WEBVTT - Episode 4: Mint Condition 0:00:03.400 --> 0:00:11.840 This is an I Heart original picture this. You're a 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:16.840 resident of Hailey, Idaho, population of five thousand. Small town 0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:19.639 life is treating you well, but sometimes you don't want 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:23.919 another quiet night. Sometimes you want to get loud. You 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:27.080 want to see some live music. There are a couple 0:00:27.120 --> 0:00:30.680 of late night hangouts, like the Red Elephant Saloon, and 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:35.520 some of them have live bands, mostly local talent, nothing 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:40.560 wrong with that. They sound good. For bigger names, you've 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.280 got to head to catch them. Or Sun Valley, the 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:47.840 big ski resort destination about fifteen miles outside of town. 0:00:48.440 --> 0:00:52.519 Hailey isn't necessarily the best place to turn the volume up, 0:00:55.840 --> 0:01:03.880 but in June things change all of a sudden. You 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:08.160 can go see George Clinton, B. B. King, Bo Diddley 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.760 legends of blues and rock and funk on stage in 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:16.200 front of maybe a hundred other people in a small, 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:20.480 intimate setting. They jam and play late into the night 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:24.560 and into the wee hours of the morning. Haley has 0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:30.440 never seen anything like it. Like most of the development 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:34.200 happening around this time, this is the work of Haley 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:39.479 resident and movie star Bruce Willett. He's turning the volume up, 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:46.520 way up. He bought which was just a seedy little 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:50.640 dive of a bar in Haley. That's Steve Kerns, then 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:55.040 the mayor of Haley, and he bought it and completely 0:01:55.040 --> 0:01:58.600 remodeled it. What he didn't just remodey towards Pargolan down 0:01:58.600 --> 0:02:02.040 and built the whole new building with an entertainment lounge upstairs. 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:05.880 And they brought in some quite a few naturally known 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:10.560 acts to play them in with a first class restaurant 0:02:10.560 --> 0:02:13.720 downstairs as well. And that was a big deal for 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:17.480 Haley to have that sort thing happening. Of all the 0:02:17.480 --> 0:02:21.480 Bruce Willis projects on Haley's main street. The mint is 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:27.160 the crown jewel, the pst Resistance. It costs millions and 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.560 it's fitting. Willis, after all, worked in a bar for 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:34.440 years before making it in Hollywood. Now he owns one. 0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:40.400 It's a concentrated dose of Willis's urban New York lifestyle 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:44.840 injected directly into the veins of small town Haley, and 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:49.760 that mixture will soon prove to be combustible. This one 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:52.560 time cowboy bar would soon be the site of an 0:02:52.560 --> 0:02:59.840 old school wild West showdown for I Heart Radio. This 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:03.640 is Haleywood. I'm your host, Danish Schwartz, and this is 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:12.400 episode four mint condition. The mint was easily Willis's most 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.960 ambitious project to date in Haley, since going on a 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.919 real estate buying spree under the veil of an umbrella corporation, 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:25.480 the Xnay Investment Trust. He purchased the ailing property for 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:29.120 two hundred thousand dollars from its owner, a man named 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:33.480 Wally Young, and set about reimagining it with the cat 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:37.960 out of the bag. Willis and his employees at Valley Entertainment, 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:42.000 which looked after his business interests in Haley, didn't deny 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:47.200 newspaper reports Willis was spending millions of dollars to take 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:50.760 the Rundown Dive Bar into a new era, one that 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:54.440 would showcase his love of music, with live act and 0:03:54.640 --> 0:03:58.400 lots of Bruce Willis jamming with his own band, the Accelerators. 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:03.520 But if this was going to work, Willis needed a 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:07.800 little help managing the details, someone he could trust, and 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:12.480 Joe McAllister, Willis's friend and business associate, knew just the guy. 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:17.279 So Joe was actually doing some work on Bruce's house 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:21.320 on seventy Street in Central Park West when I really 0:04:21.360 --> 0:04:25.560 started to get connected with Bruce. That's Rick Oliver, who 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.160 would go on to become heavily involved with the men. 0:04:29.040 --> 0:04:31.680 I was Pedal corporate security for Paulo Ralph Lauren in 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.920 New York for close to ten years. Bluddy of mine 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:38.599 was one of his top designers, Kenny Thomas, but he 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:41.440 wanted to get some of that product out to celebrities, 0:04:41.880 --> 0:04:44.720 and I said, well, you know, I can probably give 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:48.480 Bruce Willis into some of these clothes. He goes great, 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:53.240 you know, and I made it happen. Um, Bruce, Uh, 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:55.440 you know, he liked the thought. He you know, he 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:56.880 loved the clothes, and he said, you know, hey, who's 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.839 this Rick guy? I want to meet him. Uh. And 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:01.560 that's what a connection was made. I met him a 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:07.880 planet Hollywood. Uh. Mid nineties. Willis liked Rick, and Rick 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:11.839 liked Willis. A little later on, Willis even gave Rick's 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:15.239 friends a big surprise, Bruce do me a bachelor party 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:18.200 after I got married, and he actually barking it for me. 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:20.880 That's a good story to say. I had Bruce Barchen 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:24.080 for me. You know, Willis told him what he was 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.640 planning in Haley. And while you might expect Rick to 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:31.520 be excited about the opportunity to get into the burgeoning 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:37.280 Bruce Willis Industry. Rick was noncommittal. Joe invited me, I 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.880 don't know, probably twenty times, and I was like, you 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.280 know what, I'm not I'm not into this. You know, 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:44.000 I didn't know much about Idaho. The only thing I 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:47.320 know about Idaho was you know, skinheads and potatoes, right, 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:49.760 which happened that then? That wasn't the truth, right, It 0:05:49.839 --> 0:05:53.640 was just just my perception, you know, living in Manhattan 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:56.680 at that time. The other thing that gave Rick pause 0:05:56.920 --> 0:06:00.200 was that, well, not too many people looked like him 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.760 in Haley. There wasn't a lot of black people up there. 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.080 And initially I thought Joe was doing it to kind 0:06:06.120 --> 0:06:12.240 of you know, uh, bring some ethnics city, bring culture 0:06:12.279 --> 0:06:16.440 into the community, right, But Joe apparently wore Rick down. 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:19.920 Bruce always has something going on during the holidays, like 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.359 the fourth of July, he had a big fireworks show 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:26.279 at the Rodeo, and he always did a New Year's party, 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:28.360 which was you know, they bought everybody out, you know, 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:32.880 John Kennedy, um, his fiance, just a lot of major 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:36.920 Hollywood people and celebrities in general. So I would come 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:39.880 out to some of those events, um and uh and 0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:43.159 visit when I wind up, you know, staying. I fell 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:46.600 in love with the place. Everyone seemed to fall in 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:50.360 love with Haley. It was just so idyllic, and Rick 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:53.800 had plenty of reasons to stay. Beyond the beautiful scenery. 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:58.479 He was proving useful to Willis's growing enterprise. I helped 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:02.280 him with talent, you know, by the talent, recommended talent, 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:05.039 and work with the artists when they got here, just 0:07:05.160 --> 0:07:07.480 making sure that they were okay and they needed anything 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:10.680 artist relations if if you will, you know, I was 0:07:10.760 --> 0:07:12.800 Joe's right here man, and people are trying to get 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:14.560 to me, to get to Joe, to get to Bruce, 0:07:15.120 --> 0:07:17.880 right because Bruce isn't you know, he's really not approachable. 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:19.680 I mean you could see him, but he's not approachable, 0:07:20.000 --> 0:07:25.160 especially from a business standpoint. So you know, talk to Joe. 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.120 And if they couldn't get to Joe, they would tell 0:07:27.240 --> 0:07:29.120 me stuff to tell Joe or they want to meet 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:32.600 with Joe. And everything was kind of layered. There was 0:07:32.640 --> 0:07:37.080 always something happening. But even though The Mint was set 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:41.760 to be Hayley's flashiest new hangout, not everyone would be welcome. 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:57.160 After eighteen months of renovation work, the Mint's grand opening 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:02.640 finally came in July five. The first floor was a 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:08.400 spacious square feet accented with dark red brick and green 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:12.480 awnings that blended into the nearby buildings, including the Haley 0:08:12.520 --> 0:08:17.240 Town Center across the street. Haley had never seen anything 0:08:17.280 --> 0:08:20.600 like it. If you're coming in from the street, off 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.200 to the left, it's like it is a couple of 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.680 small steps. You go up, and that's like the dining 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:30.400 area right. The bar would be to your right, and 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:32.840 the kitchen would be to the left of that, and 0:08:32.840 --> 0:08:35.120 if you kept going straight you walk out the back door. 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:38.200 The ambience it was, it was it was pretty nice. 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:41.800 It wasn't like fine dining or anything. If you walk 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:45.040 to the right, there will be a staircase and an elevator, 0:08:45.360 --> 0:08:47.360 so you can take either the elevator up or you 0:08:47.360 --> 0:08:50.760 can take the stairway. Uh, And that's where the nightclub 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:55.640 would be. Two floors, both typically packed. Was good for 0:08:55.679 --> 0:09:00.880 Willis and good for Haley, but not everyone was enthusiastic 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:06.040 about the change. As the old Mint was demolished, regulars 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:09.760 of the one time dive bar lamented its passing. Some 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.440 asked to take vintage bricks and playfully throw them through 0:09:13.480 --> 0:09:17.360 an old window. A tribute to the bar's reputation as 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.960 a tough drinking spot for the tough miners that once 0:09:21.000 --> 0:09:26.839 populated the town. The new Mint was definitely different. Here's 0:09:26.920 --> 0:09:31.160 Rick Oliver again. So the original Mint was just like 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:35.640 an old cowboy that bar. Right, they carried down and 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:39.559 they really rebuilded. I think Bruce had like a five 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:44.360 star French chef in there cooking, so we haven't a 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.679 testing with the French chef. And Bruce is there and 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:49.760 to me is there Joe was sitting across from me, 0:09:49.840 --> 0:09:52.760 and the French chef is bringing out all this really 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.680 good food. Right. Bruce goes, you know, when I was 0:09:55.720 --> 0:10:00.120 a struggling uh actor an in Hell's kitchen, he us 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:03.120 to buy a big bag of frozen chicken wings, right, 0:10:03.200 --> 0:10:06.360 and I go, frozen chicken wings. He goes yeah, he 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:07.920 goes Rick, and then you know, he goes and I 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:11.400 get this tomato sauce that go like Hines go no, no, no, 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:15.559 no no. He goes, like, came in a can. I go, Contadina, 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:19.160 goes that's it, Contadina. He goes, put that put that 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:20.920 on a men. He goes, chicken, I want the chicken 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:25.480 cooked in the Contadina tomato and you can see the 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.280 you can see the French chef like just getting red right. 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:32.440 I don't know if he was playing, if he was serious, 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:35.439 but I'm thinking he had to have been playing. But 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:39.760 Willis wasn't always joking. Early on, it seemed like Haley 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:43.640 might be stubborn when it came to the rules. Work 0:10:43.800 --> 0:10:47.240 on the mint was briefly halted when Willis insisted on 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:51.440 putting in heated sidewalks, an amenity that ran a foul 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:56.840 of Hayley's city code. This wasn't a heated sidewalk kind 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:01.320 of town. Willis grew a little impatient. He said Haley 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:04.360 was making him follow every letter of the law, that 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:09.240 it was, in his words, getting ridiculous. He just wanted 0:11:09.280 --> 0:11:12.320 to get things going, make as big an impact in 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:16.640 Haley as he had made in Hollywood. He wanted big acts. 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:20.120 We used to bring in acts like BB King, Junior, Wealth, 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:24.920 Charlie Daniel band. Uh. It was. It was a place 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:30.160 to be. But Willis's taste in music wasn't necessarily Haley's 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:33.680 taste in music. And while you think Willis would try 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:36.440 to cater to the locals, he seemed to be more 0:11:36.520 --> 0:11:40.560 interested in what Bruce Willis wanted to hear, and he 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:45.199 brought in an act of various kinds from the East. Well, 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:51.960 most of it was jazz and the type of music 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:56.440 that you know you would find in the inner cities 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:02.000 on the East coast. Well, I shouldn't city from his area, 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:07.080 Lee Slander one time, Hailey resident lawyer and amateur music critic. 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:10.559 And it didn't go over at all with the locals 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:14.120 because they didn't understand it, or you know, it just 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:18.680 wasn't there. Uh, they're back at all. They still liked 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:24.360 um western. If he had a Western band, the place 0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:31.320 would be packed, but he rarely did. Of course Bruce 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:33.720 would get up there wasn't a while it was harmonic 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:37.280 and try to ruin it all. I'm just kidding, but 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:42.760 I didn't. I'm not a big uh a big lover 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.959 of that of that kind of music. But just because 0:12:47.000 --> 0:12:50.120 you showed up didn't mean you were getting in. The 0:12:50.200 --> 0:12:52.840 mint may have been a public place, but it was 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:57.480 still subject to Willis's demand for privacy. He never permitted 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:02.360 any outside professional photography inside the building, and he sometimes 0:13:02.400 --> 0:13:05.520 dictated who could be allowed on the dance floor. An 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:08.400 area firefighter who was ribbing Willis about his old sea 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:12.480 groom's wine cooler commercials ejected. Someone who wanted to bother 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:16.720 Willis or Demi Moore not allowed. He would slip me 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:19.640 a grand and say, hey, watching me, give me on stage, 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:22.240 give me on stage, but I want you to watch 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:23.760 to me, and you know, and I would you know, 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:26.680 go alright, cool, you know, I just sit fire. You know, 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:28.720 she had to go to bathroom whatever, I'd walk her 0:13:28.800 --> 0:13:31.600 way outside the bathroom door, you know, stuff like that, 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:33.880 or hey, Rick, I got some people coming in tonight, 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:36.480 or don't let this person in door, so I just 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:38.160 covered the door. And they were times he would just 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:40.280 hang out, you know, but yeah, it was. It was 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:43.400 more like that than like, hey, I'll be on payroll 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.000 for security. He which is you know, like everything else, 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:48.000 you know, like his shows, like hey Rick, I need 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:50.920 you and I helped me out at the top of 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:56.600 the new entry list. Reporter Willis's longtime arch Nemeses. Definitely, 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:58.880 if if he knew reporters or something or someone you 0:13:58.920 --> 0:14:01.480 know who was only to be a nuisance or pain 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:03.480 in the ass, he would see him and say, hey, 0:14:03.520 --> 0:14:05.840 make sure that got in come in, But v I 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.800 p s like John F. Kennedy Jr. And Daryl Hannah. 0:14:08.920 --> 0:14:11.640 They could waltz right in and maybe slip off. Some 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:15.760 were more private. That's because the Mint had some secrets 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.400 that were known to only a handful of people. You 0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:22.400 know the old movies where they had the bookshelves and 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:26.640 you pushed the bookshelf and it turns into another room. Well, 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:28.520 there was another room, you know. You push that and 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:31.400 that's where the bathrooms are. And he's got a steam 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:35.640 room and seats about eight people. Willis had a hidden 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:38.640 room where he and his famous friends and his big 0:14:38.760 --> 0:14:43.000 name X could gather in total privacy. We're not sure 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:46.120 if Haley's city code allowed for it, but it was there. 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:52.000 I remember we had George Clinton there and it was 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:55.800 time for the should start. What else says? Everyone's looking 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:58.960 for George Clinton in his band? And I'm like, what 0:14:59.200 --> 0:15:01.400 the hell? We're all where where are they? Where could 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.000 they possibly be? As you know what, we hadn't check 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:07.400 one place? And I pushed open the door. I know, 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:10.600 all in a in that steam room, just smoking weed. 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:13.080 It was hysterical. I was like, man, you just need 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:15.720 to get on stage. Man, what are you doing? And 0:15:15.720 --> 0:15:18.080 they're like, oh, sorry, And the amount of smoke that 0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.720 came out. It was, it was. It was pretty funny. 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:24.360 But the real draw of the Mint wasn't the out 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:28.840 of town as it was Bruce Willis, who frequently appeared 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:32.480 on stage with his band, the Accelerators. You could just 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:34.920 be having a beer at the Mint and Willis would 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:39.200 just show up harmonica in hand. He wouldn't announce it 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:42.160 in advance. So if he would have done that, that 0:15:42.200 --> 0:15:44.760 would have been a line around the block. Maybe he 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:49.000 didn't want the undue attention, but it's also hard to 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:53.000 be a performing artist on stage and not have undue attention. 0:15:53.480 --> 0:15:55.240 Every time he did one of these you know on 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:58.640 the fly things, the place was packed. I mean, we 0:15:58.640 --> 0:16:00.960 couldn't believe it. I mean, remember we were over at 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:04.880 Joe's house from morning and Bob kat Goldthwick, the comedian, 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:07.240 you know, he came over and he was like, hey, 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:10.640 I'm you know, looking for you know, Bruce Willis's house, 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:12.320 and you know, he's looking at me like as the 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:15.240 first black guy saw out there too, which probably was true. 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.080 We said, what's happening, Well, we're doing the show tonight. 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:21.200 Brucey called him and just said, you know, hey, let's 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:26.960 do a show. I believe it was a Sunday morning 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:30.040 because we were like, how is he gonna put this 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:32.040 this together? You know, we're gonna put it up on 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:35.560 a marquee, And sure enough put it up on the marquee. 0:16:35.600 --> 0:16:39.280 And and that night it was it was at Blobcat 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:42.280 opened up with comedy and Bruce and Accelerators came up 0:16:42.320 --> 0:16:45.320 and did their things. But that was that was normal 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:47.880 that and and Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis right, So 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:50.840 you know at the time his name, you know alone, 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:53.280 you know you hear Bruce Willis is there, and you're 0:16:53.280 --> 0:16:57.440 gonna show up if you're in town. Willis and his 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.720 crew performed songs like show Me and who has a 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:05.000 Good Woman? Good Morning, Little school Child, The spirit is willing, 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:08.560 but the flesh is weak and more building out tune 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:12.440 after tune, in a style that was less singing and 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:16.840 more well. Willis had a name for it. In an interview, 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:22.639 Willis once described his singing style as quote coloring. He was, 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:27.880 in his words, someone who could holler loudly and in key, 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:30.919 but maybe his singing was beside the point. Bruce is 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:34.280 very very talented. I mean not just a good actor. Um, 0:17:34.320 --> 0:17:37.359 he's a great musician as well. I'll be honest with you. 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.400 At the time, I was more impressed with him being 0:17:40.440 --> 0:17:43.160 a performer on stage and and and playing the harp. 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.359 And you know, Bruce has got this flag about you know, 0:17:46.560 --> 0:17:50.359 he's cool, he has swaged and and I was just 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.560 in aunt. I thought as a musician he was he 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:56.800 was better to be a musician than being an actor. 0:17:57.480 --> 0:18:01.399 I mean, the diehard roles and stuff didn't him. Bruce 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:06.240 was okay as a musical performer. Let's put it that way. 0:18:07.280 --> 0:18:10.320 He's a better actor than he used a musician. So 0:18:10.520 --> 0:18:15.440 the reviews weren't unanimous. Even so, Bruce and his Accelerators 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:19.600 were easily the highest profile act in town, and that 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:22.440 made them a little bit of a target. There were 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:26.439 other local groups like the Barnet's, a risque for women 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:30.560 group that performed a gently salacious show. They like to 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:34.320 poke a little fun at Willis singing He's a Local 0:18:34.520 --> 0:18:37.960 to the tune of He's a Rebel, Willis, they said, 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:44.120 just ignored it. The Mint also started holding outlandish events 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:48.040 like homespun versions of seventies game shows like The Dating 0:18:48.080 --> 0:18:51.440 Game or The Gong Show, shows Willis might have watched 0:18:51.440 --> 0:18:56.320 as a teenager area residents competed to win dinner at 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.440 the Mint. The Gong Show was like an early version 0:18:59.520 --> 0:19:02.679 of America can Idol, where if the performers were terrible, 0:19:04.080 --> 0:19:09.920 they were gone. I was in the Gong Show with Bruce. Yeah, 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.440 we did a Gong show thing I was. I wasn't 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:14.840 had a holy field and I had a piece of 0:19:14.880 --> 0:19:16.760 taper in my hair, and you know, and and and 0:19:16.760 --> 0:19:18.880 Bruce has come around with the broom, you know, when 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:20.960 somebody gets goned, and he'd come down and you know, 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:24.160 um yeah, and he'd sweep, you know, he'd go around 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:27.880 doing this thing. He's actually, he's incredibly funny. Where else 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:30.120 in the world are you going to see Bruce Willis 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:35.760 dismissing bad entertainers like a prototype Simon Cowell with a broom. 0:19:35.800 --> 0:19:39.160 In his performances with the Accelerators and the Gong Show, 0:19:39.800 --> 0:19:43.640 it was obvious that this was a Willis playground. Even 0:19:43.680 --> 0:19:47.760 the Mint's restaurant disappeared, replaced with a series of pool 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:52.720 tables that better fit the leisurely hangout atmosphere. But it 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:56.399 also seemed like Willis couldn't decide whether the Mint should 0:19:56.400 --> 0:20:00.400 be a business or just a glorified man Cave. An 0:20:00.400 --> 0:20:03.760 employee told a reporter that Willis once declared the bar 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:08.000 open and free for everyone. The next day, the employee 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:12.240 said he came storming in scolding employees because the mint 0:20:12.320 --> 0:20:16.920 was losing money. The original mint had been a rowdy 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.720 drinking spot full of ordinary miners who wanted to blow 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:24.000 off steam with a little drinking and maybe some fighting. 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:31.680 The new mint was more civilized. But any combination of alcohol, jealousy, music, 0:20:31.920 --> 0:20:35.720 and late nights is bound to end in trouble. Rick 0:20:35.760 --> 0:20:46.600 Oliver found that out firsthand. Most people at the Mint 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:50.159 were therefore a party to have a good time, but 0:20:50.280 --> 0:20:55.399 not everyone was on their best behavior. Here's leash Slender again, 0:20:56.040 --> 0:20:57.639 water or two of these guys, and I don't want 0:20:57.640 --> 0:21:00.320 to get too close to the names because don't want 0:21:00.359 --> 0:21:02.719 to get anybody in trouble, but a couple of them 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:08.040 had been in brawls and raising hell downtown late at night, 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:12.960 which was really unusual for us. It's a quiet little town. 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:17.640 Nine ten o'clock, it's locked up, everybody goes home, And 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:20.920 that did really get everybody's attention, he said, what's going on? 0:21:22.920 --> 0:21:26.280 While people in Haley were mostly low key, there was 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:30.040 a contingent that didn't like being pushed around, and that 0:21:30.160 --> 0:21:34.159 led to some real problems, not because of Willis, but 0:21:34.280 --> 0:21:40.119 Willis's associate. There was that clash between perhaps one or 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:44.280 two or maybe more Bruce's hanger on is. It run 0:21:44.320 --> 0:21:48.680 into a little problem with some of our local younger guys. 0:21:48.720 --> 0:21:52.359 Sometimes these melee's got a little out of hand. A 0:21:52.440 --> 0:21:55.080 man named Johnny Rolling told the press that he was 0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:58.639 visiting Haley from out of town when he claimed a 0:21:58.760 --> 0:22:01.640 Mint employee choked him and dragged him out by the neck. 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:07.880 He lodged a complaint with the Hailey District Court. Another patron, 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:11.040 Dale Disher, said he was also dragged out by his 0:22:11.119 --> 0:22:14.919 neck and pushed down the stairs. In both cases, the 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:20.919 Mint security staff were the alleged culprit. Willis, of course, 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:25.399 rarely commented to the press about anything, much less accusations 0:22:25.440 --> 0:22:29.760 of his customers getting knocked around, but spokespeople for Valley 0:22:29.920 --> 0:22:34.280 Entertainment asserted that anyone pursuing legal action against the bar 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:40.720 was simply an opportunist looking to dip into Willis's deep pocket. Look, 0:22:41.080 --> 0:22:45.040 there are fights in bars. It's certainly nothing the Mint encouraged. 0:22:45.600 --> 0:22:48.720 But like in any bar, there were times when things 0:22:48.720 --> 0:22:52.200 seemed like they were going to go further, much further. 0:22:52.960 --> 0:22:55.280 And it was during one of those times that Rick 0:22:55.359 --> 0:22:58.359 Oliver had to step up in a big way, and 0:22:58.440 --> 0:23:03.320 not against one irate friend, but a whole bunch of them. 0:23:03.480 --> 0:23:06.359 I kind of got into something one night. There was 0:23:06.400 --> 0:23:08.640 a kid and he was I don't know, is its 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:11.240 proper to us the word gay, you know? But I 0:23:11.280 --> 0:23:13.320 knew the kid because he owned a business. And catch 0:23:13.400 --> 0:23:16.600 them a group of cowboys giving him a hard time. 0:23:16.640 --> 0:23:19.119 I mean like, and they follow him into the bathroom. 0:23:19.240 --> 0:23:21.040 When I saw him following into the bathroom, I go, 0:23:21.320 --> 0:23:23.240 let me go, and I bet that you know they're 0:23:23.280 --> 0:23:26.239 gonna give a hard time. Rick didn't like where this 0:23:26.359 --> 0:23:30.959 was going. It's not that Haley was inherently prejudiced, because 0:23:30.960 --> 0:23:34.680 they weren't. But this was the es when people might 0:23:34.720 --> 0:23:38.240 be more prone to let bigotry slide but not wreck. 0:23:38.880 --> 0:23:41.200 And sure enough then it's seizing him and I go, hey, man, 0:23:41.320 --> 0:23:43.959 leave the guy alone, and they're like, you know, you know, 0:23:44.119 --> 0:23:46.080 f you you want somebody, Yeah, let's go to take 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:48.560 it outside, just to get him away from him. You know. 0:23:49.400 --> 0:23:51.120 It was a group of them, and I remember going 0:23:51.160 --> 0:23:54.000 to my car and I had my casiled weapons permitting 0:23:54.040 --> 0:23:57.400 everything they did. It was like something out of a Western. 0:23:58.520 --> 0:24:01.199 There was wreck So sing off with a group of 0:24:01.200 --> 0:24:05.440 homophobic cowboys in the middle of Hayley's main street, wondering 0:24:05.480 --> 0:24:07.359 if he might need to reach for the gun that 0:24:07.480 --> 0:24:10.399 was tucked in his pants. Well I didn't flash it, 0:24:10.480 --> 0:24:13.119 but it was in my my belt, right, so you know, 0:24:13.160 --> 0:24:14.960 I was like, well, what do you guys want to do? 0:24:15.080 --> 0:24:17.760 You know? And they were all mouth and they were 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:20.600 they were kids, and they were just being drunk and obnoxious. Right. 0:24:21.240 --> 0:24:25.880 Someone called the police. The police arrived and they saw 0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:28.959 a black man with a gun in a heated scene 0:24:29.000 --> 0:24:32.800 with a group of white guys. And Rick was taken 0:24:32.840 --> 0:24:36.840 into custody. Yeah yeah, so you know, and they came 0:24:36.880 --> 0:24:39.320 and even with the consteal weapon prevent you know, this 0:24:39.400 --> 0:24:42.719 is so Idaho, they took me in and it was 0:24:42.840 --> 0:24:45.600 you know, you know, I had a decent attorney in 0:24:46.400 --> 0:24:49.320 I was released the next day on bail. But you know, 0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:56.120 it wasn't like it shouldn't have happened. Thankfully, the Mint 0:24:56.160 --> 0:24:59.080 had a few nights that were that intense, but when 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:02.960 they did happen, it caught people's attention. And because of that, 0:25:03.000 --> 0:25:05.880 there's a kind of irony that exists within the Mint 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:10.720 that's worth mentioning. In retreating to Haley, Willis was looking 0:25:10.760 --> 0:25:14.399