Episode 239

full
Published on:

25th Jan 2025

Behind the Scenes of Coastal Comic Con: What to Expect This Year!

Coastal Comic Con is set to take place on March 1st and 2nd at the Wilmington Convention Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the excitement is palpable among the hosts. The episode features Donald Brock Jr., the event coordinator, who shares insights about the upcoming convention, including a lineup of notable guests such as Sam Witwer and Matthew Wood, as well as the diverse range of activities planned. The discussion also touches on the differences between Coastal Comic Con and other events like Soda City Comic Con, emphasizing the unique experiences attendees can expect. Throughout the conversation, the hosts reflect on the growth of the comic con scene in the region and the economic impact of events like these on local communities. With a mix of humor and candid opinions, the hosts engage in a lively dialogue about the importance of bringing such conventions to Wilmington, highlighting the opportunities they create for fans and vendors alike.

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Transcript
Zach King:

The All About Nothing podcast may have language and content that isn't appropriate for some.

Barrett Gruber:

Listener discretion is advised.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Welcome nothingers, to another episode of the All About Nothing podcast.

Donald Brock Jr.:

This is episode number 239.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I am Barrett Gruber.

Zach King:

I'm Zach King.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Welcome, Zach.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Please subscribe and share the show as this is how we get new listeners.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Also, if you could please consider supporting the show financially by visiting our website and clicking on the support link, we'll have more information about that at the end of the show.

Donald Brock Jr.:

If you can't do that, please drop us a review, hit the five stars, give us a thumbs up or leave a comment.

Donald Brock Jr.:

All that helps drive us up high higher in the show ratings on all of these podcast platforms.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Welcome Mr.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Donald Brock Jr.

Donald Brock Jr.:

To the program.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Again, everybody knows who Donald is.

Barrett Gruber:

Somewhat of a regular.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Ultimately, if we gave out rings or like championship belts or something, Five Timers robes, you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You'd have at least five times club.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, we're gonna start handing out robes for.

Donald Brock Jr.:

For coming on the show as many times.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So consider yourself a member of the five Timers club.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think it's been five times, hasn't it?

Donald Brock Jr.:

One, two.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's probably close to it.

Barrett Gruber:

If not, definitely four.

Barrett Gruber:

If not five.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Zach King:

This has to be the live show.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I forgot about that one.

Zach King:

Yeah, yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Let me, let me get out of the way some of the business.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Check out ZJZ designs for apparel and gifts.

Donald Brock Jr.:

New designs come out regularly with cool designs that you'll actually want to wear.

Donald Brock Jr.:

There will be some St.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Patrick's Day shirts and apparel and gifts ideas and things that are coming out for the St.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Patrick's Day holiday.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So check that out.

Donald Brock Jr.:

ZJZ Designs.com also ever play sports and social leagues right now are registering for new new leagues that will start up in the spring.

Donald Brock Jr.:

All the leagues are registering now.

Donald Brock Jr.:

There's softball, kickball, dodgeball, volleyball, pickleball.

Donald Brock Jr.:

All of the balls leagues are registering now and Registration ends on February 19th.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Sign up now@everplaysocial.com so business out of the way.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We're going to get into it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So Donald Brock Jr.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Is here because March 1st and 2nd at the Wilmington Convention center in Wilmington, North Carolina is the second Coastal Comic Con and we're excited.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I want to introduce Donald Brock Jr.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Who is the captain of the ship, the tip of the spear, the point guard, the maestro of the orchestra, the QB one, the puppet master, the pilot of the plane, the shepherd among sheep, the lead duck, the canary in a coal mine.

Barrett Gruber:

Fuck up.

Barrett Gruber:

Good God.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Donald Brock Jr.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Is the coordinator of the:

Donald Brock Jr.:

Again, March 1st and 2nd, taking place this year at the Wilmington Convention center in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Look, I, I had Chat GPT produce most of those.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I didn't know some of those were a thing.

Zach King:

The canary in the coal mine.

Zach King:

If Brock falls over, leave.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, exactly.

Barrett Gruber:

The canary is the first one that dies.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't want to be the canary.

Barrett Gruber:

Wow.

Barrett Gruber:

Savage, that's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay, look, so ultimately, because Zach and I have now done Soda City Comic Con, which is always an awesome event, first of all, I want, what are some of the differences between Coastal Comic Con and Soda City Comic Con?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Besides location?

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, that, that might be the biggest difference.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, you know, when, when you've, when you've got a formula that works, you know, why, why change it?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, don't disagree at all.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, you know, we have.

Barrett Gruber:

I'll just kind of walk through the building in my mind.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, we have the retro video game room.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay.

Barrett Gruber:

We have, you know, an exhibit hall full of exhibitors and artists and our celebrity guests.

Barrett Gruber:

We have the VR villa, which is a cool, fun thing and is always changing and having new, new titles being brought online.

Barrett Gruber:

We have our panel room.

Barrett Gruber:

And this year we're bringing in a, like a board game room.

Barrett Gruber:

Like a traditional board gaming room with like, what do you call it?

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know if RPG is the right word, but like tabletop.

Barrett Gruber:

Tabletop, I guess, yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

Warhammer, 40K.

Barrett Gruber:

The Dungeons and Dragons.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, traditional board games.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, when I think of traditional board games, I think of games like, I don't know, Clue, Candyland, Monopoly.

Barrett Gruber:

But I mean, obviously the Settlers of Catan, you know, there's all sorts of board games.

Barrett Gruber:

So we're gonna check out a two.

Zach King:

Day Coastal Comic Con DND campaign just to see what's happening.

Barrett Gruber:

That, that would be a lot of, A lot of time that you spend.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't want to say wasted time, but that's not, not my thing.

Barrett Gruber:

But it'd be a lot of time that you invest in a D and D campaign.

Barrett Gruber:

My son plays.

Zach King:

We can figure it out.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, I'm not going to knock it.

Barrett Gruber:

My son, My son does D and D and my daughter also does D and D at their middle school.

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, that's, that's great that they're doing those extra activities.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, of course you do.

Barrett Gruber:

In your mom's basement, right?

Zach King:

Yeah, my mom had a basement.

Zach King:

That's where we'd be, Brian.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, I mean, I have watched Stranger Things.

Barrett Gruber:

ed in their mom's basement in:

Barrett Gruber:

So.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, that's fair.

Barrett Gruber:

But you know, it.

Barrett Gruber:

It's similar to.

Barrett Gruber:

To.

Barrett Gruber:

To Soda City.

Barrett Gruber:

And so, you know, we.

Barrett Gruber:

We've.

Barrett Gruber:

We've created a formula that we think works.

Barrett Gruber:

It's fun.

Barrett Gruber:

We feel like it's great value for what people pay.

Barrett Gruber:

You can spend the day there just doing all sorts of fun things.

Barrett Gruber:

And it's in Wilmington, which is a great, great coastal city that.

Zach King:

Yeah, my favorite beach is Wilmington Beach.

Barrett Gruber:

Ish.

Barrett Gruber:

Inches of snow today, which is very fun.

Barrett Gruber:

I saw pictures earlier on Facebook like Myrtle beach was covered in snow.

Barrett Gruber:

Charleston is blanketed in snow.

Barrett Gruber:

It's unbelievable.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

That all these, These coastal areas, these coastal cities are just got more snow than we got.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Barrett Gruber:

It's.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, we got a little bit, which was.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Some reason where we live seems to suffer from the dry patch of air.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So when the snow gets here, it gets over us, it starts falling and then it just evaporates through Virga.

Zach King:

Yeah.

Zach King:

When it's time for rain, it's like.

Zach King:

You get all the rain.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Zach King:

Have fun with that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

And then it gets hot.

Barrett Gruber:

We get our own natural saunas outside.

Zach King:

Yep.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, it's going to be March in.

Donald Brock Jr.:

In Wilmington.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, great weather.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The event.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Event last year was the same period of time, right?

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was the same weekend.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, it was effectively.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

Like even that last.

Barrett Gruber:

The very last weekend in February that bled into March, I think it was February 28th, March 1st or something like that.

Barrett Gruber:

Or maybe March two and three.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't have a calendar in front of me.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

If anyone's interested, they can look back.

Barrett Gruber:

But.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But no, you're absolutely correct.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That is a perfect time of year.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We're done.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We're basically done with winter and we're moving into spring.

Donald Brock Jr.:

One of the things that always looms for Soda City Comic Con is that the fact that it's at the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's middle of the end of August, the first year we went.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So the first year that we did Comic Con was two years ago.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And I didn't think it was too terribly hot.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was warm outside, but people that were in the lines didn't seem too uncomfortable and nobody was passing out, so everything was good, man.

Donald Brock Jr.:

This past Comic Con.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So to City Comic Con in Columbia, the weather was unbelievable.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, the highs were only in the upper 70s for mid August.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, it was.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, it was.

Barrett Gruber:

It was great weather this past year.

Barrett Gruber:

I think the prior Year was also really nice weather.

Barrett Gruber:

We've only had one weekend where it was just, like, scalding hot.

Barrett Gruber:

And I'll.

Barrett Gruber:

I'll give a.

Barrett Gruber:

A shout out in a stick tap or whatever.

Barrett Gruber:

Ring the bells, whatever you guys have for our crew.

Zach King:

I like the stick tap.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, the stick tap.

Barrett Gruber:

Yep.

Barrett Gruber:

Big hurricanes fan, if anybody doesn't know, but there we go.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

But, you know, our.

Barrett Gruber:

Our staff has just done a great job in really streamlining admissions and getting people through the door in a very timely manner so that you're not stuck outside for multiple hours in the heat.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, there have.

Barrett Gruber:

When it's been so hot that we've actually, you know, brought in fans that we've set up along the way that would just move some air.

Barrett Gruber:

But for the most part, it seems like the gods have smiled upon all the.

Barrett Gruber:

The nerds that gather for pop culture weekend in Colombia and have blessed us with nice weather.

Barrett Gruber:

Of course.

Barrett Gruber:

Of course, you know, this week, this.

Barrett Gruber:

This year, it'll rain on us because, you know, no good deed goes no good.

Barrett Gruber:

No good deed goes unpunished.

Barrett Gruber:

But exactly.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, I'm not going to adhere to that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's going to be beautiful weather.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We're talking about coast.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So let's start with Coastal Comic Con.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Coastal Comic Con is gonna be perfect way tickets are available now.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can go to coastal comic con.com to get your tickets.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That and I definitely.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So some of the vendors that are coming are some of the vendors that are going to be there in Wilmington.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Are they some of the same vendors that we see in Columbia?

Barrett Gruber:

We do get some crossover.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, we.

Barrett Gruber:

I like to think that we run a fun and successful event for the attendees and for the vendors, for artists.

Barrett Gruber:

So when we launched this event last year, and I can say that because it is 20.

Barrett Gruber:

When we did launch it last year, there was a lot of interest from our Rolodex, as you like to say, in the prior conversation of vendors and artists.

Barrett Gruber:

So they're more than happy to kind of follow us, you know, there.

Barrett Gruber:

I know there are other shows out there that kind of, you know, tour all over the country.

Barrett Gruber:

Let's speak, so to speak.

Barrett Gruber:

And they have vendors that literally, that's what they do.

Barrett Gruber:

They just do all these particular shows.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm not going to necessarily mention any names.

Barrett Gruber:

It doesn't matter.

Barrett Gruber:

But there are a lot of vendors who.

Barrett Gruber:

Who have told me personally, they said they'll say, brock, you know, whenever you do a show, I'm gonna do your show.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't care where it is.

Barrett Gruber:

We're gonna do your show.

Barrett Gruber:

We think you do a great job.

Barrett Gruber:

And that.

Barrett Gruber:

That, you know, hearing something like that just, you know, gives you like, you know, warms.

Barrett Gruber:

Gives you a little warmth inside on.

Barrett Gruber:

On a cold.

Zach King:

I think we're included in that, right?

Barrett Gruber:

Sure.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Do we?

Zach King:

No matter where you do your show, Brock, it could be hell.

Zach King:

We will be there.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, we.

Barrett Gruber:

So it doesn't really matter.

Barrett Gruber:

We'll broadcast from hell at some point.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, like that's a place.

Zach King:

That exists.

Zach King:

Welcome to Michigan.

Zach King:

Yeah, so I've been.

Zach King:

Do you have any.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Sorry.

Zach King:

Can you tell us the guests so far?

Barrett Gruber:

Well, yeah, we've announced all our guests.

Barrett Gruber:

Leslie, I've got missing.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Oh, yeah, so.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So we know six.

Barrett Gruber:

So I was writing some down because I'm trying to line up some, like, different interviews for local radio up there.

Barrett Gruber:

One thing that I find interesting about Wilmington, that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Hold on, hold on, hold on.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Local radio up there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, we are worldwide.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Man, you would not believe our German audience.

Zach King:

You wouldn't believe our Wilmington, North Carolina audience, which I am a hometown team fan of.

Zach King:

I have family there and everything.

Barrett Gruber:

So they're listening.

Barrett Gruber:

They're going to listen to this broadcast?

Zach King:

Absolutely.

Zach King:

They do.

Barrett Gruber:

Are they going to come to the event?

Zach King:

I'll send them to.

Zach King:

I'll send them right there to shut the whole thing down.

Zach King:

I'm just kidding.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, that's.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, we actually have a couple staff, so he's probably buddies with.

Barrett Gruber:

With our poll.

Barrett Gruber:

We have a poll.

Barrett Gruber:

Is your.

Barrett Gruber:

Is your.

Barrett Gruber:

Is your family Wilmington?

Barrett Gruber:

Wpd.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay, well, I'm sure I'm Ask.

Barrett Gruber:

Ask him if he knows Paul Rasputt the next time.

Zach King:

I will.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Zach King:

Ask Paul Finesse.

Zach King:

Jamie King.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm sure he does.

Barrett Gruber:

They all.

Barrett Gruber:

They all know each other.

Barrett Gruber:

It's like one big fraternity.

Barrett Gruber:

Who would.

Barrett Gruber:

Who would have guessed?

Zach King:

So it is.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So the guest.

Barrett Gruber:

Yes, Cal DOD is coming back.

Barrett Gruber:

Matthew Wason.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And.

Barrett Gruber:

Matthew Watterson is best known for voicing Magneto on X Men 97.

Barrett Gruber:

Cal dot is best known for voicing Wolverine on X Men, the first iteration of the fox show.

Zach King:

And 92.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, they call it 92, but I think that's what, 94.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

And then.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

And then relaunched in the new X Men 97.

Barrett Gruber:

A new guest we're bringing is Ross Marcand, who voices Xavier, Professor Xavier and Apocalypse.

Barrett Gruber:

And he plays Aaron on the Walking.

Zach King:

Dead and Red Skull, Avengers, Infinity War.

Barrett Gruber:

And he also.

Barrett Gruber:

I was talking to him the other day on the phone.

Barrett Gruber:

He was telling me like he does, like Ultron on what if or.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't know.

Barrett Gruber:

He does he does.

Zach King:

He does a bunch of James Spader.

Zach King:

If James Spader is not there to do Ultron, it is Ross Marquan.

Zach King:

And he also does the best Brad Pitt impression, which I did not know is the thing.

Barrett Gruber:

He does a lot of impressions.

Zach King:

Yeah, it's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He is.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He is fantastic.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Zach sent me.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Zach sent me a reel of him doing, like, all of the impressions that he does, but they're all ganging up on him like it's an intervention, and they're basically asking him to stop doing them.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But he is.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So he.

Zach King:

My favorite was the Harrison Ford.

Zach King:

Knock it off.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So good.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Ross Marquand is a big get.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, Matthew.

Barrett Gruber:

Nice guy.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Matthew Watterson is.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Is honestly from one of the show.

Zach King:

Favorites from best interviews.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I mean, like, I think the only reason that we couldn't get Cal Dodd was just because Cal Dodd's line was consistently long.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, everybody wanted to talk to Wolverine, and Matthew Watterson's line was super long all the time, too.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But we just happened to find, like, he came back from a break and we, you know, they halted the lines for us.

Zach King:

He was.

Zach King:

He was.

Zach King:

Go see him at Coastal, like, because he was.

Zach King:

He was such a fun interview, and he was honest with every question we gave him, and he was joking around sometimes with us.

Zach King:

Just what a fantastic dude.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was the quality of just, you know, they.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They certainly recognize themselves as they're sitting behind a table, they're there signing autographs and taking money for.

Donald Brock Jr.:

For autographs and photos and things like that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But they're all just so unbelievable.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, everyone that you've had so far that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That I've experienced has been so down to earth.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I will tell you this.

Donald Brock Jr.:

My.

Donald Brock Jr.:

As much as I love meeting Matthew Watterson, Michael Bell was the best.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, this dude had shit on everyone.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The stories.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The stories he was just telling, talking to me and Zach about, like, his experiences with.

Donald Brock Jr.:

With this guy or.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Or the things that he did here or MASH or whatever.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, it was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was such a really cool experience to just get to talk to somebody who.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I didn't know who Michael Bell was, but I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, you know, we saw.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We had an availability to go talk to him, and.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And he just talked to us for, like, what, half an hour?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Zach.

Zach King:

And he would tell us stories.

Zach King:

Like, he's like, you know what?

Zach King:

I know what.

Zach King:

I told him off.

Zach King:

Like, we were just like, what.

Donald Brock Jr.:

When he was doing.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And then it was Cal.

Donald Brock Jr.:

No, the guy.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The king.

Donald Brock Jr.:

King.

Donald Brock Jr.:

King.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Ezekiel from the Walking Dead.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Zach King:

He corrected me.

Zach King:

It was fun.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Kari Payton was just standing there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He had already wrapped up.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We didn't really have enough time to get his attention a whole lot.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And so I thought, hey, I just walked over until I was like, hey, if you have any time tomorrow, can.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Can we stop by and talk to you?

Donald Brock Jr.:

He was like.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He's like, talk.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, he's like, absolutely.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And they're like, all right, we'll see you tomorrow.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And then he just kept talking to us, and it just went on.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Unfortunately, we didn't record it.

Zach King:

We still don't have a lot of that released even yet.

Donald Brock Jr.:

No.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, I have stuff with Watterson and with Ghee and let's see, Storm, I have stuff with.

Zach King:

He's from Brazil, but he's actually also a South Carolinian lander.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, Lander.

Zach King:

Lander.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, yeah, I mean, you.

Zach King:

You.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You guys have a really.

Donald Brock Jr.:

A really talented way of.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Of getting a whole.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Or I guess getting these people to.

Donald Brock Jr.:

To come to the shows.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Is there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, okay, so Sam Witwer's gonna be there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Of course.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Sam Wit were the voice of Darth Maul.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, he was a good guy.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We've got.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Matthew Wood's gonna be there, who's the voice of General.

Donald Brock Jr.:

General Grievous as well as the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

What are the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

What are the battle dro dots?

Barrett Gruber:

Battle droids.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, he also plays.

Barrett Gruber:

People don't really realize this.

Barrett Gruber:

He also plays Bib Fortuna and the book of Boba Fett and maybe.

Barrett Gruber:

Maybe Mandalorian or something.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know.

Zach King:

Yeah, yeah, they're all the other ones, but yeah, it's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's just.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's really cool.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So.

Zach King:

And then Kate, Sam Whitwort, and Matthew Wood, they do all the backup voices for every Star Wars.

Barrett Gruber:

Oh, yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, they are.

Barrett Gruber:

It's funny, like, Sam Witwer is so integrated into the Star wars universe that he has been known to correct.

Barrett Gruber:

Like Dave Filoni and people like that.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, in.

Barrett Gruber:

In there, they're laying out the story.

Barrett Gruber:

He's like, well, wait a minute.

Barrett Gruber:

No, that can't happen because this has already happened, and this has already happened.

Barrett Gruber:

And they're like, oh, you're right.

Zach King:

Like, this guy's a Sith, so he wouldn't do that.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, we can talk about.

Barrett Gruber:

We can talk about some of these things offline because I have some thoughts on.

Barrett Gruber:

On some of this.

Barrett Gruber:

But he's.

Barrett Gruber:

He's extremely brilliant when it comes to the Star wars universe.

Barrett Gruber:

Matthew Wood is just.

Barrett Gruber:

He's just.

Barrett Gruber:

He's been nominated for, I think, four Academy Awards for, like, sound editing and stuff like that.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't think he's won one, which is kind of.

Barrett Gruber:

You would think that, but you think you would have.

Barrett Gruber:

But.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, he's, you know, he's very good at what he does.

Barrett Gruber:

They're very good at their trades.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, it's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's a really cool lineup that you have so far, and I know there are more coming.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Is there any that you can tell us tonight that will release next week with this episode?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Oh, crap.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We're live on YouTube and.

Barrett Gruber:

Oh, that's.

Barrett Gruber:

No, that doesn't.

Barrett Gruber:

That doesn't matter.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, as of right now, there aren't any additional plan to guests.

Barrett Gruber:

That doesn't mean.

Barrett Gruber:

And this.

Barrett Gruber:

This always seems to happen.

Barrett Gruber:

That doesn't mean that somebody won't fall and fall into our laps, because it seems to happen every year where there's, you know, we're.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay, we've kind of got everything taken care of, and then somebody comes knocking on the door, and we're like, we can work in.

Barrett Gruber:

So there is the possibility we're somewhat limited in.

Barrett Gruber:

In size.

Barrett Gruber:

The.

Barrett Gruber:

The exhibit.

Barrett Gruber:

The.

Barrett Gruber:

The venue in Wilmington is smaller.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay.

Barrett Gruber:

And it's one floor, and it's got really long concourses.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't.

Barrett Gruber:

I.

Barrett Gruber:

I just.

Barrett Gruber:

I look.

Barrett Gruber:

I look.

Barrett Gruber:

They call them concourses.

Barrett Gruber:

We would call them hallways.

Zach King:

It's a baseball stadium.

Barrett Gruber:

No, it's not a baseball stadium.

Barrett Gruber:

But it's just weird, though.

Barrett Gruber:

It's the way a lot of these venues were not designed with events like this in mind.

Barrett Gruber:

They just weren't.

Barrett Gruber:

So you.

Barrett Gruber:

You work with what you have.

Barrett Gruber:

Right?

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, we're.

Barrett Gruber:

We're limited in.

Barrett Gruber:

In what we can do.

Barrett Gruber:

You'll see when you.

Barrett Gruber:

You'll see when you come there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

So I assume you guys are still planning to come, right?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I am definitely gonna be there.

Zach King:

I'll be there for at least a day.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Zach King:

My.

Zach King:

Barring any pregnant wife with twins.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Oh, oh, oh, yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Brock, did you know Zach's wife is pregnant with.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, I don't think about it, but.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, I remember somebody had told me that.

Zach King:

Nor should you.

Zach King:

Yeah, it's not me.

Barrett Gruber:

It's not me, so I'm good.

Barrett Gruber:

That's one less thing I have to worry about.

Zach King:

Yeah, right.

Zach King:

Yeah.

Zach King:

No, I'll be there at least for a day.

Zach King:

And then the thing is, driving three hours back to Columbia will be a thing.

Zach King:

So maybe a day and a night.

Zach King:

And then see.

Zach King:

Check in that night and see how it's going.

Zach King:

And then.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, you say you have family there, so you should have a place to stay.

Zach King:

I could.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I literally could.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Family.

Zach King:

I'm saying wherever Barrett's staying.

Zach King:

And the hotel better be just.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I was.

Zach King:

Whatever.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I was just gonna let.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I was gonna let Zach be the little spoon and I could do that.

Zach King:

Let's do that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Zach King:

All right.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, I got fussed at for calling you guys fat last time, so I'm not gonna do that anymore.

Barrett Gruber:

So y'all can work out whichever spoons you want to be.

Barrett Gruber:

I just know that if you're both in the same bed, it will be warm and comfy.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That's.

Zach King:

I've lost 30 pounds, so there we are.

Barrett Gruber:

You know what?

Barrett Gruber:

I'm working on losing some weight too.

Zach King:

Come on down.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm coming.

Zach King:

I did want to bring up, too, with Matthew Wood, the other non Star wars thing that I need to talk to him about.

Zach King:

So that'll be the next topic.

Barrett Gruber:

And he does like to talk to him.

Barrett Gruber:

He will talk to you.

Barrett Gruber:

He likes to talk.

Zach King:

There Will Be Blood is my all time favorite movie.

Zach King:

And he.

Zach King:

He was nominated for best sound editing on that movie.

Zach King:

I don't know if you've ever seen it, but how do you.

Zach King:

How do you cut all the perfect lines that come out of that movie?

Zach King:

I drink your milkshake.

Zach King:

Me and my Sean H.W.

Zach King:

well, oil men.

Zach King:

You see me, you know, me as oilman.

Zach King:

It's.

Zach King:

It's the most quotable movie of all time.

Zach King:

Like, for me, like, if you've seen it, I love it that I have to talk to him about that.

Zach King:

He's like, no one talks about There Will Be Blood.

Zach King:

I.

Zach King:

I'd be surprised if people do.

Barrett Gruber:

That's a hell.

Zach King:

And then he also.

Barrett Gruber:

It's a hell story there, Zach.

Barrett Gruber:

I haven't seen that movie, so I guess I'll have to check it out.

Zach King:

That's crazy.

Barrett Gruber:

Who's in it?

Zach King:

Daniel Day Lewis.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yes.

Zach King:

Paul Dano.

Zach King:

Those are your big two drops.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And have you ever seen Gangs in New York?

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay, so.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So it's.

Barrett Gruber:

It's long time ago, but yes.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So it almost feels kind of like the same way the story's being told, but instead of it being about, you know, the being a gang lord or whatever in New York and, you know, early, early, early years, it's about basically finding oil in.

Donald Brock Jr.:

In like.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, I think it's a Texas or Oklahoma or something like that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And Daniel Day Lewis is character is.

Zach King:

Basically just a monster Thomas Anderson film.

Zach King:

Like if that, you know, I might.

Barrett Gruber:

Have actually seen that now because when you, when you first said there will be what I'm thinking, oh, you got some stupid ass vampire movie.

Barrett Gruber:

And then, and then, you know, I'm.

Barrett Gruber:

I actually might.

Barrett Gruber:

It would have been this movie had to be 15 or 20 years ago, right?

Barrett Gruber:

I mean.

Zach King:

Yeah,:

Zach King:

2006.

Zach King:

Five or six.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Almost 20 years ago.

Barrett Gruber:

Was that when like Daniel Day Lewis is at his height because of last.

Barrett Gruber:

The Mohegans and stuff like that?

Barrett Gruber:

Like when he was like one of the IT actors.

Donald Brock Jr.:

This was after.

Zach King:

But he like 10 years after last.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think he had done Lincoln or he was doing like it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Look, Daniel Day Lewis only comes out of.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Out of retirement for like very specific roles and it's always having to drag him out of retirement because he retires after every single movie he does.

Zach King:

Paul Thomas Anderson also did like Boogie Nights.

Zach King:

So it's that kind of surreal weirdness to it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, it's kind of like I put.

Zach King:

Paul Thomas Anderson on that pedestal like Tarantino, you know, to expect out of a Tarantino film.

Zach King:

If you're going to go see Paul Thomas Anderson, you.

Zach King:

You kind of know what you're going to get.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The point of all that was that Matthew Wood did the sound, was the.

Zach King:

Sound editor for that and was nominated for Academy Award for that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Another one.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't think he's won any of his nominations, sadly, but I think that.

Zach King:

Even the movie won Best Picture, I believe.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think, I think you're right.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think it did.

Zach King:

Best leading actor in a leading role.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That was the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think There Will Be Blood was the same.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Was that the same year that no country for Old Men came out?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like I want to say it was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It may have.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Same year.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't remember exactly, but close.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Fantastic movies.

Zach King:

Best cinematography.

Zach King:

Academy award.

Zach King:

Yeah, 1.

Zach King:

At least 1.

Zach King:

2.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think one of the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

One of the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And for me, the exciting thing is, is I have become such a fan.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I've watched the X Men 97 series three times now.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Really?

Barrett Gruber:

Oh.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, just.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Just because it's so well done.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like the story is a combination of several of the different comic book storylines from the X Men series.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But it's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's just so well done.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And then the way that in some of the episodes they kind of.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They switch back and forth between how they're presenting it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And, And Sorry, Zach, spoilers.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So the last.

Barrett Gruber:

He still hasn't watched it yet.

Zach King:

I have.

Zach King:

I watched it.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So the scene where Wolverine's getting at the adamantium pulled out.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Which is from the Fatal Attraction comic.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That one, that one has more of a very Japanese sort of style to it in.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So they switch between different genres in the series.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, but, so I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Anyway, I've become a much, a much bigger fan of the X Men 97 series as I've watched it several times.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And the whole time I'm watching, I was like, I was like, I was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I was 15ft away from Cal Dad.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I was 15ft away from Wolverine and didn't go over there and say hello to him, but I stood next to Magneto the whole time.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And now it looks like I'm on the bad side.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But I guess Magneto's a semi good guy this series.

Zach King:

That's funny because that's why I finished it too.

Zach King:

I was like, Magneto.

Zach King:

There he goes.

Barrett Gruber:

He was right.

Zach King:

Hearing these people.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He was right, right.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Zach King:

Yeah, for sure.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So the, as far as, as far as the, the Coastal Comic Con, one of the, one of the expectations I think that Zach and I have is that with the vendors that are going to be there this time, I guess for this year, is it still sort of set up the same way?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Do you have comic book vendors next to artists and how it's spread out?

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, this particular floor plan is everybody's just kind of interwoven.

Barrett Gruber:

There's not necessarily an artist alley where it's clearly defined that these are vendors and these are artists.

Barrett Gruber:

Everybody's in a 10 by 10 and, you know, we highly encourage everybody to explore the exhibit hall multiple times because you just, you, you may walk by something and not really paying attention.

Barrett Gruber:

Then you walk by like, ooh, you know, something catches your eye.

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, it's, it's a bigger exhibit hall than in Columbia, but all the other ancillary rooms, like I said, it's a smaller venue as a whole.

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, there's about 100 and I don't know, 15 or so 120, you know, 10 by 10 booths in the, in the, in the.

Barrett Gruber:

Excuse me.

Barrett Gruber:

In the exhibit hall.

Barrett Gruber:

We've got our celebrities in there in the back.

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, we, we encourage.

Barrett Gruber:

I've got to find you a place for you guys.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know where I'll put you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yet, but we don't need a table.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We'll roam.

Barrett Gruber:

You can roam, but if you want to.

Barrett Gruber:

But if you want to film and maybe, you know, yeah, we can film.

Barrett Gruber:

We can do something.

Zach King:

But you get a place to sit them down in person and just be like, give us a.

Zach King:

Why are you, like, doing this?

Zach King:

Get it just get some one on one time for two seconds.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, and here's the good news about our production setup now is that we've, we've actually upgraded our equipment to the point now where we can be much more mobile.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We have lapel microphones that we can put on people that we can hook up directly to a camera and record the entire thing without any audio loss or having no microphones.

Zach King:

In the end, just everybody's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, it's become, it's become a much easier thing for us to do and get quality video, video and audio out of it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So I'm excited about the fact that we'll be able to do that this time around.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay, cool.

Donald Brock Jr.:

As, as well as Myrtle beach and, and Columbia.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think ultimately it's going to be.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And, and we can go live if, if, if that's request, you know, if, if that's available and we can do that then, then we'll go live on all the social media just so that people will know that, that Coastal Comic Con is going on.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Also.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Those of you watching live right now, coastal comiccon.com, you can get tickets right now.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Plan your whole weekend, you know.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

Come to Wilmington.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Wilmington, absolutely.

Zach King:

And that's what's fun because we have evolved so much since Columbia, the last Comic Con in Columbia, to the following on TikTok that's happening to the technology that we have.

Zach King:

It's funny how many steps we've taken because holding the mics, that was so hard to remember being all right, who's doing what real quick.

Zach King:

But the lapel mics, that work perfect, we've tested those.

Zach King:

That's going to be great.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'm excited.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'm excited.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Let me see, what else, what else do we have to discuss as far as Comic Con?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Because, you know, Coastal Comic Con, March 1st and 2nd, Wilmington, North Carolina, Wilmington Convention Center.

Donald Brock Jr.:

This year we're going to.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Definitely we've got, after that is August, where we'll have the Soda City Comic Con where information will start coming out around later, later this spring in the summer, and then Myrtle Beach, Boardwalk Comic Con.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So there's three this year.

Donald Brock Jr.:

This will be the first year that you have three in a row.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, three.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Zach King:

We're gonna do one at Dirty Myrtle.

Zach King:

It's gonna be fun.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, it's, it's, it's awfully cold Myrtle right now.

Zach King:

So.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, it'll be nice.

Barrett Gruber:

That, that, that's gonna be, that'll be an interesting one because we have over a hundred thousand square feet to fill up.

Barrett Gruber:

And so this, this one, Myrtle beach will be by far be the largest, probably 2x relative to the other venues.

Barrett Gruber:

So that one will be fun.

Barrett Gruber:

It'll, it'll be interesting to see what we, what we do down there.

Barrett Gruber:

Working on a floor plan, I'm assuming.

Zach King:

Sorry, go ahead, Brock.

Zach King:

Sorry.

Barrett Gruber:

No, I'm, I'm thinking out loud.

Barrett Gruber:

Really.

Zach King:

No, I was just saying I'm assuming the Myrtle beach that garners attention.

Zach King:

People know Myrtle beach.

Zach King:

Whether.

Zach King:

I remember going to California and they had brochures to go to Myrtle Beach.

Zach King:

And I was like, what?

Zach King:

Yeah, no lie.

Zach King:

I was like, why?

Zach King:

Look, I think that's one that can be pretty big.

Zach King:

I don't think you should have a problem.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'm gonna say this too.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Myrtle beach is one of the greatest places to go in October because October is just after off the top season, whatever they call it, season peak.

Barrett Gruber:

Yep.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And the, and the cost of hotels is less expensive.

Barrett Gruber:

It's not, it's not that bad.

Donald Brock Jr.:

No, it's not bad because our, our kids, we, we, we either go to, we either go to Charlotte for their birthday or we go to Myrtle beach and you know, just, you know, because.

Barrett Gruber:

Of the cost, we'll get, we'll give, I'll give a cheap plug for Myrtle Beach.

Barrett Gruber:

It's been a long time since I've been to Myrtle Beach.

Barrett Gruber:

When we went down there, talking to them about bringing this event down there, we, we did get a tour.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, some people are like, oh, that's funny.

Barrett Gruber:

You got a tour of Myrtle Beach.

Barrett Gruber:

But Myrtle beach is not the same Myrtle Beach I remember when I was 12 years old, which would have been 30 years ago.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, I say that, I say that like I'm super old.

Barrett Gruber:

But anywho, it's, it's, it's different.

Barrett Gruber:

It, it's Ori county.

Barrett Gruber:

And Myrtle beach is one of the fastest growing areas in South Carolina because a lot of people from up north and in the Midwest, you know, they've sold their places, especially with the advent of remote work.

Barrett Gruber:

They've sold their places, they've moved down.

Barrett Gruber:

They want a, a milder climate.

Barrett Gruber:

Although they're probably sitting there kicking themselves today and be like, what the is this?

Donald Brock Jr.:

But it's an outlier.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, it is, it is.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, you know, we get here in Columbia or Blythewood, you know, wherever.

Barrett Gruber:

Lexington, where you guys are like, we get snow what, once every five, seven years?

Barrett Gruber:

No, not even, not even that frequently of good snow.

Barrett Gruber:

We might get, you know, we might get some flakes, but a good snow, you know, five Every five or seven years, you know, the Myrtle beach gets it, you know, I don't know, once a.

Barrett Gruber:

Every other decade maybe or something like that.

Barrett Gruber:

So, yeah, it's an hour exactly.

Barrett Gruber:

But they're not going to get any snow in October and it's going to be nice weather.

Barrett Gruber:

It's, it's, you know, they, they've really transitioned away from that dirty Myrtle look and reputation and it's extremely family friendly.

Barrett Gruber:

There's so much to do.

Barrett Gruber:

We went, we walked on the boardwalk.

Barrett Gruber:

We, they got us, put us on that Ferris wheel that's on the beach.

Barrett Gruber:

I am absolutely terrified of heights.

Barrett Gruber:

Steve and Rebecca made fun of me the entire time.

Barrett Gruber:

I didn't like it at all.

Barrett Gruber:

But yeah, there's, there's just so much to do.

Barrett Gruber:

It's like you said, it's very affordable.

Barrett Gruber:

Lots of great restaurants, lots of activities.

Barrett Gruber:

You can come to Comic Con, you can go sit on the beach in the evenings.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, you can walk around.

Barrett Gruber:

It's just, it's just a lot to do.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, you can park and walk.

Barrett Gruber:

It's become very walkable.

Zach King:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Zach King:

Boardwalk, all that, the arcade.

Barrett Gruber:

And they're continuing to expand.

Barrett Gruber:

They're continuing to expand the boardwalk.

Barrett Gruber:

I think it's maybe a little over a mile, but they're looking to continue to add to that over, you know, the next decade or so.

Barrett Gruber:

It's, it's really becoming a kind of a hot spot in South Carolina where it used to be, not.

Barrett Gruber:

Didn't have the greatest reputation.

Barrett Gruber:

Might not have been the cleanest city, but they've really cleaned it up.

Barrett Gruber:

They really have.

Barrett Gruber:

And right after peak is a great time.

Zach King:

Yeah, for sure.

Zach King:

One of my favorite things to do, I went about like three years ago, I think, but go wait till like 9:00, go down to the pier, walk out on the pier, go all the way down.

Zach King:

It's just kind of that refreshing.

Zach King:

Like, like you're almost, you're just in the ocean a little bit getting all that.

Zach King:

People are fishing.

Zach King:

Check out what they're catching.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Zach King:

Oh, it's a shark.

Zach King:

Yeah, that's great.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Zach King:

Comforting.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So, so for, for Coastal Comic con coming up March 1st and 2nd in Wilmington is.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Have, have we, have we filled up the number of vendor spots available?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, 100.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yep, 100.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That's exciting.

Barrett Gruber:

But we're, but we're, we, we will encourage anybody.

Barrett Gruber:

If you want to be considered, send us an email.

Barrett Gruber:

The email address is infoastalcomicon.com I'm the one that monitors that email.

Barrett Gruber:

We put you on Our email list where we send out notifications for new events.

Barrett Gruber:

We, we are in the process of soliciting for Soda City right now.

Barrett Gruber:

It's our 10 year anniversary or this is our 10th show.

Barrett Gruber:

So we're gonna, we're gonna do something big.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know quite what it is yet.

Barrett Gruber:

We're gonna do some cool things this year.

Barrett Gruber:

We're always taking suggestions.

Barrett Gruber:

So if people want to send us suggestions.

Barrett Gruber:

Infodacitycomicon.com we use a lot of the same emails infoardwalk comic con so it's not hard to find us.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'm excited about the 10th anniversary of the Soda City Comic Con too because I have some ideas that I'll email in, but.

Barrett Gruber:

Here we go.

Barrett Gruber:

I knew there was a catch.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, no, I'll just say one of them.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think that it'd be really neat to have like either on the weekend of, or maybe the, maybe leading up to the event, but like an event before the Comic Con, whether it's, whether it's a DJ or karaoke or something like that, before the event in the name of Soda City Comic Con.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But in line sort of with that is, is there anything that's currently maybe in the cooking phase of events or anything that might be going on in Wilmington Prior or during the Comic Con?

Barrett Gruber:

Well, as we normally do at all our events, we do have a children's cosplay contest and that's Sunday afternoon.

Barrett Gruber:

There is a strong possibility that we will do an adult cosplay contest or 16 and over.

Barrett Gruber:

Let's just say young adult to older adult.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't really know what you call young adult to adult.

Barrett Gruber:

That doesn't.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That sounds weird, but the number, the number of, the number of Captain Old Man, Captain America that's going to show up, I think that'd be great.

Barrett Gruber:

We are looking at doing an adult cosplay contest this year.

Barrett Gruber:

I think it's going to happen.

Barrett Gruber:

Don't, don't put, put it down on your calendar that it's going to happen.

Barrett Gruber:

But there's been some talk about that.

Barrett Gruber:

There has been talk about bringing you back the adult complex cosplay contest to Soda City.

Barrett Gruber:

We have potentially we're thinking about maybe having an after hours event at Soda City this year.

Barrett Gruber:

Maybe a concert that would be free.

Barrett Gruber:

You just have to reserve the tickets.

Barrett Gruber:

First come, first serve.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, really cool.

Barrett Gruber:

There's a couple of different things that we're trying to figure out how we could, what we could pull it off.

Barrett Gruber:

The logistics of in these various cities because the more participation we can get from local businesses, the more buy in we can get.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Just want to remind everybody, Coastal Comic Con is coming up in Wilmington, North Carolina, March 1st and 2nd at the Wilmington Convention Center.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can Visit coastal comic con.com for tickets now.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can also see a lineup of all the guests that are going to be there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Do we have the vendors out?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Vendor map out?

Barrett Gruber:

Well, my computer's in the shop and I plan to do that this week, but hopefully I should get it back by the end of the week and then.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, I'll get that out there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, the important part is that it actually says it's sold out.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So I think, I think that's fantastic for the second.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Was it sold out last year?

Barrett Gruber:

Oh, yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay.

Donald Brock Jr.:

See, that's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I know it's you really, it's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's Brock.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's Brock.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I know he's going to place.

Barrett Gruber:

You think he's running here?

Donald Brock Jr.:

That is, that is.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Look, we're excited about it and we look forward to being there and participating and driving your crowds wild with our, our talent.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, I'll tell you this, the crowd in Wilmington, we didn't exactly know what to expect year one.

Barrett Gruber:

Obviously, we felt that there was an opportunity in Wilmington.

Barrett Gruber:

And my partner Steve lives in Wilmington.

Barrett Gruber:

He actually technically lives in Belleville, which is right across the river.

Barrett Gruber:

But it's, you know, it is Wilmington.

Barrett Gruber:

There's all those, you know, kind of like Columbia has Blythewood and Lexington and Chapin Forest Ache or stuff like that.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, all these little, little communities in and around the metro area.

Barrett Gruber:

But we didn't know what to expect.

Barrett Gruber:

And the crowd in Wilmington last year was extremely diverse.

Barrett Gruber:

We had, you know, very young kids up to.

Barrett Gruber:

We saw two older ladies that probably were in their late 70s, if not 80s, if not older, walking around.

Barrett Gruber:

And so, you know, you say you're going to wow the crowd with your antics.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, it's a very diverse crowd.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'm excited.

Barrett Gruber:

It's fun in the women in the city of Wilmington.

Barrett Gruber:

It's one of the older cities in the country.

Barrett Gruber:

It's very walkable.

Barrett Gruber:

There's a great downtown area.

Barrett Gruber:

Once you're kind of down there, you can literally just park and walk, you know, kind of like Charleston, but, you know, it's kind of like Charleston, I.

Zach King:

Guess Wilmington's the best.

Zach King:

That was always growing up.

Zach King:

Our preferred beach destination.

Zach King:

I love that.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And I spent, I, I, throughout my younger adult age, I spent, we spent weekends or we, we would, we would rent houses out on Oak island and then come into Wilmington for some of the nightlife.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But it's a cool town.

Donald Brock Jr.:

A lot of history.

Barrett Gruber:

Yep.

Zach King:

Your Wrightsville beach or Carolina Beach.

Zach King:

Just fun.

Barrett Gruber:

Yep.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So very cool.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Again, everyone, check out coastal comic con.com.

Donald Brock Jr.:

that's where you're going to find tickets and details about the Coastal Comic con coming up March 1st and 2nd at the Wilmington Convention Center.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't want to let you go without talking a little bit about what is going on in Blythewood.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We have the manufacturing plant for Scouts to electric vehicles that has kicked off.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That's now in full swing.

Barrett Gruber:

Oh, yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

How, how.

Donald Brock Jr.:

How long?

Donald Brock Jr.:

And for people that don't know, Scout, of course, used to produce before.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I guess they retired their product.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Their.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Their product.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But the, the Scout International truck was one of the most epic vehicles.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You could drive almost anywhere.

Donald Brock Jr.:

When you watch Discovery Channel movies or videos from like the 70s, 80s, 60s, whatever.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, if you watch any of these old documentaries, you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

What you see them driving around in is these Scout internationals.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And now Scout has chosen South Carolina and Blythewood specifically to have a manufacturing plant where they're going to be producing two brand new electric vehicles.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And if you haven't seen them, check them out on YouTube.

Donald Brock Jr.:

There are plenty of people out there doing reviews of these two new vehicles and I think they're fantastic.

Zach King:

And I'm hoping I'd like one.

Zach King:

Yes.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I mean that when.

Donald Brock Jr.:

When the one or two of the first ones roll off the line that, that Brock can get us in to an operations manager that will let us do an episode from inside of one of the Scout vehicles.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think that'd be pretty.

Barrett Gruber:

We'll see.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'm just saying.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think that that would be a pretty cool thing to do.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And honestly, if I, if I could afford.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Actually, I don't think they're going to be all that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That all that expensive.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They're not like, they're epically expensive electric vehicles.

Barrett Gruber:

I guess it depends on your definition of expensive.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Less than a cyber truck.

Zach King:

Probably a Ford Lightning area of damn, Barrett.

Barrett Gruber:

Everything's almost.

Barrett Gruber:

Most vehicles are less than a cybertruck.

Barrett Gruber:

Those.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm not really keen on those.

Barrett Gruber:

So.

Donald Brock Jr.:

My house at one point was less than a cyber truck.

Barrett Gruber:

My first house that I bought was less than a cyber truck.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But they, they are really cool vehicles.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You had an SUV and you have a truck.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And I'm excited that Scout chose South Carolina.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I know they, they came here for some of the tax breaks and incentives and things like that, but.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But it's good for South Carolina.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I can't.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think that when it came to.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Because did you have, did you or did your predecessors have anything with presenting to Scout why they should come to Blythewood?

Barrett Gruber:

No, not, not directly.

Barrett Gruber:

The town that was more of a county and state thing.

Barrett Gruber:

I think the Richland county economic development and the state commerce kind of took the lead on that because the property that Scouts being built on is owned by the county.

Barrett Gruber:

The economic development owned.

Barrett Gruber:

Bought that property.

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, I, I have worked with some members on, on that committee or that.

Barrett Gruber:

It's not a committee.

Barrett Gruber:

That's not the right word.

Barrett Gruber:

I guess it's a subsidiary.

Barrett Gruber:

It's just a, It's a department, I guess, within the county government.

Barrett Gruber:

Although there's.

Barrett Gruber:

I believe they're.

Barrett Gruber:

I think they're dissolving it and they're going to create some sort of public private partnership type entity now.

Barrett Gruber:

Okay, but you know, when, when, when the industrial park where Scout is currently located was, was originally drawn up, the idea was to have like 25 different sites and they were going to build like a, like a poor pad and build like a spec building, you know, with the 150, 200,000 square feet, something like that.

Barrett Gruber:

And they had a couple of companies that were interested in coming.

Barrett Gruber:

A couple of them fell through.

Barrett Gruber:

Doesn't really matter at this point.

Barrett Gruber:

It's all water under the bridge.

Barrett Gruber:

But, you know, then they.

Barrett Gruber:

Scout was looking for, for a place.

Barrett Gruber:

I think there was a site in Mississippi and maybe one in Kentucky to what.

Barrett Gruber:

What they were looking at.

Barrett Gruber:

And you know, a lot of people have complained about, oh, you know, the state sold out the state.

Barrett Gruber:

The taxpayers are paying for this.

Barrett Gruber:

If we didn't, they, they wouldn't be here.

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, my business partner always tells me, you got to spend money to make money.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, yeah, it holds true.

Barrett Gruber:

And yeah, you know, South Carolina put up, we put up a significant incentives, infrastructure incentives.

Barrett Gruber:

They're building a new interchange, they're widening roads.

Barrett Gruber:

They're, you know, we're putting in the infrastructure which Blythewood needed anyways.

Barrett Gruber:

I guess Zach's gone, but Blackwood needed it anyways because the Northeast is just, it's just growing leaps and bounds.

Barrett Gruber:

And the, the critics will say, well, this is just going to add to the growth in the Northeast.

Barrett Gruber:

Maybe it might speed it up, but people are going to come in this direction just because we have good schools, we have a good quality of life.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, all your services are up.

Barrett Gruber:

So, you know, now you've got jobs that can cater to the people that are living Here.

Barrett Gruber:

The great thing about a manufacturer and an employer like Scout is that you can find 60, 70, $80,000 jobs, you know, out of high school with a little bit of technical training that you didn't have before.

Barrett Gruber:

And if you think about it, you know, if you just do some simple math, if you have 4,000 jobs that pay an average of $60,000, I mean, that's almost a quarter of a billion dollars right there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Annually.

Barrett Gruber:

Annually.

Barrett Gruber:

Not just, oh, one time.

Barrett Gruber:

So it really does put a lot of, put a lot of money back into the local economy, the state economy.

Barrett Gruber:

And it, it will ultimately be a good thing.

Barrett Gruber:

Again, people are not thrilled about it.

Barrett Gruber:

Oh, you've destroyed this sleepy little town.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, Blythewood was a sleepy little community until i77 cut it in half.

Barrett Gruber:

Either in the, it's either late 70s or early 80s when 77 came through.

Barrett Gruber:

It's only a matter of time.

Barrett Gruber:

Development follows interstate states.

Barrett Gruber:

Don't be surprised when this happens.

Barrett Gruber:

And you know, if people don't like it, we, for the most part, we live in a free country.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, I'm not telling them that to pack up their bags and move, but they have that option.

Barrett Gruber:

Your property's gonna be worth more.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And you're not, you're not wrong.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, the, the idea that, that Scout could have gone to any one of those other sites, they could have gone to another state.

Barrett Gruber:

I think there was either 30 something or 40 something other sites that were actively hoarding them.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, you don't land a international vehicle manufacturer every day.

Barrett Gruber:

And their lead investor is Volkswagen.

Barrett Gruber:

Everybody knows this.

Barrett Gruber:

And they're like one of the top five or six employers in the world.

Barrett Gruber:

And if you hear all the, oh, they're laying off people.

Barrett Gruber:

This, that and the other.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, yeah, you know, economies are cyclical.

Barrett Gruber:

You have your booms and your busts, but they know what they're doing.

Barrett Gruber:

So this isn't some fly by night operation.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think that it's, I think that it's good for South Carolina.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think it's good for Blythewood.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And I'm excited for it because, you know, I ultimately that's, that's one of the things that, you know, when I first moved here, I was part of an organization that moved here and created, you know, 3,000, 4,000 jobs in West Columbia.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I worked for NCR.

Donald Brock Jr.:

NCR promised to bring jobs and.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But NCR is a software company.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They, they used to be hardware, but they're, they were a software company.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And the problem with software companies like that coming to South Carolina is that it doesn't take anything for them to pack up and leave.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And a company like International Scout coming or Scout.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Sorry, Scout coming in, you know, there is a foundation that cannot be abandoned without unbelievable cost to themselves in this situation.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And, and so basically what's happened is now Scout has invested in South Carolina, their future.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And, and they've done it because South Carolina has companies like Lockheed Martin, we've got companies like BMW that are here in, you know, whether it's in Greenville or in Charleston.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, Boeing, Volvo's here.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I mean, this is a, this is a state that is friendly to these large companies.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And, and, you know, you're going to get your naysayers that say that, you know, it's, it's, it's hurting the economy, it's hurting, it's hurting the, the traditional South Carolinians that have been here for generations and, and whatever.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But it's like, look, that hurt is going to be felt everywhere by everything.

Donald Brock Jr.:

What's going to happen regardless.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, Barrett, I mean, if you really want to think about it, a traditional South Carolinian is not a very wealthy individual.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They're just not true.

Barrett Gruber:

They're just not.

Barrett Gruber:

So if you want to stay living in that socioeconomic level, then you're welcome to do that.

Barrett Gruber:

But there are other, there are others that don't, that want a better life for themselves, for their children, for their children's children.

Barrett Gruber:

And the only way you're going to get that is if you innovate and bring in employers that are going to be able to help people rise up.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, this could be, this could change, be, be a generational change for a lot of people, because you can work.

Barrett Gruber:

And again, there's nothing wrong with people who work in the service industry or they work in jobs that pay 15, 16, $17 an hour.

Barrett Gruber:

But imagine if you can learn a skill and double your hourly wage with insurance and retirement and benefits, all the other benefits.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, why would, why would anybody be opposed to that?

Barrett Gruber:

Like, you're improving thousands of people's lives and it's not.

Barrett Gruber:

I feel like I'm on a, you know, speaking tour for Scout.

Barrett Gruber:

Scout has their problems.

Barrett Gruber:

Don't you know, it's not, it's not walking down the yellow brick road to find the wizard, and the wizard has all the answers.

Barrett Gruber:

Because there's.

Barrett Gruber:

If you, you told us, you told me earlier that you spend a lot of time watching the SCTV feed at the Journal Assembly.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, there's, there are some, there are some issues that are going to Come down the path probably this year with Scout, and, you know, that's for the journal assembly to decide.

Barrett Gruber:

I have my opinions.

Barrett Gruber:

It's not my place to express them necessarily, unless I was asked by somebody.

Barrett Gruber:

But you're not asking, so I'm not telling.

Barrett Gruber:

But, you know, I forgot.

Barrett Gruber:

I forget where I was going.

Barrett Gruber:

But.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, it's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It has a lot to do with the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Basically.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's about.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think, for.

Donald Brock Jr.:

For a lot of people, it's about how is this going to affect my daily life and where.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Where is.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, it's the town count.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You have.

Barrett Gruber:

Where I was going.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay, go ahead.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Go for it.

Barrett Gruber:

No, I'm just saying, like, you know, how's it gonna affect my life?

Barrett Gruber:

Well, it might not like me personally.

Barrett Gruber:

It probably won't affect me directly.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm probably not gonna go work for Scout, which is fine.

Barrett Gruber:

One of my kids might, though.

Barrett Gruber:

You don't know, Maybe one of them becomes a civil engineer or a mechanical engineer.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, maybe one of my neighbor's kids.

Barrett Gruber:

There's plenty of kids that are in my.

Barrett Gruber:

That live in the neighborhood that I live in.

Barrett Gruber:

Even though we have 50 houses, there's plenty of kids.

Barrett Gruber:

Maybe one of them goes to work for Scout.

Barrett Gruber:

They don't have to go to Charleston.

Barrett Gruber:

They don't have to go to Charlotte.

Barrett Gruber:

They don't have to go to Greenville or a major city on the east coast to find a good quality job, an innovating job.

Barrett Gruber:

Because, you know, automobile manufacturing is always innovating.

Barrett Gruber:

And what I was going to say is, you know, Scout will impact thousands of lives.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, they're going to hire 4,000 plus people eventually when they ramp up into three shifts.

Barrett Gruber:

But it's not just the jobs that Scout creates.

Barrett Gruber:

It's the jobs that Scout brings with them, like Scout, the Scout plant.

Barrett Gruber:

They're not.

Barrett Gruber:

And I say this, they're not actually manufacturing vehicles.

Barrett Gruber:

They're assembling vehicles.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Right?

Barrett Gruber:

They're getting all the parts and they're putting them all together to make a vehicle.

Barrett Gruber:

Vehicle.

Barrett Gruber:

But they don't make the parts there.

Barrett Gruber:

They make the parts all over the place.

Barrett Gruber:

And you have these OEM suppliers, and they're also going to create jobs because there's somebody making the headlights, there's somebody making the batteries, which, you know.

Barrett Gruber:

Oh, they're electric batteries, whatever.

Barrett Gruber:

There's somebody that makes the, you know, Michelin might make the tires, or they get them from somebody else.

Barrett Gruber:

Every component that goes into that vehicle is.

Barrett Gruber:

Is made somewhere else.

Barrett Gruber:

So, yeah, all those are jobs.

Barrett Gruber:

And they're probably not going to be too far away because as you know, if you're making a product and you're a thousand miles away, you got to get it to the assembly plant that if you're shipping something a thousand miles, that costs you some money, but if you're only shipping at 20 miles, that's so much better.

Barrett Gruber:

So there's going to be a lot of jobs that are created.

Barrett Gruber:

I call them ancillary jobs.

Barrett Gruber:

They're the support for the manufacture for the assembly plant.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And what else is it going to do just for the region in general?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Because when you bring in.

Donald Brock Jr.:

When you bring in something like this, like.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Because I lived in Atlanta when Ford was building the Taurus in Dorville, and the number of people that were, like you said, three shifts, the number of people that work there, the amount of support that, that, that that plant provided for the Doraville shambly Tucker area, and the number of people that said, oh, yeah, like they worked there, their neighbors worked there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And it be.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was a, it was huge community, you know, spread out, of course, but it was, it was a huge community that supported help.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Ford became one of the sponsors of the, the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The high school football teams and the baseball teams and things like that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So there were.

Donald Brock Jr.:

There were so many little benefits that seem.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That seem minuscule when you look at them one by one, but then you find out, oh, the team had bought.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Didn't have to buy their uniforms this year, which normally falls on the parents.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The team.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The team's uniforms were paid for by Ford.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So, you know, these are all these little things that I don't think people always recognize that are the benefits to having a major corporation like Volkswagen Scout come in to a situation like this.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Not that, not that Blythewood needed the help, but Blythewood, I think the opportunity for Blythewood to become a better.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And this is going to offend people, but a better version of Harbison or Irmo is totally there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

As far as, as far as growth for Blythewood, is there, Is there anything that's been discussed or anything that you all have seen from the county or from the city council or the town council portion of it that, that, that might be in the works that could be discussed at all.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, not, not really simply because the.

Barrett Gruber:

The town of Blythewood is pretty well developed.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, there aren't a lot of large parcels in town that are lacking development.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, you know, there's a couple of them that may be 60, 80 acres, but nothing, no, nothing big.

Barrett Gruber:

Oh.

Barrett Gruber:

Most of what surrounds Blythewood is unincorporated Richland County.

Barrett Gruber:

So I say that to preface by saying like, you know, you know, we can only.

Barrett Gruber:

We only have a say in what happens within the town limits, right?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yes.

Barrett Gruber:

So if Blythewood wants to continue to grow, then we've got to annex, which there's pros and cons to that.

Barrett Gruber:

And it's not as simple as just knocking on somebody's door say, hey, we're going to annex you.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, there's a couple of procedures or methods.

Barrett Gruber:

I guess that's the better word.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Here's your muffins.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

You know what?

Barrett Gruber:

You know, there's more to it than just, you know, sending somebody a letter say, hey, do you want to annex into the town?

Barrett Gruber:

They can.

Barrett Gruber:

They can choose to, but there.

Barrett Gruber:

There have been a couple of other businesses that I've heard that may be willing to.

Barrett Gruber:

To come here.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't want to.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know if I'm at liberty to say about it because it may not materialize.

Barrett Gruber:

But, you know, when you bring in a large employer like that, you are going to have businesses that follow there.

Barrett Gruber:

There will probably.

Barrett Gruber:

They'll probably at some point be another hotel.

Barrett Gruber:

They'll probably be a hotel on the other side.

Barrett Gruber:

I live on the.

Barrett Gruber:

The.

Barrett Gruber:

If you're riding up 77, I guess that would be the east side of Blythe.

Barrett Gruber:

The west side is where Scout is.

Barrett Gruber:

I live on the east side.

Barrett Gruber:

I suspect there'll be a hotel on that west side.

Barrett Gruber:

I suspect at some point we'll get another grocery store.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, there will probably be some sort of recreational outside of golf in town, you know, a couple of additional restaurants, maybe some additional shopping.

Barrett Gruber:

Where's that going to be?

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know.

Barrett Gruber:

It could just be a Killian, you know, still be it Killian.

Barrett Gruber:

But.

Barrett Gruber:

But you know, when BMW located in Greer.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, look at.

Barrett Gruber:

Look at.

Barrett Gruber:

Look at Greer and Taylor's and Simpsonville and.

Barrett Gruber:

And, you know, t.

Barrett Gruber:

Travelers Rest and Malden and all those little communities.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, they all grew up and it's all thanks to BMW.

Barrett Gruber:

So, yeah, you know, Blythewood should be the same.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, I'll.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Kudos to the job that you and.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And the other council members and Mayor Sloan are doing in Blythe Wood, because from the perspective of someone that lives in le.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And don't get me wrong, I don't have any issue.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't have any real, like, concrete issues.

Donald Brock Jr.:

With anything going on in the town of Lexington.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't live in Lexington.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't live in the town of West Columbia.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I live halfway between the two.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But I have a relationship with the mayor of West Columbia, and I have a relationship with some of the people that are on in the council in Lexington and sometimes now.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Now Mayor Tim's fantastic in West Columbia.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I know him.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But Lexington, sometimes I question maybe some of the decisions that get made.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Mayor Tim is very upward and upfront about the decisions that are being made from a.

Donald Brock Jr.:

From a city council for West Columbia.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Their meetings are completely open, and you can have.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can get in touch with almost any.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Almost any of them, any.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Anytime you need.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, you know, Blythewood is one of those communities where, you know, if I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

If I didn't want to live this close to the airport because my job was there at.

Donald Brock Jr.:

When I moved here, Blythe was one of the places that I probably would have considered moving.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'm not going to move because I don't want to buy.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't want to.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't want to buy another house.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't want to have the responsibility of a mortgage anymore.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Now that that's all done with, it's just.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's better for me to stay until I die.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But so.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So again, just.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think the job that you all do in Blythewood and the things that I read in the state or in the Post and Courier of the things that go on in Blythwood, I think you guys are doing a good job, and I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think you should pat yourself on the back.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So the only other thing I was going to say is like, look, anybody that's watching this episode, I know that I just want to put it out there because we have gained a fairly substantial number of followers and subscribers here in the last few weeks.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Donald Brock is not one of the liberal Democrats that we normally get on this show.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Donald Brock, to me, is more middle of the road, potentially libertarian, adjacent to Democrat and Republican and, And.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And these are the kind of people that we would really like to get on our show to talk about the stuff that's going on around in Columbia.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, we'd like the opportunity to have guests that, that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That have differing opinions from us, because if Brock has a different opinion, he will tell me.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, I'm.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm pretty active.

Barrett Gruber:

I.

Barrett Gruber:

I lack some tack every now and then.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I was gonna say it usually comes with being punched right in the ear, but it's.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, I mean, you Know, you, you said you used the word liberal Democrat.

Barrett Gruber:

I, I, I, I would not label myself a Democrat.

Barrett Gruber:

I, if I had to pick a party, I would probably say Republican.

Barrett Gruber:

And I say that by prefacing that I don't like what the party is.

Barrett Gruber:

So if somebody says, oh, you're a Republican.

Barrett Gruber:

You're a big fan of Trump.

Barrett Gruber:

No, I wouldn't say I'm a big fan of Trump.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't hate everything that Trump wants to do.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, I'm not going to, you know, bullshit around, be like, oh, yeah, Trump's the Antichrist.

Barrett Gruber:

No, I don't think Trump's the Antichrist.

Barrett Gruber:

Trump's just a man, and the country spoke.

Barrett Gruber:

And, you know, we've got four years to deal with it.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, it could be shorter.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, he could die.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't know.

Barrett Gruber:

But he's, he'll be the oldest president if he serves out his full term that we've ever had.

Barrett Gruber:

Bad, you know, so something could happen.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, who knows?

Barrett Gruber:

I don't, I, you know, I certainly don't would think that anybody would try to shoot him.

Barrett Gruber:

I think that was the.

Barrett Gruber:

If you want to find a way to motivate a political base, try to assassinate the leader.

Barrett Gruber:

And then what I was, I'm trying to remember where I was.

Barrett Gruber:

Oh, I was in Charleston that, that Saturday when that happened.

Barrett Gruber:

I remember this.

Barrett Gruber:

And somebody sent me a text or called me and said, hey, did you see that?

Barrett Gruber:

Somebody tried to kill Trump.

Barrett Gruber:

And the first words out of my mouth was, well, this election's over.

Barrett Gruber:

That's it.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, that was it, that day.

Barrett Gruber:

It was in July, I think, if I'm not mistaken, that was the day that, in my opinion, he won the race because it fired it.

Barrett Gruber:

You want to light a fire under some of these people's asses, that's the way to do it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I, I got a very similar text because I, I think I was watching a Braves baseball game, and I got a text message.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think it was from Zach back.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And he sent me a message.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He said, dude, are you watching the news?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Or maybe it was Leroy, but it said, dude, are you watching the news?

Donald Brock Jr.:

And I was like, I was like, no.

Donald Brock Jr.:

What's up?

Donald Brock Jr.:

He said, he said, somebody shot at Trump.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And I said, and my, without even thinking, all I texted back was, well, that's convenient.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Because, because ultimately the stars aligned.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, it was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And, you know, I don't, I don't necessarily believe that there was any pre planning on it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think this was just a kid who had felt Disenfranchised, didn't have any friends and decided he wanted to make a name for himself by doing it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And ultimately it didn't really work because no one, if you just ask someone on the street that knows that it happened, they can't tell you what his name was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He was a 22 year old kid that was basically stuck in his parents bedroom and didn't really have anything going on.

Donald Brock Jr.:

His parents were Trump supporters.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They bought some seven or eight signs to, to go to his campaign, that, that show, you know, that were all strung in front of their front, his front, their front yard.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And this was a kid that, that if it had been Biden, he shot at Biden.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It didn't matter who it was, it didn't have anything to do with politics.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was about trying to make a name of himself and, and ultimately it failed.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, and there's, there's absolutely no room for violence related to politics.

Barrett Gruber:

You don't have to like the President, you don't have to like the Vice President, the Congress, you know, Supreme Court justices, whomever, but there's, there's, there would be, there's no reason for anybody to ever go out and, and try to end someone's life because you, I don't know, feel either, like you said, feel disenfranchised or you feel bad or you felt like life's dealt you, dealt you a bad hand.

Barrett Gruber:

Like there's, there's, I'm not, we're not trying to, you know, give a, you know, I don't know, a speech for encouraging people to get therapy or whatever.

Barrett Gruber:

But.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, yeah, it's not a TED Talk.

Barrett Gruber:

But at the same time, like, you know, people, people gotta wake up.

Barrett Gruber:

And, and yeah, like if you're unhappy about the election, okay, you know, it's okay.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, there were, there were the same people that are happy today were extremely unhappy four years ago and they, and they got through with it.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, do I think that some things happened, you know, approximately four years ago that they've kind of decided to forgive and try to forget and all that stuff?

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, the J6ers, as they call them, not thrilled about that, but I will, I will.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So, so my opinion on that was we all knew that Donald Trump was going to pardon them because it was a campaign, it was a campaign prompt.

Barrett Gruber:

Yes.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Don't be upset about it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

There cannot be shock about the fact that he fulfilled a promise.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Did he?

Donald Brock Jr.:

And ultimately I saw the signing because they, they aired, they aired it in front of a, they Well, I, or I saw the executive orders being signed and then what they do, like, he.

Barrett Gruber:

Signs and then he'll hold it up like this.

Barrett Gruber:

Like he's showing off like a baby.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, hey, look at this.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, and he cares, you know, I.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Wonder, I wonder if we have that to look forward to.

Donald Brock Jr.:

For every bill that he signs into law and every executive order, don't they.

Barrett Gruber:

Sign like four or five different copies and they hand people pins and.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, but they don't usually.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They don't usually rent out an arena for, for, for 20,000 people to stand there and watch.

Barrett Gruber:

I want to.

Barrett Gruber:

Is that, Is that what they did?

Barrett Gruber:

I'm completely.

Barrett Gruber:

So he held a rally to sign executive orders, and he signed them and held them up.

Barrett Gruber:

They all cheered in his, in his.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Defense, it was, it was a, it would have been.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't think they would have done that originally.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think they would have originally signed.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He would have signed executive orders in the President's room at, at, at the Capitol.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That's where it would have taken place for a lot of that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But I think because the decision was made to move the inauguration indoors there for people that would have been on the parade or people that would have potentially been in on the Mall for the inauguration, they didn't get to be there for it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So they held a smaller venue at the arena, which only holds like 20,000, like maybe standing room only 21,000.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But it's a, it's a much smaller facility.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But yeah, so what they did was they brought a desk out and had him signing executive orders.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And there was a, the, the, the, his, his.

Donald Brock Jr.:

What do they call it, his groomer or whatever it is, the person that stands next to him and tells him what this is for and whatnot.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And they didn't sign all the executive orders there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They did.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They just did some of the bigger ones that were going to draw a lot of emotion out of the crowd.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It was entertaining to watch.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, you know, I, I'm, I'm not a Trump fan.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I just, I just exist in this Trump world.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Old.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, you know, but no one should be surprised at any of this stuff.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, he, he's an entertainer at the end of the day.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, I mean, he, and he's built and he's made himself quite a, quite a fortune on business deals, real estate deals and providing entertainment, and he's really captured a segment of, of the country that just believes in, in what he says and what he stands for.

Barrett Gruber:

And again, again, there were some Trump policies that he enacted from 20, from 6, 17, I guess, to 21 or whatever that I thought were just fine.

Barrett Gruber:

But I'll also take the same position of there was stuff that Biden did that I.

Barrett Gruber:

That I thought was fine.

Barrett Gruber:

There's stuff Obama did, there's stuff George Bush did that I have no problem with.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, you're not gonna.

Barrett Gruber:

You're not gonna.

Barrett Gruber:

There's no such thing as a perfect candidate.

Barrett Gruber:

Right?

Barrett Gruber:

Right.

Barrett Gruber:

There's not a candidate that's gonna make 100% of the people 100% happy 100% of the time.

Barrett Gruber:

Time.

Barrett Gruber:

This just doesn't exist.

Barrett Gruber:

You just have to ask yourself.

Barrett Gruber:

I think I was with some friends down in Atlanta, and this was before the election, because I think one of the things that I think both.

Barrett Gruber:

I think this was certainly one of the things that Trump on the campaign was.

Barrett Gruber:

Was talking about is he would ask people like, is, is your life better now than it was four years ago?

Barrett Gruber:

And honestly, I.

Barrett Gruber:

Contrary to what people want to say about inflation and this, that, and the other, I think for most people, the answer is yes, their lives are better.

Barrett Gruber:

My life was better.

Barrett Gruber:

My life is better today than it was four years ago.

Barrett Gruber:

The stock market continues to increase.

Barrett Gruber:

I'm employed.

Barrett Gruber:

We have successful businesses.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, people have more control over the.

Barrett Gruber:

The positives and negatives in their daily life than the federal government ever will, 100%.

Barrett Gruber:

And they got.

Barrett Gruber:

And sometimes you just got to get off your ass and just get going, because the only person that's going to really help you is you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, I think.

Donald Brock Jr.:

f the things that happened in:

Donald Brock Jr.:

And some of it is because some of the policies sometimes seem like they are specifically designed just to disenfranchise somebody.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Do we have an immigration problem here in the United States?

Donald Brock Jr.:

We don't do.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We don't have a perfect border situation.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We don't have a perfect immigration system.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And so I agree that is a problem.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Are we handling it the way that I think we should?

Donald Brock Jr.:

No, because ultimately, when it comes to immigration, we as the United States are a dying country.

Donald Brock Jr.:

If we don't have immigrants coming to our country, do they need to come here legally, 100% in order to get them here legally?

Donald Brock Jr.:

We need to do better about the immigration system we have in place.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That means more judges to secure the border.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We need more border enforcement.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, I don't know that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I don't know that walls actually fix anything.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, you know, that's, that's, I'm not an engineer that, A civil engineer that can wrap my head around that.

Barrett Gruber:

No, but, you know, but we've gone from one extreme to the next, so, you know, and somewhere in between is the answer.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Ultimately, Congress needs to come up with a solution, and Congress isn't.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Congress isn't doing anything.

Barrett Gruber:

Since when has Congress ever come up with a viable solution for anything?

Donald Brock Jr.:

The 60s?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, yeah, the Civil Rights Move act or the, the, you know, equality.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, that was, that was sort of a big deal.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But then we went right into the Vietnam War, so mistakes were made, you know.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, but no person is perfect.

Barrett Gruber:

No Congress is perfect.

Barrett Gruber:

No government's going to be perfect.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, people critic, people criticize this country all the time.

Barrett Gruber:

And I just kind of want to be like, like, well, where else would you rather go?

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, where else can you go and have the same opportunities like you have opportunity.

Barrett Gruber:

It's not anybody else's fault if you don't take advantage of the opportunities that, that, that are, you're presented.

Barrett Gruber:

It's not really given, it's presented.

Barrett Gruber:

And if you choose not to take advantage of it, yet you sit around and complain.

Barrett Gruber:

Because woe is me.

Barrett Gruber:

Everything.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, I don't, I don't get, you know.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, I, I, I don't really feel that bad for you because, you know, Steve and I started a business and we didn't know what the hell was going to happen with it.

Barrett Gruber:

We didn't know if it was going to be successful.

Barrett Gruber:

We put in a lot of time, effort.

Barrett Gruber:

You put in resources.

Barrett Gruber:

It takes away from your family.

Barrett Gruber:

I mean, when you, when you run your own business in this country, like, you work 24 7, if something happens, like you, you, you know.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

With, like your podcast, like, if you don't do it, nobody else is going to do it for you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, it's the same thing with, with an event or starting a company, like, you know, people.

Barrett Gruber:

And I don't want to knock, like my kids and your kids and, you know, a younger generation, but there's, you know, of course people are going to love hearing this, but this is, this is the, this is the segment of the program, ladies and gentlemen, where we get to express our opinions and we're not judged.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Quit judging us.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

This is not, this is not the opinions of Soda City Comic Con or the town of Blackfoot or anything.

Barrett Gruber:

These are my opinions and I own them.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can hold the All About Nothing podcast accountable for Them.

Barrett Gruber:

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Barrett Gruber:

But, but, you know, we gotta, we gotta get past this entitlement that a lot of people and a lot of Americans, and it might not just be Americans.

Barrett Gruber:

The only reason I say America is because that's who I'm exposed to every day.

Barrett Gruber:

Day.

Barrett Gruber:

Right.

Barrett Gruber:

But a lot of people just have some, like, like, I deserve this, I deserve that.

Barrett Gruber:

Or I should have this, I should have that.

Barrett Gruber:

Just because, just because, you know, either I'm born or whatever.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, you know, we, you know, people.

Donald Brock Jr.:

There'S a, there's a sense of privilege that people feel that.

Barrett Gruber:

Privilege.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

And it's, it's got to end.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, one thing, like, you know, we can go back into politics.

Barrett Gruber:

Trump is.

Barrett Gruber:

Because I don't think anyone can say that Trump is not pro America.

Barrett Gruber:

I think that'd be a hard argument that they say, oh, he's in love with Vladimir Putin.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't buy that.

Barrett Gruber:

I think that's some pomp and show.

Barrett Gruber:

That's what the media wants you to think or one side of the media wants you to think.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think he just wants to be a part of the club.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, he's the leader of the club.

Barrett Gruber:

He don't have to be a part of the club.

Barrett Gruber:

He's the leader.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, but I think he wants them to like him.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I think I, I think that, I think that's, that is because if I'm.

Barrett Gruber:

The president of the United States, nobody has to like me.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, and that's you and me.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

You don't have to like me.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, but I have, I have experienced Donald Trump in person at radio conventions that we did when he was doing Celebrity Apprentice.

Donald Brock Jr.:

This is the, and, and it's not.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He is, he is not.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That dis.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The images that you saw of him sitting next to Obama at Carter's funeral, General, that is Donald Trump.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Donald Trump is, Donald Trump is a guy that wants people to like him at the surface.

Donald Brock Jr.:

This is, this is him as an individual.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He wants people to like him.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He wants people to like him.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He wants to be a part of the group.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He wants to be included.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And ultimately, the Republicans have figured out with Donald Trump, if they just continue to feed in that ego now, it diverts, it gets sidelined by the fact that he already has an ego go.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, but they know that they can control him in a lot of ways because all they have to do is just tell him everything.

Donald Brock Jr.:

J.D.

Donald Brock Jr.:

vance stands there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

J.D.

Donald Brock Jr.:

vance is, is, I, I, I, I don't, I don't particularly like some of his politics But I recognize the dude is a fantastic actor because he will stand right there behind Trump and it doesn't matter what comes out of Trump's mouth, he is going to applaud it every single time.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And, and, and that is essentially how the Republicans were able to court Donald Trump and then Donald Trump took over.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So, you know, but, but I'll just say in person, on a, on a, Watching him interact with the people that I worked with at radio stations with, genuinely one of the most friendly individuals you could potentially meet.

Donald Brock Jr.:

He would, if, if, if, if you needed a chair, he'd make sure somebody got a chair.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Care.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, genuinely very friendly.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The guy that I see saying the stuff that he does on True Social, that's a different guy.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I am that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That's our president.

Barrett Gruber:

It's a different platform.

Barrett Gruber:

He's talking to a different base.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

A different audience.

Barrett Gruber:

Like, you know, I, I suspect that most of these national politicians, if you got, if you kind of sat them down one on one, you're going to get a different person because when the cameras are on versus the cameras are off.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

I don't.

Barrett Gruber:

Again, you might not, might not.

Barrett Gruber:

Like you said, you might not agree with all his policies.

Barrett Gruber:

But I mean, there are some that you get, you know, people very much like, yeah, okay, that, that's common sense.

Barrett Gruber:

That makes sense.

Barrett Gruber:

You know, America first.

Barrett Gruber:

Let's make stuff in this country, you know, let's bring jobs back to this country that have been lost and stuff like that.

Barrett Gruber:

Everybody would be like, yeah, we should do that.

Barrett Gruber:

No problem.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Which, which ultimately is Trump and Biden agreeing on the same thing.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Let's bring the, let's bring the jobs back to the United States.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Biden did the same thing.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The CHIPS act brought job the United States.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Like, these are things that Biden did.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But, but if you get, if you tell that to somebody, if you say, say that, well, I support Donald Trump because he wants to bring jobs back to the United States.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Well, Biden did that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Biden, Biden's administration brought jobs back to the United States.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I mean, we produce the chips now that have lowered the cost of vehicles in the country.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So, you know, it's, it's.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, we learned during COVID that, you know, you need to have the important parts of, of these vehicles and other, other.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Used cars became ultimately the thing that people were trying to buy the most because we didn't have new vehicles being produced because we didn't have the chips.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The, the, the, the demand just wasn't there.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, I think Taiwan Semiconductor is actually now building a mega site I think in Arizona.

Barrett Gruber:

That was part of the CHIPS Act.

Barrett Gruber:

Well, that was.

Barrett Gruber:

They also identified that as a potential national security risk because if China decides to take over Taiwan and then they take.

Barrett Gruber:

They basically confiscate all the businesses, then we're relying on Taiwan to get our chips and.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Barrett Gruber:

Anyway, so.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But yeah, well, there's always going to be that potential threat of some security risk to.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, the whole idea behind TikTok being a security risk, national security risk is, you know, I assume have.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I've.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I've read through the, the TikTok agreement, terms of terms of service agreement, the same as I've read through the Facebook.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I haven't because honestly I, I don't care.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I mean.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But I do recognize when it comes to.

Donald Brock Jr.:

And this is nothing against TikTok, but it's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But I do recognize that there is potentially an issue with TikTok when it comes to a security, national security because we, I know, know that members of our military, members of the government, you know, people that work for the federal government, they cannot have TikTok on their phones because of that attachment between ByteDance, tick tock and the Communist party of China.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So I recognize that there is a potential security risk.

Donald Brock Jr.:

What I wish they do is I wish that Congress would just come out and tell, you know, they've made a law.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They've.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They've banned it as, as a, as a law.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So just tell us what it was.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Just, just inform us and because it's not giving anything away that China doesn't potentially know.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, they know where they're.

Donald Brock Jr.:

They know where they're crossing the line.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Just tell us.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That's my biggest issue.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah.

Donald Brock Jr.:

With that whole thing.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But anyway.

Donald Brock Jr.:

All right, we digressed enough.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I, I can, I can smell dinner cooking.

Barrett Gruber:

I gotta go get something to eat too.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So I'll just do this.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Make sure.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Check out co coastal comic con.com coastal comic con is going to be a Wilmington, North Carolina at the Wilmington Convention Center March 1st and 2nd.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Again, coastalcomicon.com for tickets and more information.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You'll be Sam.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Sam Witwer is going to be there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Matthew Wood, Cal Dodd, Matthew Watterson, Caitlin Robot, Robrock and Ross Marquan.

Donald Brock Jr.:

A fantastic lineup of celebrities to be there.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I am very excited.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I am really thankful to you, Brock, for dragging us along.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I know it's been kicking and screaming sometimes, but you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You seem to absorb the pain pretty well.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Anything else you want to say before we get out of here?

Barrett Gruber:

No, I tell you What?

Barrett Gruber:

I'll.

Barrett Gruber:

I'll make an interesting offer.

Barrett Gruber:

If any of the viewers of this podcast come to the event and they find me and introduce themselves and tell me that they saw this podcast, I will give them a T shirt for the event.

Barrett Gruber:

A free T shirt from the event.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's very cool.

Barrett Gruber:

How.

Barrett Gruber:

How will you know it's me?

Barrett Gruber:

I will probably be the only one running around in a hockey jersey, so you'll see me in a Carolina Hurricanes hockey jersey because I'm giving up a weekend.

Barrett Gruber:

They have a.

Barrett Gruber:

They have a Saturday and a Sunday game at home in Raleigh that weekend.

Barrett Gruber:

They're playing the Oilers and the Flames, and I really want to go, but I can't go, obviously, Saturday.

Barrett Gruber:

So I'll be.

Barrett Gruber:

I'll be probably listening to the game in my ear during the day.

Barrett Gruber:

But if anybody sees me and they come up and say, I saw you on the All About Nothing podcast, you don't put a plant out there.

Barrett Gruber:

Let it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Let it be, and we'll let it happen organically.

Barrett Gruber:

It'll happen organically.

Barrett Gruber:

And then I'll give every.

Barrett Gruber:

I'll give that person a free T shirt to the event from the event.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Okay.

Donald Brock Jr.:

All right.

Donald Brock Jr.:

That doesn't mean that I can't replay this clip over and over.

Zach King:

You can.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You.

Barrett Gruber:

You can replay it.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Yeah, look, I'm not getting a free T shirt, but it's at the.

Barrett Gruber:

It's at the end of the podcast.

Barrett Gruber:

So they got to watch through the whole thing, correct?

Donald Brock Jr.:

They got to watch the whole thing.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Oh, all right.

Barrett Gruber:

Yeah, go ahead.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Go.

Donald Brock Jr.:

No, I was gonna wrap it up.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You go ahead.

Barrett Gruber:

No, no, I just say, like, you.

Barrett Gruber:

You and Zach were mentioning earlier that you have all these interviews and all this other stuff.

Barrett Gruber:

I want to get that.

Barrett Gruber:

I want you to give that to me so I can put it on our YouTube page so we can get you more views.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I can do that.

Barrett Gruber:

Yes, please do.

Barrett Gruber:

Please do.

Barrett Gruber:

Please do.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's.

Donald Brock Jr.:

It's all audio, but.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But I'll.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I'll put it on a background, so I'll give you video of that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So we do.

Barrett Gruber:

We transferred all that stuff.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I can give you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I can give you segments as well to that you can put on the Instagram and the Facebook and stuff that.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You know, just little.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Little clips.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Perfect.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Thank you very much.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Donald Brock Jr.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Of the.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The coordinator of the Soda City Comic Con, Coastal Comic Con, and Boardwalk Comic Con.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can check out all of their.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Their websites for information.

Donald Brock Jr.:

But the big one coming up again, Coastal Comic Con, March 1st and 2nd at Neumann Wilmington Convention center in Wilmington, NC.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Please go get tickets because this is gonna be a phenomenal event.

Donald Brock Jr.:

We want to see a big crowd, come out and have a really good time.

Donald Brock Jr.:

So again, thank you very much Donald Brock for being on the show that is going to do it for episode number 239.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Thank you very much for listening.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Links to past episodes, podcast platforms, merchandise, social media are all available at our website theallaboutnothing.com if you think about our financial model giving away free content, my mouth is starting to slip.

Donald Brock Jr.:

If you think our financial model of giving away free content and entertainment is silly and you're in the giving mood, why not become an official nothinger and support the show monthly?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Members get early access to this episode as well as exclusive content or you can make a one time donation through the same link.

Donald Brock Jr.:

If you'd like to be a part of the show, you can call and leave us a message.

Donald Brock Jr.:

-:

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can email the show at theallaboutnothing.com you can join our Discord server as well.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Links available@theallaboutnothing.com thank you again Donald Brock for being on.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Thank you very much everybody for listening.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You all stay safe, be kind and have a great week week and keep your hands to yourself.

Barrett Gruber:

All right Barrett thanks buddy.

Donald Brock Jr.:

The All About Nothing podcast is a product of Big Media and produced and engineered by me, Barrett Gruber thanks to Cake for our intro music.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Sick of you.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can follow Everything Cake the band@cake music.com thanks to muff the Producer for our Outro music.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can follow Muff on Instagram at Muff the Producer.

Donald Brock Jr.:

I am Barrett Gruber.

Donald Brock Jr.:

You can follow me across social media by visiting Link Tree.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Barrett Gruber you can follow Zack King on social media arnetkings.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Want to support the show?

Donald Brock Jr.:

Visit our webpage@theallaboutnothing.com and become a member.

Donald Brock Jr.:

There are several tiers available that give you early access to episodes as well as exclusive content.

Donald Brock Jr.:

To find links to our social media, podcast platforms and merchandise to support the show as well as past episodes, visit theallaboutnothing.com if you'd like, you can be a part of the show.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Email the show@theallaboutnothing.com or you can call our number and leave a message.

Donald Brock Jr.:

-:

Donald Brock Jr.:

If the time between these episodes is more than you can handle, check out our sister shows including what the Pod Was that With Carrie, Zach and myself.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Welcome to Wonderland with Amie and Black, White and Blue in the south with Dr.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Jamil Brooks and Bill Kimler.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Please subscribe and share this show.

Donald Brock Jr.:

If you're on YouTube, please hit the subscription button and punch that notification bell.

Donald Brock Jr.:

Thank you for listening and hear us next week.

Donald Brock Jr.:

ct of Big Media and Copyright:

Donald Brock Jr.:

All rights reserved.

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About the Podcast

The All About Nothing: Podcast
All about nothing, while being all about something.
In this world of 24-Cable-News, Editorializations of our World, Politics, Wars, Pandemics, Partisan-ism, Sports, Entertainment... The constant barrage of information, we like to take a few moments and discuss particulars and their effect. We seek to learn and find direction. We look for understanding and good conversation in a world of unease.
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About your hosts

Barrett Gruber

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Originally from Atlanta, Barrett has worked professionally in Radio and Television. By day, he works in Business Analytics and Quality Assurance, and by night he takes in news, politics and sports and some how makes light of nearly all of it. Rooted in Comedy and Satire, Barrett gives his honest and well informed opinion on the world we all must experience.

Zachary King

Profile picture for Zachary King
Just a guy that wears free shirts. Seriously. You give him a shirt, he will absolutely wear it. Don't ask for it back. He's all about the freebies. Seriously, again, he begs for free stuff.