Dad and Company
Join hosts Jacob Espinoza and Dylan Schmidt as they explore the joys and challenges of modern fatherhood. Each episode features candid conversations about parenting, work-life balance, and personal growth. Dylan and Jacob share their own experiences as dads and welcome guests to discuss topics like bedtime routines, discipline strategies, and building strong family bonds. Expect honest talk, practical advice, and a supportive community for dads at all stages of the parenting journey.
Dad and Company
Cultivating Creativity and Community With Chris Loos
Welcome to this week's episode of Dad and Company!
In this episode, Dylan and Jacob are talking with special guest Chris Loos about:
- The evolution of media from college radio to Instagram, and how to stay relevant in the digital age
- Empowering youth through creative programs and community media centers
- Balancing entrepreneurship with intentional parenting
- Navigating the challenges of raising kids in a social media-driven world
- And much more!
Learn more about Chris Loos:
Website: https://www.chrisloosmedia.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisloosmedia/
are all the dads here?
Jacob Espinoza:where the dads?
Dylan Schmidt:uh what, where the dads at?
Jacob Espinoza:where the dads at I'm just gonna walk into coffee shops and bars where the dad's at just from now on, and then they bring on the uh, bring back to our senior hall. That's what that's all my life to look like in two years we're working there.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, two years or less, depending on how this podcast does.
Jacob Espinoza:Let's see how it goes. It might just blow up and it's a thing. People just see me in the streets where the dad's up.
Chris Loos:What up dad?
Dylan Schmidt:how's it going? How's jacob's world this past week?
Jacob Espinoza:it's been good, man. This has been a busy week for sure. My calendar links have been blowing up, so lots of meeting lots of new people having great conversations with uh, with the coaching side of the business um local newsletter life is going well also, so the business side of things are going good.
Dylan Schmidt:Well, I feel like well is an understatement. I feel like that's being modest.
Jacob Espinoza:The Instagram page is crushing. It's been a lot of fun just seeing people get engaged in the comments, people learning about Salem. So I live in Salem, oregon, the capital of Oregon, and a lot of people don't. In salem, oregon, the capital of oregon, and people, a lot of people, don't really like the city at all. It has a real. It has kind of a bad reputation of not just not being like the most engaging place to live and I think every community has their problems, but like we never have a post about salem goes semi-viral, like people are very interested in expressing their opinion on salem.
Dylan Schmidt:So it's been kind of People that live in Salem don't.
Jacob Espinoza:Sometimes it is. Sometimes it's people that are outside of it also, but you know, I think every community has their things and but it's been fun having a page that really focuses on the positive things that are happening in our community and there's been a lot of people rallying behind it and sharing some of the stuff we're doing. And I've been creating content for years and this is definitely like the most momentum I've ever seen for for something I've built. So it's been, it's been fun to be part of it it's been fun to watch.
Dylan Schmidt:I have no knowledge of salem I've never been and I watched the posts and I literally found myself. I think it was yesterday. Maybe I need to go check out Salem.
Jacob Espinoza:You need to. That would crush it. The first live Dad and Company podcast in Salem, oregon, at the Grand Theater. Let's go, let's go.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, that would be a lot of fun. Yeah, if you are listening to this and you don't know anything about Salem either, you still got to check it out. I've never seen anyone do what you're doing, and later on in this episode we're going to feature Chris Lowe's, who's an awesome dad, who I came to know through producing a podcast in my community, my city of Monrovia, which I'm new to. I don't know anything about. So I was like you know what? I'm going to meet local businesses and I'm going to I don't know anything about. So I was like you know what? I'm going to meet local businesses and I'm going to go door to door, old school style, because I work primarily virtually. I was like I'm going to go, you know, meet some people. So I started an Instagram and I just put up one post and I started running ads to it and Chris hit me up and was like hey, I love what you're doing.
Dylan Schmidt:Super positive guy, kind of intimidating, like just older but like big beard and just cool. And I was kind of intimidated like, oh, this, and I talked to him for hours. We got on the phone, I talked to him for hours and he told me, you know, he shared with me how involved in the community he has been and it inspired me to also kind of like was like whoa, what I'm doing is nothing compared to what this guy's already been doing. So he hooked me up with like a lot of introductions. He's super.
Dylan Schmidt:He's that guy like you, jacob, who's like knows everybody, you know, knows a guy who does this thing whatever he starts, like the super connectors. You know, I'm not like that. I want to become more like that. So when I'm around people like you, like chris, that are just naturally connecting with others, um, fires me up and I'm just like man. You guys are rare and and the people you want to know, it's more, it's like, it's more, I don't say powerful, but meeting someone like a jacob or a chris, it will do more for your life than just like I would. I hate to say, but like meeting someone like me who's like virtual. I'm like virtual connector.
Jacob Espinoza:I could connect somebody, but in person shaking hands you're definitely underselling yourself right now a lot like you're doing a lot of great things impacting a lot of lives and you know a lot of people as well like you're out there, yeah, virtually, yeah, yeah, yeah and actually I just met someone from virtual in real life yesterday and was like, oh, this is cool, so it definitely translates.
Dylan Schmidt:But I would say, like, local, local community wise, yeah, there is uh, such a uh, you know, network net worth effect and you're building that chris is building that, who I'm super excited to share. And chris I'll share more in a second. But he has a background in music production, but he also has a non-profit and helps kids. I recently did a podcast workshop hosting it with him at one of the teen rec centers here and it was just so cool. I'm like, dude, this is, is and he just always doing that. He was talking about building a he'll go super deep into it but building a physical nonprofit where kids can come express their creativity and make podcasts. Like have this entrepreneurial mindset. It's radical. What he's doing, it's super cool. I've never heard anything like it, so I'm excited for that. What he's doing is super cool. I've never heard anything like it, so I'm excited for that. Speaking of music, can you share with us, jacob, a little bit about your musical background?
Jacob Espinoza:yeah. So when I was, uh, in high school, I started just like freestyling at parties and like that was just what we did and, um, I was always like kind of the best in my circle. And then, as I got out of high school into college, um, one of my friends, james Haig, he got into real estate, sold the house, bought like a bunch of music equipment. With his first commission check he got he bought like $5,000, like this a very nice studio though just in his his home he was in, and we would just go over there every weekend and start making songs. And I just didn't stop. I just kept leaning into it and so, essentially throughout my 20s I was like I'm gonna be a rapper, like that's what my job is gonna be. I love writing, I love being on stage and connecting with people and, um, I put out like five albums. I went on tour up and down the west coast five hours I took all my music off of spotify.
Jacob Espinoza:I did this probably like eight years ago. Part of it was because they just don't pay anything. So I'm like I'm not even making any money off of this. Like why? Why is this out there?
Jacob Espinoza:The other piece, though, that was most impactful was like I don't want my kids hearing this. I don't want this being their introduction to who their dad was like. I'll talk about who I was when I was in 20s with them at some point, but I don't want them just like listening to my music and like forming their opinion about me that way. So I took it down and I'm grateful because now they're at the age where they're on Spotify and they found some of my songs that are lingering on there.
Jacob Espinoza:And, um, my most popular song was a song about Oregon, called Oregon Homeboy, and it was like my first viral moment on myspace, because there's nobody else that was making a song about oregon, so people would put it like as their profile song and I had like all my songs had like hundreds of listens, and then I had this song that was like hundreds of thousands and I literally thought there was like some sort of glitch or like somebody was gaming the system. But it just turned out people were adding it as their profile song and that led to some cool opportunities for me to open for people and, yeah, it was a good time for sure.
Dylan Schmidt:That's wild. So when I think of rap, hip hop, which I listen to a lot of, which is one of the things that drew me to you, besides your beautiful eyes, is your love for music as well, because I'm so into music. When it came to like your lyrical content, what was some themes that you would be drawing from?
Jacob Espinoza:because it can range a lot yeah, I think that you always, I think every art you kind of start emulating other things, right. So I would like right, it was a big talib quality fan. Most def like cage kennels was somebody from new york.
Jacob Espinoza:That's kind of underground but it's something you're familiar with them man yeah, it's like I was like writing like I'll listen to some of their music and I would kind of write like them and, uh, just doesn't you know it does. It doesn't come across quite right. But then I think it got to a point where I was just really talking about the things I was noticing. Rick Rubin in his book, he has this phrase where it's like I'm not going to say it exactly right, but the idea is like you should focus on the things that you notice but other people aren't seeing. Like that's what's going to make your art really stand out and be interesting. And when I reflect on the things I've done in the past, I felt like I did really did that pretty well where, like there were things I would notice about a certain topic that other people weren't.
Jacob Espinoza:And I think the Oregon song that I had that did with the most viral, it was exactly that. It was just like this is what it's like to live in Oregon. It was kind of like a little bit of a troll and I was kind of making fun of this day some people kind of compared to like an Andy Samberg type of like a joke song, but it was a. Yeah, it was a lot of fun, for sure, but I think that was like when I got in my zone, like that's what I was doing so this is like super niche.
Dylan Schmidt:I feel like 0.01 of people listening will even know where we're going right now. But were you doing it self funded? Or were you like I'm gonna get on definitive juxt, because I know that's a popular record label at that?
Jacob Espinoza:yeah yeah, like definitive juxt rhyme sayers like the underground, like, yeah, hip-hop labels for sure. No, I, I mean it was just me putting out albums. Uh, my dad like paid a thousand dollars to get like albums pressed for me, like just really invested in like this vision and what I was going with it. So I was always super grateful for that, like he was always my biggest supporter, shout out out to dad for real.
Jacob Espinoza:But it was that. Yeah, it was. That I never really had the idea of wanting to be on a label and I think a lot of that was my. The music I liked. It was very much like anti, that like there's probably five years of mainstream hip-hop. I just didn't hear, like even now, somebody will like talk about a song like you never heard that. I was like that was probably released between 2003 2008, because if you weren't like wearing a backpack on stage, like I probably wasn't gonna be listening to your music. That was just. That was just where I was at. I just I didn't want to hear radio. I just felt like that was not where it was at. I wanted to hear the underground stuff nobody else knew about except for me and four other weirdo friends that I had.
Dylan Schmidt:You got a fifth one here, because I was the same way and even outside a little bit longer out of that window too, until I met my wife and I'd hear a song and be like oh, it's actually a pretty cool song, even though it's like more like mainstream, hit like poppy. Yeah, she was like that came out when we were in high school or something I'm like really I didn't even know that it sounds new to me.
Dylan Schmidt:You know, because for sure I was, that was not, it was flying right over my head. You know I'm listening to 100 stuff that it just felt so underground cannibal, ox and like, yeah, obscure artists. You know that, like I still listen to a lot of actually, uh, asap rock and you know atmosphere actually speaking of more on like the dad front, I feel like has really kind of he hit like a switch and then he's, you know, had kids.
Dylan Schmidt:Really is what the switch is? That he hit and then started producing more kind of dad music and yeah, when I didn't have a kid dude I was listening, I was like I can't relate, you know he had an album cover that was cheering a bottle of milk and a beer bottle, and I think that's where he lost me.
Dylan Schmidt:I'm like we're on two different paths now because for sure, for sure I'm trying to like score a girlfriend and he's like on his second or third kid. We don't have the same themes in life. Which kind of bummer for sure.
Jacob Espinoza:Um, but now I'm revisiting that music and like whoa, I get it now right, yeah, yeah oh yeah, his, his grind, like the whole crew, like they just like invented how to be an independent label and just would tour non-stop, visit all the college radio stations and I feel like now I'm gonna sound like an old man but like kids just don't have the appreciation of like the grind it took to really get your name out there.
Jacob Espinoza:Because now the game is like let me just figure out how to make a video go viral or have a song like that just goes viral, because I mean it's just a different space than it was then. It still is a grind, it still takes a lot of hard work, but it just I feel like it's just different. You know you can't just have a phone and make it happen like you had to like save up and find studio time and press cds, like all these things that were really expensive, and now it's really just your time, like you just have to be committed to a process and creating and you can just do it on your phone and that can potentially be good enough if you know you find a way to connect with an audience yeah, I so my background like I would play guitar bass.
Dylan Schmidt:I've been playing music my whole life and I would join gotten a punk rock in high school punk rock and hip-hop primary.
Jacob Espinoza:What kind of punk rock were you in? I feel like there's lots of different more like I like the clash.
Dylan Schmidt:Rancid is one of my favorite bands of all time. I have a rancid tattoo, um, but anything from like the ramones to rancid, to that kind of style, um, I'd say like southern california, new york, like, not so much more of like the emo screamo kind of.
Jacob Espinoza:You know, I felt like that was marketed towards girls more, you know, and I was like a guy's guy into punk rock okay, yeah totally angst, I'm angry, I was angry like a little bit angry for that, for sure, yeah like also um into like some hardcore and metal stuff.
Dylan Schmidt:I played in a metal band in high school and actually that band is still going on today, which is absolutely wild. They're called archaic and they tour and yeah, it was wild and they have crazy shows um throughout high school.
Jacob Espinoza:How many of the original band members are still part of it?
Dylan Schmidt:I think only one one which was the original dude and I'm like that's great. That feels like a high school sweetheart that just kept doing her thing. She's like I'm gonna do this. You know, yeah for that. Just kept doing her thing. She's like I'm going to do this, you know, yeah for sure, just kept going. I'm like it's really cool so and I don't talk to him anymore but it's like from a distance I'm just like man, that's wild, like that grind. It's definitely like seemed like Evan flows where you just watch and you're like man, this has been a grind, cause that's 15 years now, probably 20 years now that they've really been doing it.
Dylan Schmidt:And to be like a metal band that doesn't have like some huge thing, I don't know, metal is kind of an obscure genre but playing in that kind of area of music, that genre of music, I would have friends that were older, dangerous People would be bleeding at shows like it was violent. You know a lot of violence going on there. Um and yeah, and thinking about like now, you know, having a daughter and thinking back like image, like my high school senior portrait I have like a mohawk. I'm definitely aesthetically different than I am now, but there is like still some of that ethics, that DIY ethics in everything I do and there's like certain values that I definitely carry over from that from my youth. But I'm curious with you, and I mean five albums, dude, that's no joke, that's a lot.
Jacob Espinoza:It's like constantly right thing for sure, like always, like just being obsessed with it, like an idea, putting a beat together, like trying to figure out a way to tell a story, make it interesting, like it's. It's just been a part of my life. I feel like similar to you, like we kind of we share this in common. We're just have found different ways to create and it's kind of interesting. So we had this group um, garden entertainment was like our crew. There was like individual artists but we would kind of do shows together and things like that, and like all of us are doing really well for ourselves at this point. Like almost everybody's a business owner. Uh, one of my friends, like the principal at an elementary school that was part of the group. Like it was just kind of cool that this collection of people that was brought together by rap music now like have grown up, have kids and are like living pretty, pretty, pretty cool lives.
Dylan Schmidt:So it's it's just been fun to see that process yeah, it's got to be something with the entrepreneur music thing, because there is like it takes a lot of work, you know, I think that's something I learned very quickly making music, where it's like oh, this stuff doesn't just happen itself, like you got to put in so much work.
Dylan Schmidt:practicing performing is its own different thing. Like no one talks about getting better as a performer, they talk about just all the hours in your room. You know, practicing your craft, going through the life experiences that translate to the thing that you're producing. It's exhausting. That translate to the thing that you're producing. It's exhausting. But so when you think like what you've done, and then your kids like I'm curious, because that's a big part of your life, obviously not nowadays as much, but how do you envision it? Like, do you ever? Do you just kind of like, will you let your kids kind of figure it out on their own? Will you give something to them from it?
Jacob Espinoza:Yeah, think, the talking about the experiences, because now, like I, the oregon homeboy, the video still is online on youtube. It's like one of the only songs that lives on spotify. It's like they know the words to that song now, which is just like the coolest thing ever. They'll like play it on their own and like sing along and it's just. It's just. It's a special moment to like for that to happen.
Jacob Espinoza:Um, but I think also just like encouraging them to create things and like being part of that process and not trying to guide too much, like letting them really find their own voice, because, especially when they're trying to make a video, part of me wants to be like well, here's how you can like make it engaging for the audience. But it's better, my opinion, it's better for them find the answers because they'll eventually come up with things that are even cooler than I could ever think of. Um, but I really try to just listen to what excites them and like figure out how do I feed into this, like, how do I like really like embrace some of their passion about and contribute in the best way I know possible and not try to steer them in a specific direction, but really encouraging them to find their own path and loving them for it.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, and Chris could join any minute here, so if we stop, I'll just bring him right in. When it comes to your content that you make, well, your well, I guess your kids are 9 and 11 yep social media. That's going to be a different episode, for sure, but like, yeah, are they using social media?
Jacob Espinoza:I don't have any free reference yeah, they're big on like youtube, like watching youtube.
Jacob Espinoza:They have a youtube channel and, um, I kind of struggled this for a little bit like should they be putting themselves out there? But I think there's more dangers than just a constant scrolling than there are like letting them like just create and explore and have fun with it, like having conversations. I can definitely pay attention to what they're posting. There's been times right, I'll tell like I'll delete something for them without control. I can, you know, control their channel and then have a conversation around it like why something's inappropriate or why they should be careful about certain things they're saying, because all they're doing like they're scrolling, they're seeing what works and trying to like emulate other videos. So I think it's a good time to kind of have some of those conversations. But allowing them the creative space to create and you'll be start learning about that process um, I think is a good. I think it's a skill that kids are gonna it'll be good for them to invest in right now. But, yeah, social media is a Big topic for sure.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, we gotta. I don't want to say tackle that one like we're gonna solve it. Yeah, talk about it. Though Let me bring Chris on here. Chris, welcome to the Dad and Company podcast.
Chris Loos:Thanks so much for having me. I'm really excited. I've been listening to the episode, so it's just super cool to be here. I love it. I wish y'all would have been doing this right when my kid was born. That would have been great. He's just turned 13, so y'all are a little late, but I'm glad you're here now.
Dylan Schmidt:We're covering all the age spectrums here. Right, we got toddler for me, we got 9, 11, and 13. Jacob's boys are 9 and 11. I already shared a little bit about you, chris. Well, I've been talking about you almost like you're here building up the anticipation, but do you mind sharing, like briefly, just a little bit about your background? You do so much incredible work and like we could talk about the last month, I feel like, and you would just be able to fill up all the time we have here. So, because I'm like dude, you're doing such great work as a dad, but also as a leader, as an entrepreneur, so do you mind just briefly share it about yourself?
Chris Loos:Yeah, appreciate it, man. College radio was the jump off. Not being able to rap or sing kind of was like, well, I'm going to figure something out, produced for a hot second and realized I'm just okay. But radio was kind of my thing and it worked out that way. You've been doing it now and like kind of working in that space of broadcast and media for the past 30 years Crazy to say that now and now just getting involved with the city and using the public access network here. It's just 30 years of radio. How does that transition to like a local neighborhood? So it's been fun, man, like I'm enjoying the journey and seeing how media has just evolved. You know, like I was the first radio host to put an interview on YouTube which was like this thing that nobody knew. So I was like, well, if we recorded on YouTube and promoted on MySpace, this could be fly. And here we are now and it's like it's just cool to see how media has grown.
Jacob Espinoza:Man, Speaking my language man, absolutely yeah, there is definitely this gap and, I think, opportunity. You recognize it 20 years ago. But a lot of AM radio stations they just don't know how to translate what they do to this new world of social media and the internet and they've been holding on to this old way for so long. And now they realizing, like we got to do something because, like people are not seeing return on investment when they're advertising here.
Chris Loos:Um, and yeah, yeah, I'm excited to dive into this a little bit more, for sure the fight was real, if I could have it like we had literal letters posted on the studio door like if you're caught on social media, you can be fired immediately, because it was just starting to become this thing. And they're like, oh no. And I was like yo, your station is kind of winning by being here, you know, and it kind of became a really cool template for a lot of FM stations after that. But the fight, like I, like you said, it's just they didn't understand it and I don't think they still do all the way.
Jacob Espinoza:Yeah, yeah, some better than others, but yeah, I've had some conversations recently where it was an awakening to how far behind they are. And it's just now. They're just trying to figure out what do we do, how do we make this happen, which is encouraging. At least now they're asking the question, they want to figure it out, but I know it's uh, I don't think it's too late. I guess pretty simple to make that transition. I think there's some easy ways to like make what you do relevant to this new audience and understanding how they consume information, um, but it just requires the effort and you're putting yourself out there.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, isn't there some stat too with I know I heart radio, like don't they own like an absurd amount, a percentage, wise, of all radio stations?
Chris Loos:for sure, and billboards and billboards, yeah, billboards and I want to say like they have a joint venture I could be wrong on this, but something to do with live nation as well.
Jacob Espinoza:So shows, billboards, radio, yeah yeah, it's kind of interesting because you have these like few companies that own all of the news organizations around the world and like they just dominated information for so long.
Jacob Espinoza:But now there's this other movement that's spurred by social media, where there's these individuals that are building these relationships and are becoming the go-to source for so many people on these individual topics. And I started this page called what's Happening Salem, about my city in Salem, oregon. Like I'm that person in Salem who, like I, started this page like four months ago and it's just like taking off right now. It's been a ton of fun, but, like people want information from an individual, somebody they feel they have a relationship, somebody they know they can trust, they know them by name, you know they read their newsletter, they follow them on instagram and like that's, this is the new media and I think it's time for people to embrace it. And if we're dads thinking about our businesses, like thinking through, how do I, how do I make this relevant for what I'm doing and communicating my ideas to this audience?
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, for sure, yeah, no-transcript.
Chris Loos:Yeah, absolutely. It's been really exciting lately. It started as like just how I dream society, right, dreamers, a society of us that just do things differently. Monique and Jay are my two partners. Dylan, you got to meet them, but Monique, coming from the space of music and recording, she was an artist when I met her and now has produced like independent films. She's been in films, major releases. Jay is coming from video, just picked a camera up and now has a video production company and so and I'm coming from broadcast and radio it's like none of what we do is taught like traditionally somewhere.
Chris Loos:So it was like all right, well, let's just empower dreamers. And it started off real, super simple. It's just going to schools and and talking to young people and going to classrooms, auditoriums, cafeterias, having conversations, showing them kind of like yo, this is what you could do. Like you like doing stuff on X or on IG Well, guess what? Like the NBA needs people that run that whole thing for them. So like there's all these other jobs and these other things that you could do wherever you're passionate, and it's just searing ideas and giving them a broader vision of what's possible was super important for us as iDream. Um, now we're really looking forward to building it out into a physical space with the iDream community media center.
Chris Loos:Um, it's something we're hoping to do in the next few years here in the city of monrovia, and just it'll be everything from teaching folks how to dj to create music, podcasts, um, the stuff we wish we had. Really, if I'm being honest, it was like what do I wish we had? And that's kind of how we talk about it. It's like cool man, well, what are these young folk talking about? And we listen a lot. That's really been the thing. It's just having conversations with the students. You hear exactly what they're trying to figure out and it's like all right, cool.
Jacob Espinoza:So I think one of the problems people run into when they have these big ideas is they kind of think like I'm going to build it and they'll come and they build it and then nobody shows up.
Chris Loos:So I'm curious here for me, me like how are you finding these kids that can can benefit from this? Um, I mean, yeah, that's. I guess maybe that's our advantage, because we've had time with students in schools from the inland empire to the san gabriel valley, different groups, um, a lot of creative groups, I'll say. Um, there was like especially I could think of the music group in Etiwanda and just hearing from them and seeing how talented they were too, it's like y'all are crazy Like the way they're cooking up music, but somewhere between electronic and traditional and you know what I mean, it's just fire man, like it's just a cool, creative, different way. Like I think of like mixtapes for us, or like recording stuff off of the radio. You know what I mean. Or like, yeah, just the figure it out, what do we got make it happen and these kids have so many resources. So I guess that's been our advantage is just being able to, because we were already talking to so many schools and now kind of have a relationship with young people. It's given us the insight.
Dylan Schmidt:Love that. Something interesting I've noticed too, just having joining you on one of the podcast workshops, which is, like my interpretation, a hallucination, if it will because I don't spend time around kids other than my daughter, which is like a year and a half, so there's like a gap I'm kind of missing out on. So I have these like observations that I think are accurate. With the youth and I feel like the youth are so, you know, tapped into their phone and in-person stuff, it's almost kind of like whoa, this is, this is real. You know what I mean. And so seeing like you, chris, in person helping somebody, is so different than a YouTube video which makes me wonder, like, how that impacts them greater than just seeing it on a screen.
Chris Loos:You know what I mean we've talked about and man, it's crazy Cause I jokingly said it like maybe like eight or 10 years ago.
Chris Loos:Now I'm like, I feel like the things that we know innately are going to be really nuanced things that we can teach later and they're like what do you mean? And I'm like just being able to look at somebody in their eyes and communicate a thought. I think that's going to be something that we're going to be able to teach at some point and it will be of value, you know, and yeah, and hearing you say that, I'm like yeah, like there's a I always think about now with a teenage son, you know, and the stuff he's into. So it's like OK, look, dude, you could do all of this, you understand this space, cool, but you still got to be able to look somebody in their eyes and tell them what you think. You know there's that human piece that ultimately, is like this really secret sauce, maybe to making things happen where, in real life, if you can't translate what you're trying to do to somebody in real life, I don't know how it happens, man.
Jacob Espinoza:That's so I worked. So after I got out of corporate America, I worked for our local chamber of commerce. We started a nonprofit called McLaren Leadership Foundation and a big reason I felt called to do this is because I recognized how many fewer people were getting out and into the community. Because we had the church for a while. That was like the center of the community and that, like the church, isn't as as relevant in current culture. Then people would go to work and you had like your, your office, community and that's how you would interact with people.
Jacob Espinoza:But now people are working from home so you don't even have that like you're ordering uber eats in you watching Netflix, like you never have to leave your house if you don't want to. And I think it's powerful for people in the community to not forget like there's so much value in creating things and making sure people feel invited to come and join people, because a lot of people won't come if they're not personally invited. They'll think this is for somebody else, it must not be for for me, or they just don't feel comfortable showing up not knowing for sure, but just having somebody build the relationship, which you've done, you know, through the schools, building the relationships, then inviting people to come is so powerful because we're just wired to be around each other and, you know, have community and, like the data on loneliness, especially among men, is is just scary right now. It really is. Yeah.
Chris Loos:It's been man maybe. It's like I feel like sometimes I see so much of my time in college radio, how ill that was While there was no money and it was just cleaning songs myself and playing it. There's something about like that whole process of what I learned that still happens right now in how we're working with KGM TV, the local public access right, and it's like, okay, well, what can we do to connect that into people and build something? Like there was just programming for like seniors and those were the people that are watching us. Like, oh well, we need young people to be involved, so we're going to do a jazz thing, just programming for like seniors, and those were the people that are watching us like oh well, we need young people to be involved.
Chris Loos:So we're gonna do a jazz thing and I'm like jazz.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah yeah, the kids are going crazy for jazz.
Chris Loos:Yeah, yeah yeah, like the ideas and thoughts of like how to connect to young people. You can see we're completely lost and it it's just like oh, you kick it with your same 20 friends here in town. You should probably talk to more people, yeah, for sure that's powerful.
Dylan Schmidt:I got to shout out, chris, just for the example, because I'd love to hear more about your insight and approach to being a dad and how you. I know like I don't want to speak for you, but I know you obviously lead by example because you had a booth set up. I think I'm pretty sure you told me that you were going to be over there, and so there was like this event happening in front of the public library here in town and Chris is like, oh, I want to be over there. I'm like, oh, I'm going over there too because we're going to walk around it. And Chris is there. He has a booth set up for I Dream Society and I don't know why I didn't think it was like, oh yeah, your son's right there too.
Dylan Schmidt:Like Lena, I met your son. I'm just like man, that's so cool because you just get your son involved in it so naturally. And just the way your son interacted, I was like this of course he's amazing, Cause his dad's amazing, and like just, uh, respectful and just like different, different than I'm like this guy's 13. This guy's like 33. Like I feel like he's he's. You can just tell you know, um, what's your approach to like how you raise him, and I'm just going to leave it at that, so you can kind of interpret that however you wish.
Chris Loos:Yeah, yo, it was all from a very afraid space of being that dad who just tells him like, hey, man, you should do this, hey, you should do this, this would be good, you need to be doing this, while I'm just not Right, and I think that was where for me, it was like, all right, man, hold up, you can't get called out Like I come from. You know hip hop and diss, diss tracks. It's like I ain't trying to have my son like pop, you ain't it? You know? I mean like what you doing, and that was like for me, okay, cool. Plus, I just see how every generation right has that ability to surpass their dad, their grandfather, whatever it was right. That did it like like I'm guessing all of us on this. You know what I mean? Podcast right now it's.
Chris Loos:It's, it's been that you know. So there's that evolution piece and I'm like, okay, if the challenge was, I guess, for me to really be like, well, let me try to set this bar higher than I've seen it yet and create all the stuff that I'm thinking in my head, have him see it. So, win or lose. He's going to be like, well, pop tried you know what I'm saying and like he saw the attempt, he saw the details to how it went down, like with I dream, he's been there for what is a 501c3? I don't know. We got to fill out paperwork. Let's figure it out. Cool, where should we set up a bank? Hey, man, let's go do it with the independent bank in town, you know, go over there and set it up that way and let's be intentional in our thoughts.
Chris Loos:So it was like, let me just do this with him so he can see it, ask questions. I'm asking questions because I'm trying to figure it out. I don't know how any of this really works, but to let him just ride shotgun, if you would, and see the whole process of what we're doing and how we're building. And now, like even with the I Dream Community Media Center, he's seen it go from a keynote to like presenting to people, to to seeing what the city council recap look like in the show that we're building, and the thought of me having like maybe I should go talk to KGM and and and build a show like this. And he's like, well, how do you do that, dad? I don't know, I'm gonna just go pull up and see. And so it was literally that to where it was. Almost it was definitely you know me putting on the cool dad face of like yeah, let's go try this. Inside I'm the 13 year old with my heart racing like, oh, here we go.
Chris Loos:You know, I don't know how this is going to play out, but I just want I think it really put it on me, realizing that I got an extra set of eyes looking at me. And what am I gonna do? Just go for it yes, so I wasn't.
Jacob Espinoza:Had a conversation with a group of dads. Earlier today we were talking about youth sports and how, like sometimes that's just kids lives. They go from like basketball training to baseball practice and the weekends you got tournaments. Like that's all they see. And like a successful career in sports doesn't always transition to a successful career in life, like once high school ends, once college ends.
Jacob Espinoza:And I think as fathers, like we just have this responsibility to make sure our kids have a well-rounded perspective of how things work. Like how do you make things happen? And your example of like I didn't know this was going to work or not. I'm just going to go have a conversation and see if there's so many lessons hidden inside of that like for kids to unpack. Because something I've realized is that if we're not and use the word intentional, which I love, I use that word a ton as well but for unintentional with the conversations, sometimes kids will make up their own stories or connect the dots on their own, and so we can provide context on how we're looking at problems to make sure that you know they have an accurate representation or an accurate presentation of what's actually happening.
Chris Loos:Yeah, and I've caught myself being like yo, like where I'm doing something, and I innately think like why don't you know that? And I'm like, oh, come on, man, like kid is 12, like how does he know he's 13? Like how does he know? Yes, I was like all right, I'm a dick. Like let me stop like man, I uh.
Jacob Espinoza:So the other day I was dropping my kid off at his friends and we went to my their house and his friend wasn't there. I'm like, well, where's? Yeah, like let me call him. Oh, he's over at the school. Like you need to communicate better with your friends and like in the moment I'm kind of like a little frustrated. But then I'm also like man, I'm 30 years older than him. I do the same thing with my friends. I can't be too mad at you for this.
Dylan Schmidt:He says youtube dad, yeah hearing you guys talk about this like being kind of newer to the, the dad game. It makes me think too like it's hard sometimes doing things like on your own. When you're putting something out there, whether it's like I would say entrepreneurial, where you're pushing forward, you're like I'm confident having anybody like support you or witness it. You know, for like for me, for my wife in the beginning, was like biggest you know supporter of just like yeah, you can do it. I'm like, yeah, yeah, I can do it.
Dylan Schmidt:And it makes me think too of when you're like showing your kids something, about how it's kind of cool in a way, because you're like fake it till you make it kind of, but you're just moving ahead. You know like dad, can you do that? It's like, yeah, of course I can do it. You know you kind of like get a little push from them and it's easy to just think like, oh, you know you're showing them all these things, but like man, you get so much from it too, being a dad it's been everything like that, so I love that.
Chris Loos:You said that it was the my favorite part. I think one of I won't say my favorite one of my favorite things about being a dad is been the just how lucky I feel to get a new perspective at life and everything again Right, like you're just seeing it and that the questions they're asking and I'm like, yeah, you're right, you know what I mean. Like why do they do that? No, that don't make a lot of sense, that's a good call, you know what I'm saying. Like just their pure perspective of what their eyes are seeing, what their mind is thinking and outcomes, whatever from their mouth. Right, and it's man, that's been so cool for me.
Chris Loos:Like I'm so thankful for that Cause. It's like even gotten me out of my old weird thoughts of certain things where I'm just like, yeah, I don't, I don't know why that is, uh, just because, like that's just how it is. Like oh, what do you mean? What does that even mean? That's just how it is. Like what do you mean? What does that even mean? That's just how it is. Like it's been cool man. It's been a real blessing to just be able to see life again through his eyes yeah, kids are a gift.
Dylan Schmidt:Kids are a gift. Jacob. Before I ask my last question, I want to ask do you anything else you want to make sure we cover?
Jacob Espinoza:no man, this is I just want to like do another episode, right I know right I want to cover media, I want to cover, like, startup culture, I want to cover, like, independent hip-hop in the late 90s, early 2000s, when, like, who are you, who did you interview, like, who was coming through the station when you were there? Like yeah, like there's, there's a whole series here, for sure. So I guess I'll ask that question like, who are some of, like what were some of the moments that you, that you, uh like, cherish the most in as a college radio station? Dj?
Chris Loos:college radio man. Yo, that's fire dude, I think. My favorite ones I had early eminem. Um. Hi, my name is just bubbling he was the quietest dude. It was probably I wish I could find that that because we recorded it on that right, the digital audio tapes. It was just that, was it? Um, because he was so like quiet, didn't really have a lot to say. Um, calise was fire. Ray kwan krs.
Jacob Espinoza:Um, I'm gonna say the best, best hip-hop show you've ever been to. Who is somebody you feel like? Because you say KRS-One? Because I pursued a career as a rapper in my 20s and I saw KRS-One performing Off the deck. Though let's go. I saw KRS-One perform in Eugene and it just changed my perception on what a hip-hop show could be. I'm curious for you like, who do you? Who do you see as like those, like just incredible live performers in that genre?
Chris Loos:man. So I'll tell you a little quick krs story. So I was like producing his radio show at the beat um, the temple of hip-hop. So him and I have a super cool rapport. Man, he's one of the dopest human beings I've ever gotten to be around and just learn from that time was super special. And then him on stage is a whole other beast. Yo, Like that guy is just nuts.
Chris Loos:I'll say Supernatural was fire Seeing what he does as an emcee off the top where he just closes his show out with the front row holding up whatever item. You know what I mean and just going, that was like mind blowing to witness, Cause I'm just like. And then I had him on the radio. Um, I was at K-Day at the time and yo, we went to the phone lines and so was just like, all right, call about something. This woman called about going to see her baby daddy in jail on the way, and this dude comes up with a rhyme on the spot as the dj drops something. I'm just like for sure, certain moments like that. But to go to the show, I'll say Smoking Grooves with Gangstar the Roots. That was the show where Cannabis comes out with a lion, bro, A real-life lion on this rolling deck and I'm like what are we watching? This is crazy and I'm kind of nervous as I'm watching it too.
Chris Loos:I'm like yeah, it's not a good snap right now, but it had the trainer standing there with him, but he's on this rolling thing with the lion on and I'm like, yeah, I don't that's hilarious.
Jacob Espinoza:this is almost like right when his album came out like a a little bit before. Yeah, okay.
Chris Loos:Yeah, right, when it was the him and LL, back and forth Right, and it was just like yeah, okay.
Jacob Espinoza:Are you still into battle? Rap culture. I get so different now compared to what it used to be. Do you follow it at all?
Chris Loos:You know I couldn't, I can't sit this out with, with the drake kendrick. So yeah, okay, I'm here for it, like I love it. But it's different, it's totally different, man. Like you know you're saying 90s, 2000s, like I'm thinking of like no vaseline, I'm thinking of like, like, even like jay and ether with naz, and it was just a different era of like what those disc records were to this now. But I love this one because this one is super different and Kendrick, he might have just done it the illest possibly.
Jacob Espinoza:Yeah, that's like a pop culture phenomenon. My kids play that song on repeat while we're driving places. Everybody knows it's wild.
Dylan Schmidt:We have an edited version that we found but yeah we got to hear the kids bop version of not like us the kids bop.
Jacob Espinoza:The whole drake kendrick anthology with the kids bop version would crush it.
Chris Loos:I would listen to that just at least a couple times for sure can I ask y'all the questions that were on kids bob, like what's it, what do you think of kids bob?
Jacob Espinoza:I think they found a cash machine and they were just like let me just keep, let me keep pumping it, um, but I don't know. I remember like when the kids were younger there was a couple of them that we would listen to. They'd enjoyed. But our kids a little older at that point do you mean like from, like a music standpoint, or what do you mean with the?
Chris Loos:I think, because I think the cup like, like juvenile, back that ass up in the kids bop version. It's just so like weird, like why did you?
Jacob Espinoza:do they have that actually a thing? Uh, I think like those, those type of things. Yeah, there are some songs where it seems extremely inappropriate to have a kid's version like yeah, for sure or yeah, they could have just skipped that one. Yeah, yeah like you know, rolling down the street, you know, with orange juice sipping on you know, like just weird, we don't, we don't need it, we don't need that in the world at all.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, for sure, there's other songs out there, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, I I'm at the age too where I'm just steamrolling with my own music. So I'm like I don't know where it becomes inappropriate yet, I think once she talks more too. But right now I'm like you're gonna hear what I love, you know. So within a reason, I'm not playing like meet the grams by kindred because that, just if it doesn't make me feel dirty to listen to it on my daughter, like I'll skip it.
Jacob Espinoza:But you know, I'm like waiting for that time where she's like actually, yeah, it gets to the point where there's like two songs and they only want to hear those songs, but like everybody in the house is happier when those songs are playing. So it just becomes a thing. And then it becomes a different two songs, and I don't know. I feel like most kids kind of go through those, those stages as a hip-hop.
Chris Loos:I'm super thankful for Yo Gabba Gabba just because, like, yes, that was the go to, it's coming back, yes.
Dylan Schmidt:It's coming back. Dj Lance Rock. I watched that plenty before I even had kids, because I'm like you know the show is amazing. Watching every episode of my daughter she has no clue what's going on. I'm rewinding, I'm like do you know who this is? It's so cool.
Jacob Espinoza:She rewinding. I'm like, do you?
Dylan Schmidt:know who this is. Uh, it's so cool. She's just like laying there, like what's going on. I have no idea about this. I'm I'm learning about this for the first time today.
Chris Loos:Okay, you got to check out yo gaba gaba dj lance rock. Jacob, I'm bummed, you missed it.
Jacob Espinoza:Man, I know all these videos got like four million views.
Dylan Schmidt:I definitely missed out on like it's not too late, though they still hold up. That's the best part. Well, okay, what I'm more?
Jacob Espinoza:concerned. I let my kids down is what I'm mostly concerned with. Like I let them down, it's not about me, it's about them you.
Dylan Schmidt:I mean, yeah, you let that inner child watch it.
Chris Loos:You know what I'm saying exactly we're gonna miss, we're gonna miss.
Dylan Schmidt:Yeah, yeah, no, it's 100 for sure uh well, thank you, chris, for hopping on here with us. Uh, it's been. I know again, we got to do like a part two because there's so much more we could talk about. Um, so thank you for joining us. I'll make sure to link in the episode description here where people can follow more about you and I dream society. Thank you so much y'all for listening.
Chris Loos:We'll catch you, man like and I'm gonna let y'all know this has been so fun like. So much y'all for listening. We'll catch you, man, like, and I'm gonna let y'all know this been so fun, like. So, whenever y'all need the dad to tap in, like I'm here. If there's anything y'all want to jump in on, like, let's go. Yeah, I'd love to be a a friend of the show. Call me ashley larry if you want.
Jacob Espinoza:I'll come in you know I'm saying like I will not be calling you, that I will not. That's not gonna be my place in the world.
