What appealed to me the most with Symphony Music was just the nuance and the attention to detail. My first 3 or 4 years studying classical percussion we didn't we didn't do base roles.

 

We did a 2, technical exercises, and that kind of thing. And that's what appealed to me. It was just a challenge. Try and overcome. You know? And my teacher, he was a brilliant guy.

 

You know, he had me doing some of the most difficult things when I was just 13 and 14 years old. Years later, he would say, the reason you could play him was I never told you they were hard, which is something I carry with me now.

 

Alrighty, folks. Welcome back to transacting value, where we're encouraging dialogue from different perspectives to unite over shared values.

 

Our theme for 20 22 is the character of your character. Who you see when you look your values in the mirror. Today, we're talking our August core values of generosity, justice, and tact.

 

With orchestral percussionist and professional pedalthist, mister Ernie Porthouse. We're gonna talk a little bit about some of his hobbies, talk a little bit about some percussion and a lot of bit about Fekatya.

 

If you're new to the podcast, welcome. And if you're a continuing listener, welcome back. Without further ado. Folks, I'm Porter. I'm your host, and this is transacting value. How you doing? I'm doing well.

 

Thanks. A good day. Get a lot of work, helped a lot of people today, and hopefully, I get up and get to do the same thing tomorrow. AND CONTRA BLESSEN JUST FOR SURE. BEFORE WE GET INTO ALL OF THOSE THINGS, LET ME JUST START WITH YOU.

 

I WAS RAISED, A BORN AND RAISED IN THE CANADIAN QUIRBLEMENT OF PISPER, SCEL 10. Hamilton. I think we're at just about 700000 strong now. It's in the GTA greater Toronto area. About 20 minutes west of Toronto.

 

And now I live in Brantford, Ontario, which is 20 minutes further west of Hamilton, Homo Buenci, if you're a sports fan. This is where he was born and raised. Hundred percent of the shots you don't take, I think, started with him.

 

Right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's as close to my Canadian knowledge base as it gets. Especially when it comes to sports. It's not really my forte. But so what are some things that, you know, growing up in and around Toronto?

 

What were some hobbies or what are some hobbies that, you know, sort of developed your perspective? What made you you? Hamilton being a steel town was built by immigrant battalions. Quite a few of the Ukrainianss live here as well.

 

I mean, I grew up in in a little suburb of of Hamilton called still increased so many Italians that we called it. Tony Creek. And unfortunately, at that time in my life, I was born in 61.

 

We were raised to really mock the Italian culture because it was just, you know, not what we were used to. And, you know, later in life, I've become just enamored with Italian cultures.

 

So at least I finally arrived. Right? Yes. So, you know, that's what Stony Creek was like. We were also blessed in a in a city small as Hamilton was, at the time, in the mid seventies, they mounted a professional Symphony orchestra.

 

And the conductor for it was world renowned. He studied under some of the greatest conductors of all time. And in New York City. It was definitely bigger than the cities deserved at the time.

 

So that really enriched the high culture of the city. And that's probably what was responsible for me getting to be a member of the Hamilton of Monica's show was my dad was a school teacher. And he didn't want me studying drums.

 

He basically said that if if I'm gonna pay for your lesson, then I get to decide who you take from. So he He foot me in with the professional percussion, it's so so harmonic, and that's where it all started.

 

I imagine there's worse places to start. I mean, it puts you pretty stellar rise. Right? So Absolutely. But, you know, for for a kid who grew up on rock and roll and, you know, my hair was down.

 

Way past my shoulders to get involved with a symphony orchestra was not probably something that was gonna happen unless I was pushed the way I was. That makes sense. Go in that direction.

 

But as I understand, a lot of genres of music are sort of based in revolving around classical theory anyways. Right? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. So what sort of ties did you find between the 2 going from rock and roll almost backwards?

 

You know, to retrograde towards towards classical or or Yeah. You know, what appealed to me the most with symphony music was just the nuance and the attention to detail.

 

My first 3 or 4 years studying a classical percussion, we didn't do bay total. We did a 2, technical exercises, and that kind of thing.

 

That's what appealed to me. It was just a challenge to try and overcome. You know? My teacher, he was a brilliant guy. You know, he had me doing some of the most difficult things when I was just 13 or 14 years old.

 

Years later, he would say, the reason you could play them was I never told you they were hard. Which is something I carry with me now, with my students.

 

You just let them go as far as you think they can go rather than build up some kind of false expectation that this is going to be harder than it has to do. And that's kind of the interesting thing too.

 

I think it says an awful lot about the controls that we place on ourselves or the controls that inadvertently we place on other people, like through teaching, for example, or just mentoring or or being in a public sphere, where I may intuitively understand that what I'm trying to accomplish is complicated and I get frustrated and that makes me think that it's difficult as sort of a -- Right.

 

-- mechanical process of thinking. But until I say it out loud, once I accomplish it, it's not really any harder than anything else because it's now been accomplished.

 

Exactly. And so my Level of ineptitude or ignorance or whatever as a starting baseline made it difficult, but really the fact that the task got accomplished makes it just as easy as everything else to do now once you get it once.

 

That's right. How long did you play?

 

All my life, I started playing drums and I was 5 or 6. 0, and still? And still, yeah, I still play professionally. Oh, okay. Well, so at at the risk of unveiling my level of ignorance here, how are your chops on wipeout?

 

Yeah. Yeah. Well, I I could I could play wipe over my feet. Okay. Okay. So I'm I'm a little I'm a little outclassed here on a knowledge base. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

 

Well, thanks for that. So it's strange whenever you think whenever I think of symphonic percussion, I don't picture any crazy paradiddles or, like, jazz syncopation or or anything complex state coordination. Is that a thing? Oh, yeah.

 

Oh, yeah. It you know, the thing is I'm a bit of a unicorn because I do play jazz as well, and I and I play RMB and and and I'm a a drum set player as well. So I've got a great perspective of of both of those and of the spectrum.

 

And, you know, the 1 thing that dawned on me, practice your rudiments, practice different licks, you play with guys, you practice your time. But when you're improvising, you're doing things that are within your hands.

 

You know, like, they there's things your your hands know how to do. So you feel comfortable doing it. You might stretch yourself out and try to play a little faster or something, or or something new comes along.

 

But when you're playing classical music, it's somebody else's decision. So they come up with things that, in a lot of cases will stretch you beyond where you would try to push yourself.

 

So that's that's that's a really kind of a unique thing. You know, they you know, composers, they're always pushing the envelope of what's physically possible.

 

I mean, human and bully go so fast. And human hands can only play so quietly, but they'll push that. They'll say, Well, I want it to sound like this, you know, and whatever they say they want you to do.

 

That's what you practice. It's limiting in that the notes are there, they're they're preconceived, and and that's what you're expected to play. But at the same time, it didn't come out of my head.

 

So it does stretch me in in directions that I know it normally wouldn't have taken my stuff. Well, and that's the key right there. Right? It's almost parallel, I guess, when it comes to music or just overall what would you call it?

 

Instrumentation, I suppose. I say you, but as a general reference, you're only gonna push yourself as far as you've already controlled and placed limitations on, you know. Exactly.

 

Do you think that's more in your case specifically because people get uncomfortable pushing past that or expect some sort of self sabotage like they're not gonna be able to succeed or Like, why do you think it is that people are able to rise to the challenge of others' demands more often than sometimes their own or to greater extent when it's other people's demands than their own.

 

That's a good question. You know, like my going back to what my teacher said, you know, I I never told you at this part.

 

There's not a a chain around you. So you would expect it of yourself. And then sometimes trying to make yourself better, you conceive of something that's way beyond, a summit of a mountain that's never been climbed.

 

There's something that. And and you say to yourself, okay, so there's my goal then. Sure. I I wanna be able to play this faster than anybody has in the history of That kind of thing. And that happens all through music.

 

You know, check somebody else, like, so like Eddie Van Ham and having all the best pedals and guitars and all the rest, stretched him to be, you know, 1 of the greatest of all time. Sometimes those limitations can make us better.

 

It caused him to stretch virtually passed anybody. You know, what he could do with his guitar was just amazing. And he learned that because he didn't have all the fancy pedals to make his guitar sound the way he wanted it to.

 

So he had to come up with ways that his hands could do it. So that pushed him in a direction. Nobody told him it was hard. He just wanted to come up with a way of doing it. Yeah. There's something to be said for creators.

 

You know, now present day, I feel like that term, especially I I say social media, but, you know, whatever digital platform you attribute that to or whatever news outlet or or newspaper or public discourse you attribute to this, social media sort of almost scapegoats creators as people that make YouTube videos as people that have millions of Instagram followers.

 

You know? But that connotation or title was like a a revolutionary thing in any industry over the last however many centuries you wanna Try attribute that too.

 

Right? Like, Eddie Van Helen specifically, for example, playing guitar while, you know, look at the Hendrix.

 

You know, playing the guitar backwards, or playing the music backtrack backwards to play his music, and then playing it forward, like, all sorts of crazy things that you can hear about now, which factor fiction, I I choose to believe they were true.

 

And and and that sort of creativity I think is ultimately what it comes down to to be able to enact what's in your head, or come up with these ideas in your head, or that sort of coordination.

 

TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. BUT -- I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT LITTLE MISING VERYABLE IS THAT LITTLE TRACE ELEMENT OF SOMETHING THAT SAYS Fucked the limitations. Let's see what happens.

 

Right. You know, because that's not common no matter how natural it might be. Right. Yeah. You know, check out somebody like Igor Stravinsky, you know, a hundred years ago, virtually doing things that wouldn't fly today.

 

In terms of society, you know. The rate of spring was was a ballet performed in the new, because the riots, you know.

 

You'd be hard for us to try and make that happen, you know, today -- Yeah. Yeah. -- on Broadway or anything else like that. So yeah. People have been doing that for a long, long time.

 

We think of ourselves in the modern era as as the modernist, but it's been around for, you know, some of the wordali, those kinds of surrealist painters, and all that stuff, you know, the envelope's been pushed for a long long time.

 

Oh, yeah. Either that or it's just a really big envelope and it hasn't moved. Yeah. No. But, like, even aside from artistic creative type mindsets in perspectives, right? Look at Benjamin Bannister, I think, was his name.

 

Right? Broke the 4 minute mile. High jumps. It's something like I I don't remember, 17 feet, something insane. Until it was done, it was impossible, the wright Brothers, you know, everything in between landing on the moon.

 

You know? In 09:19 actually, So I've got a house that's almost 95 years old. Oh, wow. Yeah. Well, I thought it'd be cool because of the character, no pun intended for the show.

 

But, like, I thought it'd cool till I had to do some rental work, and nothing was up to code. And because it got torn apart, it had to get brought up to code.

 

Bogor. Yeah. It it carried its own lessons and and budgetary concerns for sure. But, you know, so there's planks on the second floor, and that's what makes the subfloor. Upstairs.

 

On top of the planks, it was like quarter inch plywood, and then there was carpet and other flooring or whatever on that. Well, I pulled up the quarter inch plywood, and I found but I found the 08/20/1965 edition of the newspaper.

 

Oh, wow. Yeah. And 1 of the articles that was in there, I actually cut it out and framed it. I thought it was pretty neat, was an individual who worked for NASA as a no kidding rocket scientist.

 

In 19 65, they quoted him in the article as saying, we're getting really close to landing on the moon, and I think we can do it within this decade.

 

And in the next 10 years, we're gonna have space tourism. I doubt he was the first 1 to publicly vocalize that sentiment Right? But until somebody started to say, I think we can make it to the moon.

 

Nobody did. I think the flip side of that, and I'd like to get your opinion on this, is it has to be consistently maintained, that technology, that insight, that innovation, that level of whatever knowledge base applies.

 

Otherwise, you forget it. It's all perishable. Sure. So Well, you know, I think complacency is a big part of that equation.

 

We live in an era now that very few wants and needs and everybody's got a cell phone, and digital technology is permeating, pedortic, it's permeating music, it's permeating everything, and I feel really strongly that when I mentor other podorises on how to do things, but I go way back original old school stuff this is what you do, this is why you do it, and I let them understand the evolution because if they don't get all of that back evolution of how we arrive, it becomes placed the the dizzy way of doing things.

 

And when it doesn't work or something's wrong, they can't reverse engineer and say, oh, well, I know what's going on here. They're, you know, they healed in the wrong position or anything else like that.

 

They're a slave to that technology at that point, and it stops. Hey, y'all. It's Juul's here with the b and the bear creations. We specialize in custom tumblers, t shirt, car decals, and anything else you can think of.

 

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And when it doesn't work, or something's wrong, they can't reverse engineer and say, oh, well, I know what's going on here. They're gonna the heels in the wrong position or anything else like that.

 

They're a slave to that technology at that point, and it stops. Yeah. You know, we need somebody who's old school to look at it and go, oh, well, see, there it's obvious, you know.

 

Yeah. But but you don't get that perspective unless you go through all that old ways. Yeah. Definitely. We had an interview with a guy.

 

He brought up the similar point. And so he's a trucker actually out of basically Albany area, and he had talked about the same sort of position, you know, where where you've gotta pay attention to experience.

 

And if you don't, you're only gonna rely on what you have as a result of lacking it.

 

Yep. Even in the military, for example, as we're trying to teach people, and I imagine boy scouts even as similar as we're trying to teach people to get around on land and walk around and and whatever.

 

I spent the majority of my career in the infantry, now it's easy, and in some cases, commonplace to rely on a GPS to get around. Yeah. What happens when the batteries die?

 

What happens on an overcast day? What happens when the satellites misread your position? Any number of things happen? You know? So what was a hurdle was how do you do the same thing but with this map and with this protractor.

 

You know, here's how you use a compass, here's how use the stars. Here's how you go about doing these things without any technology reliance -- Right. -- relevance. And the biggest pushback was this is the dumbest thing I've ever done.

 

It's sorta cool. But why would I do this? I have a GPS. Yeah. And that's exactly that's exactly what I'm getting at with with regards to the orthoped. And that's why I start the people that I start with in old school.

 

Because then, when they get to the digital technology, they understand that that digital technology is doing all of that stuff for us, rather than the other way around being being bored into the digital world and then looking back and saying, well, why would I do that?

 

Stupid. No. It's not stupid. You you got everything backwards, man. You got you gotta think, this is the way we figured it out before, and this is how easy you have it now.

 

Well, yeah, now I think sometimes that's warranted, right, because efficiency does tend to improve over time. So -- Sure. You know, but but at the sacrifice of appreciation, sometimes, you know, it it becomes detrimental.

 

The the additional efficiency or or comfort or convenience or whatever. Yeah. You know, and sometimes the the digital world just gets it wrong. Yeah.

 

And if if you don't if you don't know the old tool way of doing it, like, with the GPS or something like that, if it fits on the coordinates, and and you're just, you know, plays to the technology, you say, well, I I guess I'm in Japan.

 

And, you know, you're not. You gotta have a mind for that. You know what I mean? And the only way you're gonna get a mind for that is to know the old way. You look at the stars and go, no. This is in Japan.

 

You know? Yeah. I'm facing north. I'm at this spot. Well, how do you know? Because the sun's on my left and it's morning. Like, well, time out. Wait a second. You know, there's talked about complacency or the potential for it.

 

In any particular industry, and as you're working with people teaching training them whatever, just explaining your perspective like now, it's also just as easy to fall back sometimes and say, yeah, but the way things are changing doesn't need to be done, I need to change with the times because what I've been doing is working.

 

And and I think sometimes that reluctance almost can counterbalance the complacency from the other side of the coin. It can cause its own problems to coming from both sides. Right.

 

If you found that to be anything that you've come across or had to deal with, where you just tried to bridge the gap between new and emerging things that you have to adjust to and older ways of doing things that are still reliable? No.

 

I I try to marry the 2. You know, percussion teachers, and that's pretty primitive, you know, 2 sticks in a in a shell. You know what I mean? Sure. There's no way the digital world will never come between my 6 and my grandma, you know.

 

And and when people come to learn from me, there's never that. So that might have given me a perspective on teaching pedortic or or anything else, but but the original school way of doing things.

 

And and and, you know, how we get to where we are. So there was never an opportunity for for somebody to think, why why bother with that? That's the old way of doing it. No.

 

It it's always gonna be that way. Just stick in your hand. For the longest time, when I was teaching at college, guys will come with, you know, the next big drumstick that they wanna buy, and they wanna spend thousands of dollars on it.

 

And they think it's gonna make them play better. You know? And then I guess that's the digital version of drummers.

 

It was always same thing to to my students, you know, save your money, invest in your hands. Don't think that that a shiny new drum set and expensive symbols are gonna make you play or sound better.

 

1, you gotta learn how to tune them. If your hands aren't doing the job, then your hands aren't doing the job, the drum's not gonna do it for you, which is what digital technology and just about every other profession kinda does.

 

I mean, that that's the benefit to automation. Yeah. But that's the whole point. And, I mean, obviously, you've got auto tuning, and you've got all these other sounds that you can make now.

 

It's not the same quality. I'm gonna have this random audio format It sounds clean and crisp and clear and whatever, but it doesn't beat a live performance.

 

Right. Any additional worth of metal won't stand for auto tune. If I go into a a recording studio and I'm recording Tensity and instead of I kick myself in the head, and I I get my shit together.

 

But to to suggest that an engineer should automatically tune my Tiffany for me. That's that's a no fly zone. And that's that's part of what makes you proud of yourself that you do it and do it right.

 

Yeah. And that you know how. I think the competency also differentiates a certain level of pride and satisfaction in and fulfillment in a lot of cases too.

 

Yeah. Before we get into those things, let's take a break. Ernie, sit tight for a second, everybody else will be back here on transacting value.

 

Folks, I'm Porter, host of the transacting value podcast. You're being personally invited to increase empathy worldwide through shared values. Hey. But why do you say it like that? That's not what we talked about.

 

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The least we can do is invite them out to hear more of the content that they enjoy while still reminding them that season and season 2 of the podcast are still listed under the old name as DYT the podcast.

 

Right. That makes sense, Porter. But just tell them that if they go to tube and search survival day at y t, they can find all the old videos in playlists.

 

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Alrighty, folks. Welcome back to transacting value again on Porter. What we're focusing on in this particular interview with Ernie is generosity, justice, and tact. Again, that's our values for August. First of all, Ernie, welcome back.

 

Pleasure to be here. Yeah. Yeah. No problem at all. I I appreciate you making some time to be able to sit down and have a conversation because I I gotta tell you 1 things you brought up, the wisdom of the ages, so to speak.

 

Yeah. Yeah. And lessons learned and things like that. And I don't think on a sort of public setting anyways, that those types of conversations really are as open as they used to be because in my opinion, there's more distractions now.

 

Interesting. You know, so here here's what I mean. Whether it's technology or animals or a lot of cars or whatever the distraction happens to be.

 

If there's something that you're interested in to go do, you go do that. Right? You gravitate towards what makes you happy, generally speaking. But if you have nothing, you're hoping for a shelter, if you're lucky, type nothing.

 

Mhmm. What you do is you talk to people and you learn from people. Right? So What we've learned is the fishermen, the farmers, those types of agrarian societies tended to be a lot more community driven because what else is there?

 

You talk to each other, you do trades, you do your jobs, you live your life, communicate all the time about bigger topic.

 

But now, do you see that there's a need to have those big talk type conversations. Everything seems to be sort of more commonly superficial, I think, when it comes to conversations.

 

Have you seen that throughout your life? Any changes? You know, I I saw a lot of kids when I was teaching college, it didn't seem to be just joining.

 

We I mean, he and he had conversations, especially as a teacher, there's an obligation to be honest with your kids. Sure. Can I say my kids, like, my my my students? Yeah. I think I would I would evoke those conversations from them.

 

I wouldn't I wouldn't stand for any superficiality. There wasn't time. You know what I mean? Like you in the desert you know, the it's just the tool that so what can we do? Well, we'll communicate.

 

We'll share. We'll we'll talk. It was I felt my obligation to let the kids know where was that. What what expectations they should get from from being professional musicians? If that sort of superficiality exists, I don't tolerate it.

 

Yeah. It's it's never part of my life, you know, with the way When I would drive my grandmother down to Florida, I learned from a guy named Leo Scalia, it was just a personality on TV. I had written a lot of and stuff like that.

 

And and he was on a little communication. And and I learned from that, I I would ask her, you know. So, Grant, tell me tell me a time in your life when we're the most afraid. And and things like that.

 

So in my interpersonal relationships, I don't stand for that for a second, you know. So I'm probably the wrong guy to ask for that. Because because they just wouldn't put up with it. People can be that way because they're shy.

 

People can be that way because they're embarrassed, or ashamed or anything like that, and I try to I try to break down any of those barriers that they may have put up. And just just tell me what's going on.

 

You know, but, you know, my dad died when I was just 20 years old. So ever since then, I've felt a bit of an immediacy to everything I do in my life. That's 1 of those things that I, yeah, superficial conversation. I have no time for.

 

Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. And it's a weird balancing act, not that it necessarily matters all the time, but between the perception of that attitude, in oh, you can't be bothered, oh, you think you're better than type responses?

 

Yeah. A genuine, like, you know no. I I actually just appreciate the time that I have and try to make the most of it. Ironically, I guess, if people don't ask those types of big questions, maybe it doesn't get said.

 

That's right. You're absolutely right there. Yeah. I think that's definitely a thing that now digitization of perspectives like this podcast has going for it as a benefit, you know?

 

Because for example, I've I've told my son before, you may not think to ask these questions when you're older, and I may not remember the answers.

 

You know? So we need to make good with it. Yeah. You know? So we need to make the effort to have conversations now. To whatever end, almost doesn't matter. It's just trying to have them.

 

You know, it's like building a habit of thought behind the content of a conversation or the depth of a conversation potentially. For the habit of action as to how to formulate it when you talk to people. Sure.

 

You know, my experience as a teacher, you know, from the age of 14, I guess they developed a technique where to be able to break down those barriers and appreciate who it was that was sitting behind the drum set at the time, you know.

 

So, you know, what do you do today? And, you know, mumble, mumble.

 

Okay. Well, I've got a 14 year old boy here. He might, you know, for whatever reason, he doesn't wanna tell me this, You know, I'm an old man. Like, I don't worry about the reasons why so much is is how to how to break the barrier.

 

So understanding the person you're talking to is really important, you know. Sometimes they put on an air that you think is arrogant or not engaged or anything like that, And, you know, sometimes that is, you'll find out that yeah.

 

It's just a just a crappy little kid and and, you know, leave him alone kind of thing.

 

But, you know, there's ways to get into it. And most of the time, I found that that understanding the person I was talking to, trying to be, you know, annulate where they're coming from help me break down those barriers quite.

 

Yeah, there's something to be said for mirroring, not like a psychological approach to to talking. But, like, in terms of perspective, to try to reach people and and talk to them.

 

Yeah. Definitely counts for quite a bit. In in definitely a positive sense too, obviously negative where you can manipulate, but, like, towards a positive end state, you know.

 

I had a trap set when I was younger. K? Right. And it wasn't anything major. It was 1 bass drum, the floor, Tom, 2 Tom's high hat and a a ride cymbal and and a crash cymbal.

 

And that was More than he Tell me about it. And Yeah. Yeah. And so in in trying to figure out how to keep a rhythm, solos were never a thing for me.

 

Like, I didn't have the coordination or the confidence to move my right arm to another drum head. But, you know, I had a teacher at 1 point. I started trying to take lessons from.

 

I can't remember his name now. This is little Italian guy. He had he had hearing aids, but -- Oh, wow. -- but he hadn't lost any I mean, he was like a like a walking metronome. He just dressed like he never left the era.

 

Type guy. Yeah. Alright? Sure. Yeah. So, Rene, I walked in there, and I was that bratty kid. Oh, boy. I didn't I just I just didn't know what I didn't know and I didn't care to learn more. You know? I didn't wanna be there.

 

I didn't know why it was it was just 1 of those things, I guess, at the time. That particular day, anyways, he caught on to it. I will never forget what he told me that day. He said, you don't have to want to do this.

 

You just have to want to feel this. No. Yeah. And at the time, I had no idea what that even meant. It was interesting. And after that, it was like this weird fun rhythm that his body just started producing.

 

His hands and his snaps and his voice and his feet tap in, and he just went right back into the groove, like, in some sort of underground jazz scene and just went and dis he wasn't playing drums.

 

He wasn't holding sticks. It was just him, his body, just disappeared into the music. Sure. I think it's crazy. That level of passion and dedication and confidence and competence.

 

For 1, but the the flip side is being able to communicate that and to reach people and break through those types of barriers to where you can you can invite people in just for this was 25 years ago and to invite people into that moment of your perspective.

 

And I think music is 1 of those things that's just an way to do it.

 

That and probably food. Yeah. Right. It's it's incomparable. Speaking of food, you make Foccaccia. Yeah. So -- Yeah. -- can can you give me a a quick rundown and for anybody listening? It's a bread, but what -- Yeah.

 

-- what does that mean? What's so special about it? What do you do with it? 1 of my best things to say is that diamonds and gold had sex. Their love child would be full conscious. It's that's good. You know?

 

It's a it's a chili, tender bread comes from Italy. There are a number of different Kokaccia in Italy. We went to Italy in 29 team right when the pandemic was hitting, and I I discovered my love of of Italian culture food came back.

 

The pandemic hit, I started learning how to make a Neapolitan pizza. We went to Napoli, and I looked like, you know, I fell in love with that. We did the pilgrimage and you call it pizza place. So I joined a master class online.

 

I got a wood fired oven, and I started doing this. Turns master pizza maker, his family was from Barri, Italy, and they were Foccaccia makers. So he shared his family's recipe for Foccaccia. I started making it, and it's just so good.

 

And a lot of my friends musician friends, our industry was fascinated we didn't work for a year. Like, not 1 don't. It was horrible. And a lot of them were quite, you know, depressed, people dying all over the place.

 

So I thought, you know, these things are small little loaves of goodness. They've got, you know, cherry tomatoes, and kalamata olives, and oregano, and all this just incredible flavor.

 

I'll take I'll take somebody a precautions. So I I started up doing that, and and by the time the pandemic was starting to subside, I'd given away over 200 Jeez. And yeah. Then then the war hit.

 

And and the war really pissed me off. III don't like bullies. And and I feel that Russia is just bullying and and it's like it's just a horrible thing. Sure. And I I felt like I wanna do over a fight, but I'm an old man.

 

I can't do that. Yeah. And I can't really make orthotics to their arm either. So what do I do? But I can make Focasia, that I can do. So I started selling it. And I sold it to friends online, and it just caught on.

 

We sold last weekend, it was 10000 dollars that's insane. Congratulations. It's ridiculous. Thank you. Yeah. But, yeah, I thought maybe a thousand bucks, and I'll feel better. I'll be able to sleep at night.

 

Being on the dude's something. Sure. And it's just taken off. There's a there's a world famous chef that has a place just outside of Toronto. His name is Massimo Capra. And he got a hold of 1 of these full consents.

 

Oh, wow. And he followed me up. Yeah. And he said, man, what are you doing? Like, these things are incredible. I guess, I have a knack for this. I just lucked into a recipe. You know what I mean? Yeah.

 

And a prospect. And he was blown away by it. He said, anytime you want, you've got my kitchen. You just make them here. So once a week, I go to Massimo Kapra's kitchen in mississauga, Ontario, and he's got this gigantic bakers of them.

 

That's the size of the room I'm in right now. Just things normal. I go there, I hang out, we sift espresso, and he cooked some pretty cool things for lunch. He's part of it.

 

He loves the philanthropy, so he helps me out. It's a terrible experience. Yeah. It really is. Whoa. Yeah. Yeah. The evolution of how I got to this is is pretty weird. So You know, I may add this to my repertoire of things I do.

 

You know? I think it'd probably be smart. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. Row with punches wherever likely just, you know, don't swim upstream if you don't have to. And, yeah, maybe I'll do this.

 

And I got an act, man. I gotta tell you this stuff is yeah. It's it's the real deal. If I could send you some I would, so funny thing. You can. I have an address. We'll we'll talk more off the air about how I can get it online.

 

But for anybody listening who's interested in getting in touch with you potentially buying Fukadji or donating to your cause? I'd like to touch on that too. First, It's time for our final segment of the show.

 

Okay. Alright. So, it's called developing character, Here's how it works. 3 questions, Each 1 question focuses on a different time period. The first question, this is all from your present day perspective.

 

How do you now view the values of your past self. Past self being analytic? Sure. Well, you know, my adult life has been pretty firmly planted, you know, Yeah. It's my twenties.

 

It's my dad dying. You know, that that had a big impact on my life. You know, my values prior to 20, you know, honesty and and and integrity they've always remained, but, you know, living life as every moment really means something.

 

Probably would have wasted a little less time. But that's that has that's a lesson. I I forgive myself that. You know? Well, that's a big step in itself, isn't it?

 

Yeah. Question 2, what are some of your current personal values? Honestly integrity are really the foundation. So, you know, helping out people as much as I can. That means a lot to me. I I find you know, like, I'm just a musician.

 

Right? You know? And I and I I make orthotics but I managed to to raise 10 grand for Ukraine. Yeah. I see a lot of obscene wealth that could do a lot of good in this world that that doesn't being able to help people as much as I can.

 

I just bought a bicycle. It's called a tri shop. Power assist, and you put 2 people in the front and you ride them around. And my mom, she's a little bit she's not immobile, but I mean, she can't go out for a bike ride anymore.

 

Mhmm. So I I was looking up to find it for her to to take her for bike ride. Oh, that's okay. You know, we get her open park and in in the air flow. Turns out, there's this whole worldwide initiative called cycling without age.

 

It was started in the Netherlands, and you buy this what's called a Trisha, and you you become affiliated with the organization will put you in touch with nursing homes and that kind of thing.

 

And you get people that are that are stuck inside, you get them put in the tri shop and you ride them around. Well It's the coolest thing. So I just bought 1 of these bikes. I'm waiting on delivery in the next 2 weeks.

 

Yeah. That sounds cool. Yeah. Yeah. It is. So it it gets that that's my my values in action. Right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Generocity counts for quite a bit. And and, obviously, humility alongside it.

 

So Right. Yeah. Yeah. Sure. Sure. Alright. Well, question number 3. How do you now see your character and personal values changing as you get older? As they get older, I'm spending more time trying to help other people.

 

You know, there was a time when I I owned a a retail store, and it was a figure skating store. This girl, she was a figure skater. She was just budding world champion, and her sister was dying of cancer.

 

And the family couldn't afford anything. You know? They couldn't have been, like, they're just getting these cases, horrendously expensive, an instant expensive sport.

 

And and I always when I when I reminisce about that time in my life, and and I see a picture of her skating or something like that, because she did she made it to worlds, you know.

 

Yeah. I said, That's that's the girl I gave my last dollar to. Oh, cool. Because because there was a time in my life where I didn't have 2 nickels to run together, but I gave those 2 away.

 

For 1 of them away. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. So that as I get older, that's just accelerated. That that need to, you know, what can I do?

 

How can I help? And I I find that as being a pedorthist off in so so many times. You know, a a pair of orthopedic shoes is about 1500 to 2000 dollars for a pair. Uh-huh. And it's it's not brand scavenging.

 

Nobody goes fiji on that monitor, and they they work hard for it. And a lot of these people I visit, because I do I do clinical services mobile. I I go to nursing homes and stuff, and these people have no money.

 

So I I do what it costs. You know, I I don't lose money on it, but I don't make money on it either. It just it just try to make it work. And that just seems to be accelerating the order I get.

 

My my need to do that. Right. I don't know if there's a value or You start to see, especially how the impact you're able to make exponentially compounds on itself, generosity, specifically.

 

It's not only contagious, but it x exponentially grows. In in force -- Right. -- and in speed and in-depth. It's it's wild. You know, that that's the definition. That's the meaning to the reference for combining conquer.

 

However, the attribution applies by working together, by helping each other, by communicating with each other, that's how we thrive as societies, as people, as families, as whatever social structure applies to that.

 

Yeah. And and, yeah, I I think that's a perfect illustration of it. Ernie, I appreciate you taking some time.

 

If anybody wants to reach out to you like I brought up earlier, and get in touch with you, get in touch with any way they can support, especially through, in your case, Fekatia, for Ukraine, what are some options that you're willing to share for people to get in touch with you or support you?

 

Right now, the only vehicle is up to Facebook.

 

I have an open book there. They can see you're in any port house Facebook and just contacting there. Things are changing rapidly as sales start to go through the roof, and I can't cope and keep up.

 

So I imagine somewhere in my future there's a website that'll make this a lot easier. But when that happens, you'll be able to find out what the website is to my Facebook.

 

That's how where this all started. Okay. All right. Perfect. Well then, for everybody listening, we'll tag Ernie in the social media post marketing this particular interview.

 

Saying that, Ernie, I don't wanna hold you up. I understand you got dinner coming, but I I appreciate this opportunity and we'll be in touch. Thank you very much. THANK YOU. Reporter: ALREADY, folks.

 

WELL, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING INTO OUR COR VAL VALUES FOR August OF JENNEROSITY JUSTICE IN TAKED. Thank you to Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Trishaw, Foccaccia, for Ukraine, and of course, Chef Mossimo Copper, for your kitchen.

 

And everybody else for your inspiration and also to our show partners, Keystone Stone Farmers's Market, the BE and the Bear creations, and anchor for your distribution.

 

Folks if you're interested in joining our conversation, or want to discover our other interviews, check out transactingvalue podcast dot com.

 

And remember, you can follow along on social media too. While we continue to stream new interviews every Monday at 9AM Eastern Standard Time, on all your favorite podcasting platforms. Until next time. That was transacting value.