What comes to mind when you think of the 626? Some crazy Asian landfill with boba, Maseratis, delicious food and questionable driving just 15 minutes outside of downtown LA? Or maybe you think of the tight-knit community, the smiles and camaraderie and memories with your family or all the above. We're here with a mix of people from around the 626 to talk about things that have come to define the region such as food, FOBS, ABGs, Asian American culture and the Chinese diaspora. So this is CeCe, our YouTube mom. She's actually not related to us at all and is actually just an actress. But it's convincing enough, right? She's been in Hollywood movies and TV shows, but I think it's safe to say she's now the quintessential Asian mom on YouTube. Plus, we got this cool gif together. I'm acting. This is Elizabeth, aka Liz, aka a former ABG of the 626. You know, Asian baby girl. She was one of the first to really pop on social media so she's here to let us know that before it was an aesthetic and hashtag thing, it was a lifestyle. Do you feel like the newer ABGs, do they gotta pay tribute? They just need other respect, you know? I just feel like it's just all about respect. This is Tony. He's probably the most fiery food writer in all of Los Angeles.   No offense to the Vietnamese in OC. I don't go down to OC to drink boba. I only go to the Taiwanese brands through and through. This is Angela. She's a mainland Chinese international student. She represents the young Chinese immigrants that are helping change the 626 and kind of the world. She's here to share the truth about her and her friends. You know, the things you won't hear in media. She doesn't drive a Lambo, but maybe her friends do. Not everyone who is a Bob is living that wealthy lifestyle. This is Toaster. He's a rapper from the 626 and we've actually known him since the Myspace days. It was a long time ago. He's born and raised in Omani so he knows the side that's not just boba and smiles. When I see the city, I see, you know, there's still darkness in the environment. This is Jessica. She's from Roland Heights, which a lot of people debate if it's true 626. She just opened up a nice Shabu Shabu spot up the street that you could say is trying to elevate the bubble. You never drank by Jim? No, cause it grows. We're two brothers who moved to LA almost eight years ago to pursue a dream and for a number of reasons ended up in the 626. I guess you could say we've made a few videos about the area and it might have something to do with being Chinese. Let's get into it. What's going on everybody? Welcome to a very, very special Feng Bro's food. Today, we are in the 626 and we have assembled an all-star cast representing different aspects of the 626 with different groups. The thing that's special about this food is that it all comes from the Chinese diaspora. I mean, I think it's just like pretty symbolic of the 626. Hello guys. I believe this food is representing, I believe out of everybody, perhaps Angela the most. Yeah. We wanted to start with the mainland Chinese food because this is a lot of the food that is gaining popularity in the 626. Two of the things are North Dongbei food, which is the chicken-to-human chicken rack. And it's basically the remnants of chicken that they use in the restaurant, deep-fried, and then quick toss in most, a lot of human herbs. Beijing style meat pie, Shanghai-nese beef rolls. This is Shanghai-nese Xiao Long Bao. A lot of my friends are from Sichuan and really love spicy food. So they have skewers that would be dipped into a hot pot. Called Chuan Chuan, right? Chuan Chuan, yeah. So it's like a combination of just skewers and hot pot together. This is a pierced chicken feet, dipped in hot oil.  So the road jam, I think it came from the Northwest area, probably like Xi'an. Spicy lamb ribs. Varieties of chili peppers, tossed again, very similar prep to the Dongbei food, but a lot heavier on the spices. I mean, it seems like every day there's like an old school six to six spot that shuts down and is replaced by like either a Sichuan Chuan. I've all about that life, man. Brain keep coming, it's fodder for the press. It contributes to authenticity of the area. I know you're not Cantonese, but you probably ate a lot of Cantonese food. None, none? No, I can't, I can't stand it, sorry. Really? Yeah, I dated a lot of time. I knew Tony was gonna bring some meat. I dated a Cantonese food for a very long time. I don't care like every country place. Oh, I feel like you're associating the food with your ex? Everybody knows Cantonese food is the best, even though I'm among all the Chinese food. In all of China, Sichuan's the hottest. Sichuan, even in Beijing, even in Shanghai, Sichuan is killing it. It's true, you know that's true. Cantonese cuisine is a dying art in America. And stop, that's it. I feel like the big schism, culinary-wise, is between North and South. There is a 20-year gap between the immigration and the relocation, and this current wave is purely driven by the mainland Chinese, and it's gonna be like that for quite a bit longer. Real quick, what was everybody's favorite dish that we tried so far? Yeah, this one. The chicken bones. Because I love to chew on bones. I love, you see a little bit of fish, what are you doing? Word? I like the chicken feet a lot. I love chicken feet. The Sichuan chicken feet. We filmed some music videos together. You are not skittish about eating anything like quote-unquote like weird, or like to like, from the old world. No, we ate poorly overcooked belute together. There's some people that just have preferences that aren't willing to try new things. Our IG models. We can have IG models. There are some that just takes pictures with it, and they don't even try it. Who would have thought that we'd be talking about hot girls using Chinese food for cloud? I don't like the spicy lamb. The one where you can't even actually see the lamb, it's just covered in chilies. For me, the meat, disc, shi'erbing, shimbing. When anybody eats more northern food, is there kind of like- Or Sichuan. Is there or Sichuan food? Is there kind of a change in attitude?  They're beautiful women. I just, I'm 100% devoted to that lifestyle.  Yeah, they are just like bright and crazy. I saw kids pushing like a wheelbarrow down the street with a stick. I was like, am I in China right now? Like, that's not my image when I'm in Beijing. All the great rappers come from Sichuan. Yup, the rappers, they're a little bit thug. Is it all because like this is not that expensive? It's not like this is flaming long, right? Like from a cost perspective. There's no way the cost per unit is that high for a restaurant.  The chicken foot. I feel like the fobs that like this food, they really like change the complexion of the whole scene. And I feel like some of the ABCs are cool with it. And some, they rather move to Irvine and kind of just be with the Asian-American flow. It's like whitewash Asians that like just salt and pepper. There's some people they can't, it's not that they don't want to taste it because a lot of Cantonese food, they are not bland but it's not spicy hot. So they can't handle the spicy. Some ABCs definitely feel as distant from kind of the Northern or Sichuan food as much as they possibly can. Like a lot of people feel really disconnected from it because it's not their type of Chinese but they're really not as much into the Sichuan hot pot. It's so weird right now because I feel like a lot of people are like, oh, these kids in the Maseratis, they don't know how to drive, they don't use their turn signal. Somebody's getting bribed in Omani at the DMV to give some people licenses. I dated a fob grower who paid. People definitely feel like that there's no reason for the ABCs and the fobs to really interact. Like a lot of people don't see the incentive, oh, the food looks too spicy or it's too expensive actually. It has something to do with two things. One is cultural differences, right? And the other is the language. They all can speak English but it's better, it's easier for them to express themselves with Mandarin. There's two boba shops next to each other. And one is for basically fobs wearing Balenciagas. It's called Tancha. And the other one is very Asian American. Everybody there, there's no Chinese characters really in there. And they're right next to each other and you look in each window and the demographics, they're both drinking boba but one is one side and the other is the other side. Even though it seems like a competition of who's moving in the neighborhood and who's moving out, it's ultimately a blending of different immigration waves. And though people may always have their opinions, I think it'll always shake out fine. Just like siblings do. The FOB group, like the international students, they're more like really confident about where they came from. They're more like wealthy in terms of like their financial background. So I feel like they have just like an attitude that you know, we can't hang out with our own friends. We don't really have to go out there to make friends with the locals because we feel more comfortable speaking our own languages. These kids from China, especially the wealthy ones, they're wealthy, cool kids from China. I feel like there's a little bit of misconception. Like not everyone who is a FOB is living that wealthy lifestyle. Like they're more still like the low keys. What percentage of FOBs are living that mausoleum routine?  It is overrepresented, yeah. What percentage would you say? I would say like maybe 30%. So here's my page. I have 449,000 followers. Pretty consistent, you know? I wouldn't consider me really a model. I would... I consider myself a lifestyle blogger. Oh, look at your bikini. My goodness. These are the comments and people can comment on them. Oh, this f*** walking into your life, planning to ruin it. Aren't you guys, we've moved on to the Boba section. AKA Bubble Tea. In Canada, they call it BBT. Tenzu Naita. But we did make the song Boba Life, popular music video, done by Jay Poon over here. Boba went from almost like, it was almost like soda drinks. You know how you have your base cola and then from there and now they have like what? 400 derivatives. This is a chain from Taiwan, Ten Run. Boba Morpho is a ABC sort of Taiwanese chain done by Wang Fu Productions. Phil from Wang Fu. Phil from Wang Fu. Phil from Wang Fu. Phil Wang from Wang Fu. Here, Tasty is actually a, I believe a Chinese Vietnamese or Vietnamese owned chain from the OC. Kind of more providing a more Americanized experience. Tony, when we put the Bobas out, you swapped with me. Why'd you pick the Ten Run Black Tea? I grew up with this. This is what I drink. If we were to say who was what Boba, you would be Ten Run. You know Tony, a little bit, forgive me for my language, elitist? Yeah, you're an elitist. Ten Run's sort of the highest quality Taiwan chain. I feel like the Mainland China tea brands are more innovative. They're less traditional and they're trying to cater to like more popular ingredients, such as like cheese foam. At a Mainland China Boba spot, they will give you like seven different options for Boba. Yeah. You know what I mean?  But some of them are a little bit too much. Some of them are so much for social media rather than for the flavor. And I don't. So you're not with the blaring LED cubes at the bottom of the Boba? No. I mean, only if it tastes good, you know? It's not all about looks, you know? Just like people, you know? It's not all about looks, you know? And this is coming from my IG model, so that you... Yeah. For older people, they have three highs. High cholesterol, diabetics and high blood pressure, you know, in Chinese, because most of these drinks, you cannot get these kind of drinks without sugar. Yeah. You know?  Cheers after that. Let's do cheers after that. Cheers. Like Boba. Cheers. Cheers. This is, you know, Hong Kong, Cantonese, Taiwanese and Chinese diasporic food. And one of the most interesting things about our identity is that Chinese people came from, you know, what we consider China the landmass, but they've really immigrated to every single country for a number of reasons, and they sometimes have built their own kind of style of cuisine there. Growing up in Armani, back when I was a kid, there wasn't too many Asians, you know what I mean? So most of my friends were Hispanic, Mexican. The Xiuma has definitely gotten bigger through the Z-Agen. And that's a fact, you know? And you asking me what stands out from all this right now, it's that. That's like my favorite, you know what I mean? This is Rojak from Indonesia. Has anybody had this? This is like a very sweet, peanutty covered salad. So this is a Burmese tea leaf salad fermented tea leaves, beans and just really fresh, but no carbs, man. All right, Tony, you have to take ownership of this. Of this gigantic fondant. Tony, do you listen to Hyde Brothers? I like it. Love them. I can't understand them really, you know? But I mean, as far as their cadence and their melody, on point, I love it. They captured a certain essence that is very, very difficult to capture. You know, I'm an artist, right? I always thought that it was going to be hard to do that, but they really executed on that. It used to be, I felt like years back, that when you try to speak Chinese and the tone was off, but you had the right context, a lot of people would still not really understand what you're saying. But nowadays with context, I think it's more acceptable and more understandable to speak kind of maybe slightly wrong tones, but the same words. I think it's a globalization. Yeah, there's a lot of, like, Westerners. They are also learning Mandarin, so we kind of more accepting the different tones. People can actually tell that I'm Guilin-Waqiu when I speak Cantonese because they hear the Vietnamese accent in my Cantonese, but I don't even speak Vietnamese at all. What does Vietnamese accent in Cantonese sound like? Em, no idea, you know? Like, that means what are you saying? And then in Cantonese, I say, Like, you hear that gong? Like gong? It's like the NGs, like they can hear my Vietnamese accent. I'm from ABC Cafe, they know me as Nam Waqiu, because I speak Mandarin not so well. Yeah, so they can hear it. Alright you guys, we have arrived at our, like, focus section on more, like, what I call Asian culture. It's almost like going away. Whatever we consider Asian, hot import nights, car meetups, JDM, all the guys who are putting, like, spoilers and cold air intakes, they all, like, pushing, like, Mercedes now.  Yeah, I do. Pull up on me on the light. Yeah, you gotta learn how to swerve if you're gonna live in 626, man. We made a music video years ago called 626. For the most part, I knew what you guys were doing, though. So I understood it, right? But I think that out of the context of other people, then they might be like, well, what the... That whole thing.  When I see the city, I see, you know, there's still darkness in the environment. You know what I mean? I almost made the 626 a little bubbly, which I know that it is not. It was always in the back of your head to make a 626 song, right? But if I did, then I'd have to talk about Bova, too. You know what I mean? It's fine if you do what you do, but please respect what was here before you, and don't think you're that much better, you know?  Do you feel like the newer, young, if we can call them ABGs, do they gotta pay... Do they gotta pay tribute? Homage to God or what? I don't think they need to pay tribute. It's just they just need to the respect, you know? I just feel like it's just all about respect. The new rappers, right? The new rappers. I hate it when they diss people who are before them. Like, you know, without them, would you have the styles that you have now in the rapping game, you know?  Like, there's something that you set ground rules that follow along generation and generation that make people better. It's all about progressing. They're trying to pick and choose where they get the look, and they get the attention for the look, but they don't want any association with the activity. It's like, why do you have to diss people? Like, you guys are good in your own way, you know? It's like, if anything, you dissing people, it just makes you less than. For a lot of Asian kids growing up in America, AZN subculture was the first fusion point between East and West that we created. Import cars, raves, vape shops. Over the years, the culture has changed from spiky hair to hard parts, and people don't even use the term AZN anymore, but this world is still the basis for a lot of culture and memes to this day. How would you describe mahjong? Chinese gambling? Chinese poker? It's like, domin- Essentially. Okay. Think of it indomitably. They have like, autobabics, um, math table? Yes, yes. Oh, I've seen that. When it goes down, it shakes it. So we can flip it like this, right? Yeah, I mean, it was more so just like, family fun, my grandma plays, my parents play, so we always like growing up, me and my sister learned as kids, but we were always just like the basic and we were just, you know, kind of play for fun. And do you think when you have kids, you'll teach them too? Definitely. You will. It's a culture. Yeah. It's so great to be orange, like, you know. Like you know how to play. Exactly. Keep in touch with cultures and learning new cultures. It's the thing, yeah. Yo, you guys, welcome to round three. We actually have another dish, Elizabeth, you are going to show us how to wrap Vietnamese nem nuns. So you take one of these rice wraps and then you dip it in hot water. You can have the choice of shrimp or this is called nem nun, which is a sweet pork patty. And then you wrap once, wrap the ends. I'm not rolling other stuff. And here you go. Yay. Rate mine. No vomit. Look, twisty at the top. Yeah, it's kind of uneven.  And then a classic shenzhen bao.  Do you never drink baijiu? No, cause it's gross.  Wait, wait, hold on, I gotta back it up just cause you said, I don't know how people can drink that and then you just blamed on the old guys. I've seen them 100% proof. This is 50%. This is like almost like pure alcohol that burns in your mouth. We are, are we being some, Chinese tradition. We're being some gummers right now. Jammers, jammers is the sister version of gummers. Gummers meaning like brother, homie, we will chase it with some shenzhen bao's, Koreans have soju, Japanese have sake and then we always say, my god, I think Chinese have baijiu and baijiu is like the most lethal one. Of them all. I'll do the whole thing. Cheers, cheers. All right, cheers. Cheers, cheers, cheers. Ganba, ganba. My tongue is numb. I actually was chasing with the shenzhen bao was great though. I feel like it kind of reminds me of this one saying that my parents used to always say it's like that Chinese people really like to churku.  Yeah, yeah. I really think that one of the biggest traits of Chinese people is the ability to endure bitterness. It's good in a way, right? Because it allows you to do stuff that's really bitter. But then I think some people develop such a high tolerance for it. They never try to break out of it. They just live in the bitterness forever.  That's facts. I wasn't trying to end on a super poignant, uncertain note or anything like an indie movie, but it's true. Traditionally Chinese people have always valued work over play. But that doesn't mean we can't have both, especially here in the 626. All right, you guys, thank you so much for watching that very, very, very special episode of Fun Bros. Food. It's been about seven years since we were able to talk that in depth and that on the nose about the 626. It was just really cool to get a lot of our friends that we've worked with in the past to come together and just talk about things really candidly. And that's something that I don't think has ever happened at least on camera. I think this region, the 626 area code, specifically the part that we're talking about is always gonna change. A lot of it is defined by the new people that come to the 626 and add their own flavor. A lot of those people are immigrants and also sort of where the people who were here want to take the culture. You can acknowledge the pieces that you miss when culture changes, but at the end of the day, it's always something to be hopeful for. Anybody out here, whether they grew up here or not, can contribute to culture in a way that we kind of did of all the media and the videos that we did. If you are from here, you know, like be a part of it all. Like why not? Guys, that wraps it up for this video. Thank you so much for watching that very, very special Fungro's Food. In the comments below, please name an aspect or a dish of the 626 or a culture of the 626 that you guys don't want it to go away. Also, maybe an aspect of the 626 that's new that you like, too. All right, you guys, thank you so much for watching that episode of Fungro's Food. And until next time, we're out. Peace! I always wanted to do this Instagram. You don't know what it is? No, I really don't. Okay, let me show you right now. You gotta pick a style that you want first. And you just stick to it. Consistency always looks the best. Posting the same style. You're the model I can tell. Oh no, you can be a model. Oh, come on, girl.


up youtube it has been way too long guys I have been taken a break because of the quarantine but things are starting to open up I'm feeling good again and I wanted to make my comeback with another full day of eating video and I already have breakfast ready to show you guys so let's get started with meal numero uno okay so first things first we got two Belgian waffles and I use this I can't believe it's not butter spray because it is 0 calorie so not only am I being a healthy boy but I am also getting that nice buttery goodness then I got two whole eggs and a chicken sausage this is a from Target it's the apple and gouda cheese sausage so it's supposed to be pretty spassy no it's not supposed to be sweet and then my secret I have Walden Farms calorie free pancakes are up so this thing here is amazing there's zero calories per serving and I just don't track this when I use it I'm gonna try to open this with one hand oh wow I did that okay I'm good and I don't know how you guys like stir up your pancakes but I'm waffles I mean but I like to go in in layers and then I like to fill the pockets like I don't know a good waffle for me is one where the pockets are pretty full you know it just holds all that syrupy goodness and just so good so then I do it by the mayor and there it is that's breakfast that's meal number one you guys are going to see the calories on the screen I'm gonna post it up somewhere in this general area and I am excited to be back let's get to it meal number one and thank you guys for sticking around and not unsubscribing and we're gonna be making more videos I have some big news I'm gonna share at the end of the video so stick around to catch it and let's get started oh yeah and guys she also made pancakes she has a waffles waffles waffles and she made a apple cinnamon and blueberry with a little bit of whipped cream and a side of strawberries and she uses this disgusting butter flavor but it's artificially flavored yeah it's butter flavored but there you have it it looks pretty cute looks better than my presentation that's for sure yeah so good job baby let me see your shirt show your shirt if you were a princess you'd be Taco Bell I love it all right all right guys so breakfast and avatar who else is an avatar fan if you guys love avatar the last airbender then smash that thumbs up all right what's up guys we are here for meal number two we are gonna be making a fruit smoothie featuring my ghost fruity cereal milk I love this thing it tastes amazing and it has not been opened yet so let me to figure out where the thing is to open it nails okay so that and then I like to lay everything out so let's put this in here so this is actually going to be a very low fat high protein decent amount of car shake it's good for any time of the day good for post-workout pre-workout so it starts with ten ounces of almond milk this was seven that's in the trash finish it off with the last three ounces cool that's ten exactly okay then step number dose is we do two scoops of protein so they say that one serving size on this is 32 grams and one point five grams of fat and 25 grams of protein so one scoop comes out to 38 grams so it's not super accurate so I just kind of and I go to like it's 64 cool that's 64 okay that will go away there it is ghost whey protein fruity cereal milk I mean it's really really good I also by the way doctor coconut ice cream one this thing is fire you guys should really try this too it's a limited time flavor so don't miss out on that next thing we're adding is some yogurt Dan in Greek like Greek Dan in light and fit Greek yogurt any calories and I think there's 12 grams of protein in this one cup and it's the strawberry cheesecake flavored so it's gonna just make it creamy and delicious and strawberry like okay now we zero out and I'm gonna do 70 grams of frozen blueberries this will help make it cold one serving size of this is 140 so I do half a certain size that's my 70 frozen blueberries and then frozen strawberries too and this one I do the whole serving size of 140 I like my strawberries and I'm shameless about that there it is I'm gonna blend this shit up and I'll check with you guys right after it's poured you guys ready and there it is calories are gonna be up on the screen somewhere in this area and this is actually so delicious it is damn that's thick so there you have it I will check with you guys for dinner I got something pretty special for dinner tonight and I can't make sure you guys total calorie count for the end of the day you'll be shocked that it's actually surprisingly that low after all this food look at this this thing is filled up to the brim I actually take a couple sips to make it all fit so when you're dieting the important thing is to eat a lot of whole foods because it makes you feel really full you can eat a lot of it for like you know much much fewer calories so you feel pretty full and you're not really eating that many calories and it's just for the best I'm also gonna be going to the gym today I think I'm gonna hit cardio I might record that but it's cardio there's not really much to show alright and here it is meal number three I got a hundred and eighty grams of rice mixed with some salsa and then I have nine point five nine and a half ounces of chicken breast with some sriracha because I like my food a little spassy so there it is it's gonna finish the night off guys and I'm gonna put up all my calories on the screen it's good to be back I'm gonna be making more videos for the big surprise I bought a camera like an actual DSLR Canon Canon D90 or something and it's professional it's gonna be my new camera for filming YouTube videos and it comes in Thursday I think so very very excited and when I have when I get that camera I'm gonna be recording way more so I'm so excited to keep on doing this guys thank you for the support and as always if you like what you see then please leave a like a comment and hit me with that subscribe if you if you haven't already I always appreciate the love guys and I'll see you in the next one


What's going on everyone? Sam here with late in sports cards, ripping one box of 2022 Panini Prison World Cup Soccer Breakaway for Nick N. So good luck Nick. See what we got buddy. Personals are full for today. I'm gonna make sure I try to get to everybody who's still in queue. Should be able to face Silver Christiana Ronaldo on the global reach. Nice one there. What's up code? Silver Memphis DePie for the Netherlands. Scores Claude Brahim Sterling. Roderick. Yeah that's definitely like what Tony said that's definitely a possibility. What's up Dan? God for Tunisia that is Montessar Talbi to 99, 52 out of 99. Blue Joe Allen for Wales to 49. Yep 10 out of 49. Nice one there. That is odd. This is Idrisa Gouillet for Senegal and Vace. That'll do it for your break right there. Nick, thanks again for jumping in man. Do appreciate it. We'll get these right out to you.


Tiyaman, na exaseza took place at the area for your grounds and good to have him in the studio, it's the much eagerly awaited interview and I'm talking about Sasha Mutayu who is joining us. Good to see you Sasha, how are you doing bro? I'm very good. You keeping well? Yeah. How is it like transitioning into management of the game? You've been there before in the capacity of Vice Tiyaman, now you're the president of the federation in a sport that you passionate about. How does it feel? Now it's a big responsibility and we've taken it with both hands and with the team that was elected we are working to get rugby back on track. You see recently we were also relegated from World Series but we are looking at getting back, qualifying for the Olympics and also now qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2027. So there's a lot on our plate, we also have to clean up our books, the serious debt that we have to get back and pay and get things back on track, get us back in the black. We also need to, I said it in my manifesto, we need to build a stadium and that's part of the agenda, we've been already talking to government about getting land allocated because many people do not know that Kiiru is homeless. Actually we are subtenants at RFUA which is the home of Kenya Rugby but really Kenya Rugby is just a subtenant there so we have to fix a lot of things and get rugby back on track. As a chairman now it was really troubling and really hurtful because you have been a vice chair, you have been a director you have been at the border of the Kenya Rugby you worked to see Kenya get on to the top level and when we were relegated from the HSBC series that had got to hurt. From an outsider's perspective, that had to hurt. It was painful but it's not a shocker because there was no investment happening. It nearly happened a few years back so we have always been now in the brink and we need to get back into the top eight. When we were there we were in top five we qualified for two semi finals of the Rugby World Cup so we were top because we had put in the investment. Now if you don't put in the investment unfortunately we lost sponsorships and when the sponsor came back in Sport Pesa in December last year so basically it kicked in in January this year it was a little bit too late but we are going to fix it. Now the challenge is coming back and everybody will be thinking of the field of play everybody thinks that the field of play is how we are coming back much factoring in the other factors outside of the field of play how are you working around that for us to get back into the chassis? Right now the most important thing is actually as you are saying the back office the back office has to be fixed you know in hotels is the front office and the back office is where the problems are made behind the scenes I mean if you look at last year's accounts in the rugby and get sponsorships of 25 million it's poultry but you see Kenya rugby lost confidence of our partners and sponsors now what we are doing is now saying yes this is a new board things are going to be done the proper way there's government structures coming in we even co-opted and some other directors who are in corporate world who are trusted we are saying we are going to put in the systems the sisters are there but they have been scouted no more none of this cronism and all that we are here to build this game we have observed in different capacities these directors coming we are having a former Kenya captain who is now a director and we all have one voice and looking at you know building this game to what it should be with all the talent that we have in this country there is no reason why it should not be 75 was 57 15 our main name is of course to beat Zimbabwe and Namibia Namibia is our basic competitor for the rugby walk up but we have to put in our systems in place so our plan is to revive the super series but not just revive it but it's actually to re-engineer the rugby super series into a six team franchise professional league that will be next year but we have to build it up this year this on 28th of July we will have a investor conference and where we will showcase all the properties that Kenya rugby union has to give to investors and our partners and our sponsors to come and partner with us and we show them the path what it actually costs Kenya rugby service should just to get them back we have already given a budget to do our sponsor kind of sponsor it's much better we had a meeting last week this week actually but I don't know what happened and they are behind us even if we have dropped down one level they are with us and they have confidence in our plan to get Kenya back up we also shared this budget with knock if you look at the budget to get Kenya 7s back into world 7 series and qualify for the Olympics and also next is not just to qualify we want to be a medal contender next year so we have given a budget of around 181 million shillings so it's a big budget but remember when Kenya was getting to all these semi finals and performing well when we had Mike Friday and Paul True we were running on a budget of 2 million dollars other teams were on 3 million and above but again you know these numbers look big but people need to remember that rugby is a sport that has many numbers there's no other team sport that has the numbers players on the field so it's expensive that human resource has to be paid for and that's a reality for us to compete we need those resources but for us to get those resources we need to get the confidence back and that is what we are doing now and we have said before in the union and been successful and have the trust and of course in our other businesses out there people trust us so we want to put back the systems and make sure that Kenya rugby union is run the governance structures are good I was in an event this week and with top CEOs of various companies and gave a talk and they are confident that yes and they were saying before yes what has happened the past few years has gone because of governance when you hear all these stories in the papers strikes here and all that and I had a report about the litigation I've asked for every report so we had Kenya rugby union was basically in court a lot of the times we want to stop in the 15th coach Paul Odera there was an injunction and everything and those are the things you don't want to talk about exactly we do not want to in the campaign period is that rugby needs to be played on the field not in courtrooms and that is what has to happen we are going to come back now to your manifesto every these things are happening you want your house in order when you want to come back to your manifesto you talk about getting a rugby stadium because that's key for us in that everybody now suffered running athletics everybody's diamond league now for you it's like we need a rugby stadium how can we get that into actualization so the rugby stadium in my profession I'm a quantity server and I've been involved in some of the land projects in the region so I know how to bring in the partners to make sure this is a reality so we are talking to government for a location of land in Kasarani and we have partners who have done stadiums have talked to boogat man and partners the director who actually designed Soka City in Soweto so he's interested in coming we have worked together on different projects so we have goodwill the plan is to build a stadium in Kasarani probably a 25,000 sito stadium with three fields also for training high performance center proper gym football but also rugby stadium football rugby stadium but even now when I notice it for rugby we can hire it out it has to be a commercial venture we are also talking to partners so we can come in and actually put money into the development of the stadium and in the SPV that is formed depending on your contribution to building that we should help with the tax rebates we have cap 470 section 1220 where if you put money into sports sponsorship you get tax write offs so we also have a tax top tax consultant sitting now on the Kenya rugby union brought by the name of Cairo so all that paperwork we shall do we shall bring in these partners who will help them in the tax part of it benefits and we shall also now give them the usual packs that come with sponsorships and on top of that investment because now they will be part of an SPV of a stadium that is commercial so they will be earning money from their own investment so it's win-win everywhere and of course now this is also in line helping the government achieve its agenda sports and sports tourism but it's private sector that has to do it we cannot unless we say tuna ombasere kali begging government has a thing on policy and the policies are set and in the government if you look at what parliament passed for this tax act and also for tax rebates from sports sponsorships it's amazing and we have not exploited that so government should just put policies and probably now just support the team when it's going for olympics and commonwealth but the rest of it is up to federation and the federations have to partner with the private sector and that's why now we also want to introduce the professional sides actually just like our friend Ngarwakamuia keep saying that the role of government is not to fund and support the sporting activities in the country but to put in place a conducive environment that probably will attract investors and corporate and that we are talking also minister of sport talk to the seers and peers and this government is amenable and we have access to them they listen to us, we talk to them so what we are asking for is that the land to be allocated and then we shall do the rest of it talking about everything that you just talked about brings us to the question of self reliance and that you need now the kenya rabi union to be self reliant how do we go to that so that's it for us it's to run it like a business and make it attractive and that is now with the trust of the private sector and saying that okay we have to go professional to compete on that level because I mean kenya 7 was semi pro and actually that probably 2012-2013 2014 we were professional because players would earn money could sustain themselves because at that point 10 years ago basic salary for tier 1 players was 150,000 and then there was bonuses so you do 2 good tournaments you get 2000, 2000 dollars 4000 plus 1500 players we are going with 5000 dollars a month and you are 22 years old 10 years ago so it was sustainable, it was professional but now we are back to how much our status is no way you can compete against somebody who day in, day out is doing rugby is forecast he knows his house is in order his family is well fed kids are going to school but when the kenya 7 player is going there he doesn't know where the next paycheck is coming from so when spot pressure came back in there was litigation against spot pressure there was arbitration but we are saying enough of this court cases we have to work in harmony where are we going we are not going anywhere we are in kenya this is our country we love it we love our teams we have to work together this thing of litigation should end it's ending during this period we want harmonious good working relationship and everybody benefits and the thing is kenya has the talent we have talent falling off the trees we need to make sure that we give this young boys and girls men and women the best opportunity to perform at the highest level and from it they have to be able to earn from it and that's what our aim is once that is done I'll build the stadium and I've done my work Elad you're talking about the welfare and plight of players who form an integral part of the sport you remember just a few months before you guys took over before elections there was one of the legs of HSBC World 7 series and kenya rugby national 7 players had to go to twitter to social media platforms you know appeal for financial help because they are saying that as much as they are representing the country and bringing glory back home they are struggling financial over and pay their lovances and dues what are the mechanisms and policies you seeking to put in place to ensure that that malpractice is something of the past now that will be something of the past because I cannot associate myself with this thing of Mchanga this is a national team it is up to us as the board to bring in the finances now when you start blaming players and yet you are not doing your work there has to be work done in the board room and work done on the field once you have done your work and you have delivered to the playing unit what they request for now you can demand for results everybody plays their part so we cannot have lazy people on the board and I think the board that I have are good hardworking people I've seen them in the last two months they are working and we all have to work together and this thing of going with begging boats will be a thing of the past we have a tournament coming up in July the world rugby under 20 trophy so we have 8 countries so it's an international event world rugby has entrusted us with this we had a successful Bates Cup which was the Africa under 20 Zimbabwe won and we were second so now we want to do better in this marisa international tournament we have big names coming in CEO of world rugby will be here President of Africa rugby will be here President of South Africa rugby will be here we shall also have Tandaim Tawarila the beast the World Cup winner he will be here coming with the trophy the trophy he took a couple of weeks back to Paris because it was 100 days to the rugby World Cup and South Africa are the current holders so he took the trophy back and he will be here in Nairobi so there will be good rugby Zimbabwe, Kenya the USA team and that in itself consideration of Kenya as a host venue of such prestigious tournaments does that underscore the world rugby's confident and commitment they have in our sport so we hosted it in 2009 at that time I was director I was on the board I was the youngest director at that time so I was in charge of servants but we had the world rugby trophy in 2019 and now we have been given this opportunity so it is good for the country in terms of also the government agenda of sports tourism so we are playing our part there and government is also with us in this tournament so we are sitting the local organizing committee and ministry of sports so we are working hard on this we want to deliver flawless good events we want to perform well as well the planning is on advanced now it is basically less than 3 weeks to kick off we look forward to this and we invite everybody and youth especially who are watching this because it is their tournament to come to the stadium and watch I was in a conversation and we struck a deal to take the team to western province I think the Kenyan team the 15th team going to training in western province and now you look at we are coming on to the Kari Cup taking it to Nakuru we played in South Africa and the ones in Kenya also what are your plans now in 15th rugby because also 15th is a core property of the Kenya rugby union 15th we need to get a sponsor simbas do not have a sponsor the lionesses do not have a sponsor so we are going to showcase and Chippo also doesn't have a sponsor but hopefully next week we will sign a deal that they will get sponsorship for this tournament and now we have to do we are less than 3 months in office but we are working on getting sponsorships for these teams that will give the sponsors mileage once we showcase everything on 28th July we will have a cocktail event where we will invite CEOs of companies that we can partner with our previous partners and new partners coming in and it will be global, it will be streamed so that people can see out there we are not just looking at Kenya it is a global thing we are very ambitious we have seen what we can do Kenya servants, what they have done get into semifinals of world cup in such a short time we have nearly got into world cup 15th just one game off so we are ambitious and we know what we can build Africa rugby is also ambitious with the new president of Africa rugby he is from Ghana he is very ambitious so we are speaking the same language so in Latin it is called consensus at EDEM a meeting of minds so that is what we are thinking we are thinking this and we have thought big before you have to think big to get somewhere but if you are thinking this level this is only so far so that has to happen and it has to be also realistic for world cup 2027 we are not going to win it probably 3 cycles to now be competitive but for 7s it is faster it is an easier path we have also the lionesses who qualified for WX3 it will be in October it is a new series for women's rugby because while rugby is taking women's rugby seriously and Kenya rugby is as well so our plan of course now that we have Kenya women's team in a global showcase is also to get the sponsorships for them and to adapt talent as to be seen we have 2 players playing in Japan so we are very ambitious to get Kenya women's team to qualify for 2025 we are second in Africa to South Africa and when we played them in Madagascar I went to Madagascar to watch the games and yes there is a gap between us and SA and we know what we need to do to bridge that gap so we don't want to play second fidu we are very ambitious and you know with the talent that we have we shall get there and we are also now expanding the girls rugby in July as well we will have girls rugby in schools in high schools and now next time we want to have it 15s because it will be 7s and we need to get that and probably the super series which I am saying we need to get women there as well women side professional the girls will be sending pro but we have to force it down if you are coming to do this Kenya cap have a side fork and then of course we have the funding we give to the team so on us is also on us on the KRU to get sponsors for the leagues which have not had sponsors but once we get a sponsor we send the money down to teams we shall also demand that they have extra teams if you have a women's team we will get more funding and we want you to have each grade so Kenya rugby cannot do everything we have to set the policy at the top and it cascades down and we have the talent we have the talented players and we have also talented coaches and people who run clubs who are passionate so they will do that work so they will get policies and cascaded down and once you see Kenya rugby and get back the confidence of these partners it cascades down to the clubs because clubs are suffering and that's why we run for this office because it's not sustainable that every weekend people are calling you send them person but it's not sustainable however much you want to do it it's not sustainable but when you are at the helm as vice chairman having risen through the ranks from director vice chairman under the legs of Mange Mude was considered to have been one of the best performing carry chairman there was plenty of sponsors at the helm not askers, safari kump, Kenya Airways what do you do what do you seek to do to restore sanit and order the federation so that we start attracting get the confidence back we have to get rid of these conflicts of interest that have been there and it's open, people know about it there's nothing to hide there's been issues, sponsorship and directors clashing with sponsors which should be the case we have to work together so egos should be patted and we work for the good of the game so the good of the game has to be there and if you just think for yourself your self-aggrandizement we don't have room for that when you co-opted the new directors more so from the private sector that you actually brought in I think there were four the four members that you co-opted can you tell us more about them what are they bringing on to the board of the Kenya rugby union so we have Kairu Thu he's a lawyer and he's a tax consultant he's considered one of the top tax consultants in the country he's a director on ICA lion board he's a director of NCB he sits on a bank board he sits on a Kenya power company board so he's bringing in that expertise of finance and legal and to help us push the agenda for sports sponsorships and tax deductions and basically corporate governance and he's trusted we have Nisha Manhuk who is in marketing she's a well known marketer in corporate Kenya she also sits on the current country club she's a director of sports we have her then we have Zawadi and this Zawadi who is also a referee so she'll be representing referees and that part of it and then we have Vanjiku Wairia who is in governance as well she's also sitting in a lot of inventory and she's previously worked with us in Kenya rugby union she was a nutritionist so actually brought her on board as director of servants she was a nutritionist for Kenya servants so right now we have 4 women so we have 28, close to 30% representation of women and we are looking at also increasing that and our thing we have to do is update our constitution our constitution is updated we need to put it in line with the sports act and with world rugby and this constitution I've been a victim of it as well because it's very political and that's the truth and we have to correct it and it has to be for posterity for the future generation we have seen how the good things in it the bad things in it and what we need to change and these changes are going to happen we are not afraid of changes previously people have been afraid that all the more clubs you have can't continue the constitution needs to be for the game of rugby not for politics so we are not supposed to be politicians there and you want to stay in office for what if the game is not going well what are you wasting your time there doing what you want is to build this game and make sure that it's a pathway and young people can earn from it there is a lot of employment by this talent and if you look and you have to think forward 20 yas 30 yas 40 50 yas going down Kenya rugby now is celebrated over 110 yas this year Nondiz Nondiz 100 yas 100 yas goes so they are celebrated 100 yas Kenya rugby is more than 110 yas but what have we done the question usually goes back to the culture the culture of rugby how will you bring that culture for people to come out and now embrace that culture of rugby because at 1923 club I think that's Nondiz 100 yas and your friend Ahuka I think he was the chairman for Nondiz and that one is really great and it brings out people have now will understand that this rugby has been here for a long time for many decades so that culture people have come to embrace that culture and I say rugby I owe rugby a lot I am a part of the things where I am in terms of even my success in my profession, in life rugby has inculcated in me values and those values now we need to cascade it down to young players young boys and girls together rugby culture what has happened of the recent is that culture has begun to the things of integrity and rugby integrity is key so what we are bringing back is integrity so that is the most important right now which cascades through even the sponsorship you take a gentleman it's a hard game and ladies now ladies are gentlemen because the ladies are playing and they are playing really good games you watch the games in Madagascar and I mean I had a good time because our Kenyan women really pushed and played really well and we want to get back the crowds into the stadium people are going out and drinking in bars let's provide them we have to improve the infrastructure in 2023 we don't have a stadium with good flood lighting flood lighting now is cheaper we have LED lights it's cheaper even on running in terms of power why don't we have flood light why don't we have good pictures kikuyu grass comes it grows here kikuyu grass is used in golf courses globally in South Africa the stadiums that have hosted World Cup Finals use kikuyu grass but it needs water if you look at our fields you can't even train that's why we had problems with Kenya 7 last year before they went to camp in Kasawani this is just when you came into office the grounds are hard so players can't tackle rugby is a physical game you need to have and you need to put the investment Kenya 7s and other teams have been punching above their weight but now it's time it's no excuses now it's our opportunity now to show people that yes we can raise this money we put it in the right place and you're going to reap the rewards of that investment we are very ambitious but there are some things that are quite easy to do basic logic no corruption they're going to do things the right way put the investment in and we'll see the rewards because we have the people according to insiders and reliable sources they say that Sasha Mutai got the overwhelming goodwill from the government we've seen president William Ruto himself reiterating his love and commitment to grow and develop sports and get empowered because sport is huge and it has proved to be a lucrative employer globally I don't know when is the likelihood of us witnessing president himself appearing at the RFU grounds to watch one of the local games because it is something that has not been witnessed in the longest time the former president I think graced one of the games some time back though he went to a test march we invited the president for the World Drug Band at Winnie Trophy and we'll see when he has his calendar is very busy but yes he's behind all sport in Kenya the ministry of sport has been quite helpful I can tell you one thing even before I came into office the PS at that time Jonathan Meke had gotten a request from the team that they needed residential camp but of course Kenya lagbillion is in debt the serious debt that we also have to clean up so the PS that time also arranged for Kenya 7s to go into that so we got the best environment over more than a year that the team was playing in the series this was more than a year now they had a proper environment so government is behind us and we are behind them because we have to do work together and as I was saying at the end of this year we want to be self reliant not just asking government for money what we just requested is that piece of land and we shall do the rest of it government is there to do policy and put things in place sports fund and all structures we are going to help them as private sector we are we love this country we are here we are here to stay, we will die here we need to improve this country, we are not going anywhere else so it's up to us we have to build this game so we are going to help the government we have to help ourselves and the government and things like unemployment can be solved with sport and now if you look at TV and betting betting is on sports so we have to do that sporting activities we are providing content we are going to drink in a bar we want to change things including those night games when you have flood lights things are safe, you can go watch a game it can be Friday night who says rugby has to be only on Saturday we have to spice up things it's 2023 so we cannot be the same way it was in the 90s and 80s at that point all rugby globally was amateur after the 1995 World Cup but we are still amateur we have to go professional this year the calendar for national 7's circuit is out I think as usual fans get passionate about the entire circuit as the rugby traverses the whole country what are the plans of even making this better going forward hopefully this week we shall announce a sponsor for the 7's circuit and then it starts in Dala it's coming weekend and then it goes to Mombasa for driftwoods and then there's a break and it's spread over basically 3 months from July to September the last tournament and then the next one will be the Africa Cup so from this 7 series the Kenya 7's team will be chosen you might say a few new faces but the coaches and the panel will choose the players from there it's going to be exciting because all players will be available we need to see every player playing so now it's going to be exciting because people now have to fight for their positions as a big one I think now they usually say the ball is in your court to deliver everything that you have put self reliance, investment those are the key points that people are going to take from your administration and I believe you can do it so President what are you promising the fans who have always demonstrated overwhelming love for the sport because as a man who is widely travelled I'm sure if you go overseas and you ask those foreigners which sport they know and understand in Kenya is athletics and rugby and one day what will happen in 2016 in Singapore one day will it come to pass I want that not to just be a one of it should be we should be in finals Kenya should be semifinals, finals and winning and eventually of course we want to revive safari 7's and we are ambitious enough to say that once safari 7's is back up to the level it was and surpassed we shall also be bidding now to have a world 7 series leg in Kenya Kenya is a beautiful country tourism destination and all that why don't we have a 7 series here but we have to prove ourselves we don't want any help I think we are good enough for us right now this year is because of the issues we have had we need to get that we have government support a lot of it including for this world rugby and the 20 trophy but going forward we need to be self reliant but to do but we have a bigger part to do we cannot just be begging all the time Kenya rugby used to be nominated and won sports team of the sports federation of the year it was running well and that's what we need to do and it's just the culture has to come back I think we have the team that can do it on the board the team on the ground but one is not in that because as I said the quality is there we have players, the one thing we don't lack is players, we don't have to import players we have them and of course we have passionate people who have been running teams and national teams and their own teams and very hard circumstances where there are no sponsors people are chipping their own money I mean even the Kenya the lionesses team their own coaches were also paying the players it's embarrassing and I'm saying we have people we have used our resources and of course now it's showing but these are the people who should be getting national honours so we will also be pushing in December for people we can give a story Kenya rugby has stories people coming there was a book that came out I think 100 years ago 100 years exactly it's actually 110 years 10 years plus so that book is available and the story is there and that is part 1 so he's already working because there's a lot and there's a lot more content now but the story is there and maybe we want to see this on Netflix in a few years the rise of Kenya rugby getting to a World Cup win name and all that people making money from the game the talent is there players going to France to India or Japan and in good money that is possible it is possible quite an insightful conversation with one man who means well for the development and growth of the sport Sasha Alexander Mutai joining us this particular afternoon to share the plans and aspirations he has towards the revival of rugby he enjoys huge fanatical following countrywide and his main agenda is professionalize the sport and attracts sponsors back at the helm of Kenya rugby and something that was being witnessed back in the day and I think this is the conversation we will keep having as day goes by so that we see the growth of the sport and the teams both Kenya National Rugby Seven team Shujia alongside 15 Simba and Lionesses performing particularly at the continental stage but even on the international platform because he says just like we did in Singapore Seven conquering during HSBC World Seven series you won't be seeing this being a one of an ongoing event that Kenya would be conquering at the global stage thank you for coming through Sasha it's been amazing and pleasure having you on board probably we look forward having you even as we keep talking about development and growth of the sport it would be my pleasure to come here and update you and tell the fans what's happening and all fans need to come and watch the games and support the team and buy the shirts and other shirts these are available we will get one but there is one thing that has been troubling we have been doing this interview and I just want to ask is this the monaco tagua classic yeah kalima 56 it's the monaco soro with this love for watches soro with this love for watches then it's a pleasure doing this don't go and stay tuned, touchline continues very good afternoon


Dig, you're very welcome now. Thank you very much for having us. We have Paul, Kieran, Aaron and Jordan. Hello to you all. Hello. So for people that aren't too sure of Dig, maybe you can give us a wee intro, Kieran. What would I call it? Neo-psychedelia, I suppose it's like a cover all genre. There's not really one thing that we stick to and I think that's the thing about it. And I wish that was by design, but it's kind of just whatever falls into it. That's the way it's went? The way it's went, yeah, just sort of whatever you get into at the time. Do you write much your own? Yeah, that's all the stuff we wrote. It's all original? Yeah. So together as a band, how long did you together? It's not that long really. A year and a half, maybe? It was probably a writing song for the band. Yeah, I was doing it as a Kieran's own project and he brought other people on to it at the end to flesh it out.  I had tunes before the boys were involved and I recorded them and released them and then got an opportunity to play. Now them songs have come together as Dig. Are you happy with the final product? Yeah, of course. But it changed some of them completely as well. Is that right? Was the other's input, other people's input? Yeah, it changed the way I wrote tunes as well. I would be scared to get overly complicated with stuff like drums because I'm not an adequate sort of bass player, you know? But then I've had tunes for years that I just never bothered doing and then sure you had the boys, so get them done and see what we can do with them and they do change every time you bring them to them, you know? It's good you have other people's input on them too. It's good that you're able to take that on board. Some people will be very protective of their own music. I think I am as well at the same time. I think if I don't like something, I'll say. All right, so we're different players from the wings here. But then that was always set out from the beginning. It works as well because we're four of us. Well, there's actually five, Adam's not here, but we have all very different kind of styles of music that we like. Very good. So there's a nice blend that comes together. You get them five different genres, you know? You know, there's a lot of time you don't get that because as you say, a lot of bands sort of stick to the one format. But you have different genres coming in sometimes. It doesn't work so that's important. Good having an idea and being able to say to them and they're able to translate it easily with that. Right, Kearon, we're going to go into the first track first. OK, we're going to do Saloon Goon Boogie first. Yeah. OK, this is... Saloon Goon Boogie. And this is about... It's about being in the pub far too much. Right, right. And wishing those things would change. Well, from a man who was in a pub for a bit too long yesterday, I feel your pain. Right, we're looking forward to that when you're ready, let's. Thank you. Crack and tune, right, absolute crack and tune. The name, Dig, I probably asked you this before, Kearon, but my memories are bad. Where does that come from? Deeper down inside, you never know what you find and I don't know, it's sort of like exclamation, it's like... Yeah, so get you the exclamation. Get deeper, you know. Brilliant, well that's good enough. So, Oak Fast, is this your first time at Oak Fast? First time playing it, yeah, I worked the first one. I'm a sound engineer, so I did the first two days. And we did the sound for how many bands we did over the two days, yeah. But the stages were the big ones and the normal ones behind? No, the first year was just the one stage. One stage. And it was a big, like, you know, one in big tent, sort of thing. Yes, we've been at the most where I come from. So, yeah, it was, you know where the big stage is now? Yes, yes. Sort of, it was like there, but maybe a bit further up and where the one at the cafe wasn't there that year. Right, interesting. But I've been to every single one myself, actually, you know. And it's nice to get an opportunity to play at it. That's it, yeah, that was the goal of mine, actually, was just get to play it, you know. Play your own set, bring it. Get up there and do it, you know. Are you busy, gigging now? We're not so many, we were just in Manchester there. We had a gig in Manchester, yeah. You had a gig in Manchester? Yeah, we got asked by, what's the name? New Music Thursdays. New Music Thursdays. Olivia. Olivia. She asked us to come over and play. She didn't know we were based in Ireland. She'd heard your stuff and said, Well, I followed the page one day because I have a friend who lives in Manchester and I was in France and I got a message and I was like, yeah, we'll play. I said, you do know where we live in Ireland? She was like, no, is that a problem? I went, no, I'm sure we choose a holiday. And when did you go over? About three weeks ago. Took the boat with all the gear and drove over and just went for the crack. I heard you feigned that. I heard you feigned that event. How did it go for you, like? Yeah, it went well, yeah. It was like, it was quite, it was upstairs and like a cocktail bar sort of things. It was quite a big bar and people started filtering in and all that sort of stuff and it was good for you about in the end, yeah. She said she'd have us back anyway, so. Yeah, well, that's good. It was nice to get like kind of crows like considering nobody knew who we were as well. You see, that's what I'm sort of daunting. I think I'd be terrified if we go and see. Yeah, you do have that fear, like when you do a gig, it's going to mean nobody had it at all. It was nice, like, you know, there was a good crowd at it. But it was like, I suppose it's like, there's no loss like if no one turns up. No, I don't know. I don't know. Going off the crack. You still would be, I would be. I was a nervous wreck the whole time. Everyone else was enjoying themselves, right? And I think I had two bottles of beer afterwards and I was like, I'm going to bed after I get the boat in the morning. Everyone else went out and just got smacked. As you do, as you do. Well, that's brilliant. So where did you land up? Oak Fest. I'm not sure yet. We might be doing the New Year's Eve thing in the baller again. I must actually talk to Connor. We did that last year. That was sold out as well. Oh, yeah. We'll be back on there again. I hope so. That's sold out. Last year it was sold out, yeah. Many acts were on that night. Three. There was us. There was Jason Derry and Rackus Roll. Yeah. They're on it. They're playing Oak Fest. Yeah. Jordan's in. Rackus Roll. And Adam's on it as well. And Adam is in Rackus Roll as well. It's kind of nice. One of the bands on this collective is that we just kind of chop and change and make bands within bands. Yeah. We do that gig in the cottage as well. That's right. We did a gig with Tommy Byron. When you're saying that, Jordan, do you find it difficult to change over times? No, not really. No, because we'll play drums and dig in Rackus Roll and then we'll play bass for Jason Derry most of the time. It'd be very different kinds of playing, you know what I mean? I think with care and stuff, I kind of have more free reign to focus on just drumming. Yes. But with the other band, because I'm kind of writing songs as well, you kind of focus on the whole thing. And I would kind of write deliberately to kind of not pop myself, like showing off or anything I got there. Just kind of write a good all-round song, you know what I mean? Good stuff. Whereas I'll write a tune and I'll say to Jordan, show off please. Make it better. No pressure. Where do you record? Where do you record? I do it all myself at home because I work in the baller as well and I can use that spot there to do a bit of drum recording and stuff when there's no shows on, obviously. Baller busy, isn't it? It was really busy this last week here at the musical. That was phenomenal. The young ones were amazing, wasn't it? It was actually really impressive how good they were and how short of a space of time they did it. They don't know their night. I think it was a Saturday night. I was in the band for that as well. So was Adam, I think. And I was a sound engineer. Adam's playing everybody. We had a dig on Saturday at Bale Holy Farm. We weren't talking dig in there. That's good. That group of young people, the energy, I sent them up here to the Saturday, Rory up here. I loved to see that in young people. It was brilliant. And the songs were, they wouldn't have had them.  Don't even mention all that, yeah. Well done. Right, we're going to take another song. After this next hour break, we'll come back with it. What's the next song? Boom, boom, boom. New Fear Unlocked. And that's about... It's about the fear of losing the person you love. Brilliant. Dig after this break. Don't go away. The new Corolla Hybrid Electric range is here. And the Corolla Cross SUV is the latest addition to the iconic family. Spacious and beautifully designed, it's perfect for growing families everywhere. And it's available to order now at Kelly's Toyota Letter Kenny among Charles. With exceptional electric drive time and no plugging in, the next generation is ready to take over. See the new Corolla Cross today at Kelly's Toyota Letter Kenny among Charles. Toyota, built for a better world. Terms and conditions apply. Transform your home with a visit to McGinley's Furniture Letter Kenny. Located at the Port Link Business Park, just off the Port Road. You'll find a huge selection of top quality suites, beds and mattresses. Also slide robes and custom made dining and occasional furniture. With prices to suit every budget. See the great choice for yourself at our showroom, McGinley's Furniture Port Link Business Park Port Road Letter Kenny. Click McGinley's Furniture dot com. Broadcasting throughout the Northwest and across the world online. Your voice, your station. Grace, how are you today? I'm writing again, Cairn. When you sit with a song in your head as it, you know, when you say you work with different styles, different music and different musicians, do you take in mind where it's worth you or is it for you, you know?  Or what do you need? I think I just make it and then sort of go if I can't figure out a part for something just say, have you got something like, we've got a song called Saber Tooth which I haven't even finished writing the lyrics for yet but it's just a very basic chord progression.  It's kind of, I don't know, that song we just played there that was very much, I think I had it all in my head what I wanted in it. There was no, so I wrote the bass part for it, the guitar I wrote that riff as well and I wanted the drum to be just really simple and then other times you can bring another song we have, it changes sometimes it's, the change is good when you bring it to you go, ah, that's good you just keep that when you start messing around Do you stick to one style? No. You just check, you can check. I listen to all sorts of stuff anyway.  Sometimes it's like other songs and you go, ah there's a lyric there or that's, I like that style or there's a pop song so like like the Supremes or something, I go into the Supremes there for ages and every, me and Jordan was listening to T-Rex for ages and then I was like, oh yeah T-Rex and then the sort of, I had that riff but it wasn't in that style so I was like, I will do it in the style of T-Rex and make it a bit more glam-rocky and sort of Do you think that Mark Bourne and Lever are sort of a lasting legacy of music? Definitely, 100%, yeah like he's, I think he's underrated as well I've always said that, because I loved him when he was, you know when he was alive, I remember his music coming out and the suddenness of his death and stuff and I always said that he was underrated I put that down to the fact that there were more of a singles band and like, Bowie was like the making of an album sort of thing and they were like the same time and I don't know I think they were seen as like, oh, the next single no one goes, you don't go what's the best T-Rex album, you go what's the best T-Rex album, you know there's people talking in terms of Bowie and he's like, do you look at some of his songs now like, she has a pure class even though, you know Cosmic Dance, it gets me all the time and it's a masterpiece, it really is Do you yourself, Paul, you're big into the songwriting era? Yeah, dude, we put on my own stuff as well Nothing out yet, Kieran does help me, I had a riff it's actually rubbed on like a lot of synths so we'll try and see if we can do something like that there, bring that to the table now and get it done like and bring it? Yeah, so that'll be nice I only have a riff pattern and I've got no lyrics for it so you can work as well I think you said to me one day you guys, you take that and do your words I always intrigued I'm always intrigued by every person that writes and performs writes different things you know, different things, sparks things in their heads, some people write it down some people talk it into a recording device and I'm always amazed some of the greatest songs start so simply, you know and what about yourself, Aaron do you touch the songwriting? Just very, in a very small way it's more of a personal quiet thing that I do myself I haven't recorded much, but I do a small bit of it a couple of e-fiddley bits that I've accumulated over the years that haven't made it out yet Do you bring them forward to us? No, I haven't actually brought it You're too scared to say so Aaron's got it wrapped up nicely but now with a good view of recording that at some stage, whenever the songs come together and whenever I'm honest I put some lyrics on them and things like that Do you find that songwriting therapeutic? Definitely It can be frustrating as well I was working on a song today and I'm banging my head against the wall we might play it now, but the recording of it is doing my head in So as I say do you write songs I think I can get the right words if there's a situation in your life or something you know, saying something's happened do you write songs about your feelings and then you get sort of comfort from it? That new fear unlocked is about me, the fear of one day I woke up with this pang of anxiety about losing for some reason I thought my girlfriend was going to leave me not for any real reason, I was like what happened with that, that's a terrible thought and then I was like that's a new fear unlocked and I was like that's a good little title for a song actually and then you write a poem based on that and then add a chord progression and then you work the melody into you find a melody trying to jigsaw the words into it sometimes they don't work and then you have to change them around so it's a process but it's like when it clicks it's a good feeling songwriters groups they have some people go songwriters sessions or whatever I know there's one what's his name guy who's a very good songwriter, Kieran Lavery he does ones up in near Belfast he's an amazing songwriter but I don't know how I could sit in another room with someone else eyeball to eyeball whenever I'm trying to put my feelings down on the page or something that would be a bit weird it's like a counselling sort of thing isn't it exposing yourself a bit how are you feeling today and it's like well you'll find that one this might be sitting obviously going Jesus enough to have a hero I'm going to be agnominous I don't know what to say Jordan yourself do you do that songwriting just with the other band Rackett's Rule we're called we want to start doing a collaborative writing with each other five of us in the band two of my brothers are part of it we just came up with the idea well me two brothers we wanted to start a band with another fella John Claes isn't he we've just been good friends we always got to talk about the idea let's just start a band and then one day we were just sitting in the cottage we decided we're just going to do it and stop chatting about it but in that band you just have like three different songwriters that John's style is different to your style very very different so we're playing Oak Fest or Oak Fest and even I could point out the songs that Josh has written, that I've written and that John's written it really is there is such a contrast such a different status just of all the different influences that we have it does I know for the listener like myself I'm actually looking forward to hearing you know both bands just to see you know the difference and that's great, right enough chatting could we get another song if you don't mind yep what's this one called I need to get the lyrics here because I keep forgetting them take a time there's no big rush this one's before anyone else totally different song again than the first one totally different style yeah and it's one of them songs you know like a Bowie type thing you can go on I'm going to say go on, I mean in a positive way your instrumental part on it is equally important there's like a mantra sort of thing brilliant will that be part of your playlist on that's going to be Oak Fest, yeah how long has it been I don't actually know is it, yeah I just tuned in it's Digg who will be performing on the Saturday the 9th of September at Oak Fest and as I said earlier on the lineup was just something else, it's going to be a brilliant weekend and let's see someone was someone sent a text in saying love that style of music and they remind me of the 70s music which I love compliment without a doubt right we're going to love to get a final song and the final one is after me break that's not the name of the song I have to think about it well you think about it we'll take a nap break well Grace, how are you today I'm good, I've just been down to the mid to measure fireplaces showroom in Chrysler they have an incredible selection of over 40 colours for kitchen work tops and guess what, for a limited time they're offering a 40% discount on any electric fire when you purchase a work top there 40% that's an amazing deal Grace absolutely and trust me if the discount alone doesn't sway you they're a huge selection of fireplaces stoves wood pellet burners beams and stone cladding certainly well contact mate to measure fireplaces Chrysler on 074 91 38 365 on Facebook, Instagram and on mtmfireplaces.ie that's Andre and Casemoda all with 20% off choose from a selection of shirts, holos and t-shirts with up to 50% off suits also up to 50% off and many more great savings throughout in the big summer sale now on at Watson men's wear Main Street, Letter County and at Watsonmen'swear.com I don't remember a band from Sixies County County, I yeah yeah not that kind of a rock, what do you call it road trip sort of rock maybe I'm wrong they don't swing up the country yeah, swing up the country refrance but loads of stuff they had but that's kind of a road trip rock I get maybe I'm wrong we're all in the snug listening to dig all the way where's the snug snug's in Sonora above keys good stuff yourself Joe Neal thanks for the shout out do you know he's in there do you know he's in there he just told me he's been in there a bit too long well don't watch what else should be doing in the morning that's absolute pleasure brilliant music really looking forward to this this set in Oak Fence Saturday the 9th and dig will be live so we just want to say Paul and Kieran and Aaron and Jordan thanks very much indeed people want to get in touch with you on social media Instagram Facebook all the usual spots run Spotify and Apple and streamers everywhere, YouTube and all that stuff the full ten yard as I say thanks very much indeed and we're looking forward to the session and the set in Oakfield Park and Oak Fest thank you very much that is dig thank you