear the spacesuits
spk_0
for I think it was a Halloween party.
spk_0
Oh, let's wear them to Planet Perfecto.
spk_0
Oh, well, we should just wear these all the time.
spk_0
Oh, these are ways you're to pack three spacesuits in a bag
spk_0
just for the same tracks as with Oganfold.
spk_0
Yeah, so that's kind of where the spacesuits,
spk_0
that is not kind of, that's exactly where the spacesuits came from.
spk_0
It's like more we wanted to be more like a band
spk_0
and more like a less like individual DJs.
spk_0
And we were kind of an opposite of what was going on
spk_0
with Beatport and Berlin.
spk_0
Like music and Berlin was very serious.
spk_0
Techno was very, very serious.
spk_0
And Manufacturers Superstars was kind of an alter.
spk_0
What do you mean serious?
spk_0
Like it was just like, like to the producers
spk_0
and to the record labels and to the kids that go out
spk_0
and hear the music like, we did it for fun.
spk_0
Yeah, Berlin, Berlin Techno was, they did it to,
spk_0
I don't know, I've never heard of it.
spk_0
It was, yeah, it was just a very serious thing.
spk_0
Like Germans are serious people in general.
spk_0
And they're very serious about their music.
spk_0
There's no joking, there's no like having fun.
spk_0
And so Manufacturers Superstars was just kind of like,
spk_0
how the fuck you to the, to our German team or anything,
spk_0
but just more like, you know, dance music
spk_0
can go in a lot of different directions.
spk_0
spk_0
Did you get, I don't know, as a pushback,
spk_0
where people, how do people react to you dressing up
spk_0
and kind of approaching it with not such a serious?
spk_0
Well, we were the orange spacesuits.
spk_0
We got a lot of people asked us if we were prisoners.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
That's true.
spk_0
I mean, it was just, you know, it was fun.
spk_0
I mean, for me, it was more like,
spk_0
I wanted people to, to recognize us,
spk_0
but not have to be Brad and Sean.
spk_0
Like, I mean, Manufacturers Superstars
spk_0
was not really, Bradley, really, and Sean Sabo.
spk_0
It was Manufacturers Superstars, you know,
spk_0
and our characters and our kind of persona
spk_0
that we built for that.
spk_0
For me, it was a little bit more of an alter ego,
spk_0
because I was like, beta and, you know,
spk_0
be important, like kind of business over here.
spk_0
That was the German serious side.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
And then Manufacturers Superstars was like,
spk_0
let's just go and have fun and do tequila shots
spk_0
and play Britney Spears really loud.
spk_0
But then you guys are working with big name artists as well, right?
spk_0
Is that kind of, yeah, I mean, you know,
spk_0
we had years when we played 140 shows a year.
spk_0
I mean, we had multiple years in our own.
spk_0
I mean, we were, you know, EDC, all of that stuff.
spk_0
We played EDC.
spk_0
We had a residency in Vegas, all over Asia.
spk_0
You know, we played at Macau, Hong Kong, Singapore, EDC.
spk_0
I mean, South America, a visa.
spk_0
That came from him's, because we, you know,
spk_0
I probably our first 10 sets were just like pure mashup DJ sets
spk_0
that are just crazy all the board.
spk_0
And Sean's like, comes to me and's like,
spk_0
hey, if we're going to, you know, be taken seriously,
spk_0
we have to actually produce our own music.
spk_0
And he's like, hey, you know, let's try and get a remix for someone.
spk_0
And so who I'm from the approach of you just,
spk_0
hey, we can get put them on some music together
spk_0
and hit the buttons to, hey, let's control this.
spk_0
And Sean probably put out how many drum and bass records
spk_0
did you guys come in?
spk_0
I mean, I don't know.
spk_0
25.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, it was a two dozen.
spk_0
Yeah, so I mean,
spk_0
but that was vinyl was harder than.
spk_0
Yeah, so he just finished as a song and uploads it to be port
spk_0
like the next day.
spk_0
And vinyl is like an investment.
spk_0
You had to hire a promotion company.
spk_0
He's mail it.
spk_0
Yeah, so orders from record stores.
spk_0
Like who wants to do that?
spk_0
Or so he, so he, he knew how to produce music.
spk_0
And so he's just basically told me like, hey, get somebody,
spk_0
you know, let's get, get some remixes.
spk_0
And let's, let's, I want to get back into the studio.
spk_0
Let's, let's figure it out.
spk_0
And so I, at that point, I called Liz,
spk_0
who was my assistant forever.
spk_0
And kind of the trade was when she came,
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I called her back from Australia when we started Beatport.
spk_0
I was like, hey, you need to come back to Denver
spk_0
with started Beatport.
spk_0
And so we had a very good relationship.
spk_0
So after about two years, she's like, I came back to do this.
spk_0
She's like, I want to go run the Berlin office.
spk_0
And so in 2006, 2007, she ran the Berlin office for us.
spk_0
And then probably around 2008, 2009,
spk_0
I can't remember, probably 2010.
spk_0
She left Beatport to go,
spk_0
run the dance music label for Atlantic, which was Big Beat.
spk_0
And so she kind of got into this new job,
spk_0
where she's pretty big executive at a major record label.
spk_0
So I call her and say, hey, you know,
spk_0
I'll send in people our mixes.
spk_0
And you know, people were,
spk_0
people were definitely interested in what we were doing.
spk_0
It was just a little bit different.
spk_0
It's like, hey, you know, Sean,
spk_0
when I want to start producing, can we do a remix?
spk_0
So she calls me back like a two or three days later,
spk_0
sends me the parts to a song.
spk_0
I don't even know how, I don't even know anything.
spk_0
So I just basically give it to Sean and one of our producers
spk_0
and say, hey, what do you guys think about this?
spk_0
And so we're thinking about what do you mean?
spk_0
Like, like, we're doing a remix for this artist.
spk_0
Here's the pieces.
spk_0
Here's the pieces.
spk_0
Here's the pieces.
spk_0
And then they give you the pieces.
spk_0
spk_0
And so these guys are working on it.
spk_0
And we're sitting in the studio.
spk_0
We're working hard on this track.
spk_0
So we're, it's our first remix that we've ever done.
spk_0
Sean was figuring out how I'm going to get to that.
spk_0
I'm going to get to that.
spk_0
So about three weeks later, we turned the remix back in.
spk_0
And Liz calls me back and says, oh, the remix was great.
spk_0
Oh, she said, yeah, to give a little bit more context
spk_0
of the story, she's like, we sign this artist.
spk_0
We don't know if he's going to be big or not.
spk_0
We don't have any dance music remixes of this.
spk_0
It's a pop song.
spk_0
So I sent it back to her.
spk_0
She's like, yeah, your remix is good.
spk_0
What do you think about the artist?
spk_0
And I was like, well, listen to him now for like three weeks
spk_0
straight every day.
spk_0
And you're a little over it, right?
spk_0
I'm not completely sick of it.
spk_0
And I think he's going to be really big.
spk_0
It's always amazing.
spk_0
And it was Bruno Mars just the way you are.
spk_0
So our very first remix that we ever did was Bruno Mars.
spk_0
And our version sold more than the original in Europe.
spk_0
And so that was really like the kind of the catapult
spk_0
that got us immediately after that.
spk_0
We got to remix this from David Getta, from Tiesto,
spk_0
from Cascade.
spk_0
People started hitting us up pretty quickly after that.
spk_0
And then right after that, we signed a three album deal
spk_0
with Big Beat and so with Black Hole.
spk_0
Can you walk through that process?
spk_0
Okay, because like for someone like myself
spk_0
who's not in that space, it kind of seems like
spk_0
we got a stem song, yada, yada, yada,
spk_0
then it was Bruno Mars.
spk_0
But like what is that process?
spk_0
Like when you're saying you're spending weeks in there,
spk_0
you're adding beats, you're adding sounds.
spk_0
Like what do you, you know, you can take whatever aspects
spk_0
of the original, you've heard remixes
spk_0
where all they use is like a little part of the verse.
spk_0
You've heard remixes where they use the same piano
spk_0
and progression and just make it harder or dance here.
spk_0
spk_0
And so you just change it, oh that's it, that's it.
spk_0
We basically select all deleted.
spk_0
I think we kept the chord progression and the vocals.
spk_0
And that was it.
spk_0
Remade the entire song.
spk_0
But the original song was not dancing at all.
spk_0
I mean, you remember pop music then was not like it is now.
spk_0
This is before Calvin Harris, before David Getta,
spk_0
like every, every song wasn't a dance song.
spk_0
Like now every pop song basically is a dance song.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
I mean, before it was like 82 BP, like you know,
spk_0
it was more like 90s.
spk_0
But yeah, that track was slow.
spk_0
I mean, if you listen to our remix,
spk_0
it sounds really fast still to this.
spk_0
But it was the best selling you said in Europe.
spk_0
In Europe. Wow.
spk_0
And we didn't get paid for it.
spk_0
It was just a little break.
spk_0
So how does that work then?
spk_0
So like at that point, are you guys like,
spk_0
hey, we're on to something?
spk_0
Like what triggers in your mind as you're doing that?
spk_0
I mean, Bruno Mars, how long till he blew up?
spk_0
But I mean, at that point it's like, are you like,
spk_0
okay, we're on to something here.
spk_0
We need to keep doing these remixes.
spk_0
David Getta's hitting us up.
spk_0
Like how does that evolve?
spk_0
Well, we wanted to keep making our own music,
spk_0
but obviously, you know, the access to talented vocalists
spk_0
is hard.
spk_0
So when you do remixes, you get awesome acapella
spk_0
as out the gates.
spk_0
You can, you know, really make great content for DJing.
spk_0
So we'd kind of do a little bit of both.
spk_0
And we started working on original album.
spk_0
Original tracks at the same time.
spk_0
Wow.
spk_0
And so you probably did 100 remixes
spk_0
and, you know, probably 50 or 60 original songs.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
And then are you taking them when you go out as a manufacturer,
spk_0
superstars, is that what you're playing?
spk_0
Or, to a percentage, but, you know,
spk_0
we still try to keep it fun and focused on, you know,
spk_0
the audience, the vibe, the nightclub, the city.
spk_0
I mean, there's a lot that goes into programming dance music.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
You know, I mean, you got to play the, you know,
spk_0
Vegas is more of a party than New York at two o'clock.
spk_0
I mean, we played Pasha, New York City.
spk_0
I mean, that's a completely different vibe than playing
spk_0
Rain the night after DJ AM in Vegas.
spk_0
You know what I mean?
spk_0
It's two totally different aspects.
spk_0
How do you learn the vibe of a town?
spk_0
Like what drives that?
spk_0
Is it just experience being out there enough
spk_0
or are you like going out there one night,
spk_0
like, oh, that was, that was not good?
spk_0
I think it's more experience of the audience
spk_0
on the club than it is the town.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
I mean, Vegas we played is probably the,
spk_0
is different than we'd play anywhere else.
spk_0
And we probably played of our 900 to 1000 shows.
spk_0
I think we did as manufacturers superstars
spk_0
played well over 100 in Vegas.
spk_0
And that was the only one that was different.
spk_0
Where usually you play the hits at the beginning
spk_0
and then go into your newer stuff
spk_0
where Vegas you play all your new stuff
spk_0
at the beginning and then as the night progresses,
spk_0
everybody gets more drunk and they just want to hear
spk_0
hit.
spk_0
I would say Vegas.
spk_0
But it also goes late.
spk_0
I mean, Denver doesn't like Vegas.
spk_0
One day you're done in Denver, yeah.
spk_0
And you know, excess of seven to five.
spk_0
We didn't go on until one or one 30.
spk_0
And multiple times we'd play till four, four, 35.
spk_0
And you guys had a residency in Vegas, right?
spk_0
We had a residency of excess for I think five years.
spk_0
Six years of tuition.
spk_0
Or so like what were you guys?
spk_0
It's so crazy when you talk to someone you realize,
spk_0
hey, there's this venture from like,
spk_0
we're promoters and we're just song engineers
spk_0
to what you do now.
spk_0
And I don't, I think people just see the celebrityism
spk_0
of it, right?
spk_0
But you guys had this progression.
spk_0
But what was that like mentality wise for you guys?
spk_0
We were like, holy shit, like now we have this residency
spk_0
and we were, we've made it.
spk_0
Or where were you guys at?
spk_0
Mine like from your mind.
spk_0
I think at my whole point when we started was
spk_0
I just wanted to DJ in New York LA, Miami Vegas.
spk_0
That was all like, if manufacturers superstars
spk_0
just did that and we played once a month and had parties,
spk_0
played cool parties, that was all the intent really was.
spk_0
I just think we just kind of caught lightning in a bottle.
spk_0
We were the exact right sound at the exact right time.
spk_0
And crazy enough to really push the envelope
spk_0
a lot farther than everyone else does.
spk_0
If you go to Vegas now, I think almost every DJ
spk_0
kinda has that manufactured superstars formula,
spk_0
especially the house music guys.
spk_0
Like I think not that we created it.
spk_0
I think David Ghetto was pretty, pretty important into that.
spk_0
But you know, those times Calvin Harris opened up for us.
spk_0
You know, I mean, a VG, you know, we were.
spk_0
We opened up for us, a lesson.
spk_0
I opened up for us, it was part of the game.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, we were, we had the right sound
spk_0
at the right time.
spk_0
And like I said, we, because it wasn't,
spk_0
this wasn't really our full time job
spk_0
or we had other things going on.
spk_0
We could just have fun with it and it allowed us to like push.
spk_0
The pressures weren't there.
spk_0
spk_0
Push the, push the envelope.
spk_0
Well, let me never took it that serious.
spk_0
We didn't really know where it was gonna go.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
And so, yeah.
spk_0
Like there definitely wasn't the point where we sat down.
spk_0
We're like, let's become international celebrities
spk_0
and travel all around the world.
spk_0
Yeah, there was nothing I think that,
spk_0
I think we played a 150 shows like six or seven years in a row.
spk_0
That was not the intent.
spk_0
You know, I think that it was just kind of ended up happening.
spk_0
And it was, it was definitely really fun,
spk_0
but that wasn't, it wasn't to do that.
spk_0
I don't even think when we did three albums,
spk_0
I don't think even three albums was my goal ever.
spk_0
Like one album would have been fine.
spk_0
But it just kind of just kept going and going and going.
spk_0
So where are you guys at now with music?
spk_0
I mean, what, your last track that you guys produced together,
spk_0
when was that?
spk_0
Six years ago.
spk_0
Mm-hmm.
spk_0
So this is a big deal having you guys together then, right?
spk_0
When was the last time you guys were together doing like an interview?
spk_0
I mean, six years ago.
spk_0
This is breaking up.
spk_0
We hang out all the time.
spk_0
I mean, I see, but we, you know, go to the gym, go to the same gym.
spk_0
Like we have dinner, we hang out, we do all sorts of stuff.
spk_0
But we haven't, yeah, go to nuggets games, but we haven't toured or worked.
spk_0
I mean, the last few weekends is the first time that we've literally sat down
spk_0
and actually had a real regiment.
spk_0
Like, I mean, we hung out the last three days in a row working on music.
spk_0
It's like, it's like a real
spk_0
spk_0
spk_0
spk_0
And then that is part of the reason why you guys are here.
spk_0
Colleween is coming up big show.
spk_0
It's like the biggest Halloween party in Colorado.
spk_0
And they got like a $10,000 costume prize.
spk_0
But it goes down every year.
spk_0
And you guys are actually performing there.
spk_0
Yeah, we're excited.
spk_0
We felt like I said, we've spent, I mean, 60 or 70 hours worth of time already
spk_0
on our set for one and a half hours.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
And right now, I don't know if we have one and a half hours.
spk_0
Like, yeah, we probably have another 20 or 30 hours to work to get to make sure
spk_0
that we have 90 minutes of.
spk_0
Who talks to me about that regiment?
spk_0
What is that like?
spk_0
Like you guys come together, JJ approaches you, he's like, hey, I want to bring you guys back together.
spk_0
Are you hesitant?
spk_0
Are you like, yeah, let's do this.
spk_0
Well, JJ has been asking me, I think, for about three or four years now.
spk_0
Okay.
spk_0
And it just haven't felt like it.
spk_0
I think I was saying I spent a little bit of time in Tulum.
spk_0
Mexico and I kind of like where music's going.
spk_0
Sean spent quite a bit of time in a busy summer.
spk_0
I think both of us agree that music is in a much cooler place.
spk_0
Much more of stuff that we like.
spk_0
And if we were to do something, I didn't want to play music that we didn't really like.
spk_0
No matter what, from the beginning, since we started our first crazy mashups that we used to do,
spk_0
I always enjoyed the music that we played.
spk_0
I always thought it was really fun.
spk_0
Sometimes we take it a little bit cheesier than necessary.
spk_0
Sometimes we played a little bit harder than I would have liked.
spk_0
But for the most part, I really enjoyed the music that we played.
spk_0
If you asked us to play three years ago, I don't know if I could have come up with a set.
spk_0
There would have been different enough that we would have been interesting enough or different enough to spend 60 hours.
spk_0
Did you feel like you both came together?
spk_0
Like, yeah, now's the time.
spk_0
Or was it kind of like JJ Twisted your army, Twisted Sean's arm?
spk_0
No, not at all.
spk_0
I mean, I think that now was just the time.
spk_0
I think that we're both evolved and at the right stage in our life.
spk_0
And we're both inspired by music again.
spk_0
That's really the biggest proponent of it.
spk_0
And we both have vastly successful careers in different aspects.
spk_0
I mean, whether it's music or entertainment or cannabis and other.com and tech companies.
spk_0
So we've always been entrepreneurs and worked on a bunch of stuff.
spk_0
So it was never like, oh, what are we going to do?
spk_0
I guess we have to go tour again.
spk_0
It was more just like when we were ready to kind of be inspired by music.
spk_0
I mean, I saw a full studio in my condo, you know, analog synthesizers, all that stuff.
spk_0
It made beats like I'll get drunk with my friends and make weird techno songs and things like that.
spk_0
So music has always been a part of it.
spk_0
I don't want to go party at your house.
spk_0
But we never really got to do a farewell tour or anything because kind of.
spk_0
We were becoming a lot less interested in DJing, but then COVID came.
spk_0
And so we just that was kind of made it stop.
spk_0
And so we never really picked it up.
spk_0
Yeah, killed my club.
spk_0
So we never we never really got to do like a farewell tour or like last show or, you know, any of any of the things to kind of like button button up the.
spk_0
You know, kind of the what is a 10 year run that we had nine year run.
spk_0
That was pretty that was pretty epic.
spk_0
And you both wanted that right?
spk_0
Like did you both feel like I mean, the closures the wrong word, I guess, but maybe the right word.
spk_0
Did you know, I don't think we ever really thought about closure.
spk_0
It was just kind of like, you know, the world shut off and we had really finished that project.
spk_0
You know, and then night clubs and everything kind of just shut shut down too.
spk_0
So we just never came back with it.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
And the last thing I ever wanted to do was like take gigs away from other DJs.
spk_0
Like we weren't competitive about, you know, being on the highest slot on the on the flyer or, you know,
spk_0
playing the best time slot or booting another DJ off the lineup or, you know, whatever.
spk_0
I mean, we were part of the dance music community.
spk_0
We were never a lot of the DJs are very competitive with each other.
spk_0
You know, like you look at the trans guy that they're very serious.
spk_0
This is their this is their one business.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
This is their business and lively life.
spk_0
And you know, they got agents and managers and we never we had agents and managers,
spk_0
but we never like pushed the arm.
spk_0
Listen to him.
spk_0
Like get us higher on the flyer.
spk_0
Get us more money on the gig.
spk_0
Like that was it was all about fun.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
For us, it was like make sure that we're having a good time.
spk_0
Do you feel like that just comes across?
spk_0
You guys is me.
spk_0
Is it that I mean, it seems like the vibe is open.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
I mean, there's obviously bands, you know, like the Beastie boys were always out there to have fun.
spk_0
Their shows, I think, represented it.
spk_0
You know, they never took themselves too serious.
spk_0
And you have other people that take themselves super serious.
spk_0
So yeah, we always wanted to beat party DJs and have fun and make sure everybody that's
spk_0
there is on the same vibe that we are.
spk_0
We really wanted to beat the Beastie boys, but then hang out with Bernie Sparrows.
spk_0
Who have you hung out with?
spk_0
I mean, you David Gette, you have Bruno Mars, who's kind of not officially launched
spk_0
when you guys did that remix.
spk_0
It's like, or to the level, I guess I wouldn't say officially launched with the level.
spk_0
He is like, does it blow your mind?
spk_0
Like, what celebrities have you been working with?
spk_0
We're like, wow, I can't believe we worked with that person.
spk_0
You guys aren't even like that.
spk_0
I mean, we hung out with everybody.
spk_0
You have Katie Perry, Lady Gaga, I mean, Pesquale from Insomniacs,
spk_0
one of our good friends.
spk_0
Harris Hells, that one.
spk_0
I mean, the whole thing.
spk_0
The big one.
spk_0
Jesse Wates.
spk_0
I mean, David Grutman, I mean, he just goes on and on.
spk_0
But then even then, is it more of just the music?
spk_0
Like, all those individuals come in the room and it's about making music, right?
spk_0
Isn't that even about...
spk_0
We're just, I think it's all about experiences.
spk_0
If you'd be playing people like Grutman and stuff, you know what I mean?
spk_0
He's the club owner of Liv and like, all the Liv sub clubs and restaurants.
spk_0
And Jason Strauss, the same thing with like the Tal group and all those guys.
spk_0
So those guys are about creating experiences, whether it's restaurant or music or nightclub.
spk_0
So that's something that we always really wanted to be involved with as well.
spk_0
And is that what you guys have evolved to?
spk_0
Cause I know you got bounced in part and I want to talk about that.
spk_0
But what are you getting into now?
spk_0
Like, it's been a couple of years since you guys have been doing the music.
spk_0
Like, what are you?
spk_0
So I've done two cannabis companies.
spk_0
We did a company called EVO Lab that we took public during the last green rush right before COVID.
spk_0
And we have a new company called Sano Gardens that's operating in right now.
spk_0
Four states making vape pens, gummies, edibles.
spk_0
Another company called Teeny Tiny Science.
spk_0
So lots of entrepreneurial companies in the cannabis sector.
spk_0
And does that help with your music at all?
spk_0
Like do you feel like there it is?
spk_0
It is more of helps you sleep.
spk_0
I mean, you know, I mean, I think that there's kind of like a substance for every feeling.
spk_0
Like I like to smoke a little weed right a little music.
spk_0
I don't really like to smoke weed and go out though.
spk_0
Yeah, okay.
spk_0
Sometimes we spoke and then before you go on the stage or anything like that,
spk_0
or is it kind of as you can?
spk_0
I mean, I'm capable of anything before we go on stage.
spk_0
There's not like a story there.
spk_0
I'm notorious for saying I'm not going to drink tonight and probably never not drinking.
spk_0
I would say of the 900 shows we did 700 times.
spk_0
Sean's like, I'm not drinking tonight.
spk_0
And 695 of my drinks.
spk_0
No, I think 699.
spk_0
I think the only ones you didn't drink is when we were just.
spk_0
I was sick.
spk_0
6200.
spk_0
I mean, Tiesto told us that you always have to do the show unless you're basically dead
spk_0
because the people, you know, they don't care if you're in a bad mood,
spk_0
you fought with your girlfriend or you're kind of sick.
spk_0
Because like they paid for the ticket six months ago to come see you.
spk_0
So you have to show up every single time.
spk_0
It's a performance.
spk_0
Yeah, as a performance.
spk_0
I mean, unless you are literally like in a hospital.
spk_0
Yeah, that's when you see the tweets that go out and every artist apologizes.
spk_0
And then with you Brad, you've been in a bounce empire and a lot of stuff that you have going on.
spk_0
I mean, even the popcorn game.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, I've kept myself busy.
spk_0
I mean, I have the Sacred Society music, which is the ambient record label.
spk_0
And that's kind of been keeping a lot of my time the last three years,
spk_0
not working on Manufacturers Superstars,
spk_0
is being able to express myself creatively through Sacred Society music,
spk_0
which is, you know, all in Dolby Atmos Hall,
spk_0
all spatial audio.
spk_0
I'm really, I really like.
spk_0
So is that mean you're playing with the sound surrounding you?
spk_0
Wow.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
And so with the same studio that Sean and I made all of our albums that they converted that into a Dolby Atmos studio.
spk_0
Remember, we were there when we did our last podcast.
spk_0
spk_0
And you know, that has taken a lot of my creativity.
spk_0
And you know, that I was missing from that we didn't have because Sean and I weren't DJing.
spk_0
So I've been working on that for and it's going really, really well.
spk_0
It's all ambient music, but it's all really well produced.
spk_0
And then Bounce Empire is like an indoor is like nothing like the music space,
spk_0
but it's all an indoor kind of amusement party.
spk_0
I have a stage in a DJ setup.
spk_0
Oh, yeah.
spk_0
I have seen that.
spk_0
The actually floor lifts up and smoke comes out.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
So so Bounce Empire was exactly the opposite of Sacred Society music words.
spk_0
Sensory overload, kids and people going crazy.
spk_0
I think we just booked our 1000th birthday party, had 150,000 customers our first year.
spk_0
My kid was the one of those birthday parties.
spk_0
spk_0
It's a really fun place.
spk_0
I mean, everything that I do is a birthday party is a reset.
spk_0
A thousand, yeah.
spk_0
Everything that I love kids.
spk_0
You know, from my adult life, whether it's throwing raves or being a promoter at the church of
spk_0
vinyl, owning beta, everything being manufactured superstars, everything goes back to like
spk_0
people having a good time.
spk_0
So Bounce Empire is like that next part of entertaining from three
spk_0
year olds all the way up to, you know, we had Chris Brown not too long ago.
spk_0
So we take care of a lot of people from the Broncos and Rocky.
spk_0
Yeah, I hope we get all those people.
spk_0
So it's really fun.
spk_0
It's a great place.
spk_0
I think everybody should go check it out.
spk_0
Do you guys, because 20 years you guys work together, right?
spk_0
Before you stop performing, I mean, you had B-Poor.
spk_0
Yeah, we've been working together since.
spk_0
No, like 20 years right now.
spk_0
All right, now about.
spk_0
Do you ever, I mean, that has been probably 99, 2000.
spk_0
So 25 years.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
So do you guys ever like, like, fond for each other?
spk_0
Like is there that missing point?
spk_0
I'm like, I know you guys see each other at the gym and all that stuff.
spk_0
But are you ever like looking at that moment?
spk_0
It's like, God, man, we got to get back out there and tour again.
spk_0
Like we, we're going to go call a wien and then we're going to.
spk_0
I don't think it was ever like we got to get back out there and tour.
spk_0
I think it was more about like if we can both get inspired on a cool project.
spk_0
I don't even, you know, whether it's music or not, I think if we were going to
spk_0
start even another company together, it'd be like, can we just get on the right vibe?
spk_0
I mean, the thing about Sean and I and, you know, with any good relationship,
spk_0
you know, like I think we really compliment each other really well.
spk_0
Like I know what he's really good at.
spk_0
I know he knows what I'm really good at.
spk_0
And so I barely drink it every night.
spk_0
But he's pretty good at drinking too.
spk_0
I can tell you some stories about him.
spk_0
I'm showing up a day later.
spk_0
Drugs.
spk_0
But, you know, I think, you know, just from a professional standpoint, like knowing,
spk_0
knowing what to expect, what what what he's capable of doing, what I'm capable of doing is really
spk_0
nice. I mean, even though we're working on this set for Halloween, it's not like we missed a lot
spk_0
like we we did it so much like.
spk_0
Yeah, we could up.
spk_0
Well, we really did pick up like we just kind of dropped up.
spk_0
We were both kind of shocked.
spk_0
There was yesterday afternoon when he left.
spk_0
We were like, do we really just get all that done?
spk_0
Like, yeah, all right.
spk_0
I think we're going to be working every day, you know, up until Halloween,
spk_0
to get everything organized, to get to be able to put on a performance that.
spk_0
So, so that's a big.
spk_0
They were proud of, yeah.
spk_0
They came up to you said, let's do it.
spk_0
Because we are not trying to phone it in.
spk_0
I promise you, we are not going to show up and play all the old music.
spk_0
Well, it's been a while.
spk_0
So I mean, there had to be a little, I don't want to say pressure,
spk_0
but a little bit of like, and we want to kill this is.
spk_0
Yeah, we just want to, you know, we wanted to update the sound.
spk_0
And we really took the exact same formula we had for doing edits and reworking songs
spk_0
that we used in the past.
spk_0
That's why it actually worked so well.
spk_0
Because we literally went back to that exact same thing,
spk_0
but with all new music.
spk_0
And it was amazing how quick we literally just got right back into the zone.
spk_0
It was like, oh, cool.
spk_0
Short and this make this longer.
spk_0
Boom, boom, boom.
spk_0
So, get right into it.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
So what's, what's Halloween's happening?
spk_0
Anything after that?
spk_0
Any new music that you guys are going to release?
spk_0
I mean, we are going to work on a few mixes and probably like an EP.
spk_0
Through Q1.
spk_0
And then we'll see where the journey takes us.
spk_0
You know, I mean, I think that we are inspired.
spk_0
And we want to really showcase that to people so they can see it.
spk_0
And hopefully we get the energy back from them.
spk_0
And they're inspired.
spk_0
And that will probably drive our creativity as far as it's going to go.
spk_0
I mean, if we can get the energy back from people and the vibes,
spk_0
how we want it to be, then we'll continue to do it.
spk_0
If we show up, everybody is like, yeah, I think they're a little too far out there.
spk_0
Maybe we'll go bigger.
spk_0
I don't know. Who knows?
spk_0
What is that?
spk_0
Like you say energy, but if there's someone who doesn't perform,
spk_0
like I'm not a performer by any means, like I have walked in,
spk_0
introduced artists in front of the Fiddler's Green,
spk_0
which is kind of an experience if that.
spk_0
But it's like, is, what is that energy?
spk_0
Like is it euphoric?
spk_0
Is it like an adrenaline rush?
spk_0
Like if you get a vibe off of people, what does that feel like?
spk_0
But I think it's both an adrenaline and euphoric.
spk_0
If you do it good, it's really easy.
spk_0
It's really interesting.
spk_0
Like if you get the vibe because, you know,
spk_0
we usually played for pretty big crowds, probably always over a thousand,
spk_0
but a lot of times two, three, four thousand people.
spk_0
So they're there to have fun, right?
spk_0
But you can get them to jump.
spk_0
You can get them to sing.
spk_0
You can get them to clap.
spk_0
You can get them to stop.
spk_0
Like if they're engaged and they like and they're liking what you guys
spk_0
what we're doing, it's pretty easy to keep them going.
spk_0
You know, people want to have fun.
spk_0
And they want to have fun together.
spk_0
That's where I always say DJs are really important
spk_0
because they can make your night,
spk_0
but more importantly, they can ruin your night.
spk_0
Like there's, you know, there are sometimes you go somewhere with a group of friends
spk_0
and you want to have fun and the vibe is not what it is.
spk_0
And, you know, and so I always try to make sure that
spk_0
we never played the same set twice.
spk_0
That's what, you know, a lot of people are like,
spk_0
manufacturers, you guys just play the same records every night.
spk_0
Same order.
spk_0
It was like, no, that never happened.
spk_0
I mean, usually within...
spk_0
Myth, right? Like you're playing all the music in there
spk_0
and then you're just pretending like you're hitting the line.
spk_0
Yeah, that's what that's, that's what that's complete.
spk_0
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
spk_0
Um, and we would know like, I would always,
spk_0
in this, we'll probably do the,
spk_0
we will do the same thing at Halloween.
spk_0
We'll probably play within the first five tracks.
spk_0
We take it, you know, really high energy.
spk_0
We'll take it kind of old school.
spk_0
We'll kind of take it,
spk_0
buy a B. We'll take something new.
spk_0
We'll take like kind of a hit.
spk_0
And we'll put those in the first five or ten songs.
spk_0
And you can see how the audience is reacting to what
spk_0
and be like, oh, this crowd really,
spk_0
really likes commercial stuff.
spk_0
Sean, let's go play more commercial stuff.
spk_0
This, this crowd doesn't want to hear new stuff.
spk_0
They really, you know, you can, you can tell
spk_0
what people want and then, you know,
spk_0
just try to take them on that vibe.
spk_0
And then you can't do too much of anything either.
spk_0
So you got to like, you can bang it out for 15 minutes,
spk_0
but you got to give them a break and, you know,
spk_0
let them vibe for a minute, let them sing for a minute
spk_0
and bring it back in.
spk_0
It's always like, you know,
spk_0
let them rest, bring them back in.
spk_0
You can't be like some of these DJs that are just like,
spk_0
you know, straight to 100 the whole night.
spk_0
Like, that's not, that's not what we're going to be.
spk_0
So it is a flow.
spk_0
Yeah, ideally we'd like to play an hour and a half
spk_0
to two hours and take people on kind of a journey
spk_0
of dance music, you know, hits, classics,
spk_0
our classic hits, new music, new vibes,
spk_0
stuff that we really like.
spk_0
So, um,
spk_0
would the younger self be tripped out by what you're doing?
spk_0
Like, were you in the music, growing up to where?
spk_0
I mean, I was making German bass, you know,
spk_0
and all that stuff back in the day.
spk_0
But that was 25 years ago.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
They were longer.
spk_0
So do you ever expect you'd be doing what you're doing now
spk_0
or what you did?
spk_0
As far as manufacturing, super starts making a comeback.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, well, no, just just performing to that nature of like,
spk_0
no, I mean, I don't know.
spk_0
I mean, I don't know if we ever really, like you said,
spk_0
we never really thought that we were going to go out
spk_0
and play EDC band stage that wasn't like the goal on day one.
spk_0
I think the goal was always to just keep evolving the sound
spk_0
and keep making things that we were happy with.
spk_0
And I think that that's what most good, you know,
spk_0
successful artists do, you know what I mean?
spk_0
Like, I don't think that like, you know,
spk_0
what can I think about the name?
spk_0
Who was the sad night live this week?
spk_0
The girl, Billy Eilish.
spk_0
I don't think Billy Eilish sat in her basement with her brother
spk_0
and was like, I'm going to be the, the biggest name in pop music
spk_0
or, you know, rock, rock.
spk_0
She just loved the art.
spk_0
She just loved the art.
spk_0
Her and her brother kept making good songs
spk_0
and then eventually people were like,
spk_0
oh shit, we like that.
spk_0
And then obviously, you know, I think that that's how natural,
spk_0
you know, if you're not the Backstreet Boys,
spk_0
I think that's how artists evolve.
spk_0
You know, and as a joke, we called ourselves
spk_0
Manufacturers Superstars, but it never really was like
spk_0
where the Backstreet Boys.
spk_0
You can just change out the, change out the people
spk_0
in the space who every two years and they just stay on tour.
spk_0
Yeah, it's a young, they're fresh.
spk_0
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
spk_0
Like every, every two years, we get a younger blonde,
spk_0
younger guy with curly hair,
spk_0
and we just shove them to the space and it's a thing go out.
spk_0
So what would you think, were you into that music game
spk_0
as a kid as well?
spk_0
So heavy or how did they evolve to what it,
spk_0
because I mean, you're a promoter first.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, I was a promoter first.
spk_0
So I always looked at it from the promoter point of view.
spk_0
I still, I still look at everything from a promoter point of view.
spk_0
Like I always side with, you know,
spk_0
the club owner or the promoter, not the artist.
spk_0
I'm never on, I'm never on the artist side.
spk_0
And so I wanted to be an artist that wasn't, you know,
spk_0
that was, that was easy to work with.
spk_0
That was fun that wouldn't bust like the, I don't like it.
spk_0
You know, when artists and managers,
spk_0
he doesn't want to see a 30 step rider.
spk_0
You know, the stuff that we, like the trauma
spk_0
that we went through throwing raves in the late 90s,
spk_0
early 2000s was enough to, like, you should be so happy
spk_0
that you have a place to go and play your music,
spk_0
you know, to 10 to 5, 10, 15,000 people.
spk_0
Same thing with the club, like the amount of work that we would,
spk_0
that would be done.
spk_0
So a DJ could just show up and put their USB stick in.
spk_0
I always wanted to be cognizant of that and respectful to that.
spk_0
So now for a serious question,
spk_0
did the old spacesuits fit or did you have to get new ones?
spk_0
How do you, you did fold it out of the closet?
spk_0
Yeah, as long as you're under six, three, I think you can wear the space.
spk_0
Yeah, the space three, you get a little bit inside the car.
spk_0
A space suit is pretty, pretty kind of for everybody.
spk_0
So you guys just have it in the closet then, right?
spk_0
You didn't have to do it.
spk_0
Yeah, we have a few left.
spk_0
I mean, we would order what, 25, 50 at a time.
spk_0
It was, they were more expensive to get all the patches put on them than it was to buy them.
spk_0
I know that I would go to the tailor and I'd, you know,
spk_0
have the Colorado flag, the manufacturer, superstars, my patch, Sean's patch.
spk_0
So that was always more expensive than the actual spacesuits.
spk_0
And the spacesuits didn't make it more than what?
spk_0
Five or six shows.
spk_0
It depends on how much cranberry juice is around the world.
spk_0
What, what, what nylon?
spk_0
No, nylon and drunk people with cranberry juice doesn't really work altogether.
spk_0
Yeah, they didn't have a long shelf life.
spk_0
I mean, we gave a lot of way, right?
spk_0
Yeah, we gave a lot of way.
spk_0
It's hard to be stoked to get them.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, it's like a guitar pick or like, you know,
spk_0
because we always have a whole space to, like somewhere in someone's houses.
spk_0
Well, they have a perceived value of, you know, very expensive when they're literally
spk_0
our Halloween costumes that cost $39 each and then we had to put the patches on them.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
So like, they were an awesome cool giveaway for Superfans.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
The shoe color means going to be awesome.
spk_0
You guys do nerves play a factor anymore as they're more just like in the,
spk_0
oh, it's definitely going to be.
spk_0
Yeah, I mean, we've never played like this whole set's a brand brand.
spk_0
Yeah, like I mean, no, it's going to be a long time since we've played a full brand new set.
spk_0
I can tell you that because everything else was like an evolution and evolution and evolution.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
This is like cool throughout everything and Twitter, Mac to Windows.
spk_0
Yeah, yeah.
spk_0
And you still have a podcast do it five o'clock.
spk_0
Yeah, exactly.
spk_0
I'm all we Brad is saying when you get throws up, I was like in 20 minutes, we're going to do this
spk_0
and then we're going to, I mean, I've been goofing around DJing on our CDJ's at Pounce Empire.
spk_0
No, we played at the Empire like beta throwback party.
spk_0
But then we just played old content because it was literally a party for like the old beta regs.
spk_0
But I don't think Sean has really DJed that as much and I was like, it's gotten much easier.
spk_0
And so as things as technology improves, we didn't even talk about beta.
spk_0
I mean, was that kind of like the launch pad of everything for you guys?
spk_0
Like you did beta and then we're did beta play and we were the biggest before beta open.
spk_0
Okay, so then you came back and he's like, hey, let's open beta.
spk_0
It was about no, no, I mean, it was about the same time.
spk_0
Yeah, we started DJing at the church and vinyl and started getting some gigs.
spk_0
Like we were at we were at rain with polo.
spk_0
Yeah, we were before.
spk_0
During that time.
spk_0
Yeah, before that was I think we had a two year residency at rain, right?
spk_0
Yeah, I think so.
spk_0
So that was right when beta was opening and like the first year and then we moved to excess in like 2010.
spk_0
So I mean, once beta got running good too, that was that like took a lot of pressure off me to
spk_0
like be able to go DJ because that kind of happened beta and manufacturer superstars both
spk_0
like getting dialed and happened almost simultaneously because I couldn't be in two places at once,
spk_0
right? I couldn't and I couldn't be it.
spk_0
And you know, when we were doing 150 shows a year, we weren't there at all.
spk_0
Yeah, we missed lots and months.
spk_0
Yeah, we would play beta maybe once or twice a year, you know, 2010, 2011, 2000.
spk_0
So you'd almost come home is this like a home show and then you're back on the road.
spk_0
Yeah, we were gone.
spk_0
All the time.
spk_0
What was do you miss traveling or was it kind of exhausting to some point?
spk_0
I mean, it had to be fun.
spk_0
But like, what was that?
spk_0
I mean, you know, it's a blessing, man.
spk_0
I mean, we got to see the whole world.
spk_0
Like, I mean, you know, every time anybody asked me that question, whether it's a friend or my,
spk_0
you know, wife's uncle, like, I mean, it's always like, I mean, we got to see like I go
spk_0
place with my wife now and it's like, oh, I've been to Korea nine times.
spk_0
Oh, I've been to Bali 11 times because we played there.
spk_0
You know, we went to Macau five times, but if ever been sober,
spk_0
yeah, yeah.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
Okay.
spk_0
So, you know, it's totally a blessing.
spk_0
I mean, it definitely is exhausting as you get older and anybody, you know,
spk_0
and anybody's life, it's a little harder to travel.
spk_0
But I mean, I still travel.
spk_0
I mean, I have a house in the Caribbean.
spk_0
I just got back on Sunday.
spk_0
So we travel quite a bit in regular life.
spk_0
So I think half the reason why we were like is
spk_0
popular and as did as many shows as we did is we actually could do it.
spk_0
You know, you look at a lot of these like most of these DJs now play 60, 70, 80 shows a year.
spk_0
Like, we were cut out out of a different mold.
spk_0
Like, we were we were just different that we could actually do it and not break.
spk_0
Like a lot of people, I think, just couldn't do that many shows.
spk_0
And we were like right at the tier where we couldn't quite fly private everywhere.
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
You know, if we were a little bit more popular, it would have been a lot easier.
spk_0
It would have been easier to play 200 shows like Diplo and Tiesto and Armored Van Buren
spk_0
than it was to play 150 shows flying.
spk_0
spk_0
Flying the routes that they have chosen for you.
spk_0
spk_0
Do any of those guys just thank you like to do set like a tone for them like to
spk_0
where they're just like, man, we looked up to you.
spk_0
We listened to you or you inspired us.
spk_0
Do you ever hear anything like that?
spk_0
I mean, I'm not from like Diplo, but I mean, I've heard of from other people in the industry.
spk_0
Yeah, for sure that we've got, you know, I mean, we I'll still run into people
spk_0
that are like super fans like I went to I went to a wedding in Glenwood Springs.
spk_0
And there was a dude there that was like, dude, you're the guy from Manufacturers Superstars.
spk_0
I hold on hold on.
spk_0
I'm going to go get my wife like grabs her.
spk_0
She's like, I you know, I saw you guys 25 times.
spk_0
I used to live in Orange County.
spk_0
I go to Sutra every time I every time you guys played.
spk_0
It was one of the best nights ever.
spk_0
I met her there, you know, so yeah.
spk_0
I think DJs didn't really know how to handle a sea there because it's like,
spk_0
oh, from a business standpoint, we're beatport,
spk_0
but from a professional standpoint, we're party DJs.
spk_0
And so, you know, everybody just kind of, I don't think from an artist's point of view,
spk_0
I think everybody was like kind of intrigued what we were doing.
spk_0
But they're like, oh, you know, they're party DJs.
spk_0
They're not Berlin techno.
spk_0
They're not, you know, German trance.
spk_0
They're, you know, or Dutch, excuse me, Dutch trance.
spk_0
They're, you know, so I don't think we were ever looking for peer admiration.
spk_0
That was not like that was never an objective of us.
spk_0
Again, because for me it was more of an alter ego.
spk_0
So like, I didn't, I got my peers from beatport or beta or church and vinyl or as a promoter, you know,
spk_0
so I didn't need any like peer validation at all.
spk_0
I wasn't looking for that.
spk_0
Well, I said by my original statement about you guys being revolutionaries,
spk_0
I think that to come on that era of 2004, when really the digital age,
spk_0
I mean, that was Napster.
spk_0
That was Limewire and to not just as like the 18-year-old kid myself then,
spk_0
I was like, oh, man, I can download music.
spk_0
You guys saw that or you saw it and were like, hey, this can be used by artists, by musicians,
spk_0
by DJs.
spk_0
And you really saw the kind of the Western frontier and you put your stake in the ground.
spk_0
And I think that that is something to be said.
spk_0
And what you guys did to where you're having fun and you're enjoying the music and you love what you did.
spk_0
And you made a, I mean, manufactured superstars at just a passion of loving what you do.
spk_0
Man, you guys are revolutionaries.
spk_0
And I think that that's, I think that you guys are modest about it.
spk_0
That's awesome.
spk_0
I mean, it speaks volumes to your character, but I think it's fantastic what you guys have done
spk_0
that you traveled the world and I'm grateful to have spent time to talk to you guys and learn
spk_0
about everything that you guys have done.
spk_0
And I will be taking your edibles while going to your bounce empire.
spk_0
And then eating some popcorn at the end of it, you know?
spk_0
Like, yeah.
spk_0
It's not going to be up to you.
spk_0
Yeah, yeah, I'll be listening to you guys on my SS Snapchat news.
spk_0
So I appreciate you guys coming on and call the winds a big deal.
spk_0
So if you guys want to, I mean, it'll be like hot ones.
spk_0
There's a camera there, there, there, and there.
spk_0
If you want to promote Halloween and what you guys got going on.
spk_0
Awesome.
spk_0
Call the wind.
spk_0
Call the camera.
spk_0
Can I get right there?
spk_0
Yeah, that's your camera.
spk_0
Call the wind.
spk_0
October 26th, manufactured superstars are back.
spk_0
So now I want to redo this and I want to redo it as hot ones.
spk_0
Oh, yeah.
spk_0
So I think I think a year from today, we go back on tour.
spk_0
We should put some hot wings in front of us.
spk_0
I agree.
spk_0
And redo this and see how sweaty we get.
spk_0
I agree. Let's do it, man.
spk_0
Well, I appreciate both of you guys coming on.
spk_0
Are you going to show up?
spk_0
Yeah, you can do it.
spk_0
Yeah, for sure.
spk_0
You know, I mean, check out Santa Garlins and all the dispensaries in Colorado.
spk_0
Whatever I can do.
spk_0
Yeah, it's my time.
spk_0
Turn his mic off.
spk_0
Here's your time.
spk_0
Go.
spk_0
You know, yeah, Santa Garlins killer cannabis company in Colorado
spk_0
that we work hard to bring people the best strains and
spk_0
flavored vapes and edibles across thing.
spk_0
Super excited to play Halloween.
spk_0
Really excited to bring all this music to the, you know, to the Denver masses.
spk_0
Do you want to promote Bounce Empire now?
spk_0
Yeah.
spk_0
Come to Bounce Empire.
spk_0
Thank you guys.
spk_0
By the way, I'm from Denver.
spk_0
And we are too.
spk_0
Thank you guys for watching.
spk_0
We appreciate it.
spk_0
Man, it's great having both you guys on.
spk_0
spk_0
And I'll be there at Halloween.
spk_0
What do you need to be?
spk_0
I don't know.
spk_0
I might dress up as you guys.
spk_0
That's a good costume.
spk_0
Easy, easy.
spk_0
What's in the Amazon thing?
spk_0
It's pretty done.
spk_0
It's done.
spk_0
Yeah, please.