It was a big weekend between Mark and Jair as they both discussed the potential changes throughout the NFL and where J.J. Watt could land.
Some questions to take away from this episode: How long will Anthony Davis be out of the NBA? What are your opinions on Draymond Green’s comments? What will happen with Blake Griffin potentially being bought out?
In MLB, Pitchers and Catcher report to Spring Training.
Stay tuned for more episodes of Mark and Jair Explain Sports. Both Mark and Jair will come up with several different sports topics to discuss during their podcast. Be sure to follow them on Instagram @exsportsdrexel. Also follow their personal accounts @budd98, @jair.bd, @jairbrooksdavis.
Happy week 6, my dudes! This week we have a continuation of our conversation with our the world’s best advisor, Florette Press. There was just so much content that we could not keep it contained to just one episode. Florette deserves two episodes, at least.
In this episode, we get to know the more personal side of Florette as we talk about what she does in her free time and what goes through her mind when she takes the same classes with her students. We also learn about what her most ideal Friday would be under the most optimal conditions (I’ll give you a hint—it involves wine, friends, and her cats)!
We also talk about our favorite parts of Philadelphia and our mutual appreciation for Old City and their First Friday events, while Liz and Florette bond over their love of camping hammocks! My oh my, do we miss the days of pre-COVID entertainment. One day things will be back to normal. Just wear your mask!
At the end, we share our most favorite “ain’t that something” moments in the real world.
Like we mentioned before, this recording was made back in October, so there will be a lot of past references to politics and COVID.
We are so stoked for you to hear this one, and once again, we appreciate you all so much. See y’all homies next week!
This week, I had a conversation with one of my favorite bands from New Jersey: Foxhedge. One of the band members, Seamus, was in the same graduating class as me in high school, and I had seen the band perform at a few shows.
Early in, we talked about a fundraiser they did in partnership with another band, Ham By The Pound, for the Black Visions Collective. They did a live stream of a ping pong tournament, and each band performed in an effort to raise money. We all talked a bit about School of Rock, a music school in Red Bank, New Jersey, where a lot of these bands rose out of. All or most of the kids that became members of Foxhedge or Ham all met and took classes at School of Rock.
Foxhedge member Alanah and I talked briefly about her experience at SOR. Although she started singing there at 16, she had been playing guitar since the age of 14. The band members all commented about how a lot of people their age at SOR were very progressive and ambitious about getting bands together.
We all briefly touched on Foxhedge’s first performance ever, which they all saw as so bad that they didn’t perform again for another eight months. It was the first show they had performed, and they’d only been an official band for about two months.
We also talked about some of the gatherings and basement shows that they would frequent. If you’re a kid hosting one of these shows at your house, you really have to have a plan and know what you’re doing. The band touched on the environment when performing at backyard or basement shows, how people are much more comfortable and excited, and how the band feeds off of that.
I touched on one of the first basement shows I saw them at, where the sweltering basement was entirely full of people. The band talked about their fingers getting so sweaty during performances that sometimes their fingers slide down the instruments. They touched on one gig where they all wore Dickie’s boilersuits, a choice they said might have been better suited to a winter/outdoor show. We had a brief aside about getting clothes stolen and our experiences with that (happens more often than you’d think).
The band talked about how, as they started developing, they made a point of practicing more. They said they practiced so much that during performances, they knew the material like the back of their hands and they didn’t have to focus as much on the specificity of what they were doing.
After that, we got into the differences between their two albums, “Home Again” and “In The Mountains.” Their first album was more lighthearted, and they wrote it together following a basic chord structure.
For the second album, the members had all been apart for a while since a majority were in college. When they met back up again, they took about a month to plan, and then they started to record. Some of the songs for their second album were written for days before going into the studio.
The two albums were released a year apart. The band talked about how their plan for releasing new music going forward will be different than anything they’ve done; they plan to make two EPs with some singles scattered out. They plan not to record in the summer and instead write a large number of songs (20 to 25!), group them and release some EPs instead of dropping a bunch of music at once. The band says their upcoming album might be more like their first, being more experimental and containing a bunch of different songs.
We talked briefly about the harmony of Foxhedge and how they’re not a band that has fought (at least to their memory). We finished up the conversation—all of us being performers in one way or another—talking about the physical experience of performing. They recalled some out of body experiences during shows, where they weren’t noticing the specific chords or thinking, more just feeding off the audience.
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Thank you guys for tuning in, my episodes are available almost anywhere you can stream music, like Spotify and Apple. If you find somewhere you can’t stream it, let me know.
I’m still working on socials for my podcast, but in the meantime, I will be posting episode updates on my Instagram @jackldavis14. Stay cool, everyone. I’ll see you next week.
It was a big weekend between Mark and Jair: the Super Bowl weekend! The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31-9.
In the NBA, the Utah Jazz are the first seed in the Western Conference, while the Philadelphia 76ers are the first seed in the Eastern Conference. The Brooklyn Nets are struggling, and Mark took note of that. Who will win in the MVP race?
In MLB, Trevor Bauer signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Will the Mets win the NL East? Will the Phillies come out stronger in 2021? Let’s see!
Stay tuned for more episodes of Mark and Jair Explain Sports. Both Mark and Jair will come up with several different sports topics to discuss during their podcast. Be sure to follow them on Instagram @exsportsdrexel. Also follow their personal accounts @budd98, @jair.bd, @jairbrooksdavis.
Happy Week 5 my dudes! Hope you’re hanging in there. There has been so much snow in the past week, and we are literally not thriving. But what else is new? This week we have a special one with a very special guest: Florette Press.
Florette Press is the academic advisor for students in the Department of Communication in the College of Arts and Sciences. She’s always there to lend an ear, guide you through your different predicaments whether it be academic or personal and, if you’re like Brandon, answer your manic post-midterm emails (with subject lines like “I think I’m dropping out”) with the utmost kindness and humor.
In the first of two episodes, Florette talks about her humble beginnings as a Spanish major at Kenyon College in Ohio. She takes us through some of her adventures abroad and her early post-college experiences. This is the first guest we have had on the show as co-hosts, so we are so excited for you to hear this.
Full disclosure: This episode was recorded back in October, but it was lost to the archives until now.
Florette is like the Samwise Gamgee to her students. No matter how hard the pressure (or precious) of academic studies gets to us, she’ll always be there to help us until we graduate (or throw the ring in the fires of Mount Doom).
Today, Gary returns, and we continue our conversation about Shia LaBeouf, Oscar-winning musical movies and some of our top movie picks.
We finished our discussion about “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Judy,” both movies where the lead actors won Oscars but the movies’ critical receptions failed to reflect that. That leads us to touch on the film “Rocketman,” and how while the former two movies had their lead actors win, Taron Edgerton didn’t even get nominated for his role as Elton John (despite being aggressively campaigned). We argued that Taron and the whole movie were more deserving of accolades than some of the others.
We continued talking about Oscar snubs with Edgerton, as well as Adam Sandler, who seemed to be a lock-in at the time for his role in the film “Uncut Gems” (he won the Lead Actor Independent Film Spirit award, but was not nominated by the Academy). Then, we talk about movies that we’re not sure should have received as many accolades as they did. Gary and I debate the “Joker,” how it was polarizing, etc. We agreed about the Best Actor win, but we weren’t sure about a handful of other things in the movie. We both agreed it was possibly a poor representation of mental health and that some of its dialogue was on-the-nose.
Eventually, we got into Edgar Wright and how the next two movies he has coming up—”The Last Night in Soho” and a book adaptation, “The Chain”—are big departures from his previous works. That ties into our conversation about “Joker” and Todd Philips, formerly director of “The Hangover” Trilogy. We discuss how Joker was definitely a big jump for him.
Gary and I touch on some of our top movies. Oddly, we also dissect the concept of a “Top 5” list and how it’s difficult with movies—complicated stuff. Regardless, I talk a bit about “Boogie Nights,” “Honey Boy,” “A Star is Born” and maybe “Beautiful Boy.” Gary says the only top movies he has for sure are “Goodfellas” and “Peanut Butter Falcon.”
Before we get into our conversation about the story behind “Peanut Butter Falcon”’s production and the on-set friendships that were formed, we take a quick detour into talking about Lucas Hedges and how pops up in every indie movie of the past four or five years. We also debate which Tarantino movie would go in our Top 5.
We circle back to our Shia conversation, talking about how Shia and Robert Pattinson left the public conversation for a while, but now they’re becoming more widely recognized with their roles in a pretty big way. Gary talks about how initially he didn’t take Pattinson seriously, and just thought of him as “The Vampire,” but eventually realized he was a serious character actor. We talk about how the films “Good Time” and “The Lighthouse” completely revolutionized Pattinson in our minds. We also go a little bit into the extensive pre-production process for “The Lighthouse” and how Pattinson is not normally accustomed to rehearsing, while Willem Dafoe is a seasoned theatre actor.
Gary goes into the full story behind “Peanut Butter Falcon”’s production process, and then we finish the conversation by talking about all of the upcoming Marvel projects.
Thank you for tuning in; my episodes are available almost anywhere you can stream music, like Spotify and Apple. If you find somewhere you can’t stream it, let me know.
I’m still working on socials for my podcast, but in the meantime, I will be posting episode updates on my Instagram @jackldavis14. Stay cool, everyone. I’ll see you next week.
Below, I’ll include a link to Adam Sandler’s Spirit Awards win speech, because it is hilarious and beautiful.
Welcome back! It’s week 4 already. Can you believe it? The amount of homework we are drowning in is astronomical, and the PASS/FAIL option is really going to come in clutch this term…just like it did the last three terms.
Last week, we brought you Brandon’s story of relapse and addiction. This week, we present to you part 2 of that episode: the recovery. While we focused last week on how Brandon dealt with his issues in the moment, we talk to you this week about how Brandon uses those “issues” and rough past as fuel to live a better, happier and sober life.
We also talk about the pressure of having to maintain a public persona when it does more damage to you than just being yourself. Sobriety or not, this is something that many people struggle with. As a trigger warning, we talk about depression and bulimia as well, so please tread lightly if this is something that bothers you.
We are so thankful that each and every one of you keep coming back week after week. This show is only as amazing as you all are.
Please love yourself. Please show compassion to yourself. Please know it’s okay to forgive yourself.
It’s a big week in the sports world as we head into Super Bowl weekend, and Mark and Jair were eager to discuss some of the big storylines of the week.
In Major League Baseball, the league has been discussing the number of games set to be played during the season. The Players Union and the league have been going back-and-forth on this topic.
The Sixers are leading the NBA in Power Rankings. Mark is absolutely ecstatic in regards to the success of the team. A major question in the NBA: will Joel Embiid become MVP? In other news, the Brooklyn Nets are rated towards the bottom of the league. Mark took notice of this and discussed it. Lastly, Mark and Jair will see the Drexel Dragons take on the Hofstra Pride this upcoming weekend.
In the National Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs will head to Tampa for their second straight Super Bowl, this time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mark and Jair discussed their opinions of the game and made their predictions. Mark will be rooting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Jair will be rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Stay tuned for more episodes of Mark and Jair Explain Sports. Both Mark and Jair will come up with several different sports topics to discuss during their podcast. Be sure to follow them on Instagram @exsportsdrexel. Also follow their personal accounts @budd98, @jair.bd, @jairbrooksdavis.
It was a big week in the sports world between the NFL, MLB, and NBA. Mark and Jair had guest, Armon Owlia, in to discuss what’s going on in the sports world the big events.
Mark, Jair, and Armon discussed what’s going on in the recent events in MLB, and each gave their opinions on signings like George Springer and available free agents like Trevor Bauer.
In addition to baseball, Armon discussed his opinions on the Connor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier fight the previous weekend. Along with the fight, the trio discussed views with the NHL.
Regarding the NBA, all three discussed what’s going on with the current situation with the Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, and the Golden State Warriors. Armon offered his opinion on who he feels will make a deep playoff run. The time of recording being Jan. 26, Mark, Jair, and Armon shared their favorite Kobe Bryant memories.
In the National Football League, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 38-24 for the AFC spot in the Super Bowl. In the NFC, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Green Bay Packers as they will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Stay tuned for more episodes of Mark and Jair Explain Sports. Both Mark and Jair will come up with several different sports topics to discuss during their podcast. Be sure to follow them on Instagram @exsportsdrexel. Also follow their personal accounts @budd98, @jair.bd, @jairbrooksdavis.
Thank you for coming back, everyone. Last week we talked about movie delays, the future of movie theaters like AMC and some of our favorite actors.
This week, I have a fellow actor and friend of mine, Gary Bowman, joining me. We open up the conversation by discussing “Uncut Gems,” (the Adam Sandler and Safdie Brothers film) and launch into a discussion about the Safdie Brothers and their influence. We talk about the prevalence of hyphenates — actors who also do things like write and direct — chiefly Benny Safdie, who, in addition to writing and co-directing the film “Good Time,” also stars in it.
We talk about the elements of writing, directing and starring in your own work. Our conversation shifts to Shia LaBeouf and his breakout film “Honey Boy,” which he wrote and starred in but chose somebody else to direct. We talked about LaBeouf’s up-and-down trajectory in Hollywood and how he seemingly has steady work again, despite recent allegations surrounding the actor. We talked about the roles Shia Labeouf had upcoming at the time of recording, like “Pieces of a Woman” and “The Tax Collector.”
Eventually, we moved on to Tarantino and his perfectionism as a director — how he doesn’t let actors improvise and how his dialogue is meant to be said exactly as it was written. That led into a conversation about “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” and “The Irishman,” two 2019 films that we were greatly anticipating before they came out. We talked about our reactions to the two films once they were released and how perception of a movie can be altered before watching. From there, we talk about the subversive ending of “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” (spoilers), and Tarantino’s subgenre of “revisionist history” that he demonstrated in other films (like “Django Unchained” and “Inglorious Basterds”).
Gary talked about his anticipation for “The Irishman,” how he read the book beforehand, and how the name Hoffa was known in the Italian-American community. We discussed the complaints and praises for the movie, as well as whether Robert De Niro did the role justice.
