WEBVTT - John Ondrasik 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:12.760 Welcome, Welcome, Welcome back to the Bob Left Sets podcast. 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:18.480 My guest today is John Drastic, otherwise known as five 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:22.040 for Fighting. John. Why five for Fighting? 0:00:23.800 --> 0:00:28.880 Well? When EMI Records back in the day wanted to 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:31.400 launch my record, it was the age of lilleth Fair 0:00:31.600 --> 0:00:34.480 boy band's grunge music. The male singer songwriter was dead 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:37.879 and they said, John, we need a band name. As 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:40.120 a hockey fan, I had just been to a hockey 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:41.960 game and there are a couple of fights by a 0:00:42.000 --> 0:00:46.040 guy named Marty McSorley, who was Wayne Gretzky's bodyguard. And 0:00:46.120 --> 0:00:47.760 in hockey, of course, if you get in a fight, 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:51.239 you get five minutes for fighting a penalty. And so 0:00:51.360 --> 0:00:53.400 when the record company said we need a band name, 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.880 I sarcastically said, well, how about five for Fighting, expecting 0:00:57.920 --> 0:01:00.360 them to hate it, Bob, and of course I said, 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:03.240 we love it, and here I am twenty years later. 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:06.680 Five for Fighting sounds like I should be opening for Metallica. 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:10.000 But I do get a hockey ticket whenever I tend 0:01:10.040 --> 0:01:12.880 to want one, so it has had some fringe benefits. 0:01:13.720 --> 0:01:18.560 Okay, we have the example of Johnny Cougar, John Mellen 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:23.800 camp Or ultimately evolved into using his own name. Is 0:01:23.880 --> 0:01:26.520 this something that you would like to achieve? 0:01:27.680 --> 0:01:29.280 I think it's way too late for that, And, you know, 0:01:29.319 --> 0:01:31.440 to be honest with you, it's been kind of nice 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.920 because it's really been about the music. There's certainly, I 0:01:35.959 --> 0:01:39.560 think a disconnect between some of the songs and the 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:41.960 five for Fighting brand and the fact that it's not 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:44.440 a band, it's a guy. It probably cost the record 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:47.200 company a million records, but it's allowed me to kind 0:01:47.200 --> 0:01:49.520 of just kind of slip under the radar, and frankly, 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:52.080 as a huge sports fan, I've also been able to 0:01:52.120 --> 0:01:55.440 play you know, Monday night football, all Star games, you know, 0:01:55.600 --> 0:02:01.559 outdoor hockey games, you know baseball, you know, championship games. 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:04.160 And that doesn't happen with John and Rassic. I think 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:09.280 Fire for Fighting sounds a little more, you know, you know, cliche, 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:12.760 to give you some some umph to it. So I'll 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:15.800 take the name and we'll let someone else sell the records. 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:20.480 Okay, recently you performed in Israel. How did that happen? 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:26.000 Boy? It's a long story, really, well tell it. 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:27.119 We're all here. 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.360 It really started a few years ago. I wrote a 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:36.720 song about the withdrawal from Afghanistan, a song called Blood 0:02:36.720 --> 0:02:39.520 in my Hands. It was very critical of the withdrawal, 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:47.760 and it resonated with our Afghan veterans who felt gutted, 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:53.520 shamed that we abandoned their allies that we swore to protect, 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:59.040 and it became resonant with many folks in the military 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:02.600 and internationally. I ended up getting emails from people trapped 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:05.400 in Afghanistan to the point where I were working with 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:09.960 many of these NGOs evacuating people and getting people out. 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:12.679 One called Save our Allies got sixteen thousand people out 0:03:13.639 --> 0:03:19.560 in nine days. And I saw the value of music 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:22.800 in that effort. And then I said, I hope I 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:25.160 never have to do this again. Well, then Ukraine comes 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.280 putin invade Ukraine. I write a song called come one Man, 0:03:27.360 --> 0:03:31.760 Save the World, kind of to stand for the Ukrainian people. 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.080 I go to Ukraine. I film a song with Ukrainian 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:36.920 orchestra and a blown up airport, and again that song 0:03:36.960 --> 0:03:40.640 resonates in a way that I think was significant, and 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:42.800 I was, Okay, God, I hope I never have to 0:03:42.840 --> 0:03:47.880 do this again. And then October seventh, I think, like 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:50.760 all of us, we were horrified, we were disgusted, we 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:54.280 were angry. Reminded me a lot of nine to eleven. 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:56.440 The atrocity has seen some of the images we just 0:03:56.440 --> 0:04:00.560 can never have imagined. But what really got me was 0:04:00.640 --> 0:04:04.440 the cultural aftermath, the collapse of so many of our 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:08.400 moral institutions. The mayor of New York City gave a speech, 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:12.200 I think it was October ninth, and the speech was basically, 0:04:12.680 --> 0:04:16.359 something's really broken in America when we have thousands of 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:20.000 people in Times Square celebrating the raping of women, the 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:22.920 beheading of babies, the killing of children in front of 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:26.320 their parents, uploading it to Facebook for the world to see, 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:29.919 and that people are out there celebrating that something's really broken. 0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:34.920 And so I had this sense of a song is there? 0:04:34.960 --> 0:04:36.920 A song is there? And then we saw the media 0:04:37.080 --> 0:04:40.080 very quickly become Hamas propagandists. Of course, we saw our 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:44.320 college campuses inflamed. We saw the Rashida Talibs of the 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:50.600 world basically spouting Hamas propaganda. Couldn't even say that beheadings 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:54.640 of babies were bad. And so I wrote the song 0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:58.040 okay with the theme were not Okay? And I made 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:00.360 a video to it and it was it's just a 0:05:00.360 --> 0:05:04.640 documentary video. It was just images from October seventh, but 0:05:04.720 --> 0:05:07.760 it was more than that. Over the lyrics Evils on 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:11.279 the march, I had putin next to Hamas, next to 0:05:11.360 --> 0:05:13.960 Iran Frankly, next to the un who has also been 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.960 an ally of Hamas in this and that video went 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.600 viral and Israel ended up sharing it on their social media. 0:05:22.200 --> 0:05:24.640 And when that happened, I got a very small sense 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:28.680 of what it's like to be Jewish. I'm not Jewish. 0:05:29.080 --> 0:05:31.040 You don't have to be Jewish to condemn Hamas, you 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:34.360 just have to be saying. But when Israel shared that video, 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:39.320 I experienced the vitriol. I experience the death threats. I 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:43.080 experienced what Jewish people are going through every day. And 0:05:43.520 --> 0:05:45.880 when that happened, I got connected with many of the 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:49.200 Jewish organizations Stand with Us, the American Jewish Committee, the Adel, 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:53.120 and I started speaking to some college groups and I 0:05:53.200 --> 0:05:56.920 started talking about this and playing my song, and it 0:05:56.960 --> 0:05:59.760 really I got thousands of emails from people in Israel, 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:04.080 thousands of emails from Jewish people around the world, and 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:07.320 I started doing press and media. And when I was 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:10.040 out on my tour last month, I had a week 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:13.599 off and I'd been asked by folks to go to Israel, 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:16.800 so I did. I went to Israel initially to meet 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:22.240 with Israeli artists because of course the American and international 0:06:22.320 --> 0:06:25.760 artists have been deathly silent on Israel and October seventh, 0:06:26.040 --> 0:06:27.960 so I was working with them on some projects. I 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:30.719 met with some troops. I talked to some hostage families, 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:34.920 which was just as you can imagine excruciating. But I 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:39.240 wasn't planning on this. But on Friday, they said, you know, 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:45.520 we have this hostage rally in Hostage Square every Saturday night. 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:49.200 They've been doing it since October seventh. Hostage family speak, 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.440 thousands of people come, it's aired on television. It's very 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:59.200 as you can imagine, moving, sad experience. And they asked 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.520 me to play my song Superman, and they asked me 0:07:02.560 --> 0:07:06.120 to play this song Okay, which I did. It was 0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:08.480 the most surreal experience I could tell you about. I've 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:11.240 never had a Gigbob where before the gig there's an announcement 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:16.160 that says an event of missile attack, please lay down, 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:19.080 put your hands over your head. And the crazy thing 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:25.800 was nobody left, not one Israeli left. I played my songs, 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:29.880 I cried with the hostage families. Three hours later I 0:07:30.000 --> 0:07:32.920 ran launched their first drones their attack on Israel. So 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:37.160 quite a interesting twenty four hours. 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:42.360 Okay, let's unpack all this because from when you started 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:47.760 in the last century, the game is completely changed. So Afghanistan, 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:54.560 you are motivated to write a song. Today, as we speak, 0:07:55.080 --> 0:07:58.240 two rappers are having a rap war. Most people have 0:07:58.280 --> 0:08:01.120 never even heard these songs, might even have heard the 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:04.600 name of the acts. So you write a song, how 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.320 do you get it heard in the twenty first century 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:08.840 internet streaming world. 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:13.720 It's a good question, because, of course we sent Blood 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:19.360 on My Hands to four hundred music media outlets. One 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:23.160 of them covered it because it did not fit their 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:29.560 political worldview. So I go on television, I go on 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:34.000 Fox News, I go on sometimes CNN. I go on podcasts, 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:35.600 but went a little bit slower. 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:38.280 One thing to be on podcasts with people like me. 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:42.200 It's another thing to be on CNN in Fox Fox 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:44.320 you know, as you say, might align with the view 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:44.920 of the song. 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:50.000 How did that happen? People saw it, People saw it, 0:08:50.200 --> 0:08:56.719 Senators started tweeting it. I have some relationships in media 0:08:56.840 --> 0:08:58.920 and they started calling and asking me to come on. 0:08:59.000 --> 0:09:02.200 And it was very interesting because Blood on my Hands, 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:04.760 because it was critical of the administration, was kind of 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:07.520 embraced by the right and shunned by the left, which 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:10.880 includes the music press. My Ukraine song was different. It 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:14.320 actually debuted on Good Morning America the video that we shot, 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:20.520 and many of the mainstream media basically accepted that song 0:09:20.600 --> 0:09:24.079 and appreciated that song because that's a song that kind 0:09:24.080 --> 0:09:26.000 of appeals more to the left, and frankly, some on 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:29.319 the right did not like that song. So I have 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.760 relationships in the media. It's a fascinating thing that, you know, 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.360 you being kind of an icon on this business, to 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.720 have three songs that have had millions of impressions and 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:43.520 around the world without once spin on the radio. So 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:48.200 you know, I think the messages are resonating, frankly, because 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:51.280 very few artists are even talking about the subjects. 0:09:52.360 --> 0:09:58.440 Okay, let's move on to the Ukraine from Afghanistan. How 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:02.080 long after the attack did you write and go on 0:10:02.240 --> 0:10:04.360 Good Morning America? 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:09.520 So basically I wrote the song literally in twenty four hours, 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.720 because as you remember, at the outset of the war, 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:17.400 the mercenaries were hunting Zelenski. We didn't think he even 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:19.240 came out and said I probably won't be alive at 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.080 the end of the week, So I wrote can One 0:10:21.120 --> 0:10:23.520 Man Save of the World? I recorded it, I put 0:10:23.520 --> 0:10:26.959 it out piano vocal, which I've never done, expecting him 0:10:26.960 --> 0:10:30.880 to basically not survive, but of course he did, and 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.640 the song resonated. And the plan really was to go 0:10:33.679 --> 0:10:37.560 to Poland because Poland has been so amazing taking four 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.800 million refugees, so I wanted to shine the light on Poland. 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.239 So I reached out to a friend who had relationships 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:46.360 in Poland and she said, this is a great idea, 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:48.680 let me call you back. And a few weeks later 0:10:48.720 --> 0:10:50.120 she called me back and said, how would you like 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:52.680 to go to Ukraine and perform the song with the 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:57.120 Ukrainian Orchestra? And this is not a woman who jokes around. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:01.200 I'm like, do they even exist? Does the orchestra exist? 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:04.199 And she said, they're scattered around Ukraine. We can get 0:11:04.240 --> 0:11:07.400 them into ki for two days. A million things have 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:11.120 to happen, but be prepared, you know, right, an arrangement. 0:11:11.160 --> 0:11:13.480 So I was driving around the country touring with my 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.080 string quartet and in the back of the van we 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:21.439 were scoring out the an orchestra arrangement for can One 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:24.280 Man Save the World? And then my last show, I 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:28.960 got an email with a plane ticket to Krakau the 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:31.480 next morning. I had a very long talk with my 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:36.560 wife that night, but she let me go and two 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:41.560 days later, after playing trains and automobiles getting to Kiev, 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:44.920 we were allowed to play and what is hollow ground 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:48.200 in Ukraine. Typically when you go to Ukraine you play 0:11:48.200 --> 0:11:52.040 in the subways because when Russia launches missiles and the 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:54.640 air raids go off, everybody runs in the subways. But 0:11:54.760 --> 0:11:58.240 we were able to perform at the Antonoff Airport, which 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:02.040 basically is the hang or for the symbol of Ukrainian independence, 0:12:02.080 --> 0:12:04.920 which is an airplane. It's called the Maria. It's the 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:08.240 largest cargo plane in the world. It's the symbol that's 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:11.200 on their army patch. And at the outset of the war, 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.600 Putin sent his troops to the Antonoff Airport and blew 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:16.880 it up. He basically blew the nose cone off, so 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.160 it's this wreckage of a plane. And we were able 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:23.080 to put the orchestra and myself in front of this 0:12:23.200 --> 0:12:28.000 plane and perform. And a little antidote that really kind 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:30.959 of brought it home for me. As we were running takes, 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:32.679 I noticed that out of the corner of my eye 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:36.000 an entourage of military folks coming over. It turned out 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:39.199 it was the general who had approved us shooting there. 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:42.839 He's kind of their schwartz cough. He's kind of very 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:45.240 well known. He's the face of the war. And through 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:47.760 a translator, he said, you know, thank you for coming. 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:51.439 You know, President Zelensky's glad you're here. And then he 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.240 said something I'll never forget. He said, let me hear 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:57.480 the song. And you could see the orchestra kind of 0:12:57.559 --> 0:13:01.719 sit up in their seats and because very emotional, and 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:07.560 they started playing with this vigor and passion. What I 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:10.559 found out later is every member of that orchestra had 0:13:10.600 --> 0:13:13.880 either had a family member killed, missing, or on the 0:13:13.880 --> 0:13:16.439 front lines. So to play this song in front of 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:18.520 this general was a big deal for them. And if 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.240 you see the Kimbo Man Say of the World video, 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:23.679 this is the take. And at the end of the performance, 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.520 I was in tears. Some of his Rambo guards were 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:29.600 like putting on stunglasses because they were in tears. And 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:32.160 there was this silence that probably was four or five 0:13:32.200 --> 0:13:34.560 seconds but felt like a week. But you could really 0:13:35.320 --> 0:13:38.360 feel the weight of that moment, these people fighting for 0:13:38.400 --> 0:13:43.640 their survival. The seventy two year old violin player teaching 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:48.800 me curse words to yell at Putin. And I realized 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:51.120 it later, Bob, that they didn't know any of the words, 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.520 they didn't know the lyrics. It was just music, the 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.560 universal nature of music that brought us together and were 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:01.560 able to have this American from thousands of miles away 0:14:02.040 --> 0:14:05.120 singing with these people under siege. And I wish every 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.360 American could have stood in my shoes. I think we 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:12.840 would have a different sense of the of how fortunate 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:14.400 we are to have the freedoms we do have. 0:14:16.480 --> 0:14:19.640 Okay, one of the obvious questions you mentioned your wife 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:22.320 in discussing whether you could go, did you have any 0:14:22.360 --> 0:14:23.520 sense of fear there? 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:31.840 I did. I did. I wrote letters to my family. 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:34.840 They didn't even know it in case I didn't come back. 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:38.000 I mean, certainly, you know the odds are with you 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:40.040 when you go, but it is a war zone and 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:45.280 people are getting killed, and unlike Israel, there was no 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.440 iron dome to protect us. So yeah, I didn't sleep 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:53.080 much there. When we finally got back to Poland after 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:56.000 five days, I think I slept for thirty hours. Because 0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.840 you're always anxious and you're scared and you also get 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:03.160 a sense of the fortitude of the Ukrainian people, of 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:08.640 Israeli people who basically every day they have to ask 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:13.479 is this my last day? Because they're being attacked relentlessly. 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:21.320 So yeah, I was certainly anxious. We had one air 0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:25.800 raid that kind of drove us to the basements. But yeah, 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:27.840 it's a war zone. I mean, I'm human, and I 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.000 think if you're not a little scared, something's probably wrong 0:15:30.000 --> 0:15:30.200 with you. 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:36.600 Okay, you took a stance with Afghanistan. Needless to say, 0:15:36.680 --> 0:15:42.080 we pulled out. Ukrainian war is still going on. Was 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:46.160 just recently the government said we're going to give funds 0:15:46.160 --> 0:15:51.000 and weapons to Ukraine. Having been there, being a student 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:54.640 of the situation, what would you tell people about the 0:15:54.680 --> 0:15:55.560 war in Ukraine? 0:15:57.720 --> 0:16:02.480 I would say that I understand. Also people say, well, 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.200 are we waste the money? Is their corruption? There is? 0:16:05.680 --> 0:16:08.760 There's corruption there. Frankly, if you want to get something done, 0:16:08.760 --> 0:16:11.040 it's probably easier to do it with the mob than 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:16.480 the government. At the same time, the cost I think 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:24.000 of abandoning Ukraine to Putin could be catastrophic. Certainly he 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:28.960 would not stop there, and certainly if he moves into Poland, 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:31.720 it's a NATO country, and then we have American soldiers 0:16:32.080 --> 0:16:36.920 fighting this war, so I think we have to stop him. Unfortunately, 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:39.960 I think the administration has been giving just enough to 0:16:40.040 --> 0:16:43.720 Ukraine to kind of maybe not have them lose right now. 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:47.920 But the fact that I think many of our republicans, 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.080 some of my I rode with some Republicans on a 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:54.240 train from Leviv to Kiev and some of them were 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:58.560 not open to funding Ukraine for political reasons. I thought 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.440 that was a huge mistake, and I'm very glad that 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:06.400 the House came to their senses and funded Ukraine. There 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.040 is waste, and we need to have people on the ground, 0:17:09.520 --> 0:17:12.960 But a lot of the expense that those funding goes 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:18.560 to is to American companies actually making warheads, making missiles, 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:23.719 making military supplies for Ukraine. So it just doesn't they 0:17:23.720 --> 0:17:26.879 don't write a check for sixty billion dollars to Ukraine. 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:30.040 But I understand that because I did see the waste, 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.879 and I think if we had a little more savvy 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:35.840 we would have people on there. I saw miles of 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:38.440 trucks outside of the border, and I'm like, what are 0:17:38.480 --> 0:17:42.080 in those trucks? And I think we really need people 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:44.959 on the ground. To hold some accountability. But I think 0:17:45.000 --> 0:17:48.480 a lot of times in politics, you know, for political reasons, 0:17:48.520 --> 0:17:51.120 people write at check and they say, Okay, we've done 0:17:51.119 --> 0:17:53.359 our job. No, you just started to do your job. 0:17:53.400 --> 0:17:55.480 But I do think the consequence of allowing Putin to 0:17:55.520 --> 0:18:01.600 take Ukraine could be catastrophic geopolitically for US and and 0:18:01.800 --> 0:18:05.680 and Frankly, I think one reason why we had October 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:09.680 seventh was because when you abandon your citizens to the Taliban, 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:14.479 when you basically tell Putin that, well, a little invasion's okay. 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:20.840 I think the bad actors Iran Hamas they sense weakness. 0:18:21.320 --> 0:18:25.080 And I'm sure Putin greenlit October seventh because what was 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:28.199 his goal? To take the focus off Ukraine, which it 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:32.240 has done. So I understand the concerns about Ukraine, but 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:37.720 in my opinion, to allow Putin to to take Ukraine 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:42.760 and to basically annihilate Ukrainians would be historically catastrophic. 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:52.840 Now, your wife, who you've been married to for decades, 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:56.240 has a Jewish last name. I don't know to what 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:59.560 degree she was brought up or considers yourself a practicing Jew. 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:04.320 But did that inform your take on October seventh? 0:19:05.320 --> 0:19:09.119 No, it didn't it's to me, this is not a 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:13.520 Jewish thing. A lot of people say, why are you 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:16.200 doing this, You're not Jewish, and I'm like, well, when 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:20.080 we were rescuing Muslims from Afghanistan, people didn't say why 0:19:20.080 --> 0:19:21.919 are you Muslim? Why are you doing this? I just 0:19:21.960 --> 0:19:26.359 think it's the right thing to do. I was just 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:31.000 frankly shocked, and to this day, I'm ashamed of our 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.960 industry where so many folks who've made their kind of 0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:40.600 brand is caring about human rights, standing up for good 0:19:40.600 --> 0:19:45.000 and all that is good, have been deathly silent on 0:19:45.040 --> 0:19:47.919 October seventh. I mean, of course, we all remember the 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:49.960 concert for New York. I was a little kid and 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:52.760 I was honored to play my little song. But every 0:19:53.040 --> 0:19:57.439 icon in music was on that stage in Madison Square Garden, 0:19:57.960 --> 0:20:05.920 condemning Osama bin Laden, supporting America, supporting New York. October seventh, 0:20:06.560 --> 0:20:14.680 nothing nothing, So for me, this is not about Jewish, Christian, atheist, Martian. 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:19.600 This is about those who want to destroy civilization against 0:20:19.680 --> 0:20:21.639 those who want to save it. Because at the end 0:20:21.680 --> 0:20:24.560 of the day, and that's what my song's about. It's 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:31.000 not about Israel Palestine. It's about good versus evil. It 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:35.040 really is. And so for me, it's not about Jewish, 0:20:35.400 --> 0:20:39.720 it's about sanity. And for me, yes, my wife has 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:46.200 she's a Berkowitz, she's not a practicing Jewish person. But yeah, 0:20:46.200 --> 0:20:49.840 to me, it's as simple as that. It's it's just 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:50.800 doing the right thing. 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:55.000 Okay, where were you and how did you find out 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:59.720 about the October seventh invasion slash massacre. 0:21:01.720 --> 0:21:03.920 I was at home like everybody else, and I kind 0:21:03.960 --> 0:21:07.359 of heard what was going on, and we didn't see 0:21:07.359 --> 0:21:11.320 some of the images, you know, for hours, but I 0:21:11.520 --> 0:21:17.000 kept saying, like, where's the idea? Half where like everybody else, 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:21.600 where's where's the good guys? How is this happening? And 0:21:22.280 --> 0:21:25.119 you know, certainly the Nova concert was was kind of 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:27.600 one of the first things that kind of we saw. 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:31.119 And I again, I was six to sick to my stomach. 0:21:31.200 --> 0:21:33.919 I was you know, I was horrified. And as the 0:21:34.000 --> 0:21:37.040 days went by and you heard the stories and it 0:21:37.200 --> 0:21:41.080 just you just didn't understand. Number one, how could this evil? 0:21:41.680 --> 0:21:46.000 How could this evil happen? And number two how Israel 0:21:46.080 --> 0:21:48.320 allowed it to happen? And when I was in Israel, 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:52.400 I asked many kind of leaders that question, and they 0:21:52.520 --> 0:21:54.680 just shake their heads because there is no good answer 0:21:54.680 --> 0:21:54.960 for that. 0:21:56.440 --> 0:22:00.280 Okay, getting a little bit deeper into the conflict, which, 0:22:00.359 --> 0:22:03.479 as you say, is to place Ukraine in the news 0:22:03.520 --> 0:22:08.360 and is upfront and center because of the protests. What 0:22:08.400 --> 0:22:12.800 would you say to the Jews, never mind the non 0:22:12.960 --> 0:22:17.240 Jews who say put all the blame on Net and Yahoo. 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:21.200 Got to get rid of net Yah. 0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:25.240 I think there's a time for politics, but that's probably 0:22:25.280 --> 0:22:34.040 not now. I think Israel needs to get rid of 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:37.720 Hamas because the cycle has been going on and on 0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:42.920 for decades. Hamask commits atrocities, they run back their high 0:22:43.000 --> 0:22:49.000 they commit they take terrorists, they use human shields to 0:22:49.200 --> 0:22:52.119 guarantee that as many Palaestinian civilizations are killed, the world 0:22:52.200 --> 0:22:55.159 comes down on Israel, pressures them to where they stop, 0:22:55.400 --> 0:22:59.680 and then the whole thing starts over. So again, I think, 0:23:01.040 --> 0:23:04.040 to me, it's not so much about the politicians, the 0:23:04.080 --> 0:23:07.200 net and Yahoo. You love him, you hate him. There'll 0:23:07.240 --> 0:23:09.480 be a time for reckoning. I think for net and 0:23:09.560 --> 0:23:15.160 Yahoo because he was in charge when the massive failure 0:23:15.200 --> 0:23:18.320 to protect his own people on October seventh occurred. But 0:23:18.480 --> 0:23:21.119 I think right now, when I talk to folks in Israel, 0:23:21.359 --> 0:23:24.480 certainly many of the hostage families are angry with him, 0:23:24.560 --> 0:23:27.440 and you understand that. I mean, they just want their 0:23:27.480 --> 0:23:30.879 loved ones home. But I think right now it's really 0:23:30.880 --> 0:23:35.000 about taking out Hamas and then the chips will probably 0:23:35.000 --> 0:23:36.960 fall soon after that. 0:23:37.920 --> 0:23:42.240 Let's be specific. As we were recording this, Israel has 0:23:42.480 --> 0:23:47.080 entered Rafa. Our US government says we are not going 0:23:47.119 --> 0:23:51.840 to help them with materiel. What's your take on that. 0:23:53.880 --> 0:23:57.800 I think it's disgusting by our government. Some of the 0:23:57.840 --> 0:24:03.000 statements that come out from our administration have been despicable. 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:08.320 In the beginning, I think President Biden his rhetoric was 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:10.480 very good. We're going to stand with Israel shoulder to shoulder. 0:24:11.200 --> 0:24:14.640 But when you hear things from Anthony Blincoln statements such 0:24:14.680 --> 0:24:19.360 as if Israel doesn't change their ways, they may become indistinguishable, 0:24:19.400 --> 0:24:26.440 indistinguishable from Hamas, that is disgusting. He knows better. This 0:24:26.480 --> 0:24:32.120 is a guy who called Afghanistan an incredible success. This 0:24:32.200 --> 0:24:36.560 is a guy who presided over when America accidentally droned 0:24:36.920 --> 0:24:41.200 and killed ten Afghans, and he's calling out Israel after 0:24:41.600 --> 0:24:45.119 the mistake of killing the human Aid workers. So I 0:24:45.200 --> 0:24:51.800 think to withhold armaments from Israel at this point, I 0:24:51.920 --> 0:24:54.080 just don't understand it. I don't understand it morally, I 0:24:54.119 --> 0:24:56.720 don't understand it politically. I haven't understood it from day 0:24:56.760 --> 0:25:00.600 one now. As far as moving into Rafa on the border, 0:25:00.960 --> 0:25:03.240 that doesn't surprise me because many folks I talk to 0:25:03.880 --> 0:25:06.480 and Israel assumed that that would probably be the first step, 0:25:06.520 --> 0:25:10.560 because the lifeblood of Hamas or the tunnels from Egypt 0:25:10.760 --> 0:25:14.480 into Gaza. So I think what Israel will do, and 0:25:14.560 --> 0:25:16.600 I think you'll probably see over the next few days 0:25:17.200 --> 0:25:21.120