Gig Soap

Chad Bourquin (00:22)
Welcome to Gigso podcast. I've got a good friend on Chris Higarian and Chris is Chris and I have known each other number of years. Chris is very prominent in the ex especially the original music scene in Kansas city has had a huge influence on just everything that has happened in that scene. He's, he's been a go-to guy for booking a lot of events that involve original music.

⁓ I remember the first time hearing your name, I'm just thinking, trying to figure out who is this guy. And then, I, I think we met down at this little pub or something downtown somewhere. don't even remember what it was. Yeah. I picture it, but I, don't remember what it was. And, I just remember you starting to talk about just this, you know, you were working for the star, I believe at the time and, ⁓ and you were just talking about how

Chris Haghirian (01:04)
I don't remember that.

Chad Bourquin (01:21)
You could just tell how much passion you had for original music, local music and helping artists out. And then we started working together on Plaza Art Fair and it's just kind of grown from there. But man, welcome.

Chris Haghirian (01:33)
feels like that's

a dozen plus years ago. I'm sure I have notes of it somewhere, but

Chad Bourquin (01:38)
It had to be. Yeah, I think it has been.

But yeah, man, so you know, now Boulevardia, I know your huge role in that event as well as others. Nice, nice, how'd it go?

Chris Haghirian (01:49)
just crossed the 10 year mark.

It looked good. I haven't heard officially or anything like that, but the it was a it was a crazy day that was the day of the no Kings protest and That was interesting where we know a lot of people went to that and then a lot of them came to the festival and Then kind of that vibe kind of carried throughout the day ⁓ talked about on stage a lot and Kind of empowering so that was something you can't plan on those kind of moments ⁓

Chad Bourquin (02:03)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Chris Haghirian (02:22)
when it's this, like we were just talking about before this went live, substitutions of acts. When anything adjusts to the norm that can create a cool moment and having a giant protest around the world that day, that afternoon, ⁓ a few blocks from where we were made it a cool moment for a lot of things.

Chad Bourquin (02:42)
Yeah, you know, think, especially when you're running events, you like everything to go really smooth and on time.

Chris Haghirian (02:47)
Yeah. Avoiding curve balls from, you know, political,

whether or otherwise, I suppose. But no, that's very real. Yeah.

Chad Bourquin (02:53)
Right. But it doesn't always happen, does it?

Yeah. Can you share what originally got you passionate about live music? What was the start of that? Or original music?

Chris Haghirian (03:08)
You know,

I have a journalism degree from KU and I was at the Star for 21 years and I had a, I liked what I did there, but it wasn't in this world yet. And then my friend, John Kreiksberg had a music blog called Patch Chord. This is like 04, 05. And somewhere during that timeframe, I started a concert calendar where I would email it out to people and then I'd ask them like, Hey, add your friends for this to your friends.

So I was building up this little thing and ⁓ I ended up writing for my buddy's pod, his blog, Patch Chord. And at the same time I was sending these kind of scathing emails to the bridge, 90.9 the bridge radio station, asking them things like, why are we talking about Celine Dion when we can be talking about all these other bands playing around town? And then I should have known in that moment cause I worked in advertising and marketing, but.

You talk about Celine Dion because they're paying your bills. And, ⁓ but because of my intrusiveness with their concert calendar stuff, I made a relationship there. And then I had the thing going with John, with John Kreixberg of the patch cord. And then, ⁓ at the Kansas city star, we started a launch, a new magazine called ink as in INK and, ⁓ a young reader publication. And it's right as that was.

starting ⁓ to do well, one of my buddies who we go to South by and our paths crossed a little bit, but we had this idea, he had this idea he brought to me. like, what do you think about throwing a music festival? And I'm like, I look back on it now and it's like the scene in the matrix, like the red pool or the blue pill for Neo. And that set me on a trajectory that, you know.

unbelievable trajectory and I went and asked my boss I'm like can I have $25,000 and then I went and sold like 60 grand in sponsorships and then all of a sudden we had middle of the map and then from that this spiderweb of stuff happened when with the Royals and I met you somewhere along the way with the Plaza Art Fair and then middle did middle of map did really well and then

We've had partnerships with Boulevard and then that led to Boulevardia. And then ⁓ you get trusted by people and then you get to do a lot of cool things. ⁓ And you know this better than most, when you value the person who's writing the check to actually pay for the bands and pay you. And when they trust you, it goes a long way and you get a lot of referrals that way. But with the radio show tonight is my...

We're almost to 600, 586th show tonight, 11 plus years. And if you don't know, the show is called the 8 160, or every Tuesday night from six to seven o'clock on 90.9 the bridge. talk about what's happening in and around the Kansas City music scene. And that can lend from tonight's show is All New Music. It can be a show about Boulevardia. Two weeks ago, it was all about Make Music Day, which is a worldwide.

day celebrated every year on June 21st. So it gives me the freedoms to let the day flex to talk about whatever we want. And we're lucky to have that platform on the bridge for 11 plus years now. And it makes me have to pay attention to Kansas City music, which I love anyway. Friday mornings are my favorite thing because it's I wake up and I look at my release radar on Spotify, or the algorithm knows me better.

than any human. ⁓ And it knows all the local stuff and I get to listen to that and then save it, download it, find it, find a clean edit and play it on my radio show or consider that for a lineup for a festival or a gig.

Chad Bourquin (07:14)
Did you ever envision that your skating email would turn into your own show?

Chris Haghirian (07:18)
No, and that's what's so funny. and I could, if I look hard enough, I might be able to even find that email. I probably should look for that, but it was to John Hart. And then when the bridge moved from Warrensburg to Kansas City.

Chad Bourquin (07:20)
you

Chris Haghirian (07:34)
12 plus years ago, in that year somewhere before that, he's like, what do think about having a show? And like, before he could finish the sentence, I was like, yes, like as fast as I could. And ⁓ now it's amazing because it lets me connect so many things. ⁓ All the circles of my life or music stuff. And then the day job, because day jobs happen too.

And for my day job, I run a nonprofit called Spray KC, where we work with artists and muralists and put up murals all over town and in schools. And then with that, we started a little mural festival and there's now bands and murals. And ⁓ once again, my little world just continues to collide.

Chad Bourquin (08:21)
Yeah. What are some of the acts over the years that you've worked with that you've really seen kind of take off from a local level to beyond?

Chris Haghirian (08:34)
I mean, one of the most fun ones perhaps might be like Madison Ward and Mama Bear, where, you know, one day they're playing at Crossroads Music Festival. And then I remember I hit them up to play Plaza Art Fair. And Plaza Art Fair is always in September and it's always the weekend of Americana Fest over in Nashville. And ⁓ I'd hit him up and they're like, I don't think we can make it. We got offered to play.

this like private showcase for Eddie Vedder or something like that in Nashville before we play Americana Fest. And then fast forward to like March and they're on Glass Note Records, ⁓ home of like Lady Gaga and Fast Track there to release a single because they got this little gig on Letterman and they're on Letterman playing silent movies and that

that single, if that was on a Thursday night, the single came out on Friday, and then it feels like a week later or two weeks later, they were at South by Southwest and, you know, then they went on to do Europe and things like that. So that was fun to see that trajectory. And that's what we want for all of our friends. And I think even a little bit of like a

Radkey or Black Star Kids or Greeting Committee where you saw this happening here in Kansas City and it built and all those bands went on to play big festivals and ⁓ Greeting Committee they were supposed to play Bonnaroo, but Bonnaroo got canceled because of rain again third time in five years But they were supposed to head straight there from Boulevardia Played Boulevardia and they got off stage at 730 on Saturday night

and then play Sunday afternoon in Manchester, Tennessee. And they wanted a hotel room in Kansas City. I'm like, how? I've done the math. I've done the drive. And I'm like, I don't think you really need a hotel room. I think you might need a driver. Because it's a 10 hour drive from Kansas City to the stage at Bonnaroo. But it's fun to watch things like that build. And then too, mean, just.

It's fun to watch bands you love do what they do, and a band like Hembree, who I'm friends with so many of those guys and have been for so long, and they're out there still doing it, and they're getting good tours and good support gigs and have placements on TV shows. I just saw one the other night, it was a while ago, but from Hembree in a show called 13 Reasons Why. They are literally the only reason to watch that show. ⁓ But... ⁓

It's fun when your friends find success and you can all celebrate that a little bit together.

Chad Bourquin (11:24)
Yeah, that that greeting committee story is pretty crazy. The ⁓ I think I think it was during COVID I interviewed their manager who she's like, she started as just one of their friends right there and

Chris Haghirian (11:37)
⁓

Peyton, probably Peyton Merrick was that. Yeah.

Chad Bourquin (11:39)
Yes, Peyton Merrick. That's what it was. And now she's like

working for a huge agency out in California.

Chris Haghirian (11:45)
Yeah, she recently left the agency and is now working for Core Productions. But she was out in LA and she was managing the recs and I'm not gonna remember them all now, but she had probably, AWOL Nation, she had like 10 or 12 bands under her umbrella and was still working with the committee. But they were all kids, they all met when they were children and somehow the greeting committee

celebrated their 10 year anniversary. And the only way I know how old she is, is because it's a lyric in the new single, but 26. So they have been gigging out for 10 years. And I think they played like the second Boulevardia when she would have been like 17. But yeah, I mean, their story and then Blackstar Kids was a great story too that going into COVID, they were the last band I saw before COVID. And it was three kids all from like Raymore or Raytown.

And somehow their music got to Maddy Healy of the band 1975. And during COVID, they set up this record distribution deal. And then coming out of COVID, they went out on tour with Group Love in 1975 and played Bonnaroo and Coachella, all these things. And now they've gone their different ways, but two of the musicians in that project are still making music. The Babe Gabe, she played Boulevardia and her stuff's amazing.

It's fun to watch the ebb and flow of it all. then, ⁓ you know, at the same point too, it's also just fun to see the crowd react in any level, whether it be in a corner at a bar or when your band plays out at the Arrowhead before the Chiefs game, like, and Tech N9ne walks by and like, hey man, can I jump on stage? Like those are the moments, right? ⁓ The things you can't ever plan on.

but we'll remember and talk about for a long time after.

Chad Bourquin (13:44)
So what have you seen with the Kansas City music scene since you started this? I mean, you know, I kind of bring this up because, you know, I've talked to groups that come over here from St. Louis and other cities and they talk about that they don't have this going on there. You know, that's why they're coming here, which we're not. I wouldn't say if on a national basis, I don't know that we're known for a music scene, but yet it, in my opinion, it's thriving. What do you think?

Chris Haghirian (14:15)
You know, it's interesting. I feel like we were in a really great spot before COVID. And then I think still since COVID, original music is still trying to recover a little bit. And definitely our friends who have cover band projects and go that route, and a lot of original musicians have multiple gigs and one of them is probably that. That stuff's doing really well still, but I still think there's plenty of room.

for original music to grow. And because of our friendship, that's one way it helps, things like the Plaza Art Fair, where obviously people aren't necessarily there for the music, but it's that trickle down. And I remember when I used to work with the Royals and you'd have a band play before the games out there and I could be out anywhere in a t-shirt. And I specifically remember one, cause it was...

the dude must have been like 70 something. And I had on a shirt for Beautiful Bodies. And he came up to me, he's like, how do you know that band? And I'm like, oh, they're my friends. And he's like, I saw them play at the Royals game, I love that band. And you know, I'm like, dudes like could be Alicia Sillimbrino's grandfather. And the lead singer of the Beautiful Bodies is Alicia Sillimbrino. But those are the moments I love so much when you know that something you worked hard on

and it connects back to you in some weird little way like that where they mention to you that that's how they found them through something like the Art Fair or the Royals or a cheese game. ⁓ Those are the good moments, but I think that, you know, I just try to push it as hard as I can and I'm lucky to have the radio show and have the bridge. And the bridge does amazing things for original music where you can listen to Turn It On, you can hear the Beatles and Led Zeppelin and

Lady Gaga and the greeting committee or ⁓ Cat King or Katie Giean and the Drive like and then at the same time Katie Giean's about to go over to Europe with Daniel Nicole and play with her for a run of shows over there so it all builds slowly but it all helps and it all builds so yeah

Chad Bourquin (16:31)
Well, let's pivot a bit to what do you think separates these groups that you've talked about that have gone to the next level with ones that are either still trying to figure it out or have struggled. What do you think the big difference is?

Chris Haghirian (16:48)
One of my favorite conversations that I ever had and I've referenced it so often on my radio show, I was booking, you know how when the grocery store closes and it becomes a trampoline gym? I was booking a couple trampoline gyms and it was a while back and I had Making Movies who've gone on and toured the world and they were playing the trampoline gym.

Chad Bourquin (17:02)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Haghirian (17:14)
And the owner of the gym would buy us like pizzas and we'd hang out afterwards and like the birthday room as the band comes down from playing the gig. And I got to talking to Enrique and he said to me, and I've said it on my show so many times, the thing he noticed from when 10 people came to his show versus a hundred people starting to come to his show was songwriting and how important it is to be able to write a great song.

to be able to put together a chorus and a hook and, you melody and smart lyrics and fun lyrics, and hopefully somewhere down the road, have people sing those lyrics back to you. And that stuck with me so long. And I understand that a lot of bands will do everything they possibly can financially, creatively, and with time to get a single out. But it's amazing when...

Again, to go back to something like Madison Ward, where you're given tools and have time to sit down and write, to shop, to co-write songs, 30 songs for a record and only use 11 of them because those are the best 11. Where I understand if you're a local band and you all have gigs and jobs and other things going on in your life that you can kill yourself to just get out any song at all, that's awesome. But it's...

when you're given the amazing set of tools, which not a lot of people are given that amazing set of tools, to be able to focus on it, to dedicate all of it to it and then edit. Maybe that's what Enrique is talking about when he talks about going from 10 to 100 people in the crowd. And of course, now that, you those guys are playing big shows all over the country, countries, all over many countries and getting ready for their big festival here, America KanaFest, which is in late July.

over in the Northeast side. ⁓ songwriting and editing, those are hugely important. And then two, think figuring out how to engage a crowd, talk to your fans. And I know one of our good mutual friends, Miguel, from the band Run With It, does that better than most, where that dude can dig into your soul from the stage and connect like I haven't seen people connect.

Chad Bourquin (19:34)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Haghirian (19:34)
And then

people will hang out after the show to talk to you, to share their story. And ⁓ I'm such a fan of him and his bands and his music and how he can connect like that. So I don't know the magical formula, but some sort of connectability and lyrics. And then also somebody in your band with a little business savvy. I'm sure you're like me where...

You can love a band and you might not know a single person's other name in the band other than your main contact because that's who your go-to is in that band because maybe they were studying business in college for a minute or marketing in college for a minute or something like that and that they've become the point person for your dealings with but that kind of person would help too.

Chad Bourquin (20:09)
you

Yeah, well, so, you know, speaking of the point person here, you know, I know you and I have had conversations in the past just about, you know, you certain things like you're just asking for a, like maybe a stage plot or an input list or just, I mean, some of the most basic stuff and you get, it's all across the board where we get in, you know, how much, so,

Chris Haghirian (20:53)
Yeah.

Chad Bourquin (20:57)
Say if you got band A that is quality band, great band, they connect with the crowd, they do all that. And you got band B that also does that, but also gives you really organized information for your festival and makes your life easier. Does that have an impact on your future bookings? Of who you decide? Yeah.

Chris Haghirian (21:18)
It definitely

does if there's a cancellation late and you're like, I know this person will have this now. And one of the best people to hit up in that cancellation is somebody like Drew Six and actually Miguel, as we're sitting here talking about him, he's texting me. But like somebody who has everything together and can be anywhere so fast if they're not already gigging. But then there's the other part where like Boulevardia

Chad Bourquin (21:24)
Mmm.

Yeah.

Chris Haghirian (21:48)
especially on, ⁓ it's called the holiday stage or the quirk stage in the past, but it's the smallest stage of Boulevardia, but it's my favorite stage of Boulevardia because it's in this nook and there's shade and there's this, I can't explain it, breeze that goes all day long. But it's a stage where you're allowed really to kind of whatever you want. And if it's a younger band that doesn't know how to do a stage plot and you can

deal with it for a little while and you still want them to play. That's pretty cool. And then too, the fun and silly thing about Boulevardia or any festival is if they normally play as a five piece, but now it's Boulevardia, now they're like a 12 piece. And ⁓ one act I had as a four piece played as a nine piece on the smallest stage and... ⁓

Chad Bourquin (22:19)
Yeah.

Chris Haghirian (22:42)
you get these texts and emails like, we bring backup dancers? Can we bring confetti cannons? Can we bring this? Can we have wireless mics? I'm like, you know that stage is 10 foot by 16 foot, right? Like, ⁓ but those are the fun things. So sometimes you roll with it. If you know they don't have it all figured out. Also, it's terrible, but like, if I don't have a bio, what's up, chapgpt? Like, let's jump in and see what that makes.

And sometimes, you if you can give it enough content, it can create some interesting stuff. Yeah, but you know, promo shots, those are hugely important. And, you know, I've done that where in the past someone's grabbed the wrong promo shot and it had somebody who used to be in the band who there's probably a relationship with that is no longer. And unfortunately, sometimes that gets pushed out. Well, you don't want that to happen, but.

To have those at the ready, should have a promo photo, a W9, a stage plot, and a bio, and your links ready to go. And ⁓ there's a few people who do it really well. And then at this point, and I'm sure you can relate as you've done this for so long, you probably have half that stuff already on one of your computers. How many and stage plots and promo photos do you have just on your desktop? ⁓

Yeah, the readiness is very important, but also if you're wanting to lean in and give somebody a shot that hasn't had that shot yet, either roll with it.

Chad Bourquin (24:21)
Sure, yeah. Well, and boy, you bring up the last minute gigs. I mean, I can just, from personal experience, some of the greatest gigs I've ever played were booked short notice. I mean, one of them was two days out, and that one gig turned into ⁓ a multiple year sponsorship, seven other gigs. ⁓ But it was because we were able to, you know, what you said, respond fast, respond.

Chris Haghirian (24:32)
Right.

Wow.

Chad Bourquin (24:51)
you know, professionally, you know, and so it's such, I think it's such a huge things for bands to pay attention to that side of things. mean, the music, so hopefully there is like, if you're dealing with full bands, know, hopefully there's somebody in there that can take that on. It's got that skill. Cause a lot of times what I've noticed, Miguel is kind of an anomaly because normally people that are really good at that skill of connecting the crowd and can like go like that are not going to be your business person too. ⁓

Chris Haghirian (24:53)
Yeah.

Right.

That's real.

Chad Bourquin (25:21)
So, but he's got both, which is kind of rare and cool.

Chris Haghirian (25:22)
Yeah.

Yeah,

there's a few folks like that that can handle that. But it is also funny when this just happened the other day with a band I've booked so many times and somebody's like, well, he's the drummer. like, I don't know him. I know my guy. I don't know the drummer's name at all. ⁓ you have that one point person and then you go from there. funny.

Chad Bourquin (25:28)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Where do you see this scene here in Kansas City heading? What do you what I mean? Yeah, we've got the World Cup coming up next year. That's going to be potentially very insane. What are your thoughts?

Chris Haghirian (26:01)
Yeah, I mean,

every day I'm in meetings about World Cup stuff right now and I don't think we're ready at all for it. ⁓ I think with the World Cup, obviously during the NFL draft, there were the big concerts that happened. There was a Thundercat and was it Motley Crue and somebody else. I think those things will happen, but

The difference between that and the World Cup hopefully will be they say people stay for six to nine days who come to our town. I definitely think the low-hanging fruit will be jazz and barbecue when people come here. So hopefully that that community can rise up to the occasion. But obviously it'd be great if they went into the record bar and warehouse on Broadway and Rhino and saw some of our great Kansas City acts as well. But I don't know how that's going to go.

I know and I imagine you have too. You've probably tried to get into some of these rooms to be part of these things and you know, I have a meeting tomorrow about it, a meeting Thursday about it. I had a two hour meeting about it yesterday and everyone just trying to find their place in the World Cup ripple of it and hopefully that works but yeah, it'd be fun to see somebody else have a good rise.

And I imagine Tech9 will get a lot of accolades, which is awesome that he has had that success.

But it'd be cool to see some other folks take that dive and jump off of it.

Chad Bourquin (27:38)
Well, I'm expecting speaking of last minute, I'm expecting a lot of last minute stuff. There's going to be people that forgot to do book their entertainment for something or made a light call. And I mean, with the, with an event that long, the, I mean, I heard the other day, ⁓ if somebody just rented their house out for four weeks for $85,000, you know,

Chris Haghirian (27:44)
I mean

Yeah.

my god.

Chad Bourquin (28:06)
I'm like, my wife and I are talking, well, could we go somewhere for four weeks? You know?

Chris Haghirian (28:13)
Yeah, I'm sure

that's going to continue happening because it sounds like we don't have enough hotel rooms and places that have made illegal Airbnbs like Parkville just changed the law for the World Cup. I'm sure that'll continue to happen. I guess we hope that they go in to check out other shows. And I know I'm not normal, but I know whenever I go to any city, my destinations always include

Chad Bourquin (28:19)
Right.

Yeah.

Chris Haghirian (28:41)
I wanna go to all the clubs and venues that I've ever heard of in that city. So hopefully we've got some music nerds ⁓ as well as soccer slash football fans come into Kansas City from wherever in the world and ⁓ wanna see those bands play.

Chad Bourquin (28:58)
Yeah, for sure. So you're talking a little bit about like this new artist that might call you up and you want to give them a shot. so what, I mean, if you had a chance to sit down at 15 minutes with this group and this artist and give them any advice and knew that they were going to listen, what would you want them to take from that conversation?

Chris Haghirian (29:23)
⁓ as far as the booking or.

Chad Bourquin (29:26)
In any part, what I mean, just anything that's going to propel them.

Chris Haghirian (29:30)
Yeah,

you know, I would encourage them. I think the importance of a Spotify band bio is so important anymore because Instagram gives you like 20 words. Everybody wants to do well on TikTok, but that's so hard. And then Facebook has made it so much harder to do anything on there. But I think the great starting point is Spotify.

and how it's so important to have your information there. And you can link to your Instagram and to your Facebook from there as well. ⁓ That and sincerity and don't lie because this town is the size of a thimble. When you get into the pocket of people who do cool, who get to do cool things. And, you know, a lot of us talk a lot and some of us have

Chad Bourquin (30:12)
Mm-hmm.

Chris Haghirian (30:25)
trunk emails like whatever at music.com or Boulevard music at Boulevardia.com or something out there for Irish Fest like that as well and so you don't know you don't know who you're always emailing but the people that are getting that email probably know more about you already than you would give them credit for ⁓ so don't lie be sincere and

Chad Bourquin (30:52)
Be nice. Yeah.

Chris Haghirian (30:53)
Yeah, be nice and prompt,

that's a good thing. I never need you to call me. I know that. Texts, emails, those are great. DMs or anything like that, those are also great. But it's crazy how a phone call will stick out. I don't know how you feel about phone call, errant phone calls. A phone call, you're like, hey man, do you have a minute? Can I give you a shout?

is one thing versus just continuously calling. ⁓ But yeah, mean, respect the people's time, because everybody's probably doing 75 things the same way you probably are as well. ⁓

Yeah, would say there. Oh, and don't wear shorts on stage. That's another big one. And I didn't complain about it at Boulevardia because it was really hot. But man, especially if you're playing an indoor show, they got air conditioning and you're wearing shorts on stage. Respect the stage. Don't wear shorts on stage. That goes in my notes for art fair every year. And last year I had a band on that I had never played.

and they talk to their friends who had played before and they're like, is he serious? He's like, yes, he's very serious. Don't wear shorts on stage. And I know during Art Fair, can get a little warm. It can also get a little cold. So your set's not that long. You'll be okay. ⁓ Yeah, I would also say when you get to a gig or a venue or a festival, if you're in the band, go shake the hand of the person running sound.

shake the hand of the stage manager, thank the people that are there, introduce yourself, because that can go a long way. Just making that connection. And those people see a lot of music. And, it's even more small. if you want that job, they're hiring. If you want to run sound or production or be hands on a show. ⁓

Chad Bourquin (32:47)
Yeah, and how small was that world?

Yeah.

Chris Haghirian (33:00)
Yeah, if you can get those guys to like you, they're the most jaded of people. But if they like your music and then they tell their friends, you know what, I get those texts. I love those texts when it's the most jaded of people who help put together events and you get a text in a video and you're like, who's this? This is amazing. Make sure you book this band, sort of stuff. are so helpful because as...

This can also have this decision fatigue of this ⁓ weird little world that we've carved out, trying to always think about the next random text message you get about, what do you think about this for this? I'm like, hang on, let me jump out of the cloud I was just in, working on whatever that was and open a new spreadsheet and let me think about this in terms like that. But you know, I feel lucky and blessed always.

Chad Bourquin (33:45)
Hmm.

Chris Haghirian (33:56)
to be able to help get to do these things and trying to create a cool thing for other people to go experience.

Chad Bourquin (34:03)
How many texts do you think you get a day?

Chris Haghirian (34:05)
all dude. I mean just since we've been sitting here. I don't know there's 10, 11 since we've been sitting here. You know the fun ones are the music submissions. Those are my favorites because of the radio show. Because I'm always seeking out stuff but you can't seek it all out. So I love that stuff comes in like that and then when I can sit down and throw it all in a folder and listen to it all those are that's the best stuff.

And then there's a lot of times where if I get it on a Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and I got my show on Tuesday, it might end up on the show on Tuesday. it's three minutes long and I got a three minute hole, and you got a show coming up next week, and I can ⁓ play the song and promote your show, that's the greatest when people don't expect it. They just think they're sending it in randomly, and then all of sudden, here we are playing it.

Chad Bourquin (34:47)
Right. Never know.

Chris, man, thanks bud. This has been fun. Yeah.

Chris Haghirian (35:02)
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks

for having me on and I'm lucky to have known you and got to do so many things with you and run silly, crazy ideas by you and have you have got to have you play fun shows and festivals and things like that along the way. appreciate you and what you do and this podcast. That's awesome.

Chad Bourquin (35:25)
Yeah, man. Well, excited for another Art Fair with you. yeah, so hey, you've been listening to Gigs Soap. Thanks for joining us.

Chris Haghirian (35:28)
Yeah.