The Evolution of Interactive Entertainment: uRequest Live's Journey ft. Leah Daniels

Speaker A: Foreign. Hello and welcome to another show of that's entertaining. My name is Arthur Kay, I'm your host and today's show is all about the collision of events entertainment technology as it is on every episode. Welcome, welcome, welcome. So good to be here. If you are watching us live, now is a great time to say hello in the comments, say hello in the chat, let me know where you are tuning in from. It is going to be a really, really fun and exciting episode, especially for me because I'm doing something I've never done before and I'm having uh, a sidekick with me today, a co host who's also my guest, uh, Leah Daniels who's an incredible artist, singer, performer and um, she's going to be joining me in just a minute and uh, we're going to be doing a sort of chronolog, uh, sort of rehash of all the innovations and pivots and re pivots that uh, we've done with UrQuest Live, which for those of you who don't know is a all request concept. Um, essentially it's uh, the first audience curated concert experience that m merges a live band and interactive technology allowing audiences to collectively curate the show in real time by making recordings, requests and um, chatting with the band in real time using either their phones or touchscreen kiosks. So it's really interactive and engaging. So that's what you request Live is. And we're going to go through the last seven years of uh, experiences and stories and just see the evolution of the, the product and uh, excited to have Leah here for that. And also on the docket today, um, something a little bit more low tech but really, really impactful for events and you know I like to bring the cool event ideas and yeah, I'm a tech guy so I love to you know, bring the really high tech ideas. But listen, you can have a, make a really big impact with something that's, that's low tech too. So we're gonna, we're gonna take a look at that and um, also some housekeeping if you will. Um, and, and updates uh, the on Spotify and Apple podcasts, uh, and Amazon podcasts. So if you are new to the show and you want to catch up on previous episodes and I highly recommend you do, there's tons of great content there. Um, you can now check us out on Spotify. We've got the first, I think four seasons of the uh, sorry, first four episodes of the first season up and new episodes are getting uh, updated weekly and if you Enjoy the show. If you're watching live, we always appreciate, if you like and you subscribe and you ding the bells where there are bells, because that way you'll get notified, uh, when we go live again in the future. And what else we have, we have a, uh, call in feature. So you know anybody out there watching today if you want to chime in with, uh, hey, maybe you have a memory or an experience with UrQuest Live that you want to share. Uh, maybe you are a client, maybe you're a supplier that we've partnered with. We'd, um, love to hear from you. Feel free to jump into the chat. And I'm using a different mic today, which I don't usually do because I talk with my hands. So that's why I usually do the handheld mic. But I'm trying this out, so hopefully I don't karate chop this mic too many times during the broadcast. So if I do apologize in advance. Um, so yeah, there's a Zoom call in and I put the link. It's really just for my LinkedIn people. I like to just, you know, keep this for my professional network on LinkedIn. And, um, it's in the comments there. I'll post it throughout the show. And it's really easy. You just click the link, you jump into a Zoom meeting where the show is already being broadcast, so you don't need to watch it on LinkedIn. And on Zoom, you just close LinkedIn, you can see everything there on Zoom. And, uh, just wave and I'll bring you up. Um, may take me a minute or two, but be patient and I'll definitely get you up there. Uh, and so now I am going to bring up my co host. I'm so excited because I've never had a co host before. Um, but I've known Leah for, it's got to be around 20 years. Um, we've worked together in many, many different capacities. I consider her a friend, uh, you know, family. And, um, we've done so many different types of things together, so many events together over the years, so many amazing memories and traveling all over the globe. Um, and I'm going to actually read her bio here. Actually. I asked ChatGPT as ChatGPT to tell me what, what they know about Leah Daniels. I said write a, write a bio for Leah Daniels. That's all I said. I didn't give any more context. So let's see if, if ChatGPT did this right, Leah's like cringing in the background right now. I think it's pretty good Leah, I think, I think it's pretty accurate. Let's see. You tell me. Okay. Um. Leah Daniels is a Canadian country music artist known for her dynamic career and contributions to the. That much I know is true. Born in Uxbridge. Also true. Uh, Uxbridge, Ontario. She has been recognized for her ability to connect with fans across Canada and has a significant online following. Also true. I can attest. Um, Daniels has released several albums including what it feels like in 2015 and the story in 2018. Some of her popular singles include Go Back and First. I remember First. Go Back. Is that real? Yeah. She's, she's, she's going like this. Yes. Um, Daniel Daniels is not only a performer, but also engages in mentoring and coaching young musicians, often participating in community events and talent showcases like Rock the Bridge in her hometown. This initiative reflects her commitment to giving back to the community that supported her growth as an artist. I don't know if that's true, but it sounds like something Leah would do for sure. Um. Throughout her career, Leah Daniels has earned numerous nominations and awards, including the 20, 2016 Canadian radio music Award for Breakthrough Artist of the year and the 2016 Country Music association of Ontario Award for Female Artist of the Year. She continues to be a prominent figure in Canadian country music, known for her vibrant performances and dedication to her craft. And she's also, um, a singer for your Request Live. And I want to check out a little bit of Leah Daniels before we bring her up. So let's, uh, let's take a look.

Speaker B: Hey guys, I'm Leah. And today I'm going to teach you how to get a girl. Now maybe there's something you've had a crush on for a little while. Well, I'm going to teach you everything you need to know to get her. You're 29, still living in your mama's basement. Going out with the boys every night and getting wasted. She's a pretty girl raised on the Beatles and Jesus uh, if you're gonna go stealing her heart, uh, you better mean it. Come on. If you want to get her, you better get yourself.

Speaker A: Ah,

Speaker B: if you do, baby, show it.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker B: She'll be gone before you know it. Gone, she'll be gone. Yeah. You gotta work harder, man. Put in a little effort.

Speaker A: Leah, welcome to the show.

Speaker B: Hello. Hello.

Speaker A: Did I take you by surprise? Showing. Showing that video?

Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, of all the videos. No, that's a, That's a fun video. We had a lot of.

Speaker A: I like that song. It's got a. It's got a catchy. Catchy, uh, chorus. And the drummer in that video, every time I see it, she looks like Aubrey Plaza to me. Does anyone else say that?

Speaker B: I don't know. That's my friend Aaron. So I got some like, uh, all those girls are from Uxbridge, my hometown. I was like, can you. Let's be in this band together for this song. So.

Speaker A: Right.

Speaker B: Yeah, I know all of them.

Speaker A: Well, welcome to the show. How are you doing today?

Speaker B: Good, good. I'm so happy to be here. This is fun.

Speaker A: Yeah. Well, your camera setup looks incredible, so. Thanks, Tim.

Speaker B: Well, yeah, thanks to my husband.

Speaker A: I was gonna ask you actually, was that, was that last song, uh, inspired by Tim, you know?

Speaker B: No, but it was inspired by some of the musicians that I've worked with.

Speaker A: Oh, I see. I can see that. I can see that. I can see that.

Speaker B: Yep, totally.

Speaker A: So, yeah, so it's gonna be. Oh, I lost your camera, Leah.

Speaker B: Okay, hold on. See, Tim. Tim.

Speaker A: Okay, we'll. We'll put you on audio only for now. Put you on audio only for now until you get that sorted out. Okay.

Speaker B: It just went to sleep.

Speaker A: So, um, yeah, today we're going to take uh, a look at, um, some ideas. I, I wanted to get your, your feedback on. Okay, you're back. So that's good. We got, we got all the tech crew in the house, so there's nothing to worry about. You know, this is life. Things happen. We know how to deal with it. This is not our first live stream. Um, and so, uh, yeah, I wanted to get your feedback on it because, you know, you've been to many events and you're a performer and I, um, wanted to share with the audience a, you know, because we're going to talk a lot about urquest Live today, which is a really like high end, high tech kind of thing. But I wanted to, you know, showcase something that is like the complete opposite of that. Just um, to show the whole spectrum of things that you can do in events. So I'm going to tell you a little bit about my friend Reggie that I met during the pandemic. And Reggie, um, uh, I found him like, I think on a Facebook, uh, group where people would stream just as during the pandemic, by the way. So I should have mentioned that because all the musicians, as soon as the pandemic hit, lots of people were live streaming, trying to, you know, get noticed, make a few dollars. And there was this live Facebook page that, where people could sign up and just stream into this Facebook page. Um, and so there's all kinds of performers. Some are good, some were not so good, some are really good. And this is where I saw Reggie and he's just, you know, playing the guitar and he has this tuna can attached to his guitar that he uses to tap while he's playing the guitar. And he had like a scrolling list of songs that people could request from and. Right. You know, this is early in the pandemic and like, oh, this guy, he must be using obs or something, um, to like show this scrolling list of songs. So he must be somewhat knowledgeable, you know, in terms of like live streaming and things. And I was in my back of my mind looking for people who were unique, who had something to offer in the sort of virtual entertainment field. Right. And um, so he was there doing his thing and you know, I reached out to him and we just started chatting back and forth and he uh, we even used him for an event, a Canadian event association for CanSPEP. Uh, they had a little virtual event and we brought him in and he did his thing, um, just play guitar. And the songs were scrolling and people were making requests and they really loved it. And he's, you know, got a great personality. And um, he sort of turned this into a social experiment where he would go out onto the streets of New York and he just would put up a sign that would say, sing with me for free. And he would just, you know, stand out down the streets of New York, wave people, hey, you want to sing with me? Hey, you want to sing with me? And you know, the amazing thing about it is that, you know, you get these incredible, almost transformational experiences that people have that actually do take them up on it. And I thought, you know, what a fantastic idea for an event. And I want to, let's, let's take a look at some video. I want to see what you think of this here. Let's go over here. And so this is, ah, this is. He goes by Guitaro5000. That's his stage name, Guitar5000. He has 1.3 million subscribers now on YouTube. He has just under 1 million followers on TikTok. Um, many of his videos have multiple millions of views. Um, so obviously what he's doing really resonates with people. So let's check it out. Let's check it out. We're going to do a kind of reaction style video and talk over it here. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Kataro. Today we are reliving some of the best moments of Sing with me for three, 2023. From the highest notes to the Deepest emotions. From the most viral clips to the secretly deleted scenes. It's all happening right now. Before we get started. Make sure you like the subscribe and buckle up. It's guaranteed to be an emotional definitely like and subscribe guitar. It's great. Content, feel good. Content.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker A: And he's been all over the world now. Like, he's been to Turkey, Mexico. Check this one out. This is insane.

Speaker B: Oh, my God.

Speaker A: Yeah, that's not insane. That's. That's, uh. I know. That's a B.D. bell song, right? The whistle tones that. And like occasionally. Occasionally. You know, in this content he gets like amazing singers who are like either professionals or like semi pro singers. And it's. It's. Wow. Let's keep watching.

Speaker B: One more time. I say that you remember Body I Dancing in September Body I never was a cloudy day.

Speaker A: Never enough never, never, never enough for me, for me, for me. M. She goes for it.

Speaker B: Oh, I love it.

Speaker A: She goes for it. This year, I've asked hundreds of people this one question. Now that you've sung, how do you feel? Here are some of the most emotional responses I got. I feel proud of myself because I have social anxiety. So dealing with other people gives me like, like, uh, a lot of anxiety. And, um, it took a lot for me to do this, so I feel proud.

Speaker B: That's awesome. That's awesome. Thank you.

Speaker A: Changed my day. That just inspired me, man. I'm about to go home and write, man. Do it, bro. I appreciate that.

Speaker B: No problem, bro.

Speaker A: Hey, do a good job.

Speaker B: Peace.

Speaker A: My man. Keep the art, man.

Speaker B: This is what.

Speaker A: Keep the art pure. In my opinion, man. Stuff like this, if you don't get that no more, everything is. Get in the booth.

Speaker B: Schedule time. Schedule.

Speaker A: This business, this mama takes, money manages.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: What happened to the cipher? What happened to this vibe? And what happens to this joint?

Speaker B: Yeah, it's just so raw. It's like.

Speaker A: Yeah, in the moment. This is an earlier video. You can tell because he just has like a GoPro attached to his thing, but now he has a three camera crew. Like, the videos are in 4K. Like, they look amazing. And, um, I wouldn't. I wasn't able to tell it to m my partner. But yeah, now I feel really good now. Wow. Yeah, I feel light hearted, actually. Like in New York City, I'm singing in the streets. I wanted to open all the feelings to her. Uh, now I'm just sending it on the Instagram. There we go. Everybody's gonna see it. Everybody's gonna comment. Be M Like, uh, yeah, singer Dab in New York.

Speaker B: Awesome.

Speaker A: Now uh, that you've sung, how do you feel? I feel great. I feel awesome. I feel spectacular.

Speaker B: Thank you.

Speaker A: I wrote it to save my life.

Speaker B: Life.

Speaker A: Because I was suicidal for so long and just was waking up to die, and I figured I got to come up with a better way of waking

Speaker B: up in the morning.

Speaker A: I went with Two days, a beautiful day. Yes. And it began working, so. Wow. You know, you can listen to something and then don't believe it, but eventually you'll believe it subconsciously. So I'm still here. So amazing.

Speaker B: It's cool.

Speaker A: So this song helps, and it's a nice tune, so that's why honor. Thank you for letting me. So what do you think about that idea and that concept?

Speaker B: Oh, I love that. I love that. It's so crazy because it's so simple. It's so simple. We've all seen buskers. But that opportunity that he has to open it up to people passing by. Like, I think, um, Tim and I, we went to Europe for a month, uh, last year, and we're in front of the Eiffel Tower, and there's a busker there. And, like, there was a little piece of me that was like. Like, I just wish I could get up and sing. And I'm not normally like that in public places, but just something about the. The beauty of it all. And if that guy had been there, I just feel like it would have enhanced everything. And, um. Oh, it's just so nice seeing people. It takes us, like, us, uh, some guts to get up and do that. Holy. Um.

Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, I think it's. Yeah, it's, um. It's amazing how transformational, you know, singing a song can be, especially for someone who's a musician.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: In a sort of safe space with no judgment. Okay. Well, maybe you're out on the street, people may judge you. But I think for the most part, if you watch his videos, people are very supportive and, uh, cheering for people, even when they're not the best singers. And, you know, nine times out of ten when he is, um, when he's done his. His bit and the song, and he asked them, you know, how. How do you feel? It's always, oh, I just, like, I have a. We lifted off my shoulders. Or, you know, I woke up this morning and I was, you know, feeling really bad, but now I'm like, I'm feeling great. And I think it really speaks to the power of. Of music. Right. And, um, I could totally, totally see this at an event or a Trade show, where you have, like a little corner area, a little cafe, little lounge set up with Guitaro standing in the corner with his sign Sing with me for free. A microphone, that's really all you need. And listen, it's not gonna be for everybody to actually sing, but if you actually see some of the videos, some of the people in the audience actually have transformational moments too, because they may be. Someone sings a song that meant something to them, even though they wouldn't get up and sing it, there's someone, someone there who's singing a song that it means something to them. There's one where he's doing something on the streets in New York City. This girl gets up, she starts singing Alicia Keys. She is not by any stretch like a great singer. And so people start dancing in the streets. Like a bunch of couples just start coming together and just spontaneously dancing in the street. So that's, you know, I think the power of, you know, music has this amazing, um, power to create serendipity. And, you know, serendipity is like this word that gets floated around a lot in events. You probably don't know that because I know you're not like, in events in the same way that I'm in events, but, yep, you know, this, this people are always looking for that way to create the serendipity. But here's a really good way to do it. And what, you know, it could be a sponsored activation. Um, you know, people love to do karaoke, right? This is not karaoke per se. This is more like intentional, I think. But, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's, uh, it's. It's really, um. Yeah, it's really great. And I think, you know, fortunately, if you actually see this, you're like, oh, my God, that's such a great idea, Arthur. I want to get Guitar 5000. You can just send me a DM or send me an email at Arthur Kusion Events CA. Or you can just steal the idea too, you know, I mean, Guitaro has the experience now of doing this all over the world, but really a solid local musician with a good repertoire on the guitar, you know, so guitar has his list. He's got a really good repertoire. People come up to him on the street. He's got here. Here's a list of songs. You know, pick. Pick whatever song. Because he's got a really good cross section of repertoire. He's got something for everybody, essentially. Right? Um, and, uh, yeah, that's how it works. It's not a difficult thing to pull off, but I Think would be great at an event. Even like when you first walk in at a registration area, when people are walking in or when they're walking out, uh, you may see them walking in and they may be like, no, no, no, no. But on the way out you might get them. You know what I mean?

Speaker B: Exactly. Exactly. I love it. Because it's a more intimate experience than a full blown karaoke thing. Right?

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: And your interaction with him or with the musician, um, yeah, it just has much more heart to it. I love that. Yeah.

Speaker A: Ah. And you know, I think it's a great way to, you know, change the mood, change the atmosphere. Um, when you're at a, at a busy event, corporate event or a conference, it's like multiple days long. Like this can. This can create some lasting memories and have some lasting, uh, impact on people attending and be one of those things that, well, especially with guitar, I'll be like, oh my God, that's the guy from TikTok. And you know, the phone comes out. Yes, for sure.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: Creates more, more free marketing for, for the event. But, um, yeah, so that's, that's Guitaro 5000. So I think, uh, definitely consider an idea like that. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you'd ever seen anything like that at an event or if you would consider, you know, using something like that or doing something like that at an event. Um, so now, Leah, we're gonna switch over. Hang on a sec. Let's um, let's switch over here. Okay, so now we get into the uh, big topic of View requests live today. And before we dig in to that, I want you to like, um, first of all share a little bit about how you became like a singer and an artist and really quickly, like why, how you got into country music and then how you started expanding outside of. Out of that. Because, you know, so many songs that are like, you know, R and B and top 40 and stuff. But like when you do your art as an artist, you, you're in the country realm as a choice obviously.

Speaker B: But yeah, yeah, my original music is definitely, yeah, leans more country, pop rock esque. Um, but I grew up, you know, small town, Uxbridge, Ontario. So I was surrounded by, um, a lot of country music, um, and I would say a lot of classic rock and kind of the current pop music. At the time, um, I went to school for music and I know we met Arthur, um, through a band. God made me funky. And at the time, this is going way back, you were playing saxophone. And um, I actually over There. Oh, yeah, there it is. Nice, Nice. But I auditioned for that band. You were already in it. And it was just. I had. I had seen a flyer for auditions for this band, God Made Me Funky at Humber College. And so I went and auditioned. Um, and at the time, I really didn't know your repertoire. Like, I did not grow up with funk music and that, like, big band stuff the same way. So when I, um, got into the band, it was a learning curve for me. I remember having to, like, listen to all those songs and all the harmonies, and even to this day, a lot of those songs when I sing them, it's like the original God Made Me Funky harmonies that I know, which aren't always the same as, you know, or what the actual recording is too. But, um, so I think through that experience and then through God Made Me Funky and then getting more into the corporate world. Like, we started doing corporate gigs and, um, the repertoire expanded, um, from there and then, ah, um, into URL. Um, I just started to pick up more and more songs. So I think the diverse background that I came in with already really helped. Um, and then my previous experience in the corporate world and performing and.

Speaker A: How old are you when you auditioned for God Made Me Funky?

Speaker B: I was maybe 8. I think I was 18. Yeah. So, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker A: It's been a long time that we've known.

Speaker B: Now I'm not. Yeah, like. Yeah, yeah. Decades.

Speaker A: And now you're 19, so.

Speaker B: And now I'm 19.

Speaker A: Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah. So, yeah. Crazy.

Speaker A: Yeah. So today we're gonna. We're gonna take a deep dive, um, because, you know, we recently celebrated, uh, seven years of View Requ Us Live. And I thought, you know what, it'd be nice to, uh, you know, relive some. Some memories and see, you know, how far we've come and, um, you know, see where, you know, talk about some stories and. And, um, see where we're going. So let's, uh, let's get into it. Um, okay, so first let's talk about the inception of UrQuest Live. So it was about 2016, um, when I came up with the idea. Um, and do you remember the first time that I told you about the idea?

Speaker B: I do, yeah. We were standing on a street corner in Toronto. I think we just had rehearsal. And you're like, hey, I just want to talk to you for a second. I have this idea, um, of an all request band. And I was like, whoa, okay. I was down for it. I was totally excited. Um, but that was my first introduction, and you had this idea that we'd just have our whole song list available for people to choose from and um, have this technical aspect where they can request on these kiosks. And um, from there, I mean it took a few months before we started to piece it together. Uh, but that was. Yeah, I was like, whoa, okay, cool.

Speaker A: So what, what happened was, was, I think it was, yeah, about 2016, you know, I was getting, I was getting frustrated because, you know, I was running an entertainment company. We represented bands and other entertainment for events. And you know, when, when I first started, when we first met, um, doing bands, it was really expensive to, for a band to have a really nice looking promo video, you know, because of media at the time. And as time went on over the years, that became less and less. And Toronto is an incredible city of talent. There's so much amazing talent here. And um, the ability to put out a great promo video just became easier and easier and easier and the competition became stiffer and stiffer and stiffer, right? And I was banging my head against the wall going, you know what would make a client choose band A over band be? Because at the end of the day, I know they're pretty much playing the same repertoire. You know, maybe, you know, you like this singer and this band better or this singer and that band better. Although we all know that any of the singers could show up in any of the bands on any gig. Yeah, right, but so, you know, the clients, especially corporate clients, are choosing based off of video. They're not going to go out into the field and watch you play in a bar, go to some other person's event to watch you play. They're just not going to do that. So, so as the competition became stiffer and the videos became greater and you know, I was looking at all the competitors and saying what really differentiates one band from the next? And I really couldn't find much like, okay, these guys wear red jackets, these guys wear white jackets, right? But at the end of the day when they get to your event, it's going to be relatively the same result whoever you hire, right? They're all good, they're all good bands, right?

Speaker B: So.

Speaker A: And I was, I was working with Suga, this band at the time, which were some of the best musicians that I've ever worked with. And you know, one night people would, every night people would come up to them and say, hey, can you do this song or like play it? Can you do Africa? Or like, you know, pretty challenging like Jump by Van Halen. And they would like do it like note for note. And I was like, wow, you know, what if we, what if we allowed people to do it? And so that's how the idea was born. And then, um, I told you about it, you liked it. I told a few people about it, they liked it. So we, you know, I went, found a developer, we built out sort of the technology side of it. And then it was in 2017, um, on, uh, April 6th, at Michael Grossman's wedding. I don't know if you're watching Michael. I know we're connected on LinkedIn, but we, we did a gig as Suga, but just decided to test out the platform. So we didn't even tell the client we were going to do it. I just said, let's just try it out, see what happens. Just make one announcement, see what happens. And it was like in a basement of a synagogue somewhere. But it was a really fancy wedding. And so, sure enough, first set, um, singers like, okay, we have an iPad on the podium. If you want to make a request, go ahead. And then instantly there was like a lineup of people who wanted to request. And all night long they were trying to make requests. And we only had this one little iPad. And so I was like, okay, I think we got something here. And, um, so the idea was born. And so we actually, when I first, when we first started the band, it was called All Requests Live. Um, that's just the name I liked. Uh, but it didn't, uh, stick because, um, you know, I went. I started to get nervous about copyright and stuff like that. So I was looking in the, in the States to see if there was a, ah, copyright. Someone already held the copyright for All Requests Live because my big vision was to go bring this to the US and sure enough, someone had the copyright for All Requests Live. And I was like, you know what, I don't want to mess with this. Um, I don't want to mess with copyright stuff. I've had to deal with that in the past before. So I said, you know what, let's just change it. And so we changed it to urQuest Live. So this video right now was the very first piece of content that we created as All Requests Live. And this was just no gigs or anything. This is me sort of putting the cart before the horse and saying, okay, I'm going to make a video with no gigs. I told the guys, you know, some of them I paid, they were just sidemen. Um, and some of them were like in, in the project and they believed in it and they wanted to contribute to it. So they showed up and we went to my friend's studio, the Root Down. Shout out Dan demeau and Oliver, if you're watching. Thank you for letting us use. And this is the video we. We shot. Let's check it out. He didn't last because he moved away. Yeah, he moved away. Yeah. You can see the All Request Live logo there in the back.

Speaker B: Back. Yeah.

Speaker A: That was a waste of money. Oh well, live and learn.

Speaker B: Hey. But this got us our first game. Uh, I remember being so nervous this day. You're nervous you that we were gonna film and that's right, like it's always stressful because you don't want to mess up at all. Then the tanks feel good.

Speaker A: Yeah. So we did this whole thing and a few hours, all the audio was recorded there on site. It was like one or two cameras. It was pretty basic, but it was, you know, good enough.

Speaker B: Enough.

Speaker A: It was good enough. So this got us our first gig. Um, which our first big gig was as all requests live. Um, which was this next one. So this is actually footage from our. Our first kind of like oh my gosh. Yeah. This is one of the first like big gigs that merges a world class 10 piece band. Interactive technology allowing guests to make room requests using a touchscreen jukebox or their smartphones. The way it works is guests can choose from hundreds of songs available on our brandable touchscreen jukeboxes strategically placed near the stage or around the venue. Guests can also use their smartphone to request their favorite song and no app download required. When a request is made, the band is sent a notification and the music and lyrics on their iPads on stage, allowing them to play hundreds of songs. Guests can see each other's requests and the most requested songs get moved up in the queue in real time. Guests can leave their name or even a message for the band, allowing the band to further interact with the audience in a way never before possible. Face it, everyone loves to hear their jam being played. All Requests Live is the world's first band to put the choice of music in the audience's hands, ensuring that no one goes home. Disappointed clients have the ability to customize the list of songs available for their events, ensuring that they have full control of what is available for request. Younger generations love the use of technology and for older generations, it's a throwback to the days of the jukebox, but with a twist. The All Request live band features 10 high level musicians who've all played and recorded with major international recording artists. Their ability to seamlessly play hundreds of songs from any genre and blend from one song to another. Like a DJ makes all requests live. A band unlike any other. One, two, three.

Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, can't hear you, Arthur.

Speaker A: Y. So that was our first event. That was, uh. I think it was for Mercedes and, uh. No, it was like when. Of the banquet halls in Woodbridge, I think.

Speaker B: Oh, it looks amazing.

Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And so that you can see, that was like, also the first time we incorporated, like, the video content where we had the actual music videos playing in the background as we were performing. Um, and so, yeah, so that. Then that opened up, you know, now that we had like, a couple videos in the bag and, you know, I was out there shopping it around and, um, then we got this big gig at Rebel, which we got to film too, which is really nice. Yes. We love you and we're thankful that you're here tonight. Keep those requests coming. And I'm just curious, like, so for you as like a singer, you know, what is it. What is it like to. To be in this all request sort of scenario where you don't know what you're gonna sing? You know, what were you. What were your thoughts, you know, the first couple times you did it? And like, has it changed now?

Speaker B: Yeah, well, I'm way more relaxed now. I remember those early days being like, what is gonna happen? What's gonna get requested? Yeah, because we. We have to keep track of so many songs kind of in our brain. Um. Ah, yeah, I do remember, like, the first year just being like, really, okay, what's going to come up? But, um, now, yeah, now I'm more relaxed now. I. I kind of know what's going to happen. Ah, and it's so fun. I feel like now when I do a show and I have to create a set list, I'm like, what? How do I do this? Because I'm so used to now not having to do that and letting the audience choose what songs we play next. Um, because that's really how we do it. The most requested songs we play first. And, um, yeah, it's so great. And I love seeing the messages that people. Because there's a spot where people can leave us messages and we can shout out to certain people or, um, you know, different teams if it's for a business event or whatever. So I love that. Um, it is. It is really interactive.

Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And I know, you know, when the first time we did it, um, the musicians in the band were like, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, this is good. This is good. Because there's no more Oh, I lost your video, Leah again.

Speaker B: Oh, Tim, I need my check.

Speaker A: We need our Tim. Where's Tim? Um, you know, the musicians were like, um, yeah, I don't have to think about what song is next because they can see on the app always what song is next. It gets locked in so they know what song is next. So they were like, yeah, we don't have to worry about sell list. I don't have to call, I have to shout across, you know, the bass players over here, keyboard players. Hey, next song is gonna be blah, blah. Or if you want to change something on the fly. Um, so the musicians absolutely, um, loved it. So. So yeah, this, this was a pretty pivotal event for us because it really got us some, some really nice footage of a, of a large event. Um, and then actually we ended up doing this one which was for mpi, which, this video is actually shot by Tim, your husband. And this ended up being a very important event for us. So this, this event was MPI's, uh, World Education Conference, which happens in a different city every single year and happened to be in Toronto this year. And Michael Cerbelli was doing his hot list, um, in Toronto. And we were on the hot list. It was our first time getting on the hot list. And we got approached to do their big sort of kickoff event, which was this one at, uh, Echo Beach. And this event opened up a lot of doors because there were a lot of international planners there, um, which, like I said, opened up doors for us, you know, traveling to the United States. Um, and we were, um, you know, we really started to go all over the place. Like, for example, um, we did this event which was really cool, um, in Las Vegas for New Year's Eve 2019.

Speaker B: Yes. That was insane.

Speaker A: Yeah. One of the most opulent events I've ever seen, for sure. And I've seen a lot of events.

Speaker B: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Speaker A: It was, you know, four hours of non stop entertainment from start to finish. High impact. There was, ah, you'll see there's a guy. Guy, um, with a Tesla coil. He's got, like, electricity shooting out of his body. I. Yeah, they almost shut the event down. They almost shut the event down because of that. Seriously. The fire marshal was there. Oh, yeah, it was a big thing. Oh, yeah, it was a big thing because this Tesla coil is like insane amounts of electricity. And this guy has to wear a special suit. Look, he's. There it is.

Speaker B: There it is.

Speaker A: Yeah, he has to wear the special suit so he doesn't die, essentially. But if, if one of those like shocks were to hit somebody else not wearing a suit, they would die instantly, probably. So anyway, yeah, super, super cool. And um, you know, it opened up again more doors to us being able to travel around like some of the places we went to. Um, where did we go? Where have we been? We've been to Texas.

Speaker B: Oh, all over the states, I feel like.

Speaker A: Yeah. Colorado, Maine. Uh, we've been to, um, Hawaii. We've been to Cayman Islands. We've been to Idaho. We've been to New Jersey. We've been to, um, Orlando. New Orleans. That was New Orleans.

Speaker B: Yes.

Speaker A: Yeah, this, that shot right there is from New Orleans.

Speaker B: Oh, yeah.

Speaker A: Last. That's Las Vegas at the Brooklyn Ball.

Speaker B: Yeah, Las Vegas quite a few times.

Speaker A: Yeah. So things were going absolutely fantastically well. And in fact we, uh, we went down to Vegas at the very end of 2019, um, to go to be on Michael Cerbelli's Hollis and actually perform. Because when he was in Toronto, we didn't perform. On the, on the list on the show was Montreal Rhapsody Orchestra. Um, and so the next year was in Vegas. I'm like, okay, I really want to go and perform. And it was a big, it was a big hoopla, it was a big investment because, you know, it's, it's a. Everybody that performs with Hollis does it on their own dime because it's a showcase essentially for like 4000 or so event planners. So it's a good, good place to drum up business. And so I told the band, I said, okay, guys, we have this great opportunity. We're gonna go to Las Vegas, we're gonna do this show. We're gonna, you know, continue the trajectory. Because 2018-2020 was just stellar. We were just going all over the place. You know, we did our first gig. 2017, 2018. We started, it started to pick up. 2019, um, 2018 and 2019 were just really great. We were going all over the place. And literally the day of our showcase, coronavirus became a full scale global pandemic. And um, you know, it hit like before our show even like we were supposed to go on it. Like Strabelli's hot list usually is first thing in the morning. It's like 8:30 or 9:00 clock in the morning. So the first session of the day. And it was like that morning that, you know, Trump had gone on all the news networks and declared, you know, the pandemic and you know, people were leaving the conference. We still had a good, we still had a good turnout for our show, but there was like, this sort of somber, weird. We were talking about it. We were there for, like, a few days before. Cause there was rehearsals and we were hanging out in an airbnb having. Having a great bonding time together. We'd heard about. We'd heard about the coronavirus and Covid, but we. You know, I personally thought it wasn't a big deal. I honestly didn't. I was like, I remember sars and. And so, long story short, um, we lost all our work just like everybody else, and plummeted into a dark, dark depression. Um.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, it was a dark time time.

Speaker A: Yeah. And, um, so what. What was that time for you? Like? Because, like, we were literally doing this Vegas thing, and I hear here's Arthur going, oh, we're going to get tons of gigs from this, and blah, blah, blah, blah.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And you're literally going home scared. From Las Vegas.

Speaker B: Yeah, Going home and getting emails that say, this gig's canceled. Your gig next month is canceled. Like, and. And we were at an event where everybody was experiencing that exact same thing. Um, it was. Was. Oh, shocking. I think at first, though, we thought, oh, by summer we'll be up and going again. Like, there's no way this can last further than that. Obviously, it did. Um, but incredible uncertainty, like, for us as musicians, like, we make our living with events where lots of people come together. So obviously that wasn't happening. Um, and, I mean, Arthur, like, you're the one that really. I, like, started this pivot. And I thank you because, like, um, all of a sudden you had this idea to take URL virtually and create that. And I remember, like, that was really a lifesaver for, I think, all of us, because we. I don't know, as musicians, I think we kind of lost our identity during that time. Like, taking that away. It's like, who am I without music? And then suddenly you had this idea to take URL and, okay, maybe we can do it in virtual events and. And have that same interaction, but just through chat. The chat. And, um. So when that was born, that I just remember being like, okay, this is. I. I needed that. Like, I needed that for my sanity. And. And, um. Uh, the money was good, too. But, yeah, I remember it was a dark place. Like, we just.

Speaker A: None of us were making any money.

Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah, but I'm just. I mean, that's just who you are, though. You're always thinking, okay, what can we do? Like, you're just this. You never stop. So, um, it was really incredible that we were able to keep doing what we do.

Speaker A: Yeah, I'm also very grateful. It was a, um, you know, I mean, actually let's, let's pull up our next video because this is exactly related to this. So let me get that up here. Um, so this was one of our first virtual events. Some footage from one of the first virtual events. And I didn't uh, before this event, I don't even think I, I knew. I never heard the term stream key or like I'd never streamed an event in my life. And this opened up so many doors to me and I learned so much. But let's, let's just check it out. So this was um, a global event we did. I think we had to do it and we didn't do it twice because it was in two different time zones. Like we did Asia and then like North America. M. Uh, how to make a request, very easy. Open up your phone camera, scan, ah, the QR code here below and request as many songs as you like. Sit back and enjoy the show. Let's go. I want to see some more activity on that chat room over there. I've got ginger hair too. And you know, it worked out so well because the band is so engaging and the charisma and being able to communicate with the audience in such a way and obviously like the production value. We had the video wall with the videos and the lighting and we really did it up proper.

Speaker B: Yeah, it sounded um, good and it looked good.

Speaker A: Yeah, it really, it really did. And uh, it solves a problem that, that there was especially at the beginning of the pandemic of how do you engage people at scale virtually? Yeah, like you could do it on zoom with like a magician or something where you can, everybody can talk to the magician and you have this two way interaction. But with us we're doing an event for 5,000 people, 10,000 people. How do you make everybody feel like they're part of the show? So in this one we essentially just took our requesting technology, applied a QR code to it. You know the funny thing Leah, is that when you look back at that like uh, the rebel event and we actually had people walking around with like T shirts, like request a song. And they had iPads and they were walking around and on the back of the iPads they had the link because you could just go to a special link. Why the hell did we not think of QR codes back then? I mean, that's totally on M. Me. That's totally on me. Because QR codes were like dead. Like nobody was using them. Yeah, right. Like it was Even a thing. So I would. I would like print cards with, like, the. The link on it. It. So people would have to, like, input the. Oh, here's the link. WWW dot. You know, they'd have to put it into their phone. Um, but so now we, you know, we've graduated onto QR codes. Um, but this one here was from. We did for Fidelity on a massive stage. Like, it was. It was just crazy. We had a jib and everything. It was. It was wild. And. And companies were paying really good money to do this. They were investing in it. And so I was like, great. And then we sort of came up with, hold on, what's this next video I have? Let's turn this up for a sec so we can let people hear a little bit. Hey, y', all. What you're trying to do.

Speaker B: What's our next list where you request. Oh, hello, Leah.

Speaker A: Hello.

Speaker B: Celebration. This year we hope to rev things up while you reconnect with the people and spaces you've missed.

Speaker A: So I'm just going to pause this because. So this was at the beginning of the pandemic, um, as well, we created a piece of content and used it to raise money for Search Foundation. And what we did was just said, okay, we put out this medley, uh, of songs that were happy. The whole purpose was just to uplift people. And it was a really, really dark time for everyone. And I think even some of the musicians begrudgingly did it. I was like, guys, we got to do this. We got it. We got to put something out. We got to lift people up. We got to do something. And so we put out this happy medley, um, and. And we said, okay, every share or like, of the video on Facebook, and I think Facebook and Instagram, I think it was, we would donate a dollar to Search. And then someone came in and said, oh, I'll match donations up to a thousand dollars. And then someone else came and said, I'll match donations up to a thousand dollars, too. And so we actually raised a few grand for Search foundation, which was awesome. And then we ended up repurposing that video like a million times for virtual events. Because I said, I said, well, if you want to send this out before the event, you know, as like a get ready next week's virtual event. And so we would, uh. And this one, I called him like, leah, do you still have that blue shirt from. From the video. From the happy video. I need you to put it on, style your hair the same way and record, uh, an intro to it. And so that's what this is.

Speaker B: We'll be joining you virtually live from Toronto so you can rock out, make song requests and start to build your way home for the holidays. We'll see you then. Uh,

Speaker A: This turned out so well. Considering everybody recorded their own audio and video at home. And Anthony did a great job editing.

Speaker B: Hm.

Speaker A: And so after we had done our first few virtual events, we were approached by, um, we were approached by a event industry event award. An event. God, I can't speak today. An event industry award show that we were actually nominated for best event entertainment. And the sponsor of the show, which was a. The platform which it was being held on, um, approached us and said we'd love to have you request live do the after party right after the awards get given out on the virtual platform. And we were in talks and um, they didn't, they didn't want to use our tech to do the requesting. They wanted to use their tech to do the requesting. But our tech was heavily R and D and tested for the purpose of making song requests. The tech they wanted to use was, was a poll built into the event. So it didn't work out because.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: We weren't doing poll based requests. We were doing. We had an app built for it and we didn't get the gig. And that kind of pissed me off. And so I was like, oh, you want to do poll based? Okay, let's do poll based. Yeah, so that's.

Speaker B: We can do that.

Speaker A: Yeah, we can do that. And so that's when I came up with the idea of like the choose your own adventure virtual event. And this was like one of my favorite things to do. It was so exciting and exhilarating and challenging all the same time to actually pull off. Um, and this is so the concept, if you know, anyone who was born in the 80s, maybe 90s, would remember the choose your own adventure books, which would essentially be. You'd read a book, it's a storybook, and you get to page 12 and it says if you want the character to, you know, go this way, go to page 47. If you want the character to go to this way, go to page 52. So that's what I wanted to do with this is I'll say, okay, hey audience, what decade is your jam? We'll start with that and poll people. What decade of music do they like? Then based on the results, let's say it's the 90s. Then we give them another poll based on the 90s. So this basically meant we had to have polls built out for every possible Scenario, Right.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And we. So we had decades. We had genres. I mean, they could even choose, you know, choose who's going to take a solo in the next song. Guitar.

Speaker B: That's right. That's right.

Speaker A: Keyboard. Um, so they really had control of the show and. Versus the original version of the band where they would just make song requests from a list. This is like every couple minutes they have to make a choice. Which way are we going to go? Which way are we going to go? It ended up being extremely engaging for people. Um, and that really took off, you know, doing virtual events. So here's, um, here's us doing the choose your own adventure, uh, style things. Let's take a look. So this is where they vote on the decade. Choose who should sing the next song we should sing.

Speaker B: That's right.

Speaker A: So these are. This was like, some of the most challenging. Some of the most challenging stuff I've ever done because, you know, I'm managing these polls. I'm talking to the client.

Speaker B: Oh, on your end. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A: We. I mean, we had. We had a crew and Tim, your husband, was an integral part of the crew. He did all the video, um, which was. Which was just awesome. And was. Was that any different for you guys up on stage? Doing the choose your own adventure versus is just.

Speaker B: Well, it was, uh, uh, for us, like, it was up to the very last minute the song choice might change because it was so interactive. And we'd be like, all right, we're between these two songs. Going to win. And people at home would be, you know, plugging it in, voting for a song. Um, so I actually really loved it because it was so interactive. We would see like, oh, people with their families watching and tuning in. And like, I remember there was, ah. People could share photos, right. And we'd show the photos and. And you could see, um, in videos and people dancing. It was just considering. It was. We weren't in the same room together at all. It was extremely interactive. And I think the next best thing to being all in a room together. Um, yeah, but it was definitely always like, all right. Kept us on our toes. Okay, you're singing this song or you're doing the solo now. It was fun. It was exciting. Yeah.

Speaker A: And, um, I'm sad we're not doing it as much now because it worked very well for a captive audience. Right. Like when you're at a party, when we're at Rebel nightclub, you know, we would need everyone, like, focused on the screen and making decisions all the time, which they just do not have the Attention span for. At an. At a party, right, when they just want to dance and have fun. Um, but, uh, it's. Yeah, it was. It was a great, um, idea that I'm. I'm not completely done with. I'll just. I'll just leave it at that for now. Um, and then. So the. No one asked for a next phase of this, even another next phase after that. But, you know, I couldn't help notice that, you know, the next sort of, um, trend, but, you know, place where we could take it is into the metaverse. There was a lot of talk about the metaverse and people talking about Unreal Engine and, um, you know, 3D environments. I thought, well, it'd be really cool to be able to, first of all, have a smaller version of this, because the big version with the big studio and the multiple cameras is costly. So I thought maybe we can find a way we can do this smaller on a green screen and put the band into a cool environment. Um, and so that's. And that's what we did. And so that was. That's. Let's take a look at that. Because that was, uh. That was wild.

Speaker B: So. All right.

Speaker A: This is actual footage from the event.

Speaker B: Man, we are so excited to be here, coming from the metaverse up in space.

Speaker A: Look at this, look at this.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker A: Who would have thought, huh?

Speaker B: So make sure you scan that QR code so you can be a part of choosing the songs that we're going to be playing today, because that's right. It is fully interactive. And I know that you are always down for the.

Speaker A: You actually hear people entering the meeting. I don't know why I haven't recorded that part every time someone joins the meeting.

Speaker B: So let us know what you want to hear. We're going to play it. We're going to have some fun. There's going to be some games. So buckle your seat belt. Let's go for the ride. Here we go.

Speaker A: Yes, yes, yes. Come on, please. Hey, hey, hey. 1, 2, 1, 2, 3. This hit that ice cold Michelle. Fight for that white gold. This one for them good girls.

Speaker B: Them good girls.

Speaker A: Let's look at the, uh. This is the tidied up real. But this was also, like, it just really cool. But I feel like, like I was almost a little late, um, in the pandemic. This was near the end of sort of thing or things starting to open up. Like, I feel like had we done this at the beginning of the pandemic, yeah, we would have got more gigs doing it.

Speaker B: But

Speaker A: I spent hundreds of hours Literally on making that work,

Speaker B: uh, I've believe it.

Speaker A: It was, it was so cool. Cuz we brought in like the zoom it was on. This was broadcast out to zoom and then there you can see the band and screen.

Speaker B: That's what it actually looks like.

Speaker A: Yeah. Versus yeah. And so we would bring up the zoom participants into the environment so you can see them there in the background. And they brought their kids and it was really, really cool.

Speaker B: I love that.

Speaker A: Yeah, it was super, super interactive. The client loved it. They were blown away.

Speaker B: Yeah,

Speaker A: Yeah. And then we're, you know, coming close now to you know, so we did the pandemic and um, things opened up and we got, we got right back to basically where we left off. You know, it's um. Yeah, we're not doing virtual events anymore because nobody wants to, to pay us to do that in a studio when they could just have us come to them. Yeah. And you know, the focus on entertaining people virtually, uh, has just gone down. You know, they're. Instead of doing that, they're just sort of streaming the event to people so they can just watch it passively versus doing something really specific for the virtual audience like entertaining them in a different way than entertaining the in person audience. So um, but I do what I, for the future, what I, what I do see and we actually have our first sort of like public soft, uh, cedar theater show coming up in June in Decatur, Illinois. Um, and so I'd love to do more like soft cedar theaters with the band. I think that would be a really fun experience for like theatergoers to be able to collectively curate the show and make requests. Um, and I'd love to do choose your own adventure in that environment too. I think that could be really neat

Speaker B: where we can work.

Speaker A: Yeah, because you have everybody captive, you know, a captive audience. Um, but so the, the last, the last thing we did, last piece of content we put out, ah, you know, we, we wanted to stand out from the crowd. You know, I, I truly believe that, you know, UrQuest Live is one of the best bands in the world that you can possibly find. Um, and we wanted to make a video that really represents that. And you know, unless I wanted to spend six figures on renting out a ginormous venue with a ginormous stage with ginormous video content like video walls and everything, we decided to leverage the use of Unreal Engine 5, which is pretty much photorealistic, to create this next video. So I'm just going to um, pull that up now and let's take a look welcome to a new kind of entertainment experience in today's ever changing world. Audiences cross, uh, interactive, engaging and immersive experiences that will leave a lasting impression well beyond the event. Whether it be in person or virtual. Now is the time to push the boundaries of what is possible, step away from the status quo and embrace the new. Introducing urQuest Live, an internationally award winning concept created by event professionals for the events industry. The world's first audience curated concert experience that merges a live band and interactive technology, allowing audiences to collectively determine the outcome of the show by making requests and communicating with the band in real time. Simply put, urequest Live is a kick ass interactive all request show completely driven by your audience. Now without further ado, allow me to introduce you to you Request Live. Yo, yo, yo, yo. You request life, uh, in the building. All request all night. You don't know what's about to come. Leah, hit it.

Speaker B: You want me, I want you baby. My sugar boo. I'm levitating the milky Way.

Speaker A: We're manigating.

Speaker B: I got you moonlight, you're my starlight I need you all night.

Speaker A: Come on, dance with me. What do you think watching this?

Speaker B: I love. Looks really cool.

Speaker A: I need you to stay, need you to stay.

Speaker B: And what's crazy is that we were not all in the room when we did that.

Speaker A: No. So everybody was shot separately?

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Yeah. Some of you weren't even like we had a couple of you in, in the building watching each each other's performance. But then I think yeah, at least one or two of you were not even there. So they did it on a separate time.

Speaker B: So.

Speaker A: So it all worked out. We had some basic moves down and. But to find a location like this to shoot, how are you going to do that? And just. This was all shot with one camera. You know the camera movements, the uh, you know, the lens flare, all that stuff is like in Unreal Engine. So it's, it's pretty wild.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker A: I think it represents what we do live. Yeah. We even had pyro. See, can't do that in real life. Well you can, but.

Speaker B: So yeah, but it's crazy. Yeah, it looks super cool.

Speaker A: So yeah, that's um, that's seven years of view request live in just about an hour.

Speaker B: That's wild. It's been seven years.

Speaker A: I know. Do you have uh, that, do you have like a one, uh, sort of like memory out, uh, of the last seven years that sticks out to you the most or one gig or one location that we've been to that really stands out in your Mind.

Speaker B: Oh, um. There are so many highlights. And just watching all these videos has triggered so many memories. And, um, I. Obviously, I love when we get to travel and we. Because we actually all. All get along so well as a band, and, like, we are like a family. So I think that's. It's. That's what's special, at least for me, and getting to play with all of you. Um, so, I mean, Maine was a pretty spectacular show. I remember we were outside. Just something about that day and the people and the energy. Um, and Hawaii was pretty darn amazing as well.

Speaker A: Yeah. So I got it. I got to give the little backstory on Maine because that was one of the most fun gigs I've ever done in my life.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And it wasn't even, like, the gig was great, but it was the hospitality that was just beyond. Right. So we did this gig at, uh, Cellar Door Winery. Shout out to Cellar Door Winery. Go check them out online. Follow them.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Either wine. They are. They truly understand, you know, how to, um, take care of their performers. So, yeah, we went to this beautiful resort. I mean, it was kind of older, but it was still very nice. Right. Ocean, it's nice resort. We get there, they have massage vouchers for everybody in the band. They have, like.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: Uh, I think it was like 150 or 200 worth of credit just to spend anywhere on the resort. Just, like, at the convenience store or whatever. And unlimited everything. Right. Like, food, drinks, everything was on them. And they even flew us out, like, two days before the event. So we were there for, like, three days, just loving life. We were just having the best time. Yeah.

Speaker B: Yeah.

Speaker A: And I also loved Hawaii, too, but obviously, like, not everything was free, because that's, uh. That would have been nice, too.

Speaker B: And I just. And the interesting thing is, like, every time we do a show, obviously we're doing different songs, and it depends on the crowd and who's there. But I remember the main show. We kicked it off with Pony. Pony was the opening song, which is. I think we've only ever done that that one time. But, um. Uh, yeah, it's just always fun because you never know what you're going to play. And. And that night, I think we were just on fire. And everybody loved the show, and it was. And even. I think even the Internet went out because we were outside for a bit and it didn't matter. We just kept going. It was like, people are.

Speaker A: We had lots of. We had lots of requests by the time the Internet died. Um.

Speaker B: Yeah, that was so fun. Funny. It was so good. Yeah, great.

Speaker A: Yeah. And you bring up a great point that, you know, one of the, you know, the really cool things about your Request Live is that, you know, sometimes we go to. I remember we did an event in Orlando, I think it was, where it was like, mostly men in their 50s, plus they didn't dance or anything, but they were requesting classic rock, country, and they were totally into it and they were, you know, it was mostly men. It was in the middle of the day. They were, weren't like, partying, but they were really enjoying it. And you know, like you said, we go to another event. It's not a corporate event, it's a public event. It's a festival. And you have a thousand requests for Pony. You're just going to oblige them with that, right?

Speaker B: I mean, we're going to play it.

Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. Now that's the only song, funny enough, you say Pony, that I've had a few corporate clients like, yeah, that's the only song from your list. We're going to, uh, take off. And that's understandable because it's a little risque if you actually listen to the lyrics. Yeah, um, we have a comment here. Pretty dope, says Ryan Lewis. Thank you, Ryan. Appreciate that. Um, so, yeah, so that's, that's the show for today, really. And I, uh, I already kept you longer than I, I should have, but we were just like vibing and just reminiscing. Um, so I'm, I'm sorry to keep. I'm sorry I kept you over time, but, uh, it was really, really you as my sidekick for the show today. Um, I'm grateful for you in everything that you do and all the contributions that you've made to view Request Live and the Fusion Events family. Um, you're a, ah, integral part. So thank you so much. We value, you know, your contributions and our years and years and years of, um, friendship and uh, working together. So thank you so much, Leah. If anybody who's watching if or listening, you can check out Leah's original music on. You're on all the platforms, right? Spotify, itunes, Apple Music, all that stuff. She's got great videos on YouTube. Um, one of her projects during the pandemic was turning a church into a house. Um, yeah, it's so cool, guys. It's really, really cool. And you can check out some of the, uh, the content of her doing that on YouTube because she basically, uh, vlogged that with, with her husband Tim. So check that out. And, um, stay tuned for April Thirtieth is going to be our next show. We have Chris Turner, the amazing freestyle rapper comedian. He also, he's got, got 40 million views on YouTube. Leah. He's, like, bananas. And he was on the Colbert show, like Late Night With Colbert. Uh, he's incredible. And he's gonna come on the show and he's gonna do.

Speaker B: Oh, that's amazing.

Speaker A: He's gonna do a freestyle. And so, like, we're actually, I'm looking for volunteers. If you want to come on this show and, uh, try to stump Chris, um, Turner, you can do that. He'll. He can do any. He can rap to any word, any phrase, any industry jargon. You know, if you want him to rap about 12th century crop rotations, he can do that. He knows about it. It makes sense, it's funny. It's just mind boggling. So April 30th, uh, tune in. We'll be streaming live on all the platforms. And, um, Leah, thank you again for being on the show. This is Arthur K. And we are signing out.

Speaker B: Thanks, Arthur. Bye, everyone.

Speaker A: Bye.