WEBVTT - Alex Vesia (4-13-26) 

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, it's hard to believe it was six years ago

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<v Speaker 2>that the Dodgers made a trade with the Marlins sent

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<v Speaker 2>Dylan Floro to Miami for some left handed pitcher that

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<v Speaker 2>nobody in LA had heard from. And here he is

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<v Speaker 2>now a two time World Series champion. He just made

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<v Speaker 2>his three hundredth appearance with the Dodgers and celebrated a

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<v Speaker 2>very happy birthday with his first save of the season.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's LA's favorite left handed reliever, Alex Vesia. Thanks

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<v Speaker 2>a lot for the time. And man, it feels like yesterday.

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<v Speaker 3>What an intro?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, wow, thanks, that's pretty good. I had to

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<v Speaker 1>remind everybody off the top off the top of your

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<v Speaker 1>head right there, that's pretty good.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, people think you're this guy out of nowhere,

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<v Speaker 2>but it's been a non linear road to be the

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<v Speaker 2>established guy and leader in that bullpen. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's never a straight line, right, There's peaks and valleys,

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<v Speaker 1>ups and downs, adversity, you know, but that's what the

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<v Speaker 1>game is. The game, right, Baseball is very hard. It's

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<v Speaker 1>never been easy, never never come easy to me.

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<v Speaker 3>But I trust my routine.

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<v Speaker 1>I trust the great coaching staff around me. I trust

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<v Speaker 1>the veterans that I've been around the last six years

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<v Speaker 1>to you know, kind of lead me the way, and

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I have them to thank.

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<v Speaker 2>Everybody always wants to know what's the special magic the

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<v Speaker 2>Dodgers have, especially when it comes to bringing out the

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<v Speaker 2>best in relief pictures? Can you describe why it's better

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<v Speaker 2>here than it may be going to another team and

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<v Speaker 2>trying to duplicate what the Dodgers do?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think that.

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<v Speaker 1>The communication right is definitely a priority.

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<v Speaker 3>It's number one.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember getting over here in twenty one and there

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<v Speaker 1>was a book all about me, my strengths, weaknesses where

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<v Speaker 1>I could get better at, you know, and they the

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<v Speaker 1>dots are really good at finding what your strengths are,

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<v Speaker 1>making those strengths even better, you gaining confidence in those strengths. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>and then it's digging a little bit deeper to okay,

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<v Speaker 1>where where I can we make you better?

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<v Speaker 3>Where? What are your weaknesses? You know? Because when I

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<v Speaker 3>when I first came up, I pretty much.

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<v Speaker 1>Only threw a fastball, right, and then twenty one and

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<v Speaker 1>kind of in twenty two is you know, very.

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<v Speaker 3>Very heavy fastball usage.

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<v Speaker 1>And then over the course of twenty one and twenty

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<v Speaker 1>two and twenty three, you know, we incorporated the slider

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<v Speaker 1>and that opened up a lot more room for my fastball,

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<v Speaker 1>so you know, uh, game planning for a hitter, you

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<v Speaker 1>could you know, I had to look at and take

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<v Speaker 1>into consideration a slider. So you know, from top to bottom,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I definitely I love this organization.

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<v Speaker 3>They've been great to me.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, and I feel like, day in and day out,

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<v Speaker 1>I never.

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<v Speaker 3>Take that for granted.

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<v Speaker 1>I work really hard, and you know, I believe in

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<v Speaker 1>myself and you know when Doc puts me in positions

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<v Speaker 1>for success, and you know, I believe in that. And

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<v Speaker 1>you know that's where you see the confidence out on

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<v Speaker 1>the mound, and you know it's It's never an overnight success. Man.

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<v Speaker 1>There's been a lot of doubt, a lot of failure.

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<v Speaker 1>But that's also made me who I am.

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<v Speaker 2>Alex Vessia is our guest. You know, Radar guns and

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<v Speaker 2>Velocity is throwing our face a lot with different pictures.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, everybody's talking about Edwin Diaz is VLO. But

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<v Speaker 2>it's April. You guys just started the season. What is

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<v Speaker 2>what should be expected from pictures relief pictures in the

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<v Speaker 2>first couple of weeks of the season.

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<v Speaker 1>When we see things like that. Yeah, I think that

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<v Speaker 1>every year is always different. I'm I'm I would say,

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<v Speaker 1>predominantly a slower starter, right, Yet I don't. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>throw very hard. I'm not a you know, I don't

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<v Speaker 1>blow up the radar gun by by no means right.

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<v Speaker 1>But I also I also think the way I throw,

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<v Speaker 1>how I throw the vert and the metrics on my

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<v Speaker 1>fastball is what makes me unique. You know. I've feel

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<v Speaker 1>like I've thrown a fastball at eighty eight this year

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<v Speaker 1>and I've thrown a fastball at ninety three this year.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just, you know, for myself, I just try to

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<v Speaker 1>go out and compete with the best stuff that.

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<v Speaker 3>I have for that day and know that it is early.

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<v Speaker 3>You know.

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<v Speaker 1>What people don't understand is going on road trips where

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<v Speaker 1>we fly to d C and there's time changes in

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<v Speaker 1>Toronto and all that stuff affects the body differently and

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<v Speaker 1>guys bounce back differently.

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<v Speaker 3>It's it's never the same, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>I wish it was super dry and simple, but it's not,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, and you know, we we do our best day.

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<v Speaker 3>In and day out.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, Diaz is a is a veteran, He's

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<v Speaker 1>done it for many years, and you know, there's not

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<v Speaker 1>a single doubt in any of our minds that when

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<v Speaker 1>he goes back out there, whether it's tonight or tomorrow,

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<v Speaker 1>that he'll be him.

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<v Speaker 2>Is there such a thing still in baseball of dead arm?

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<v Speaker 2>I used to hear dead arm a lot.

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<v Speaker 3>So there. I've heard that term this year one time.

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<v Speaker 3>I think it with an Angels Angels picture.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't really know. I've never I don't know if

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<v Speaker 1>I've really ever witnessed that. I know that, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>there's like body fatigue and arm fatigue, and I understand that,

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<v Speaker 1>but I don't know really what like dead arm symptoms

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<v Speaker 1>would be.

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<v Speaker 3>I know what what having a very fatigued body feels like,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, and.

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<v Speaker 1>A couple of red bulls and and some adrenaline from

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<v Speaker 1>fifty thousand a daughter stadium.

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<v Speaker 3>That that seems to do the trick.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, speaking of that, when you first started, you heard

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<v Speaker 2>the roars for Kennley Jansen when he would come in,

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<v Speaker 2>But now the roars are equal for alex Vesia. What

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<v Speaker 2>does that mean to you? With everything that's happened in

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<v Speaker 2>the last six months to get fans on their feet

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<v Speaker 2>every night here when you come in.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean I feel it, I hear it, I

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<v Speaker 3>see it.

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<v Speaker 1>You know when we're in the bullpen, there's a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of people have you know, said their condolences and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>saying that they're rooting for me, and you know that

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<v Speaker 1>that's really nice. It's and honestly, it is a it's

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<v Speaker 1>a breath of fresh air. And you know, there's a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of love that that's been been spread around the

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<v Speaker 1>last you know, a few months. And you know, for myself,

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<v Speaker 1>I just try to, you know, have that fuel the

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<v Speaker 1>fire and you know, really really really you know, let it,

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<v Speaker 1>let it show out on the mound and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>do my best and you know, to to put up

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<v Speaker 1>zeros and and get the guys back in the dugout

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<v Speaker 1>so they can hit. You know, we can win some

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<v Speaker 1>ball games, and you know, it's just it's really.

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<v Speaker 3>Nice to be back. Excuse me, it's nice to.

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<v Speaker 1>Be back out on the baseball field.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>On obviously with everything, it's it's been tough, but having

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<v Speaker 1>a goal and having you know that the every single

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<v Speaker 1>player on this team man has meant the world to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Because it's nice for them to joke around and laugh

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, we have such good personalities on this

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<v Speaker 1>team that like, that's that's helped out a lot.

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<v Speaker 2>How great was it to be back on the plane

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<v Speaker 2>with the boys on that first road trip?

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<v Speaker 3>That was awesome. Yeah, that was cool man.

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<v Speaker 1>We we definitely had a good time. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>those are those are the memories that you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>definitely don't.

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<v Speaker 3>Take for granted.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you know, I really looking forward to that and

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<v Speaker 1>just it's it's fun to kind of just be yourself

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<v Speaker 1>and just enjoy those moments.

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<v Speaker 3>And you know, at the same.

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<v Speaker 1>Time, you know, when you go into a game and

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<v Speaker 1>everyone's rooting for you and you have success, it just

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<v Speaker 1>makes that that much better.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, before I let you go? The beard, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>this is a little more fluffyer than the last time

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<v Speaker 2>we saw you. But I like it.

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<v Speaker 3>It's growing. I I've got a couple people ask me

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<v Speaker 3>what product of how I made it?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, yeah, it's I think it's gonna stay for

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<v Speaker 1>a little while.

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<v Speaker 3>I like it.

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<v Speaker 2>You have to like it. Who cares what I like?

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, honestly, it's it's Kayla's approval. She's she hasn't

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<v Speaker 3>told me to shave it yet. So we're gonna keep

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<v Speaker 3>it rolling. And but yeah, it's been it's been fun.

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<v Speaker 3>It is.

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<v Speaker 1>It's getting a little long to like in the morning,

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<v Speaker 1>it's all over the place, so I gotta, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>come in and put some water in it. So yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it's a a.

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<v Speaker 3>A new look. Well we'll rock it for a little while.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it fits the music that you come into. Okay, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>their whole energy does all right. Hey, I'll embrace it. Hey,

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<v Speaker 2>we embrace Alex Vesia. LA's got their arms around you

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<v Speaker 2>and Kayla and man, it's so great to have you

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<v Speaker 2>back and doing your thing. And don't take for granted

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<v Speaker 2>what it was in the beginning and what it is now.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeh, I appreciate it. Thank you Dave for you know,

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<v Speaker 3>always always being there here the man always will be.

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<v Speaker 2>Just ask Cory Seger and Jock Peterson. They couldn't get

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<v Speaker 2>rid of me.

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<v Speaker 3>There we go, wherever you go.

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<v Speaker 2>Vessia, I'll be there.

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<v Speaker 3>I like that like that.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks a lot for the time, Thank you, Thank you.

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<v Speaker 3>Have a good day.