Episode 14: Ethan Brown
Ethan Brown means so many things to both me and the world. Besides the titles of son, brother, father, husband, friend, bartender, boss, and expert, he has earned the right to be called kind, thoughtful, clever, witty, warm, and a bucketful of other things, too. He’s the portal to what’s hip. He’s a vehicle for what’s hilarious. He’s the embodiment of passionate when it comes to the things he loves, and his presence is the elixir you need to right yourself.
Ethan blew my mind with his selection of badass records, except for that he really didn’t.
That is -- right, wrong, or otherwise -- I had a natural expectation that what he would come up with would leave me feeling like a musical novice, and I was not off the mark in unintentionally thinking that that would be the case.
I mean…
It’s hard to believe that I’ve somehow managed to churn out 14 of these sons o’ guns, and not one guest has disappointed me. In fact, I’ve really, really enjoyed every last one of the conversations and the records that accompanied them. All of them have been fun; a large majority have been surprising and educational. And if you like nice, round numbers like I do, the 15th installment wound up being the perfect slot for Ethan in that each privilege I get in the form of hanging with a fantastic human while chatting life and music refuels the tank that often feels somewhat depleted upon the conclusion of producing a finished episode. And it seems as though laughter is the primary component in the fuel of said recharging; no one has made me laugh harder than Ethan, and that’s a tribute to his electric personality.
Ethan and I have seen the other side of midnight together a time or two, and each of those occasions were both some of the best nights I’ve ever had and precursors to the worst mornings rememberable (or barely rememberable). I recall one evening at a Waldo watering hole in which we were having shots of some concoction called Five Alive.
I know. Makes you think akin to fruit punch, right? Nope. Pretty gross, actually. But we had more than one a piece. And the next day we agreed to forever call those red beverages, Hello and Have a Shitty Tomorrow. On another occasion, I had to be retrieved -- due to overindulgence -- from his housewarming party, and between his front porch and my then-fiancee’s car, I lost my keys and stepped directly in the mud I’d been attempting to avoid. Pretty sure a portion of the evening (once safely home) was spent on the bathroom floor.
Anyway, Ethan picked Hailu Mergia’s Tezeta, Super Ape by The Upsetters (a Lee "Scratch" Perry outfit), El-P’s Fantastic Damage, Too Hard to Swallow by UGK, and GZA’s Liquid Swords. And if you’re anything like me, first glance at that list might yield a heavy dose of, Huh?! Turns out, the thing’s a pile of gems.
And that’s kinda the point of this whole deal. I enjoyed this conversation so much. Hope you do, too. Thanks for stopping by. If you happened to share this episode with a friend, I wouldn’t be mad at ya’. And if you’re viewing on the YouTube channel, it’d sure be swell if you hit “like,” and “subscribe” on your way outta here. Oh, and by the way, if you happen upon Ethan out there on them streets, please refer to him by his true given name, Pipecock Jackson. Thank you. That is all.
copyright disclaimer: I do not own the intro/outro audio clips. They are samples from Coolbone’s cover of the Bill Withers tune, “Use Me,” and it’s off of their 1996 record called Brass-Hop, c/o Broadcast Music, Inc.