Latest / The Scene Projects / Supporting Communities Through Music and Charity: A Conversation with Michael Jahn

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Supporting Communities Through Music and Charity: A Conversation with Michael Jahn · The Scene Projects

• 0:02
  Welcome into a very exciting episode of the scene.
• 0:04
  I am your host Bubba Starts, and with me today is Michael Jan from angelcars.org.
• 0:10
  Michael, welcome to the show.
• 0:22
  Yeah.
• 0:22
  Hey.
• 0:22
  Thanks thanks for having me.
• 0:24
  It was great meeting you guys at the, award show in Iowa.
• 0:28
  Yeah.
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  Well, Midwest Country Music Organization award show weekend is a, jam packed full of, you
• 0:36
  know, not only value for artists, but, man, it's one heck of a party too.
• 0:41
  Yeah.
• 0:41
  It sure was.
• 0:42
  It was, it was interesting getting there and, seeing all the different artists and
• 0:45
  entertainers and what went into it.
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  And, we had the opportunity to meet, you know, with the organization, the organizers of the
• 0:53
  CMO, met a lot of great people.
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  Just it was a great experience.
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  So we were we were blessed to get tagged by Mason Meyer with the Mason Meyer band, and and
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  he was awarded or nominated for Maverick of the Year award in his venue, Main Street Music
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  venue in Brooklyn, Wisconsin, which is probably one of the best venues for a small town
• 1:19
  geographical area.
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  You know, Wisconsin has so many so much talent.
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  Like, Brie Morgan was there.
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  I've gone to a lot of her local shows.
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  And just to see the different Wisconsin people there was it was just an amazing experience.
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  It really was.
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  And it was was great that they could help promote our nonprofit, Angel Cars, by taking
• 1:41
  them down in our charity coach.
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  We call it the charity coach.
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  It's a 1995 Prevost XL 45 Liberty Lady Elegant.
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  And long story short, we we purchased it from a a gentleman here in Wisconsin.
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  Him and his wife would travel back and forth to Florida.
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  And and when I was buying it, he said, you know, this this coach belonged to George Jones.
• 2:03
  I was like, okay.
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  Well, whatever.
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  You know, he told us the story, and and one thing led to another, and come to find out it
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  was actually George Jones' tour coach.
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  So how cool was it to have this beautiful bus down there that actually belonged to, you know,
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  a great, you know, entertainer like George Jones.
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  So pretty cool.
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  Well and the bus the bus made an appearance on several videos already being shared on social
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  media.
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  We had a little parking lot party out there.
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  Our friends from If Nothing Else started playing music out there.
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  Obviously, Brie joined them at one point.
• 2:37
  Yep.
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  Matthew James.
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  Yeah.
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  Matthew James with the Ramble now.
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  He didn't get nominated this year, but he's a he's a another up and coming artist here in
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  Wisconsin, and and he promoted this thing all weekend.
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  He was the guy that was bringing other entertainers over to the coach and setting up
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  speakers and a microphone.
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  And and I think the whole day Saturday before the show must have been five hours.
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  We probably had twenty, thirty people over there that were singing in the parking lot and
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  just performing.
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  So it's better than having a radio station on.
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  Right?
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  Yeah.
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  A lot better.
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  I grew up a Grateful Dead fan, so seeing parties in the lot is nothing new to me, but
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  seeing them in front of a beautiful tour bus like you brought with you was absolutely
• 3:24
  incredible to to see it and now to see all the footage coming out.
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  Good friend Joey Rodriguez was there shooting a ton of content.
• 3:31
  But that is not really what you do.
• 3:35
  It is a marketing tool for your nonprofit.
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  Let's talk about Angel Cars a little bit and the real work that you're doing.
• 3:41
  Yeah.
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  So, you know, it's it's I've always been a giver.
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  People in need you know, we're all put on this earth to help, you know, our fellow man.
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  Right?
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  So after a near death motorcycle accident back on 10/10/2015, I I died.
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  I saw my body over the accident.
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  They were holding my broken neck, and it's just a crazy experience.
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  Well, you know, I suffered many, many injuries, traumatic brain injuries, so my short term
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  memory, cognitive skills.
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  I broke my left over bone, little funky left side peripheral.
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  I broke my neck in four places, my back in four places.
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  I crushed my collarbone, shepherded my shoulder.
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  I tore my right bicep, my hand, my thumb, my pinky finger.
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  That didn't hurt.
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  One rib and two meniscus, and and I've seen the lord.
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  And he told me to go help people.
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  So we started this initiative called Angel Cars because I believe in angels.
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  And we help low income families, single moms, and veterans with free towing, free
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  diagnostics, free estimates.
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  I think everybody needs a safe and dependable car.
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  You know, things in life that if you don't have, you're really stuck in that poverty
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  level.
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  So if you don't have, number one, transportation to get you to work, job
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  interviews, school, kids to school, hospitals, I mean and and if you don't have good credit.
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  So we help people to fix their credit.
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  People don't know the credit game.
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  We were really taught much in school as far as finances and managing credit and how to build
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  credit.
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  And then once you can learn how to build credit, you can build wealth.
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  And and that's kind of what I've done over this last eight years is is I've got three very
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  successful companies and then the charity coach with our nonprofit.
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  We think that's also an avenue to generate income to support our nonprofit.
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  No no doubt.
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  And I love what you're doing.
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  And especially here in the Midwest, if you don't have a vehicle, a trustworthy vehicle,
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  one with front wheel drive or at the very, you know, all wheel drive, especially for those
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  winter months, you're in a world of hurt.
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  And, you know, I've started talking to a lot more people that live in the metro areas,
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  right, even in the Twin Cities where, you know, you have mass transit.
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  We don't have those options out here.
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  You know, I live in a town of a thousand people.
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  Closest Walmart's a half an hour drive away.
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  That's 30 miles.
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  Right?
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  It's not a half hour because it takes you driving through town and catching a bus to
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  another train or whatever.
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  It's a half hour doing 65 on the interstate.
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  Yeah.
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  There's not a lot of cab companies in these small towns either.
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  So, you know, Uber is very expensive for low income people or anybody really for that
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  matter.
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  So so, yeah, it is is is difficult because there's no bus lines in these areas, really.
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  No.
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  So love what you're doing to help out.
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  Obviously, helping, you know, some of these, you know, disenfranchised groups.
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  Right?
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  The single mothers, our veterans definitely could use better care than what they get from
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  the Veterans Association.
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  We could be doing a lot more, so I love the initiative that you've taken Thank you.
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  To help those people.
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  But it seems like you would really help anybody that came along and really needed a hand up.
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  Well, like I said, I think that's what our job is on this earth.
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  We're all supposed to help our fellow man, love our neighbor.
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  Right?
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  There's a lot of great charities out here.
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  There's a lot of organizations that that give back to those in need, and and we wanna be a
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  part of that.
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  We wanna be one of them.
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  And it's really from the heart.
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  It's it's my mission because of my accident and because of my Christian beliefs.
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  I believe that I have a mission.
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  I have a story to tell.
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  I have the opportunity to to not only help people, but to encourage them to get to the
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  next part of your life.
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  I mean, you might be down and out.
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  I'm a recovering alcoholic, nine years sober now.
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  And if I hadn't had sober living or transitional living, I don't know where I'd be.
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  You know?
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  Would I still be sober?
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  You know?
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  So when god puts it on your heart to to go help somebody and and that that joy that you feel
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  from helping that person that you should see somebody's face when they come in and their
• 7:47
  car's running.
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  It's fixed.
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  They don't have to worry about it.
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  The tears in their eyes, you know, it's the most rewarding thing you'll ever experience in
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  your life by giving.
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  So how does the company kind of function as as an organization?
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  Are you know, how are you funded, and and what can other people, you know, especially
• 8:07
  listeners of this program, what can we do to help you out?
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  Well, you know, we are a five zero one c three nonprofit.
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  So if you donate, any any amount of money, you you can take that off on your income tax
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  returns as a donation.
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  There are, you know, grants that are out there.
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  There's you know, we've received a couple small grants, you know, 2,000, five thousand, but it
• 8:28
  it's very competitive.
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  It's very hard to get people because I'm not really a public person or a public speaker.
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  And I grew up in that life where you gotta go out and work for it.
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  I don't ask people for donations.
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  I don't ask people for for money.
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  If you need help, we're gonna try to figure out how to help you.
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  There's some other organizations in Madison that will help you get a car called the Work
• 8:50
  Your Wheels program.
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  If you have a job and fear of losing your job, you can get up to $7,500 to buy a vehicle.
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  We tap through the Ford Services in Dodge in Dane County, Wisconsin.
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  You can get up to $4,500 for a car and $1,600 for repairs.
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  But, again, that's an application process.
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  The the the funding is very limited.
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  So I have I've actually been in the asset recovery business, repossession business for
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  over thirty years.
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  Started out in Michigan as one of the largest repossessors out there.
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  I came to Wisconsin with that that goal to kinda quarter the market because there wasn't a
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  lot of repo companies out here.
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  And then I had the accident.
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  And the next thing I know, after COVID, I have all these banks reaching out and and telling me
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  I'm the only licensed bonded and insured agent here in Wisconsin that's repossessing cars.
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  Can you go repo some cars for us?
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  Oh, wow.
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  That's not what I really wanna do for the rest of my life that I and I I I remembered the
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  opportunity with the finances.
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  So it's it's a very lucrative business, and, basically, I I make money with the repossession
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  business to fund my nonprofit.
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  We do very well.
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  It's kind of a double edged sword, though, isn't it?
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  Because on one hand here, you're trying to help people.
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  On the other hand, you have to take their vehicle away, which we know you have to have a
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  vehicle.
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  But it was crazy is is when I got back into it, I went out after that first car, I realized
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  something.
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  That person still needs a car.
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  You just got your car repossessed.
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  Now what?
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  Okay.
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  Now you gotta go out there and find something you could afford, a three to five to seven
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  thousand dollar vehicle.
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  Well, why not come to Angel Cars?
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  Why not Angel Cars help you get into a car that you can actually afford at a low interest and
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  help them that way?
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  So it was kind of a blessing.
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  You know?
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  It's it's we make money doing it, but we're also able to help the people that just got
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  their car repoed because you still gotta have a car.
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  Well, it helps helps deaden the blow a little bit when you're when you're hooking up their
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  their ride and throwing it off to give them a car to go, hey.
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  I will help you
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  He didn't do another car.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  Like, not not just a see you later, you know, meet you at your lowest point because yeah.
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  I mean, not not a fun gig.
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  Right?
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  No.
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  You know, a a lucrative one for the banks, but, yeah, not not any fun.
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  Everybody hates you.
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  You might be the IRS.
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  Yeah.
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  They hate me anyway, but that's okay.
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  So I don't let it bother me.
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  Right?
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  But but, no, I I think because I've done it differently over the last thirty years, you
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  know, we're we're not that thief of the night, you know, sneaking out and and hooking up your
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  car.
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  We we actually wanna, you know, go to the door and tell you what your are.
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  You know, you do have an option.
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  When you get your car repossessed, you can call the bank and try to make some arrangements, so
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  you have ten days.
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  So we wanna educate the people.
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  After, you know, we're there, we have to take your car.
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  But here's your options.
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  Here's what you can do, then give them a card for AngelCard and and, you know, lead them to
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  the resources that they're gonna need, to to continue through this, you know, tragedy,
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  really.
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  No.
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  Yeah.
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  Incredible stuff you're doing, Michael.
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  Really appreciate all the work that you're doing out there in the world, and, my gears are
• 12:00
  already turning trying to find ways that, we can help not just to bring awareness to your
• 12:04
  organization, but how we can maybe help you do some fundraising out there in the wide world as
• 12:09
  well.
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  I have a band of my own.
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  I obviously have the podcast.
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  We just won content creator of the year at the MCMO.
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  Congratulations.
• 12:17
  Yes.
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  Thank you, sir.
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  Thank you.
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  Well, content is what we do.
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  I fell into it.
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  Be I was a member of the org as an artist.
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  And I realized, you know, releasing music last year that, like, the one thing we're all
• 12:29
  missing is someone to make us famous.
• 12:31
  Right.
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  Because attention is spread out so far over, you know, the Internet and not everyone's gonna
• 12:36
  make Rolling Stone, not everybody's gonna make it onto MTV if if they even have music anymore,
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  I wouldn't know.
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  But so I wanted to create my own thing that, you know, I grew up as a big fan of, you know,
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  reading Rolling Stone for a rural South Dakota kid every month.
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  That was my tap into the entertainment business.
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  So in some ways, I'm kinda carrying that tradition, but bringing it to all of these
• 13:01
  wonderful artists that we know, across the Midwest and maybe changing their dreams from
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  going and toiling in Nashville to kind of be turned away and turned down all the time to
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  being accepted into our own organizations.
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  I also have the Midwest original music organization, which was more just to encompass
• 13:21
  more artists.
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  Right?
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  A lot of my friends aren't in country music.
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  They're in hip hop or rock and Right.
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  And wouldn't necessarily fall under that country music label.
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  So just continuing to expand on a great idea by PT and, you know, the board obviously there
• 13:37
  does a does a great thing.
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  I'm more interested in educating and empowering.
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  And it seems like a lot of what you're doing with Angel Cars in the same respect, is is how
• 13:47
  do we get artists, you know, how do we get more full time artists?
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  And for me, it was develop a brand, develop a show.
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  Right?
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  Bring that up there, raise that vibration, and then use that show to start plugging all of
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  these other people in.
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  And that is, we're in phase two now, I would say.
• 14:06
  Yeah.
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  Absolutely.
• 14:07
  You know, I totally agree.
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  You know, I I think most of the artists that are out there that really put their heart and
• 14:12
  soul into this, they know what music does for their audience.
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  I mean, think about that.
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  A lot of artists like to play.
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  They like to get out there and jam and be on stage and and be that rock star.
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  A lot
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  parking lot.
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  Wherever.
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  Or in the parking lot.
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  But they also, you know, realize that us as fans, you know, it helps us.
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  It it helps us through the day.
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  Music is is just the it's the road to the soul.
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  Right?
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  It's it's gives you that piece where you can just tune everything else out in life and and
• 14:43
  really enjoy the the performers on stage and the music and the and the beat of that drum.
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  And that's what it is for me.
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  That's why I fell in love with music, especially after my accident.
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  It just helped me to slow down and to and to just really get back into, know, the seventies,
• 14:58
  the eighties, whatever, you know, genre you're into, but to enjoy that piece of the day.
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  You know?
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  So artists are really important to me.
• 15:07
  They they do a great job on, you know, what they do in building their brand and especially
• 15:12
  here in Wisconsin.
• 15:15
  Well, Michael, I appreciate your time today.
• 15:17
  Thank you.
• 15:17
  I know you're a busy man, so kinda last minute pop on and and and get some
• 15:22
  I appreciate you reaching out and talking about Coach and and giving us opportunity to get
• 15:27
  there and and let people know that our services are needed, you know, that we really need.
• 15:32
  Even music musicians, they need their cars fixed cheap, and they need to be able to get to
• 15:36
  their gigs.
• 15:37
  Right?
• 15:37
  So whatever you can do to donate to Angel Cars, you know, we'll put a a link in the comment
• 15:43
  section.
• 15:43
  And, again, thank you for this opportunity.
• 15:45
  Appreciate your time.
• 15:46
  And congratulations again on their amazing award.
• 15:49
  Well, thank you very much for that.
• 15:50
  I appreciate it.
• 15:51
  And, yeah, everyone make sure you're going out, checking out angelcars.org.
• 15:56
  Make the decision to donate today, and, keep your eyes peeled for some collaborations with
• 16:00
  the Scene Projects and Angel Cars coming soon.
• 16:02
  Absolutely.
• 16:03
  Thank you, and god bless.
• 16:04
  Have a great day.
• 16:05
  Michael, thanks for being part of the Scene.
• 16:07
  Thank you, Moe.
• 16:08
  Bye now.