MISSION, MUSIC, MOBILITY Billy Brimblecom

[00:00:00] On this episode of the AMPD UP211 Podcast, we're sitting down with the incredibly inspiring Billy Brimblecom.

[00:00:06] Billy is not only a lifelong musician and the CEO of Steps of Faith, but he's also the co-creator of Thundergong,

[00:00:15] an annual rock and roll comedy benefit alongside his good friend Jason Sudeikis.

[00:00:21] After losing his leg to cancer at 28, Billy fought back, continuing to rock out on the drums

[00:00:27] while dedicating his life to helping others regain mobility and independence.

[00:00:42] Billy Brimblecom is here today, my friend, how are you?

[00:00:47] I'm all right, man. Long time coming.

[00:00:49] Yes, sir. We've been chatting back and forth.

[00:00:54] Yes.

[00:00:54] But here we are, and I just want to smash that Thundergong, my friend.

[00:01:02] Yeah, yeah. It's what you do.

[00:01:08] I'm excited, man. I was, of course, following you online, as I do, and it sounds like we're sold out for November.

[00:01:20] Yeah, it's crazy.

[00:01:22] Even last year, we had people from literally all over the world, Australia, UK, Armenia, here with us in Kansas City.

[00:01:33] But it didn't sell out until like two weeks beforehand.

[00:01:37] Got it.

[00:01:38] And then this year, we've sold out two months before, and usually we would put tickets on sale like around now, about two months out.

[00:01:46] Yeah.

[00:01:47] And we put them on sale three months out.

[00:01:50] Yeah, and sold out faster than ever and haven't even really announced that many folks yet.

[00:01:54] So that's good.

[00:01:56] Well, congratulations. I do want to do a deeper dive into Thundergong, its history, Jason Sudeikis, all of that really cool kind of synergy that's been going on for years now.

[00:02:11] I was getting super excited.

[00:02:14] When I was doing show prep, I was watching some of the interviews that you and Jason did, and it just got me really, really excited about what you bring to this community.

[00:02:24] It's an extraordinary endeavor.

[00:02:28] And the thing I think that really inspired me, there was this video that you did, and I think you were speaking somewhere.

[00:02:36] And you were talking about your musical history and all that stuff, which is fascinating to me as a drummer.

[00:02:42] But you sort of funneled it all down to this, which was, here I am doing what I love, drumming, playing rock star, and I get to help this community that I'm a part of.

[00:03:00] And I get to do it with all these really, really cool people.

[00:03:04] And I thought, man, that's just got to be like magical moment type of stuff where you're thinking, this thing that happened to me, right?

[00:03:16] Losing a limb sort of set me in this place.

[00:03:20] It put me here.

[00:03:22] And I embraced it.

[00:03:24] And look what I've been able to get out of it.

[00:03:28] But if you want to call it an ROI, the return on this investment of pain and suffering has been pretty extraordinary, wouldn't you say?

[00:03:42] Yeah.

[00:03:42] I mean, yeah.

[00:03:43] You know, yeah, that was probably from a – I've shared that sentiment when I've done – when I do speaking things and whatnot.

[00:03:53] And I think a lot of that is kind of like – I mean, I could say a lot about that.

[00:03:59] But yeah, I'm really, really lucky.

[00:04:02] And also some of it is kind of like – how can I word this?

[00:04:09] Naivete as a weapon.

[00:04:11] You know, I don't have a nonprofit management degree or something.

[00:04:19] So what we have built and made is just in the – we've done it in the way that comes most naturally to us.

[00:04:29] You know, like I always say, even when it comes to the fundraiser, you know, golf tournaments, galas, and 5Ks are very tried and true fundraising techniques.

[00:04:39] That's why people do them over and over and over again.

[00:04:42] I don't know how to do those things.

[00:04:43] I've tried.

[00:04:44] But I do know how to put on a concert and a comedy show.

[00:04:47] And that's what we do with Thundergong.

[00:04:49] So really, even the whole organization – I mean, it's – again, not having – I don't have a degree in anything.

[00:04:55] I went to college to study jazz music, you know, and did not graduate because I joined a rock band and then was already playing professionally, you know.

[00:05:06] So really, even the way I view, you know, how I run Steps of Faith is kind of like a band, you know.

[00:05:16] I mean, it's very much an artistic endeavor just because it's the way I have done business since I was 11 years old, you know, as a musician, which, you know, it's kind of funny because this isn't this way in other parts of the world.

[00:05:30] But like in America, there's kind of like the, you know, the incorrect stereotype, at least for the most part, that like musicians are like dumb degenerates, you know.

[00:05:41] And in a lot of other parts of the world, you know, musicians are celebrated, like the government pays for your tour bus, kind of things like that.

[00:05:47] I mean, even in Canada, you know, that's a thing.

[00:05:50] But, you know, I realized, you know, I have transferable skills, you know.

[00:05:58] And as a musician, I have been, you know, booking – playing and booking my own shows, even if it was a grade school talent show, since I was 11 years old.

[00:06:06] You know, I was playing in clubs from the time I was 16, you know.

[00:06:12] So anyway, yes.

[00:06:13] A lot of it is just not knowing better.

[00:06:15] Yeah, and very much building, you know, somewhat of a managerial skill set and maybe not even necessarily making that connection.

[00:06:26] But I will tell you this, as someone who runs a company myself, I find when I'm recruiting, some of the most valuable people or what turn out to be the most valuable people are creatively minded.

[00:06:41] Because one of the things I always ask is, what are your hobbies?

[00:06:46] What do you do?

[00:06:47] Like, what's your free time like?

[00:06:50] And when someone says, oh, I love painting with watercolor, I go, oh, that's interesting.

[00:06:58] Or I'm a musician.

[00:07:01] I say, oh, that's interesting.

[00:07:04] And this may have nothing to do, even in the slightest regard, to what I'm hiring them for.

[00:07:11] But I think I need that type of mind.

[00:07:15] I need someone that can play in that creative space and gets excited about what we would call, you know, when you talk about booking shows and, you know, creating captivating events.

[00:07:30] Someone who has that, you know, kind of creative monster that they want to feed.

[00:07:36] And it's this insatiable appetite to create things from nothing.

[00:07:41] And so often, my best people are creatives.

[00:07:47] They're just some of my best salespeople are creatives.

[00:07:51] Some of my best, you know, plant foremen are creatives.

[00:07:54] And I say to anyone in education, man, those programs are so important.

[00:08:02] Like, make sure that we don't lose that.

[00:08:06] Make sure that kids still have an opportunity to explore an instrument or to paint or to do something with creative writing.

[00:08:16] Something where they're using their imagination because so much of, you know, that part of your skill set I feel like is important.

[00:08:26] And when I started researching deeper, because I've always followed you, as you're well aware, I was like three months into the podcast.

[00:08:36] I'm like, hey, Billy, come on.

[00:08:40] You're like, yeah.

[00:08:41] It's another amputee drummer.

[00:08:42] You're like, yeah, keep chasing, man.

[00:08:45] We'll get it on.

[00:08:47] We'll get it on.

[00:08:47] Just keep chasing.

[00:08:48] It's cool.

[00:08:49] It's cool.

[00:08:50] It's going to happen.

[00:08:50] Yeah.

[00:08:52] Yeah.

[00:08:53] I, you know, went a little bit deeper into your musical background.

[00:09:00] And I, you know, the similarities between us, and this may just be common of most drummers, the way we end up in these garage bands.

[00:09:11] And we're running around with demo tapes and we're, you know, we're playing in clubs and bars underage.

[00:09:17] And, you know, we're waiting in the alleyway because we can't be in the venue until we actually perform, you know, stuff like that.

[00:09:26] And does one of you guys have your dad here?

[00:09:29] Is that your dad?

[00:09:30] Yeah, that's my dad.

[00:09:30] Okay, you can stay in here, but you're going on first and then have to immediately leave afterwards.

[00:09:36] Exactly.

[00:09:36] Yes.

[00:09:37] Exactly.

[00:09:37] And I was also very fortunate, too, that I had a pretty good group of friends that were 21 and up, even when I was like 15 and 16.

[00:09:47] So I was like, hey, Luke, you got to come along because we need someone who's, you know, legal that can actually escort us in and out of this building.

[00:09:58] So there's so many, you know, touch points where I thought, gosh, you know, so much of our stories are similar.

[00:10:09] You know, you, I believe you, you started playing, what was it, 11, 12, something in that area?

[00:10:18] 11.

[00:10:18] Okay.

[00:10:19] 1988.

[00:10:20] Yeah.

[00:10:21] And, you know, just like yourself, you know, my father bought me my first drum set.

[00:10:27] I mean, I had that toy drum set at five, you know, with the paper drum heads, you know?

[00:10:32] Yeah.

[00:10:32] But I think I lost the sticks and like put spoons through it at some point.

[00:10:38] And then we just got rid of that.

[00:10:40] But, you know, being a musician has always been a critical piece of my life and wanting to still, you know, even at the age that I'm at now, certainly not go on the road and live that lifestyle.

[00:10:59] But wanting to feel that energy, experience that live connection, even if for just a few nights a year.

[00:11:09] And sort of, you know, revisit that nostalgic energy of playing live, feeling that, you know, that swell, that power of being behind a drum kit and doing all of that is still, you know, very, very important to me.

[00:11:28] And not that I want to do it every weekend and not that I want to, you know, drive around, you know, in a dirty van with my gear anymore.

[00:11:38] But having an opportunity to share music with others and do it in a way that, you know, can be purposeful and to the betterment of a community, I think is wonderful.

[00:11:55] And I'm only jealous that I will not be there in November, but it's something that I definitely want to attend at some point.

[00:12:04] So I'm hoping that this is not the last year.

[00:12:11] I hope so, too.

[00:12:12] Yeah.

[00:12:14] And I have a hell of a lot of respect for you, given that I think you said it in an interview as well.

[00:12:21] You know, nonprofit or not, you got to run the business.

[00:12:25] It's a business.

[00:12:27] Oh, yeah.

[00:12:28] And there's many components to that.

[00:12:31] And I very much appreciate your no-nonsense attitude when it comes to fundraising, because I have met a lot of people in the fundraising space.

[00:12:43] And they're kind of passive in that regard, where they're, you know, they don't really say, hey, we need some money.

[00:12:53] Like, if this is going to work, we need money.

[00:12:56] We need donations.

[00:12:58] And I appreciate how you come at that sort of head on.

[00:13:03] Like, if we're going to get the help that people need and meet the mission statement of what we're trying to do, we need help.

[00:13:13] And it's a bold way to go about it.

[00:13:16] And I have a tremendous amount of respect for the way in which you approach it.

[00:13:22] Because very often, it's sort of like this, we sort of hope and pray that we're going to get those returns.

[00:13:30] But no one ever really says the words.

[00:13:33] And I'm like, put it out.

[00:13:34] Put it out there.

[00:13:36] Like, hey, man, no donation is too small.

[00:13:41] However, we'll take the big ones too.

[00:13:44] Bring it.

[00:13:45] Because we've got a mission and we're trying to help people.

[00:13:50] So, you know, congrats again, selling out Thundergong.

[00:13:55] I want to talk a little bit more about your amputation and the extraordinary sort of circumstances for people that don't know, you know, how all that came about.

[00:14:07] You were in the midst of a very blossoming, even you could argue thriving, you know, musical career.

[00:14:20] And I believe it was 05, correct?

[00:14:23] That a lot of things changed for you.

[00:14:26] Why don't you roll us through that?

[00:14:27] And, you know, your story is out there.

[00:14:29] But, you know, for our listeners' benefit, I think it would be great coming from you.

[00:14:35] Yeah.

[00:14:36] Yeah.

[00:14:37] Yeah, no, thanks for saying all that.

[00:14:40] Yeah, I mean, to the fundraising thing, just really quick, it's like, it's kind of like drumming.

[00:14:48] Just be intentional.

[00:14:50] What are we doing?

[00:14:52] Yep.

[00:14:53] Boom, chick.

[00:14:54] Yep.

[00:14:54] You know?

[00:14:55] Yep.

[00:14:55] At church the other day and this guy's playing a cajon like he's afraid of it, like he's going to upset it.

[00:15:00] There's a low sound, there's a high sound.

[00:15:02] Hit them.

[00:15:04] Like, let the sound guy do his job.

[00:15:06] You can punt, you could hit that with a baseball bat.

[00:15:09] It's not going to be that loud.

[00:15:10] Yeah.

[00:15:10] Anyway, but it's the same kind of thing.

[00:15:12] It's just like I learned the hard way of the soft ask or not making an ask at all.

[00:15:18] Yeah.

[00:15:18] And you don't give money.

[00:15:19] You know, sometimes you got to be.

[00:15:22] You can be clear and not beat people over the head with it, you know?

[00:15:26] So, yes.

[00:15:28] Anyway, losing my leg.

[00:15:30] Yeah.

[00:15:30] So, 1999, I was in this really terrible car accident caused by the snow on the highway.

[00:15:43] And, you know, slipping and sliding and slamming the brakes.

[00:15:47] And then the momentum, you know, car starts sliding.

[00:15:51] And anyway, the jaws of life were used.

[00:15:54] They're a real thing, jaws of life.

[00:15:56] They cut the top of my pickup truck off.

[00:15:59] Had to use the jaws of life.

[00:16:00] It was all smashed basically against me.

[00:16:04] And, excuse me.

[00:16:05] So, that was, you know, cheating death.

[00:16:08] The first time, you know, I broke my back to an extent.

[00:16:12] I had compression fracture on a few vertebrae and all sorts of other little ancillary injuries.

[00:16:17] A bunch of glass in my hands.

[00:16:19] It was awful.

[00:16:20] Later that summer, it was in February.

[00:16:24] So, it was snowy.

[00:16:25] Later that summer, in the middle of the night, my left ankle started hurting really bad.

[00:16:28] Woke me up.

[00:16:29] And it hurt bad and slept like crap for three nights.

[00:16:32] And then went away and didn't hurt for three months or more.

[00:16:37] Long story short, I had it looked at a time or two.

[00:16:41] Didn't know what was happening.

[00:16:43] Eventually, we determined it was, you know, unofficially.

[00:16:47] Something related to that accident.

[00:16:49] And it was some sort of undiagnosed trauma and some sort of, we thought, nerve damage that had resulted from that accident.

[00:16:59] So, then basically, it started happening more often.

[00:17:04] Hurting worse.

[00:17:05] You know, hurting longer.

[00:17:07] Hurting worse.

[00:17:07] So, finally, at the beginning of 2005, when it had been getting really bad, I went to a neurologist to have the nerve damage checked out.

[00:17:17] He said, this is not a neurological issue.

[00:17:19] And I was like, this guy's full of crap.

[00:17:20] And was like mad.

[00:17:23] And then we went and got an ultrasound.

[00:17:25] And then my doctor was like, you have something that's the size of a large apple in your ankle.

[00:17:29] And I was like, what?

[00:17:31] And then, you know, he's not supposed to say this.

[00:17:34] And I saw him years later.

[00:17:37] And he was like, I did something very, very wrong.

[00:17:40] But I actually, he did me a favor.

[00:17:42] Because he, not supposed to say it or not.

[00:17:46] He said it.

[00:17:46] And what it did was, was he, I didn't start freaking out earlier than I needed to.

[00:17:54] Or, or really, what I'm saying is, he said, you have something the size of a large apple in your ankle.

[00:17:59] But don't worry, if you've had this pain for six years, it's nothing that's going to kill you.

[00:18:04] So, it was something that was very much, I didn't, I later learned I didn't have cancer for those six years.

[00:18:11] Because I wouldn't, I would have been dead a couple times over.

[00:18:14] But yeah, so I had, and from there, it was just test, test, test.

[00:18:18] You know, biopsy, there's some sort of cancer.

[00:18:20] Seven days later, okay, we thought it was lymphoma.

[00:18:22] We wish it was lymphoma.

[00:18:24] It's actually this thing called Ewing sarcoma.

[00:18:26] You definitely have not had Ewing sarcoma since 1999.

[00:18:31] So, but whatever, there was something going on there.

[00:18:34] And then the cancer set up shop in that undiagnosed trauma.

[00:18:37] Anyway, so that was kind of the path to figuring out what the heck was going on.

[00:18:42] And yeah, and so when I learned all that, I had learned,

[00:18:49] before we knew exactly the diagnosis of Ewing sarcoma,

[00:18:52] my orthopedist, Dr. Howard Rosenthal, who, you know, spoiler alert, I survived.

[00:18:58] So, and that's because of him.

[00:19:00] And my oncologist, Dr. Myron, Dr. Mark Myron, who's retired and living it up, hopefully.

[00:19:06] But, you know, he said, okay, here's all the things that we think this could be.

[00:19:12] And okay, so it could be this.

[00:19:14] If it's this, here's what the protocol will be.

[00:19:17] Um, and they had said, if it is a sarcoma, you have to remove the sarcoma and then everything

[00:19:21] that it is touching.

[00:19:23] And I was like, so, and kind of thinking, well, it's touching everything.

[00:19:27] And then he said, the only reason you would lose your leg would be to save your life.

[00:19:30] So we still weren't, even when I was diagnosed, we still weren't a hundred percent sure that

[00:19:34] I was going to lose my leg.

[00:19:35] There was a few limb salvage, um, options.

[00:19:37] All of them required a very gnarly surgery.

[00:19:41] Yeah.

[00:19:42] Um, but yeah, so, um, got into chemo, uh, right away after a bunch of other tests to make sure

[00:19:49] it hadn't spread anywhere else.

[00:19:50] Thank God it had not.

[00:19:53] Um, and, uh, yeah, um, basically long story long at this point was that was kind of like

[00:19:58] beginning of the year, got into chemo right away, like around St. Patrick's day.

[00:20:01] Um, learned I was going to lose my leg like over the summer, like, um, in like July and

[00:20:07] then August 4th, 2005 was my surgery and then remained and got back into chemo and did that

[00:20:13] till like the beginning of December of 05.

[00:20:15] So it was quite the year.

[00:20:17] So given, given that this was, uh, in your ankle, was it more of a, an exercise in managing

[00:20:25] the margin that you went up, uh, above the knee?

[00:20:29] Was it just making sure?

[00:20:30] Because someone would say, well, gosh, you know, they took that much.

[00:20:34] But from what I know about cancer, it's this, it's this odds kind of thing where you're like,

[00:20:40] Hey, we got to be really far away from this to make sure that nothing has traveled to that

[00:20:49] part of your body.

[00:20:50] Um, so I'm assuming that was how it was explained to you.

[00:20:55] Yeah.

[00:20:56] Yeah.

[00:20:56] It was like my dad last summer had like a little skin cancer thing on his back.

[00:21:00] Oh, it's the bad skin cancer.

[00:21:01] But like, and it was like a pin, like the size of like a pin head, but they took like

[00:21:05] the size of like a penny, you know, or maybe even a quarter, right?

[00:21:09] Like real big, you know?

[00:21:10] So yeah, it's margins.

[00:21:12] That's the word they use.

[00:21:13] Right.

[00:21:13] So it was, it was, it was, it was in my ankle, you know, I'm not that tall of a guy.

[00:21:18] So it's not that long of an ankle five, eight and a half.

[00:21:21] Um, but, uh, not that long of an ankle to begin with.

[00:21:25] But, but also at that point it was, it, it was big enough and high enough up on my ankle

[00:21:32] that had they taken it, I'd have been like, maybe need this our tick if we're going to

[00:21:36] really get in the weeds, amputee language.

[00:21:38] That's what this podcast is about, I suppose.

[00:21:40] Uh, but, and so it really was kind of like, we're going to take it.

[00:21:45] And it's my, and my opinion is right above the knee, three inches above the knee.

[00:21:49] So, um, I can be, uh, a difficult fit, you know, but fortunately, um, you know, other

[00:21:56] than one time, um, I've had really excellent processes.

[00:21:59] So, um, but yeah, so it was a matter of margins, but also it's like, okay, yeah, my, I could

[00:22:05] have maybe been a knee disheartedly margin wise, but like, let's go right above.

[00:22:08] And then, so I have, while I don't have my knee, you know, I don't, there are, um, you

[00:22:18] know, AKs that are in way better shape than I am, for instance, that limp harder.

[00:22:24] And that's just based on where their amputation is versus mine.

[00:22:28] You know what I mean?

[00:22:29] I'm again, I'm not super tall.

[00:22:30] It's right above the knee.

[00:22:32] So, you know, I limp, but it's, it, it's not extreme.

[00:22:37] You know, some days are worse than others, but yeah.

[00:22:40] Yeah.

[00:22:41] No, I, I, I would think, um, you had just because you're right above the knee, you've got still

[00:22:48] a pretty decent amount of residual limb because I've seen AKs that it's, I mean, it goes pretty

[00:22:55] high and I would think that that presents, you know, its own spectrum of problems, issues,

[00:23:02] things like that.

[00:23:04] And, um, from what I had read too, given you were, uh, and you can clear this up for me,

[00:23:12] given that you were sort of in the midst of either touring or you're recording an album,

[00:23:16] you were, you were, you were kind of, you know, they, they, the group that you were with

[00:23:23] had found a substitute drummer, but then you kind of quickly kind of jumped right back

[00:23:29] on the drum throne.

[00:23:31] And, uh, it would appear to me, at least on paper, it was pretty, pretty fast that you

[00:23:37] were sort of like back in action.

[00:23:40] Yeah.

[00:23:41] It's funny.

[00:23:41] Cause like at the time it felt like forever, but in ret, in retrospect, it was pretty fast.

[00:23:48] And I, and I think in particular, since I know the stories of, you know, I don't even

[00:23:56] know what it is now, 1500 amputees that we've helped or whatever with steps of faith.

[00:24:01] It's like, Oh, that's very fast.

[00:24:02] You know what I mean?

[00:24:03] Especially comparatively.

[00:24:05] You know what I mean?

[00:24:06] So, so yeah, no, we, we, we were, the band was pretty fast.

[00:24:10] We knew we had all this promise.

[00:24:11] We were, we were going to make a record and all that played our first show.

[00:24:15] I think I'd started the testing in that around that time, a week after the first show we played,

[00:24:20] um, in early 2005, that's when I was diagnosed.

[00:24:23] So then we were like, okay.

[00:24:25] And then we kind of figured out, you know, the first time I meet after I do all the tests

[00:24:28] and find out where it is, it's not spread and all that kind of stuff.

[00:24:31] And to meet with the oncologist, then it's kind of like getting the prison sentence.

[00:24:34] Like here's the, what the next several months and next year is going to look like.

[00:24:38] And then after that, my band and I, we had a meeting and then was like, well, let's just,

[00:24:41] we don't know what's going to happen with me.

[00:24:44] Yeah.

[00:24:45] So let's get in and make the record.

[00:24:47] So we recorded the record drums first, 14 songs, two days.

[00:24:52] Um, you know, big, cool rock record, Blackpool lights, one, two words, Blackpool lights,

[00:24:59] wherever you stream your music.

[00:25:01] Um, and Spotify and, uh, yes, Spotify, I'm a Spotify man.

[00:25:07] Uh, yes.

[00:25:08] So, um, but no, we, we, yeah.

[00:25:11] And then actually the band left, like it was either, I think it was the day, the day before

[00:25:17] or the day of my surgery or whatever, you know, with my blessing.

[00:25:20] And I helped do this to, to do a tour, a couple of tours to kind of start setting up

[00:25:25] the record with a sub drummer.

[00:25:27] And then, so that was in August.

[00:25:29] And then the, uh, we had been doing this annual Thanksgiving show playing on Thanksgiving night.

[00:25:36] So Thanksgiving night that year, some towards the end of chemo, I lost my leg.

[00:25:41] Um, we did what my girlfriend at the time referred to as my wife now as, uh, um, passing the torch

[00:25:49] back to its rightful owner.

[00:25:51] I got up and played the last song, the, played the last song of the night.

[00:25:55] How did that go?

[00:25:56] I barely got through the song.

[00:25:57] Yeah.

[00:25:57] I mean, it, it, it, great, but I was really, it, I've seen it back.

[00:26:03] It, it was good, but it, but it was hard internally to make it happen.

[00:26:07] I just was so weak and depleted and all that.

[00:26:10] But yeah, then, I mean, I had been practicing, I'd practiced the song with the band.

[00:26:13] I'd, I'd had a drum kit set up in my apartment and had been playing, you know, all the whole

[00:26:18] time.

[00:26:19] Yeah.

[00:26:19] But yeah, we were back on the road.

[00:26:20] Um, I could barely walk.

[00:26:22] Um, just had a real basic hydraulic knee that had the frigging and skin fit suction, but just

[00:26:28] with socks and no liner and had the belt, you know, just cause my weight was all over

[00:26:34] the place.

[00:26:34] But, but we were on the road in March of 06.

[00:26:37] So, um, yeah.

[00:26:39] That's pretty quick.

[00:26:40] It's pretty quick turnaround.

[00:26:41] Yeah.

[00:26:42] Now, now I would think, you know, being a drummer myself, I would think relative to,

[00:26:48] and not that I'm in any way, you know, saying you're lucky.

[00:26:53] I mean, limb loss is not a, a lucky feeling.

[00:26:57] However.

[00:26:58] Sure.

[00:26:58] Um, relative to what you could have lost as a drummer, um, being a right-handed player,

[00:27:06] uh, I would think your, your left leg would be the limb of choice.

[00:27:13] I mean, wouldn't you say?

[00:27:15] Oh yeah.

[00:27:16] Oh yeah.

[00:27:16] No, I'm very lucky.

[00:27:18] You, you, you, you, you can not say I'm lucky.

[00:27:20] I can, uh, you can say whatever you want, but I will say, I will definitely say I'm

[00:27:25] lucky, you know?

[00:27:26] And it just is kind of like, it's ordained and meant to be, you know what I mean?

[00:27:29] It's like music is like a, a, a necessary element in life for me.

[00:27:37] Um, and, um, like I said, you know, it's like how I do business.

[00:27:42] It's kind of, it's how I do relationships.

[00:27:43] It's how I do life.

[00:27:44] It's really like a lens that I'm wearing a fricking police t-shirt and have a Led Zeppelin

[00:27:50] tattoo.

[00:27:51] You know what I mean?

[00:27:51] And I didn't think, I didn't think about, I'm going to wear this shirt for this podcast.

[00:27:55] I actually was on my way and I was like, Oh, what am I wearing?

[00:27:59] I don't know.

[00:28:00] I'm like, Oh, this is good.

[00:28:02] Yeah.

[00:28:02] This is me.

[00:28:03] You know?

[00:28:04] So it's just a part of who I am.

[00:28:07] Yeah.

[00:28:07] You know?

[00:28:07] So, so, I mean, as far as, yeah, I'm still able to, you know, I had to been a good, had

[00:28:12] I been a guitar player that jumped around a bunch, I wouldn't have been able to jump around

[00:28:17] a bunch, but I still wouldn't have been able to play guitar, but it would have been hard

[00:28:19] as hell to, to make it through it.

[00:28:21] Honestly, to make it through a set in March of 06.

[00:28:27] Yeah.

[00:28:27] Standing up.

[00:28:27] Standing up the whole time.

[00:28:29] Absolutely.

[00:28:29] Or 45 minutes or whatever.

[00:28:31] So I was like, you know, just, I said, you sit down and play the drums.

[00:28:35] I mean, I couldn't, I couldn't load in my own gear barely, you know, I could barely walk,

[00:28:39] but, but I, but I also, the best phys, I did some physical therapy, which is really, really

[00:28:44] helpful after losing my leg.

[00:28:45] But the best physical therapy.

[00:28:47] occupational therapy was, albeit very dangerous.

[00:28:53] I was going on tour.

[00:28:55] Yeah.

[00:28:56] Yeah.

[00:28:56] You're in a new city.

[00:29:26] You're in a new city with new terrain.

[00:29:26] And, and, and, and, you know, I stumble all the time.

[00:29:28] But, but yeah, no.

[00:29:29] So that was really, I really feel like it helped me learn to walk better, faster doing, you know,

[00:29:36] that three and a half week tour or whatever it was.

[00:29:39] So I think you're right.

[00:29:40] I think when you're forced into that space, the, the, the thing I'm thankful for, I mean,

[00:29:44] I lost my right leg.

[00:29:46] So adapting to a kick drum was a, it was a journey, but I'm very thankful that I didn't

[00:29:52] lose, you know, my hand, you know, or my hands.

[00:29:57] Um, I often think, uh, cause someone will say to me, you know, what would you, what would

[00:30:02] you have rather lost?

[00:30:04] And I'm like leg all the way.

[00:30:06] Like if I lost my hands, I mean, I do everything with my hands and you know, my heart, my heart

[00:30:13] goes out to those amputees where they have to learn how to adapt in that regard.

[00:30:18] So, um, do you know, uh, do you know Jason Barnes?

[00:30:21] No.

[00:30:22] Have you interviewed him?

[00:30:23] No.

[00:30:23] He's a friend of mine.

[00:30:25] He does Thundergong with us most of the time.

[00:30:27] Yeah.

[00:30:27] Um, and he lost his right arm below the elbow in an electrical accident.

[00:30:32] Wow.

[00:30:33] Um, and he is a fantastic drummer.

[00:30:36] Really?

[00:30:37] Fantastic drummer.

[00:30:38] I put, I put that guy to work.

[00:30:39] We opened the first Thundergong show, three drum sets on stage.

[00:30:43] Awesome.

[00:30:44] Um, all amputee drummers, me, Cactus Mosier, my friend and board member, and one of my favorite

[00:30:49] people in the world, who's also a left leg AK drummer.

[00:30:53] He's very tall and has a higher up amputation.

[00:30:56] Okay.

[00:30:56] Um, husband, husband, drummer, band leader, producer to Wynonna Judd.

[00:31:00] Um, and then, and then Jason Barnes and we were doing, uh, Sudeikis was singing, uh,

[00:31:04] in the air tonight.

[00:31:05] Yeah.

[00:31:06] So two, three APT drummers, boom.

[00:31:09] And Barnes.

[00:31:10] Yeah.

[00:31:10] And then the next song he played was frigging war pigs by black Sabbath and like nailed it.

[00:31:16] Yeah.

[00:31:16] He has this amazing prosthesis that, that has been made for drumming.

[00:31:19] And then he, and then he worked with Google and these other folks and, um, some, some people

[00:31:24] at Georgia tech and, and, um, you know, made this and create, you should interview him.

[00:31:28] I can introduce you guys.

[00:31:29] I mean, he, he's, he's remarkable.

[00:31:30] He's, he's a great friend.

[00:31:31] He's a bro, but made this insane drumming hand that he helped design to make it kind of

[00:31:37] feel more natural.

[00:31:38] And this, you know, and I've seen it in action.

[00:31:40] He's incredible.

[00:31:41] That's awesome.

[00:31:41] The good news is we didn't get to decide, you know what I mean?

[00:31:45] And that's the whole thing.

[00:31:46] It's like the, the what if I mean, but, but yes, you know, I feel very lucky and you know,

[00:31:51] I bet he would probably say the same.

[00:31:53] Yeah.

[00:31:53] He would probably be like, again, I'm not going to speak for him, but he might be like,

[00:31:57] oh yeah, thank God I got my kick drum leg.

[00:31:59] Yeah.

[00:31:59] I don't know.

[00:32:00] Yeah.

[00:32:00] But, um, the point is, you know, moving forward and adapting, which you and I have done

[00:32:04] and he has very much done as well.

[00:32:06] So, yeah.

[00:32:07] Yeah.

[00:32:07] It's funny because, you know, when I hear you talk about how passionate you are about playing

[00:32:11] and having that experience, when I was post-op, I was so, so incredibly desperate to play,

[00:32:21] hadn't even been fitted with a prosthesis yet.

[00:32:24] So the thought was, well, you know, how do I practice?

[00:32:29] I mean, I, I have no way to play.

[00:32:33] And, and then I thought, well, no, you do, you have a left leg.

[00:32:37] So I set up a remote pedal and, you know, still playing a right-handed kit, but had a left pedal,

[00:32:46] closed my hi-hat.

[00:32:48] And I learned for six months how to play drums, um, not completely in reverse, but everything

[00:32:58] that I had wired myself to know with my right foot, I was now doing with my left foot.

[00:33:05] And believe it or not, and you can relate because you're a drummer, this is kind of like

[00:33:09] drummer nerd stuff.

[00:33:11] Everything is about independence, right?

[00:33:13] How do we get all our limbs to be able to do, how do I get my right hand to do what my

[00:33:19] left hand does?

[00:33:20] Or how do I get my left, my left foot to do what my right foot does?

[00:33:23] And it really was an exercise for me in independence.

[00:33:27] And it very much developed my, my ear and my ability to get a lot more proficient with my

[00:33:36] left foot, not even, you know, and once I was in a prosthesis, I'm like, damn, I'm,

[00:33:41] I'm ready to go and, you know, get, get back to business the way I'm used to playing.

[00:33:46] But it's, it's that desire.

[00:33:48] And like you said, echoing what you were talking about with putting yourself in that situation

[00:33:56] where I've got to make this work somehow.

[00:34:00] I'm touring.

[00:34:01] I, I have to learn how to navigate these spaces.

[00:34:05] I have to learn how to adapt, not even in an overall sense, but on a daily basis, because

[00:34:12] I'm in these different venues, I'm in these different situations, I gotta be very, very

[00:34:19] flexible in the way that I approach dealing with new environments, right?

[00:34:25] One of the first performances I ever did as an amputee drummer, Billy, I swear, I was like,

[00:34:31] I don't think I can get up on that drum riser.

[00:34:35] Yeah.

[00:34:36] Yeah.

[00:34:37] And, you know, when you're able bodied, you just jump right up there.

[00:34:42] It's, it's nothing.

[00:34:43] Right.

[00:34:44] You know, I'll just hoist myself right up there.

[00:34:45] Yeah.

[00:34:46] And then I thought, I don't, I think I need like maybe a little baby step to get up there,

[00:34:52] you know?

[00:34:53] Yeah.

[00:34:54] But those are the things that we don't think about until we're thrust into that situation.

[00:34:59] And I do, you know, I do recall bringing like a little aerobic step everywhere I went.

[00:35:06] Cause I thought, well, this is my little, my little helper, my little helper step if I need it.

[00:35:12] Totally.

[00:35:12] Yeah.

[00:35:13] Yes.

[00:35:13] And there's no shame in that.

[00:35:15] Yes.

[00:35:15] Hey man, I don't want to fall.

[00:35:17] I certainly don't want to create one of those really cool viral reels of a drummer, like falling

[00:35:22] all over his drum set, you know?

[00:35:25] There's some good ones.

[00:35:26] There's some good ones.

[00:35:27] Yeah.

[00:35:27] You don't want to be one, but yeah.

[00:35:29] Exactly.

[00:35:29] You want to watch him.

[00:35:30] Exactly.

[00:35:31] Yeah.

[00:35:31] But, um, yeah, no, I, I, I appreciate that sentiment.

[00:35:35] Can you, uh, can you take us back to, uh, a little bit more about how you met Jason?

[00:35:43] Yeah, we met, uh, Jason and I met, I was 18.

[00:35:47] He was 19, 1995.

[00:35:50] Um, real long story short, we both were coming, we both got hired and we're, uh, being trained.

[00:35:58] We, we both got hired at an improv comedy club at the same time.

[00:36:02] Really?

[00:36:03] And, uh, yeah, called comedy sports with a Z at the end.

[00:36:06] It's a, it's a franchise.

[00:36:07] There's, there's several around the country.

[00:36:09] Um, and there was one I'm facing North here looking toward downtown Kansas city right now.

[00:36:16] It's three minutes from where it was three minutes from where I'm sitting right now.

[00:36:19] But, uh, but yeah, I was, I was, um, a senior in high school and I had, um, asked, I knew my theater, one of my theater teachers was friends with the guy that owned comedy sports.

[00:36:32] And, um, I needed to get a job, uh, in the spring and summer before I went to college.

[00:36:39] Uh, my mom was on my back to get a job.

[00:36:41] And so I asked my theater teacher, I said, can you talk to your friend that owns comedy sports to see if they, uh, if I could maybe get an interview to be a server because they served like pizza stuff there.

[00:36:52] Um, and so then the next day she's like, okay, here you go.

[00:36:55] Here's your info for comedy sports.

[00:36:57] And I was like, um, she was like, your audition is blah, blah, blah.

[00:37:01] I was like, you have to audition to be a pizza server.

[00:37:04] Did you have to be funny?

[00:37:07] Well, she's like, no, you're auditioning to be in the company.

[00:37:09] Oh, so it wasn't, she, their conversation didn't go from, he's going to be a server.

[00:37:16] It's how young, how old do you have to be to audition to be in the company?

[00:37:20] And so I auditioned and got in.

[00:37:22] So yes, you had to be funny.

[00:37:24] That's cool.

[00:37:25] So I, I never served anything there.

[00:37:27] Just laughs.

[00:37:28] Um, but, uh, but, uh, yeah, no, Jason and I got hired at the same time.

[00:37:33] And so then, and then we were also then in a, uh, workshop class, a training class, basically.

[00:37:38] Um, you know, we got, we got hired in the spring and then basically through spring and

[00:37:42] all through summer, we, you know, we were together being trained on, on the games they

[00:37:48] did.

[00:37:48] Comedy sports is short, short, short form improv games, kind of like the show, whose line

[00:37:53] is it anyway?

[00:37:54] Oh, wow.

[00:37:55] Um, for those who watch that, uh, but in a fake sporting format and that kind of thing

[00:38:00] and, um, family show, you know, it's, it's not clean and everything.

[00:38:04] So, um, but, um, yeah, so we, that, that's how we met and we were, we were together all

[00:38:10] the time, uh, training and going to all those classes together.

[00:38:14] And, and then, uh, and then we started doing shows, you know, right around the time I had

[00:38:17] started college.

[00:38:19] Um, and then eventually, you know, not too long after that, we were just together like

[00:38:24] every day, pretty much because we were doing, um, you know, for a good year or two, 30 plus

[00:38:33] shows a month, you know?

[00:38:34] Wow.

[00:38:35] Um, so yeah, just together all the time.

[00:38:38] Yeah, that's awesome.

[00:38:39] And have been, you know, just been brothers ever since.

[00:38:42] Yeah.

[00:38:42] Best buds.

[00:38:42] So, you know, I want to transition to, uh, Steps of Faith and then sort of create an

[00:38:50] intersection between Steps of Faith and Thundergong.

[00:38:53] Um, I'm assuming Steps of Faith and your involvement with that organization was first and then that

[00:39:03] evolved into the idea of Thundergong.

[00:39:06] Do I have that right?

[00:39:08] Yeah.

[00:39:08] Yeah.

[00:39:09] Thundergong is our biggest fundraiser for, for the nonprofit.

[00:39:12] So yeah.

[00:39:13] Yeah.

[00:39:13] Steps of Faith came first.

[00:39:14] Yep.

[00:39:15] And then I just had to figure out how to raise money.

[00:39:17] Yep.

[00:39:17] And, uh, so, you know, given that charitable space and coming up with those ideas, was that

[00:39:26] you and Jason just like riffing one day about what we could do to raise money?

[00:39:32] And then Thundergong just became a thing.

[00:39:34] Where did that come from?

[00:39:37] Yeah.

[00:39:38] Uh, a little bit.

[00:39:39] So, so it was, um, it was my idea, but it involved, it evolved, you know, once we started

[00:39:48] brainstorming about it.

[00:39:49] So in 2006, um, so I had said earlier, I had that real basic hydraulic knee with the belt

[00:39:57] and all that kind of thing and was touring with that thing.

[00:40:00] So in 2006, it got to the point right.

[00:40:03] Um, where my brilliant prosthetist, Doyle Collier, God rest his soul, passed away.

[00:40:09] Last year.

[00:40:10] Um, but, uh, he, he, he was like, okay, it's time for your permanent prosthesis.

[00:40:18] So we all know it's not the actual permanent one, but it's the permanent type.

[00:40:22] So that's, um, and that was a sea leg, uh, Autobach.

[00:40:26] And so, um, my insurance, you know, that in 2006, that was still kind of like, Oh, new

[00:40:31] technology.

[00:40:32] And, uh, spoiler alert for your listeners, if you don't already know this, um, health insurance

[00:40:37] companies are awful.

[00:40:40] They help us.

[00:40:41] And they're also, uh, that no one is in the business of making money.

[00:40:44] Everyone is in the business of providing a service.

[00:40:47] You're an entertainer.

[00:40:48] You're a trash man.

[00:40:50] You're a carpenter.

[00:40:51] You're a teacher.

[00:40:52] Uh, you know, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:40:55] If you do your job, right.

[00:40:56] You'll make money.

[00:40:57] Health insurance companies are in the business of making money.

[00:41:01] And that is evident in their actions towards us as people that pay them every month and

[00:41:06] even in how they treat prosthetists, doctors, medical professionals.

[00:41:10] So I'll jump off that soapbox.

[00:41:12] Um, uh, we had to come up with 30 grand in 2006.

[00:41:16] So, so very, very long story short, I had had this appointment with my prosthetist where

[00:41:21] I learned this terrible news that I had to come up with 30 grand for this, uh, new robot

[00:41:25] leg.

[00:41:26] I happened to be meeting with my friend, Corey, who, uh, was just a couple of years

[00:41:32] older than me, but he actually, when he trained Jason and I, so we, like I said, we were trained

[00:41:37] together in the same workshop class.

[00:41:39] Corey taught that class.

[00:41:40] So one of our best friends to this day.

[00:41:43] And then, um, Corey just happened to be in town.

[00:41:45] We were having lunch, came from the appointment.

[00:41:46] I met with him and he was like, so what's going on?

[00:41:48] I was like, oh, I just got this terrible news.

[00:41:50] He's like, well, maybe we can help you raise the money.

[00:41:51] So Corey and his wife, Monique put together these two shows that happened at the rock club,

[00:41:58] the cool rock club in Kansas city record bar that my friend owns.

[00:42:02] And, um, what we did is we put on my band played and other friends band played.

[00:42:06] There was an improv comedy show with Corey and Monique, his wife, her friend, Ed Goodman,

[00:42:12] Jason, his wife at the time, who has been a, uh, longtime board member, advisory board member,

[00:42:17] huge supporter, uh, her importance in the life of steps of fate.

[00:42:21] It cannot be overstated.

[00:42:22] Kay Cannon, she's a filmmaker, look her up.

[00:42:25] Um, but, uh, they did this improv show.

[00:42:27] So it was improv show, silent auction, rock show.

[00:42:32] Yeah.

[00:42:32] And we raised the 30 grand.

[00:42:35] So long story long, the whole thing with Thundergong was the next day I was driving around with my

[00:42:41] girlfriend now wife.

[00:42:42] And it was like, wouldn't it be cool if we did that next year for somebody that like me that

[00:42:47] needed the help.

[00:42:48] So we didn't do that, but then fast forward to steps of faith falling from the sky into

[00:42:52] my lap in 2013.

[00:42:53] And then I immediately thought of that fundraiser that Corey and Monique and Jason and all those

[00:42:58] folks did for me.

[00:42:59] Um, and had talked to Jason about it that summer, a couple months later, I was still touring

[00:43:04] a little bit with the blessing of my new board of directors and that kind of thing.

[00:43:08] And I had talked to him about it and, uh, he's like, well, we'll do an event eventually

[00:43:12] and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

[00:43:13] So no, I, I just had this thought that took many years and moving back to Kansas city from

[00:43:18] Nashville, but I just had this thought to do something similar to that, that, that, you

[00:43:23] know, again, I know how to put on a concert and a comedy show.

[00:43:26] And, um, I liked the idea of something that had a house band and a lot of people, you know,

[00:43:31] a lot of like guest singers and guest drummers and things like that.

[00:43:35] Yep.

[00:43:35] And so, and I took that idea to him, you know, it's kind of like all the things I just mentioned

[00:43:41] plus like live aid.

[00:43:42] Yeah.

[00:43:42] I was going to say, yeah, it's like a live aid kind of vibe, you know?

[00:43:47] Yeah.

[00:43:47] And so, and then, and, and originally it was actually, there was going to be a house band

[00:43:50] and I just wanted it to be guest drummers, but I thought, but Jason's friends with Dave

[00:43:56] Grohl and Taylor Hawkins from Foo Fighters.

[00:43:58] So we'll get these guest drummers that can sing.

[00:44:00] Yeah.

[00:44:01] And then it'll evolve into this other thing.

[00:44:03] Well, what it became was the first two people that he talked to that said, yes, was Will

[00:44:10] Forte and Fred Armisen.

[00:44:12] So then it immediately shifted to where it was like, okay, there's going to be a house

[00:44:16] band.

[00:44:16] I'll play drums.

[00:44:18] There will be a lot of drums on stage.

[00:44:19] Again, we had three drum sets that first year.

[00:44:21] Um, and then it's going to be these guys that are well known, but not well known for being

[00:44:26] a musician.

[00:44:27] I mean, Fred is known as being an actor and a musician and an incredible drummer.

[00:44:30] Oh, sure.

[00:44:32] Incredible at everything.

[00:44:33] But, um, so then it was like, oh, well that's better than just drummers.

[00:44:37] Yeah.

[00:44:37] So yeah, that's, that's how it evolved.

[00:44:39] Yeah.

[00:44:39] Yeah.

[00:44:40] That's a lot better.

[00:44:40] Um, no, uh, as far as, uh, steps of faith and, you know, how you go about intake and

[00:44:49] engaging, you know, people in these situations and, you know, just to rewind a little bit,

[00:44:56] the whole insurance thing, you know, I very much share your feelings about that.

[00:45:02] And it, it does grind my gears when I see how this system is, is very much for so many of

[00:45:13] us engineered for failure.

[00:45:15] And yes, you know, this, this, this whole idea that the, the fittest, the most, you know,

[00:45:25] whatever you want to call it glamorous of us, you know, get the best stuff.

[00:45:31] And when really in truth, so many of the folks that do have deeper mobility issues have suffered,

[00:45:42] you know, tremendous, tremendous traumas, um, have chronic illnesses.

[00:45:48] These people need help too.

[00:45:51] And they need the cool stuff, the cool hardware, you know, the best chips and knees and, you

[00:45:59] know, hydraulic this and whatever that.

[00:46:02] And they just don't get them, Billy.

[00:46:05] They just don't get them.

[00:46:06] And that to me is, it's a rub.

[00:46:12] And I get frustrated because the one thing that I learned when I became an amputee was,

[00:46:20] hey man, you're going to need to improve that K level because you're not going to get what

[00:46:25] you want.

[00:46:26] You're not in a fitness level that's probably going to work to your favor.

[00:46:32] Um, and I thought, gosh, that's strange.

[00:46:35] And certainly, you know, I rose to the occasion and I'm in a very good place now,

[00:46:40] but for some, for some amputees that may not be possible until they get the right equipment,

[00:46:50] until they get the right tool to do the job.

[00:46:56] And those expectations are just, again, engineered for failure.

[00:47:01] And I appreciate that you're very transparent about it.

[00:47:06] And you're kind of like, hey man, this is BS.

[00:47:08] Like what's going on and the way in which this is set up.

[00:47:12] Um, it's, it's just wrong.

[00:47:16] And I see so many people suffering and homebound and not being able to, you know, obtain the

[00:47:25] resources.

[00:47:27] So kind of walk me through steps of faith and, you know, your process in that regard.

[00:47:34] Yeah.

[00:47:35] Yeah.

[00:47:36] I mean, on that note, they'll just say, before I say what it is and how it works, you know,

[00:47:39] it's ridiculous that steps of faith should need to exist in the United States of America.

[00:47:44] Yes.

[00:47:44] That said, um, uh, I'm thankful that we do all things considered.

[00:47:52] What steps of, we're a nonprofit 501c3 public charity been around since, uh, it's been 11

[00:47:58] years, 2013.

[00:47:59] Um, the guy that was the, uh, um, who owned the prosthetic clinic where I was a patient

[00:48:04] in Nashville, very long story, but, but he had established a 501c3, which is the tax exempt,

[00:48:11] uh, status.

[00:48:12] Um, and it was a very good, um, tax exempt idea that had been sitting dormant.

[00:48:18] And he and I, after I was asked to speak to a new, a guy being fitted who'd lost his

[00:48:23] leg to cancer one day, I was like, I wish that could be my job.

[00:48:27] And so I ended up talking with this, the guy who owned the company, Rob Pittman is his name.

[00:48:32] And, um, and then we had a few conversations and he expressed, he's like, I haven't established

[00:48:37] 501c3, but it's been sitting dormant.

[00:48:39] I'm, you know, turns out running a nonprofit is, uh, just like running any other business.

[00:48:44] And it's actually harder and you have to jump through way more hoops and have like strange

[00:48:47] expectations.

[00:48:48] Like people think that means that you don't get paid or, you know, really antiquated,

[00:48:52] dumb things like that.

[00:48:53] So, um, uh, he, I always say he tossed me the keys to a car with no engine in it and said,

[00:48:59] see what you can do with that.

[00:49:00] So now, you know, well over a thousand amputees and 11 years later, here we are.

[00:49:06] And what we do is we get prosthetic limbs for amputees that have no health insurance or no

[00:49:11] prosthetic coverage.

[00:49:11] So Medicaid, for instance, that's health insurance in a handful of States, um, in America does

[00:49:18] not cover a prosthetic care for adults.

[00:49:20] So Texas, for instance, that's their Medicaid scenario.

[00:49:23] So we've helped hundreds and hundreds of people in Texas, big state.

[00:49:28] There's a Medicaid issue.

[00:49:30] So yes.

[00:49:31] So that's very quick how it came to be and fell from the sky into my lap.

[00:49:37] Like I said earlier, huge blessing.

[00:49:39] I've always been a pretty purpose driven guy as we've established music and that kind

[00:49:44] of thing.

[00:49:44] Um, but it kind of gave my life a whole new purpose and a new kind of like, you know, outlet

[00:49:50] for this, I, you know, I guess, skillset, you know, that I had been developing my entire

[00:49:56] life.

[00:49:57] These things that I was good at and passionate about, you know, my job is basically this.

[00:50:02] Yes.

[00:50:02] Yes.

[00:50:02] We're doing an interview where people are going to be listening, hopefully.

[00:50:08] Um, but, uh, I'm not saying they're not listening to your podcast.

[00:50:11] I'm just saying you can pick and choose which episodes you want and hopefully they will

[00:50:14] choose to listen to this.

[00:50:15] If you're listening now, thank you for choosing the Billy Brimblecom Jr.

[00:50:18] episode of Amped Up.

[00:50:21] Hosted.

[00:50:22] Anyway, but, uh, so, so yeah, I, I, um, but we're just having a conversation.

[00:50:28] You know what I mean?

[00:50:28] We've been, we connected a while back.

[00:50:30] It took a long time.

[00:50:31] Here we are.

[00:50:32] So my job is really just this.

[00:50:34] And I don't mean giving interviews.

[00:50:35] I mean, just having conversations and connecting with people, you know, which is like what you

[00:50:40] do in everything in life.

[00:50:42] Definitely.

[00:50:42] It's what you do in music.

[00:50:43] It's the best part of music other than the music part, you know?

[00:50:46] So yeah.

[00:50:47] Anyhow, that's what, uh, that's what steps of faith does.

[00:50:50] Uh, process is very simple.

[00:50:51] Do you want me to explain that quickly?

[00:50:53] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:50:54] Okay.

[00:50:54] Yeah.

[00:50:54] I mean, that, that's, we have to talk some, some prosthetic inside

[00:50:58] baseball.

[00:50:59] So yeah, again, no prosthetic cover.

[00:51:00] People come to us one of three ways, either they, a lot of it's Googling prosthetic charity,

[00:51:04] very small handful of us that do this kind of work in the United States.

[00:51:08] Um, and all of us do it differently.

[00:51:11] And I, and I'm friends with all those people.

[00:51:13] I say we are part, all part of the same necessary ecosystem.

[00:51:16] We are not in competition with each other.

[00:51:18] We are all trying to solve this huge problem that should not exist in America.

[00:51:23] People aren't fighting for knee replacements.

[00:51:26] I have a knee replacement.

[00:51:28] Mine's just on the outside.

[00:51:29] Why is this something that is, uh, can't be computed, uh, to insurance companies?

[00:51:34] Anyhow, um, yeah.

[00:51:36] People come to us either directly, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, third party in the form of, uh, like

[00:51:41] a family member or a social worker or the clinic themselves.

[00:51:45] Um, we have a very simple application, stepsoffaithfoundation.org.

[00:51:49] And yeah, it's just a written statement of the need.

[00:51:51] And we work with prosthetists, um, all around the country.

[00:51:54] Again, we're based in Kansas city.

[00:51:55] We've started in Nashville, but we help APTs nationwide.

[00:51:58] We got a new heat map the other day.

[00:52:02] It's not been 50 States, but it's 40 something.

[00:52:06] Um, um, we work with prosthetists nationwide.

[00:52:10] Those prosthetists donate their labor.

[00:52:11] Um, if you don't know prosthetic, you know, prosthetists, you go to the mechanic parts and

[00:52:17] labor are really clearly separated.

[00:52:19] Um, that's not how it works in prosthetic world.

[00:52:22] And, and actually a lot of doctors, um, MDs, it's also separated.

[00:52:26] You know, it's like you paying 10 different line items.

[00:52:30] Prosthetic is a little more all in kind of one jumbled thing.

[00:52:33] So prosthetists donate their time.

[00:52:35] Those are the heroes of the story, the donors and the prosthetists.

[00:52:39] We are handicapped people without the prosthetists.

[00:52:43] You know, I don't feel like a handicapped person because I have access to the right tools,

[00:52:47] but even the $60,000 prosthesis is useless to me if I don't have a great prosthetist that

[00:52:52] can make it fit to my body properly.

[00:52:54] So God bless Autobach and our manufacturers out there that are making this stuff, but it's

[00:52:58] the prosthetists who know how to make a socket, align it and make it work for your body.

[00:53:04] Um, but yeah, and then the donors that put gas in the tank.

[00:53:07] So prosthetists donate their time and labor, and then we buy the prosthetic components to

[00:53:12] make up the prosthesis.

[00:53:13] Uh, we buy those directly.

[00:53:15] Um, anyway, there's some inside baseball for you, but yeah.

[00:53:18] Yeah, no, it's, it's, it's a remarkable endeavor.

[00:53:21] And yes, I, I am tapped into others like yourself, um, other organizations, and I see it the same

[00:53:30] way that you do, that it's unfortunate that we have to, uh, have these organizations, these

[00:53:38] charitable organizations, these resources.

[00:53:42] But at the same time, I am very, very proud and, um, inspired by the work that you're all

[00:53:49] doing.

[00:53:50] And I so much more appreciate the way in which you said it, you know, very beautifully of

[00:53:57] we're not in competition with each other.

[00:53:59] Like we are all part of that same directive, that same, you know, push to try to get people

[00:54:07] to thrive again, get people the things, the resources, the support systems that they need

[00:54:13] so that their lives can change in a positive way.

[00:54:18] And, uh, I, I so much appreciate all of what you do.

[00:54:23] It's a, it's a really, really extraordinary story in which all of these different elements,

[00:54:31] um, through steps of faith, through your musical background, through events like

[00:54:37] Thundergong, all of those things that have sort of arrived and funneled into this, you know,

[00:54:44] this purpose where you are right now.

[00:54:47] And, um, I'm excited to see, um, where things go next for you, uh, especially with the organization.

[00:54:57] And, um, I am, I very, very much, uh, hope that I will be attending, um, next year, uh, that

[00:55:06] event.

[00:55:07] And, um, you know, it's, it's, it's been a, just a pleasure getting to know you better.

[00:55:13] Certainly, you know, musician to musician, of course.

[00:55:17] And Hey, I'm on a roll, man.

[00:55:20] I got Billy Brimblecom.

[00:55:22] And then next it's what?

[00:55:24] I don't know.

[00:55:25] Rick Allen from Def Leppard.

[00:55:27] Who knows?

[00:55:28] Come on.

[00:55:29] Your mouth to God's ears, right?

[00:55:31] I'm putting it out there in the universe.

[00:55:34] You know?

[00:55:35] So Rick called me, Rick called me, um, the day I lost my leg when I was in the hospital.

[00:55:40] Are you kidding me?

[00:55:41] That's a great, that's a story.

[00:55:43] That's a great way to end this episode.

[00:55:45] You have to tell me about this.

[00:55:47] Okay.

[00:55:48] So I'll, I'll be quick.

[00:55:49] So, so when I was in the hospital, I was there a few days before the surgery, obviously

[00:55:53] there, the day of the surgery and a few days after.

[00:55:55] So all in all, I was there about a week people from all over the country.

[00:55:59] I was 28 years old.

[00:56:00] People from all over the country.

[00:56:01] It was like the room was packed every night.

[00:56:04] It was beautiful.

[00:56:05] Such a terrible time was so beautiful because I was just surrounded by all these people that,

[00:56:10] uh, love me anyway, uh, Def Leppard the night before my surgery was playing in Kansas

[00:56:15] city.

[00:56:15] Yeah.

[00:56:16] And a friend had this idea.

[00:56:17] What if we could get Rick to, you know, amputee drummer, get ahold of Billy.

[00:56:21] And I was like, dude, I basically, when I, when I started playing drums in sixth grade,

[00:56:25] it was Def Leppard hysteria.

[00:56:27] First two Sammy Hagar Van Halen albums and guns and roses, appetite for destruction.

[00:56:31] That's how I learned to play drums, playing along with those albums, headphones.

[00:56:34] First song I ever played live was, was Armageddon by Def Leppard to my music class with two of

[00:56:39] my bandmates that played guitar.

[00:56:41] Um, anyway, so Rick Allen, um, they tried to, he was going to come to the hospital.

[00:56:48] Yeah.

[00:56:48] This friend that, that, that works at the radio station that was sponsoring the show

[00:56:52] still works.

[00:56:53] My friend, Greg Todd, shout out to him.

[00:56:54] Um, didn't happen.

[00:56:56] They told me, I was like, Oh, that's incredible.

[00:56:58] Talk about thought that counts.

[00:56:59] I was so moved.

[00:57:00] And so then my surgery happens the next day and I'm back in my room, but like out, like

[00:57:05] on a lot of pain meds, I just had my leg amputated phone rings.

[00:57:09] And they're like, um, there's a call for you.

[00:57:12] It's Rick Allen.

[00:57:12] And I'm like, give me the phone.

[00:57:15] And, um, on the phone, like, Oh, Hey man.

[00:57:17] You know, I do remember the call somewhat.

[00:57:20] And, uh, I just was like, couldn't believe he was calling me and incredible.

[00:57:23] Hello, Billy.

[00:57:24] It's Rick.

[00:57:25] And, uh, anyway, he was like, all right, mate, how about I call you back tomorrow when

[00:57:28] you're not so sedated?

[00:57:30] Um, and I was like, didn't want to get up the phone.

[00:57:32] So I was like, that dude ain't calling me again.

[00:57:34] And he did the next day.

[00:57:35] I'm a little bit better shape.

[00:57:37] Sure enough, about the same time, the next day, the next morning, he called me and we

[00:57:40] talked for like 20 minutes.

[00:57:41] So the funny thing, it was, it was beautiful.

[00:57:44] It was such a great memory.

[00:57:45] What a sweet heart.

[00:57:47] Ordinary thing to happen at such a terrible time.

[00:57:50] And so the funny thing is Rick and I have a lot of mutual friends.

[00:57:53] Oh, that's excellent.

[00:57:54] Um, and we've communicated through these friends and even oddly enough, a few years ago,

[00:57:59] I talked to his wife on the phone for like 30 or 45 minutes.

[00:58:03] And she was like, so what is the ask for Rick?

[00:58:05] And I was like, cause everybody wants to put you guys in touch.

[00:58:08] And I'm like, there's no ask.

[00:58:10] Here's what happened.

[00:58:11] And she was like, that's incredible.

[00:58:13] So again, what's the ask?

[00:58:14] I was like, I just want to tell him thank you.

[00:58:16] And like, just where I'm at now, you know, that's it, man.

[00:58:21] Yeah.

[00:58:21] You know, anyway, so come on, Rick.

[00:58:24] Oh, baby.

[00:58:26] Anyway, beautiful man.

[00:58:27] What a great story.

[00:58:28] What a sweetheart.

[00:58:29] What an incredibly thoughtful thing to do for someone in your situation.

[00:58:35] Oh God.

[00:58:37] Yeah.

[00:58:37] That just made my day.

[00:58:39] Billy Brimble, come.

[00:58:41] Thanks for being here.

[00:58:42] Thanks for all of you do.

[00:58:45] Stepsoffaith.org.

[00:58:47] Or is it Stepsoffaith Foundation?

[00:58:50] Stepsoffaithfoundation.org.

[00:58:52] Check it out.

[00:58:54] Donate now.

[00:58:56] We're going to say that twice.

[00:58:57] That's right.

[00:58:57] Donate now.

[00:58:59] That's right.

[00:59:01] Hey, man.

[00:59:02] I'm going to see you on the next gig.

[00:59:06] Let's do it.

[00:59:07] I so appreciate, you know, what you're doing.

[00:59:10] And, you know, even with Summer Breeze as well.

[00:59:15] It's cool stuff.

[00:59:17] Yeah, man.

[00:59:18] And don't be a stranger.

[00:59:21] And that's it.

[00:59:22] That's it for us today.

[00:59:23] I'm Rick Bonkowski.

[00:59:24] This is the Amped Up 211 podcast.

[00:59:26] I want to wish Billy and our entire audience health and happiness.

[00:59:30] We'll see you next time.

[00:59:31] Bye.

[00:59:32] Thank you.