Meet Nosh: From Law to Local Music Luminary

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Let's Talk Lauderdale podcast, the show where we dive into the people, places, and things of the 954 Fort Lauderdale and beyond. I'm Marv. I'm Jen.

And here we are back with another episode, and today we have an in-studio guest. So we are going to take a little departure from our regularly scheduled programming and kind of just chat about our friend. And so I, let me first start by saying, I don't think I ever announce you as your full name, so you'll have to tell me how I do.

Ninowtzka Mier-Soto. Oh, almost. Wow.

But thank you. Valiant effort. Dave Soto thanks you.

It's Ninowtzka Mier-Soika. Dave will have a nice chuckle.

Sorry, babe. We're Sotos now. Yes, it's a lot.

It's a mouthful. I have all the consonants of the alphabet in my name, but that's why I go by Nosh. Yes.

I know you as Nosh. Yes. And that's how we introduce.

That's how we'll call you the rest of the show. Perfect. Thank you.

As I prefer. Although, let me start by asking the question I think most people would go, where does Nosh come out of Ninowtzka? Yes. Well, that's, that's an easy one to answer because usually what I get is where did Ninowtzka come from? That was my question actually.

Okay. Yes. I can start with that, which is I have an eccentric mom and grandmother and my family is from Colombia and a lot of Hispanics name their children after the, you know, the mother gives the mother to the daughter and the father's name goes to the son.

Anyway, my grandmother named my mom Ninowtzka, Ninowtzka. She read it in a book somewhere and then my mom decided to give it to me as well, naming Ninowtzka. She added the T and the Z and the K. There's all the things.

Okay. So, my family's from Colombia. I have a, what sounds like a Russian name.

Right. Okay. So, growing up, I was known by Nikki because I liked Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue.

Yeah. I know. Mara's looking at me like, what? Yes.

That is definitely off limits. You are not allowed to call me that. I have outgrown that.

I've shed that skin. I'm going to walk into the office. Fourteen-year-old Nosh is no longer in the building.

And a little girl named Nikki. I am. No, I'm a much more sophisticated Nosh.

Thank you very much. Nosh is just kind of a little muffin inside the whole, you know, bread of Ninowtzka. There's a Nosh in there.

So, somehow that's kind of organically developed. I just suck. Yeah.

I like it. I like it. Thanks.

I'm kind of thinking Nosh, though. No. That's okay, too.

A little snack. Which is an eating term. Yes.

Jen, if you've listened to the show, Jen is all about being a foodie. Love it. I'm not discriminatory on food.

It's just food. Just food? Just food. I like to eat.

Oh, my gosh. Yes. Where are you going tonight? Yes.

Not sure yet. Not sure yet? I'll let you know. So, I saw a thing on the Facebook.

Somebody had put up a picture and said something to the effect of, how absolutely fantastic is it that Jack's Hamburgers is still around? And I thought, ooh, I haven't been to Jack's in a while. I don't think I've ever been to Jack's. Get out.

No. There's two Jack's. There's one in Fort Lauderdale, the one I always go to, and I forget where the other one is.

Are you familiar, Nosh, with Jack's? I'm familiar. I've never been. Get out.

Really? Never been. Never. No.

Okay. Forget all of these other brand names that have touted themselves as burger franchises. You need to go to Jack's.

Really? Yes. Jack's is, listen, we are all of the age that when we think back to when we would go out, you know, as a family, as kids, it was a big deal. Right.

And the places had an ambiance and an atmosphere that you just loved. Jack's has that. Okay.

It's that old-fashioned hamburger stand feel. Is it like quick service, like order at the counter? Yeah, they're pretty quick. I mean, but it's a sit-down place.

I'm going to have to check it out. Adding that to the list. All right.

Like a good burger. And we're off course already. Yes.

Sorry. No more food for me. No more food for me.

All right. So, Nosh, we invited you here. And just to give a little background, I know you from work, but we're not going to talk about work.

Thank you. Because we want to hear about your experience here in Fort Lauderdale. And I don't know your history.

So, first of all, let me ask, are you a native? I was born in Miami Baptist Hospital. Yes. Okay.

Yeah, I was born here. Grew up in Miami in the 305 for most of my formative years. And then just slowly moved up to, moved north when I say up.

Right. Wing, wing. No, I moved north to North Miami Beach.

Went to school there. And then I just kind of kept migrating north, north, more north. My favorite was living in Victoria Park.

Really? Victoria Park. Yes. Yeah.

That's probably around the time when I met you, Marv. Okay. That's when I started working downtown in Fort Lauderdale.

Yeah. And I loved my little one-one. It was, oh, God, those days.

Okay, so. I was in Victoria Park. I had just a one.

Okay. For three months. Until I got my bigger place.

Right. It's a lovely way to start, you know, your life as I was starting my professional life. Right.

And then, yeah, then I ended up eventually in Pompano Beach, which is where I reside. I love Pompano. I love Fort Lauderdale.

Definitely happy to talk about it, but we have some beautiful, cool little spots nearby, just north of Fort Lauderdale and Pompano. So when I moved back to Florida after spending three years north, I moved to Pompano, and I was U.S. 1 east of the golf course. Oh, okay.

That's so close to 10th, like where the elephant is. Absolutely. That's where my house is.

We're right back there. Get out. Really? Yeah, yeah.

We could have been neighbors. We could have been. Was that when you were in your one? Actually, that was a one-one.

You moved up. Yeah. All right.

No, that was the first place I moved to. Then I moved to the one in transition to my other place in Fort Lauderdale. So Pompano is where I started when I got to South Florida.

Oh, very nice. And it was great. And there was Flanagan's on Atlantic east of U.S. 1. The beach was not so crowded.

We'd go to the beach. Yeah, that's really getting super developed. Yes.

So when Kim and I went on our little anniversary trip, we actually rode up along the beach and we started. And as we were driving through Pompano, everything in Atlantic and U.S. or A1A, all new. Wow.

And the empty parking lot across from what used to be Fisherman's Wharf. It's like a freaking big building now. Yes.

I mean, first of all, I want to say the Pompano Beach Pier is magnificent. Okay. If you have not seen it, go.

Just like Jack's Burger. After you get your Jack's Burger, go to the Pompano Beach. Tonight out.

Yeah, up here. It is really beautiful what they've done. And then, yeah, in that whole area, you have all these little spots on the beach, like Luckyfish, Oceanic, Pompano Beach House.

Oh, my gosh. I don't know how my brain is recalling everything because usually I'm not that good at that. I'm like, wait, what is it again? And then right behind, you have other restaurants.

You know, you're Mexican food. You got another burger place. I do like the Burger Phi.

I know it's a bigger chain brand, but that's another good burger spot. I'm a burger fan. Okay.

Yeah. Good fries. And the last thing is that I'll stop on Pompano, but I think there's a little Hyatt Hotel right there on A1A.

Anyway, they have a, see, recall, rooftop bar. Oh, I love rooftops. That is worth, okay, after the Jack's Burger, after the pier, go to the rooftop bar, have a cocktail there, and you just overlook of the ocean and Pompano is magnificent.

It's been a long time since I've been in Pompano. I'm not even recalling everything you're talking about, so I'm due for a visit. Pompano is hopping.

Pompano is hopping. And it's getting bouncier, if you will, because they are still developing more in Atlantic. Right.

I mean, it's wonderful, and it's a curse because it's just more traffic, which is what I love and also what draws me away sometimes depending on what we're talking about, because I heard your Howl at the Moon episode. Right. It gets so crowded.

Right, right. And so it's, but it's okay right now. It's still small town feel ish.

All right. We're stuck in our little five-mile radius. Totally.

So Pompano is like a whole nother world for me. But it's in this county. I'm here to guide you.

Okay, thank you. I'm here to help. I'm going to check it out.

I'm going to explore. Yes. Okay, so you grew up, you moved up.

North, north. Did your schooling stuff, and then you started your profession. When did you start doing what I think of as your side gig, which doesn't sound like much of a side gig? Music? Yes.

So I've always been, if you will, a creative. You know, I've always been in musical theater. As a kid, my first performance was Mrs. Darling in, yep, can't think of it, the show.

Peter Pan. Okay. For Coconut Grove Playhouse.

Playhouse? Yeah, Coconut Grove Playhouse. Nice. Corky was the instructor there.

She was amazing. And yeah, I was eight years old, and that was my first singing and speaking. So all of that, you know, and then tried to pick up piano, tried to pick up guitar early on.

It never stuck for many reasons. But singing was just always, I was always performing, writing, right, in theater, all the things. And then I went to law school and then took a hard left there.

And then when I got my, kind of my bearings, I just started kind of back in Fort Lauderdale because I was away for three, I went to school in New York City. I saw that. I was going to say, where did New York come into play? I lived in Hoboken, which was also fantastic.

And I commuted to New York City. And I went there because someone happened to be at FIU where I graduated from, from New York Law School. And they're like, here, take a brochure.

I'm like, yes, I just needed to leave. I just wanted to leave and do something crazy. For me, it was crazy.

Right, that's a big move. It's a big move. And I never, like, I didn't go away to college.

I was always living at home. And I was just like, yes, I didn't research it. I didn't find out, what are the graduation rates? What does it cost? Did you do a visit? Yes, before I found my apartment, I visited, but I was already in.

Like, I'm in. So I got in, number one. That was kind of a miracle.

And then I finished that. Anyway, I came back home, and I started getting to know my community again because I'd been away for a little bit. And I just started meeting more musicians.

Because I was out, I liked being around the music. So in Fort Lauderdale back then, there was a place called Tavern 213, which would have been across from Tarpon. It's no longer there.

Like all the places I've been, they're no longer there. And that's where I'd go, and it was just really cool to meet so many musicians. People would come in and just play with the band who was, you know, playing.

And then I got to meet bartenders, and you just, you become part of that little culture. And that's how I made some friends who are still my friends today. I'm talking over 20 years ago.

Tight community. Yeah. And I guess that's kind of, just to get to where you're saying, that's eventually, I was asked by a friend of mine if I would sing a few songs with his band, you know, over the years.

And that's how it started. But to get to the point where they would even ask you, they had to know that you were a singer. So how did, how did they find out? If you're doing law, It's not off limits, but it is embarrassing.

I was doing a thing called karaoke. Oh, that's fun stuff. Most of us don't sound very good when we're asked to sing.

Some of us don't even do it because we don't want people to know. It was fun. It was a time of my life.

It was a chapter. Were you a karaoke host or you would go to karaoke bars? No, I was going to one bar in particular that would have karaoke every week. And I knew I was in this community because now I was becoming a regular.

There are regular karaoke people that bring their own. You're on circuit. Circuit, for real.

They bring their tape. They bring their equipment. And I'm like, oh my God.

And then they see me and I'm like the new person. Like, who are you? And so it was a serious thing. And I just got in it for a little bit.

It was just fun. So a friend of mine saw me. His name is Jerry.

I've known him for years and years. And he's like, hey, you know, want to sing in our band? He had a band and he was looking to front, have a female and a male front. And that's what we did.

And that became Main Street. And then over the years, the male singer was replaced and we were all playing together for about 15 years. Me singing.

But it was an amazing experience. It grew. It was super like singing a few songs, a set to really carrying a show with your co-lead singer.

Right. What were the songs you sang at karaoke? Wow. One of my favorite songs that I still perform today, Valerie by Amy Whitehouse, was my back pocket song.

I'm going to take them all out with this one. Here we go. Gather round friends, know what she's going to sing.

So when you were part of that community and got, you know, were ingrained in that karaoke community, did it come that where people would ask you to sing it? Because I know my sister was part of that community for a while. So she had her special songs. And so when she would walk in, oh, are you going to sing that? Hers was an old, old song, Angel in the Morning.

That was her song. Nice. Did people ask you to sing your song? I don't recall if they did.

Okay. It was just what I did. I can't even tell you what else I would have sung.

That's really kind of my, has been, was my go-to. I love that song. And it's still such a great song.

It is. Yeah. All right.

Okay. So you got spotted. Right? Isn't that how most celebrities are? You got discovered at a karaoke bar.

Yes. You're asked to be a part of a band. And now when I moved back to Florida and was doing my thing, there were bands that were just kind of local bands that would go from club to club to club.

Is that what you guys did? Yeah, exactly. We had our spots that we would go to. It's funny because you mentioned this on the last show.

One of the first spots that hired us was Fishtails. Fishtails in Fort Lauderdale across from Blue Jew Blues. Fishtails was our start and where we just started getting that practice, you know, at least for me.

I'd never done that in a band. It's one thing to be on stage and doing a play. It's completely different, you know, to be in front of people singing and figuring that out.

What is that like? And so yeah, from there, we just started finding places that were willing to pay us some money. I remember that first night. I'm like, we're getting paid for this? It was so much fun.

But yeah, that's how it started. And then we even played in the Keys. We played a few spots.

You were in Isle Morada. Yeah, so recently I was in Isle Morada. So that band, Main Street, we play maybe, I don't know, once a year.

That's basically kind of, you know, it's doing its thing. It's kind of like on pause or not pause. We're just not getting any real gigs.

And it's fine. All the other guys have their own projects or are doing their own thing. And I've just been doing my own thing with my acoustic duo.

Okay. So yeah, I picked up guitar like three and a half years ago. And now I'm playing with my friend.

He was our drummer. He's still our drummer at Main Street. But he now plays guitar with me.

And that's Tom Gress. So we're known by Notion Gress, acoustic or music, whatever. And that's been kind of what I've been really focusing on.

Right. Not to diminish any other projects or Main Street. It's just something that's been more in development recently.

This works in your life right now. Right, right, right, right. Yeah.

So it's been cool. So I assume that there's a lot less pressure as a duo as opposed to a full band going from place to place. The types of crowds that you guys get, are they regular crowds? People that, you know, you have groupies that follow you from place to place? Snicker.

I don't think. No. We have, you know, it all depends on the venue.

You know, this duo just started, you know, and I'm, you know, I'm still a beginner guitarist, but we're still, I've been getting asked back to some of my favorite spots. So for example, one of my favorite spots in Pompano, speaking of like where to go, another place to stop is Dangerous Minds. That's a great like brewery.

They brew their own beer. They have great food. And that was, that's just kind of whoever comes by and sticks around and it's a nice crowd.

But there's certainly other venues that, you know, are more locals and maybe it's just not, you know, I've played for a bartender once. I mean, it is what it is, or several times. And so it really depends on the venue.

We have, but it's, we are always excited to play. Like Vegas, another great place, you guys in Pompano. Sorry, but still claiming Pompano.

That's okay. That's a great, you know, you have a lot of people who want to have fun and listen to music. And as long as you're having a blast, that's how I feel like I'm having a blast.

I get to be creative. I get to play. I get to sing some songs on my own.

Yeah, it's a different, it's a different kind of pressure, if you will, to perform. I certainly love playing with a full band. And there's something really cool and like calming.

It's there's something calmer and just chill, you know, where I can get away with flip-flops and, you know, a pair of shorts, you know, with an acoustic. Right. Versus the whole get up of a, of a full band production, you know.

Right. It's been nice in that. But yeah, we have, we always have a really good reception.

It's just really depends on when is it, where are we, but we've been playing from Pompano, Fort Lauderdale, and developing The Keys. We were just in Isla Morada. Nice way to see the different parts.

I love it. South Florida. Yeah.

Yeah. And meet new people. And really, I imagine, you know, this is your side gig, I guess you could say.

So it's probably therapeutic in some way. You know, completely. When people say like, how do you have the time? You know, you find the time.

There's things that you gotta do and there's things you want to do. Right. The things you want to, I feel like is, it's what gives me my soul nourishment.

Therapy, like you said, it calms me, it quiets all the stuff that spins around in my head with the stresses of the things I gotta do. So yeah, it's really lovely. So for me, it's not taxing.

It's what I get to do. It's really so much fun. Well, that's good because I imagine your schedule's pretty busy.

Balancing career. Yes. And music.

Yeah. And the practice. I mean, I gotta work at it.

That's true. You always have to stay, yeah, practice. Especially, you said you're still fairly, I mean, three years in with the guitar, but I'm sure you're still wanting to practice that.

Yeah, learn new songs. Yeah. All the things.

Yeah, for sure. You doing any riffs with the guitar? Oh, no. No, no, no, no.

No? Not yet. Just chords. Just basic chords for me.

Thank you. All right. So you did mention, you know, the fun parts of doing that.

What's the bad part? Because I assume that, you know, the mundane practice that you gotta do, but you gotta get the gig set up. So how much work is it to contact these local places and say, hey, do you have a spot for us to play? Yeah. Can we play? Do you know us? That's a really good question because I'm always, that is always on my mind.

And it is, that part is taxing, but worth it is, yeah, going into the venue, whether it's emailing, going in person. I'm always a believer in, you know, picking up the phone or going in person. Being present is like 90% of it.

You know, being present, getting to know people, getting to know the venue. And that takes, that takes your time. You know, it takes time to get that one gig.

One example is a place in Key Largo. I went, I called, and I was told who to talk to, spoke to him, just email me, sure. And I'm like, oh, email, dreaded email.

Like email's good. Come on. So no response, no response.

I emailed again. We're good for the season. I got like, okay.

And so I was driving down for a gig. I decided to stop at the Key Largo spot. And I went in and I just said, may I speak to so-and-so? And he came right out.

Hey, I just want to shake your hand, meet you in person. Here's some new cars. We got stickers.

Here's some promo stuff. And he came right out with his book and gave me three dates. And that's just, you know, it's just that, you know, I don't know what the rule is in management, like the touch rule, but keep coming back and coming back.

uh, that, so that helped. That, that gave me renewed spirit to like, okay, this is why it pays off. Right.

Now, had you sent him a promo track or some stuff like did, you know, it's one thing to see somebody in person, but there had to be something where you could prove to him, Hey, we're legit. We're good. We, we vibe with your, your scene.

Did you, did he have stuff already in my email to him? Yeah. I always, any email I send, I put my YouTube page and, um, our Instagram and Facebook pages. So all of our, most of our stuff and our newer stuff is up there.

Um, yeah, that's what I do. I don't have a, like a professional press kit, which I'm told we should get. And so, Hey, I just did this.

I'm like, can someone do that for me? I don't want to do that, but that's the thing I don't want to do. That's the, yeah. The part that I don't, you know, isn't as fun, but, but as long as like, I'm, I feel better at meeting people and connecting and really investing myself in a place to show that we're also that kind of fine.

I find legitimacy in that, not just show up for a gig. Like I want to show up for a gig and then I'm also going to go back and, you know, grab a beer and, you know, a bite while I'm there. I want to be a patron as well.

I think it's like in any business setting. I mean, it's all about the relationship and nonprofit fundraising and any work that we do. It's the relationship.

You can get a gig, but keeping that gig is, is the harder part because you have to continue and build that community and relationship. Yeah. I mean, even professionally, I find it pays off.

I don't knock on anyone's door, but to pick up the phone and speak to someone, you get to, you know, sometimes there's little nuggets of things you just learned about them and you've just built rapport and relationship and somewhere down the line that's going to help you even, you know, and any and anything, but professionally as well. Absolutely. Let me ask another question.

I want to kind of go back a little bit. First of all, Jen, I vibe with notes because I'm a little creative as well. Okay.

Yes. I've heard that. I, you know, I was in a play when I was in school.

I sang in the band. Oh, and all that. Listen, I gotta, I gotta keep some stuff hidden a little bit there.

Were you a creative growing up? I am not so. I wish I could say yes, but no, no, I've tried. I have a sister who's a singer.

I have a brother. Who's a guitar player. Another sister.

Who's very musical. Me. Just youngest of four.

I didn't get it. All right. Yeah.

You just like going. Yeah. I like to listen.

What do you love? I'm a great audience member. Like, what's your passion? Honestly, it's, it's the gym, um, jujitsu, which I haven't been training in lately and I'm really missing it, but it's, it's more physical. Very good.

Like that. Yep. Yep.

All right. So no shit. I want to kind of get a little feel for the fact that you did move away.

Yeah. And then you decided to come back. Was that ever a question as to whether you would come back or was there a chance that when you moved, you're like, ah, there's a world outside of Florida and I'm going to see it.

I really fell in love with the New York city and New Jersey, like in love. And I loved the people there. I loved how you're in community.

You're in the, in the city, but you're also anonymous. Um, I had my, in those days, the CD player I'd have in my backpack. Sony Walkman.

It was after the Walkman, right? It was, it was just a CD in my, in my sleeves of CDs. I'd flip through and just walk around the city. And I loved sitting at a bar and, and I got so into baseball up there and I could be there and there's a group of guys and, and they're just, they're watching baseball, you know, not talking to you or being sleazy.

I'm not saying everywhere was like that, but it was just a different feel. And I just, I fit, I just fit. I felt really great there.

Um, and then eventually I just decided, you know, I wanted to come home and had a boyfriend here. I was like, okay, I guess I'll go this time. I, all right.

Um, and I, I did miss Florida. I missed our, I miss the ocean. I mean, it's not, Jersey has the beach, but it's not the same.

The beaches just aren't the same there. Um, I love our, our South Florida beaches. I love our creatures.

Our wildlife is, our birds. Oh my gosh. Um, I love the pigeons, but I, that's, that's kind of all I got up there.

So I started seeing that as glass half full again, coming back, but it was, it took me, it took me like a year, two years to reacclimate to people not walking on an escalator. They just stand. I'm like, what? You got to move to the right.

If you're going to stand and walk. And I don't mean walk. I mean, let's go pick it up.

Like that's, that pace was hard for me to like, Oh, we're slow down. Yeah. All the blue hairs here.

Yeah. Okay. So I was saying that and asking you that to kind of get back to what is it that you loved about Florida? And you said some of it already, but is there anything that really, truly stands out as to, you know, South Florida? Cause I'm going to include your Miami days and stuff.

Of course. That, that you just really love, you know, you mentioned the ocean and, um, you know, the scene and stuff, but what else do you, what else do you do? Well, I mean, um, I missed, I, I loved not having 30 degree weather. I mean, that was bundling up.

I mean, I got a little thicker up there. I was not as active. I'm super active to Jen.

I'm like weightlifting, all the things I used to train in Taekwondo, all the things. So I was, so all of that activity slowed a lot for me when it was so cold. And, um, I rather drink a Guinness.

It was like kind of my thing, you know, I have a pizza slice, but yes, I love kind of that activity. I love here that I can do that basically at any time. Now I don't love how hot it's getting.

I'm not, you know, I'm just saying it's definitely a little different I'm feeling, but I enjoy and I appreciate the kind of that flexibility I have all around that I can be outside and enjoy the beach. uh, I do love winter weather, uh, you know, snippets at a time when I'm visiting. Right.

And then I get to, I don't know that I love working in winter weather. I like visiting in the winter weather for sure. Yeah.

Yeah. When were you in winter weather? I lived in Nebraska for a few. Nebraska.

We had winter weather. We had winter weather there. I realize, I mean, I do like, listen, I lived in Kansas, so I know.

Very nice. I mean, you're from Ohio, right? I was born in Ohio. Okay.

I moved here when I was like six. Okay. But see, that's what I thought.

I'm like, when have you been in, you know, well, my late husband was in the military. We lived in Nebraska. Okay.

So you went from Ohio to Florida then to Nebraska? Yeah. And then back to Florida. Oh my gosh.

Yeah. Yeah. How long were you there? Nebraska, three years.

Okay. It's more than enough. Yeah.

Oh. No, actually, we thought about, we thought about staying there when he got out of the military, but we missed, we missed the palm trees and just the food. They have food in Nebraska.

There's nothing like when you're away from home and you take that flight home and you get off the airplane and you just feel that wall of humidity that you don't love when you live here, but when you're homesick and you feel that humidity, it's like, it hugs you. A hundred percent. I know completely what you're talking about.

It's like an embrace. Yeah. And I'm like, thank you.

You know, I, I know what you're saying. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I'm home. It's, it's such a feeling that I'm like, yeah, it's grinning because I thought I was the only one I'm like, do you feel that? And I'm like, no, it's hot.

I'm like, it's a hug. It's totally a hug. Yep.

Oh my goodness. All right. Let's take a few minutes and talk about some of the other stuff that you do.

I know that you, you've done some volunteering and you're involved with some organizations. What, what do you feel comfortable sharing with us about that stuff that you do? Oh, gosh. Um, I think you're, I mean, I, I think you're talking about pay center for girls.

Yes. Yeah. That's an amazing organization that supports, you know, just girls who, who need help or at risk, um, with both education and, mental research, mental, I'm sorry, social resources.

And Jen, I'm sure you could speak better on it. No, you're great. I just, I love that organization.

Yeah. Yeah. It's absolutely fabulous.

And what they do is they've partnered at least without, I used to be active on Broward County Women Lawyers Association. I know that's a mouthful, but it's Broward County Women Lawyers Association. That's what it is.

BCWLA. And I believe they're still partnered. Um, where we were doing, um, books and breakfast, breakfast and books.

Basically a few of us, after you're vetted and there's a whole background check, they don't just let anyone in there. Uh, a few of us, uh, ladies on the board would go and read along with some of the students. You know, a particular book.

And, and one of us would each take turns breaking, bringing in breakfast for the girls. Um, yeah, that was incredible. It's very rewarding.

I think anyone who does volunteer work, you know, it's, you get so much out of it. As much as you're helping and serving your, you do feed your soul of, you know, that, but yeah, that was, it's a really important organization. And, um, I haven't done that in a, in a little while.

I know it's still going on as I still see that, that, that those emails coming in as, as far as like, this is happening, who wants to fill, you know, sign up. And we have a, I know that there's a lot of new faces and, uh, people coming into BCWLA. So it's wonderful that that's still going on with, you know, new people who are also, you know, experiencing it.

Yeah. Yeah. Have you guys been, have you guys been to the center? I love pace.

Um, Aggie Pappas. He used to run. Oh yeah.

Then she left, got promoted, but I think she's there now because they're looking for a CEO. At least as of a few months ago, she's an amazing woman. I've been with them forever.

Yeah. Great organization. I just, I'm fortunate to work in that nonprofit world because I always say I'm in this like bubble of really good people.

Yeah. I get, you know, I get that, uh, rose colored glasses because there's so many, not only the people we work with, but all the people that volunteer and support us are community minded and philanthropic. And it's, when I get glimpses of the outside world, I'm like, ouch.

Yeah. Not pretty out there. Yeah.

That's a different mindset. My, my mom was in, in, in, in that as well. She worked for Camilla's house and, um, take stock and children, kids.

Um, yeah. So I, I was always, I was always part of my world exposed to that. So it was really, it was really nice.

Village for sure. Completely. You're looking at me like I don't understand the nonprofit world.

And I, I do. I worked for two nonprofit organizations. That I do know about.

Good. Uh, so notice one of the things that, uh, I like to do for people in studio and we didn't prep you for this, but, uh, I know that you have listened to the shows and I wanted to give you the opportunity. Do you have questions for us? That, uh, my goodness, maybe something that sparked your interest on an earlier show or now that you're here and we've, we've chatted and you're looking at me.

Yay. I, you know, I pride myself on prep. And so to riff is, I can do it.

I can do this, but yeah, I, I was telling you when I, when I came in, I was listening to that, as I said before, the hell of the moon podcast. And I was really taken by the vibe between you guys. And I read about Jen.

So I asked about Cleveland. Um, cause my husband, I know so many people from Cleveland. Like, yeah, like I'm like, what, when I go visit, I'm like, there's so many people here.

Like I thought they're in Florida. So I'm like, that's awesome. Yep.

Um, but Marv, as I know you, Marvin professionally. So I'm usually, I love this interaction with you and I, I love this vibe and I loved how you brought up the Florida man. And you said it's going to be Bradenton in February.

I actually looked at my calendar. What am I doing? Really? There is something about the evading arrest. Obstacle course that I find like it's sad, but it's also a little hilarious that that's part of the Florida man competition.

Um, so I find that I found that very interesting. So are you a part of that? Do you, so how do you know that? So the short answer is I went last year as a member of the press. I had my podcast there.

So that started for me. I have another podcast. All the it business podcast and the tech sector.

And somehow Florida man came up as a topic many, many years ago. So it got to the point where I included a Florida man story, every show, because people would try to say, you know, they would send me links to things that they saw on the internet. And I'm like, that's not true, but it's less Florida man.

I'm like, no, no, no, you don't know true Florida man stories. So I would start showing Florida man stories every week. And that became a staple.

So when they announced that they're doing the Florida man games, first of all, people didn't believe me. And so I'm like, you know what, I'm going to go. And the first year I, you know, spaced out and didn't get the memo in time.

But the second year I said, I'm going to go. So I reached out, asked him for a pass. They said, sure.

So I went, recorded some, some interviews there, did some pictures, did a, made a video about it. And yeah, I'll be going back as a podcaster again. So you're going to Bradenton.

Yes. Oh my gosh. You want to go? I'm looking at my calendar.

You want to go? I, I think I do weirdly. I'm just kind of, I'm just, it's so Florida man of me to even consider this. I'll have to.

Okay. When is it? So the Florida man games, wow. We're going to do this on the fly here.

So tickets are on sale now. And yes, you do have to get tickets to go to the Florida man games. Listen, they're, they're pretty cheap.

They're 40 bucks for your basic tickets, or you can get a VIP experience for $120. Okay. And what do you get for that? And if you want to, if you want to bring your RV and park, it's one 50.

There's a camping pass this year. Yes. Okay.

This is hilarious. Maybe you get a gig up there. Oh, gee, Jen, you're brilliant.

Thank you. So Florida man games this year, Saturday, February 21st, 2026. Okay.

It's a date. It's in the calendar. So I guess now I'll be putting those links in the show notes.

And so taking a field trip, a link to my video so you can get an idea. But yes, the evading arrest obstacle course, the, the sumo wrestling where you have an inner tube and a jug of beer. The tractor races.

I'm trying to even imagine this. I can't even picture it. Yeah.

It's, it is absolutely one of the most bizarre things you will ever see. And a once in a lifetime have to go. Yeah.

Yeah. That's, that's all I'm saying. Yeah.

I don't want to be like a seasonal thing. Like for me, not an annual, not annual pass. Listen, I, I didn't think I'd go again, but I interviewed the lady with the iguana.

It's Mikey's world. I actually looked up his Instagram. I couldn't find it.

It's Mikey's world. It's yeah. Something like it's Mikey's life or I'll, I'll have the link for that.

He's got an Instagram page and I get stuff all the time on it. That's fantastic. That is fantastic.

I have a question for you. Do you still sing Valerie? I do. You do.

Okay. I do. And again, it's word notion, Gress music.

And you can find us on Instagram and Facebook. And yeah, that is definitely part of, that was one of the first songs I wanted to learn. It wasn't the first song I learned, but it was certainly one of the first ones because what I was trying to do, you know, our band had taken a, it was like, we were on hiatus, COVID, all the things.

And I was just sitting there staring at this, you know, beautiful Takamine guitar we have. And I was just sitting there, sitting there. And I'd been trying to find a teacher and I finally just went on thumbtack.

And I found my teacher of all places. He's in Nebraska. Nope.

And that's when I started. And I, and I have this notepad here that I have since I started three and a half years ago. And it's just all my notes from the beginning.

And in here is like Valerie. It's one of the first songs that I wanted to learn once I got my guitar. Yeah.

My, my wits about me of how to even, you know, hold a chord for right. And, and keep doing it that you, you gotta go through that growing pain of that's painful when you're first learning, I'm sure pressing down those strings. And so, yeah, Valerie was one of those songs that I've just, has always be.

And so back to what I was trying to send, I forgot. I was just trying to take my set list that I did with main street. And like, what can I play acoustic? You know, what, what will trend? I mean, I think most songs will translate.

Right. But Valerie was, yes, definitely. Was it as I was always, it will always be with me.

Good. Marv. We're going to have to take a field trip.

Watch notes. We are. I know.

When are you back at fishtails? Oh, TBD. We will see. I mean, I have to, I have to find out when we can get another day.

I will let you know, but certainly these follow us as I also published. Yes. States there too.

We will now. Wasn't that called Humphreys at one point? I'm freezing. Yeah.

It had a, not that I'm aware of. Fishtails has been like that. Fishtails has been a long time.

I know, but I used to, so 94-ish, 95-ish, I would go there as well. Okay. Right before Blue Jean showed up.

So. Oh, I was in North Miami Beach. I don't know.

Okay. And then, and then, and then I worked on Miami Beach. You're young.

Jen and I are old, so. Yeah. But I went to Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale.

All right. So what is the YouTube channel? So I know we'll get the link afterwards, but what's the YouTube channel so we can have people go and. Oh, check out your music there.

Yeah. Let me, uh, do that too. Again, I'm better prepared.

I should have had this. Miss, I'm all about the prep. Sheesh.

Um, so it's, it's called. It's at sofa underscore sessions. What? So, so it's sofa sessions.

Sofa sessions. Okay. Got it.

Sofa underscore sessions. I'm curious to know if you'll find it, if you type it in now, because I've had other people type it in and it comes up with like a gazillion sofa sessions. Yeah.

It comes up with luxury series, home theater. So now here I would say if, if I, and when I share it, it's a completely different thing. So I'm going to.

There's sofa club. Sofa sessions, dance hall, UK, funny baseline. That's not you.

No, I'm getting eclectic art pop. Okay. So I just sent you the link.

Okay. Um, and then you can send it to Jen. So yeah, and then, but that's why I can say at sofa underscore sessions, but then just doing this exercise, you didn't pull up my page.

So what I do is I just put the link. On my Instagram. So you can just click it there.

And then, that's how I do it. And that's why I, when I email, I, I put this link. It's not as helpful to just do a blind search.

It just doesn't yield it. Yeah. You may need to get with a, a publicist, PR, social media person and kind of get that fixed.

That's why I put in uncle Mar for everything. Cause people can find that for some reason. Right.

When I, when I was just the it business podcast, nobody could find it. Well, I'll find that guy. I should also, uh, after I do my EPK.

Okay. All right. I have two more questions.

Oh, favorite artist. Oh, so it depends on the, okay. So I'll just give you a lot of genres.

Yeah. Genres. Um, so, uh, right now, I don't know why three 11 is coming to mind.

Um, incubus. Incubus. Um, and then there are so many, I, but then I love, um, Rosanna for Spanish language music.

Um, Carlos VVS. Royal. Those are like my, my heart.

Um, but yeah, those are the quick ones. I'm going to leave here and say, why didn't I think of this? Why didn't I think of this? But there's so many, it depends on like my mood and yeah, my mood. Well, I'm like, this is how I live my life.

Exactly. Cause yeah. Oh, what am I even talking about? Amos Lee, Jason is well, Ray, LaMontagne.

These are folks that I'm also like brought me to love and performed their music on acoustic. So a lot of that. Yeah, he was at the Parker not too long ago.

I saw it. You were there. I was there.

I missed it. I met. No, what's worse.

I paid to meet him. I missed it. I missed an email, an email on an email server.

I don't use a Yahoo, it's gone. Oh, no. And I wasn't there the 30 minutes earlier for the meeting.

Great. Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. No, I feel like I'm going to meet him one day and I'll be able to share this.

And I'll be like, oh, yeah, yeah. Parker's a great man. He'll give you tickets for life.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I got to see him also at Red Rocks. Have you guys ever been? No, that's bucket list item for me is to go to Red Rocks.

Yeah, yeah. That is an amazing venue no matter what. Just to stand there.

No one playing it to have the music and the at night and the lighting and the sound. It's fantastic. I've seen comedians play there on TV.

And I'm like, why would a comedian play at Red Rocks? But apparently, like you said, the venue is amazing. They have yoga at Red Rocks. They have so many things.

I'm like on their list. Yeah, their events. Yeah.

Yeah, I'm on the newsletter. I don't know. I'm doing goat yoga October 19th.

October 19th. You should come with me. Yes, I did.

Yeah. Where are you doing? Southwest ranches. I think that's exactly where I went.

Those they have some big guys there. They're there's some serious goats that I don't want standing on me. Like because, you know, they used to show on Instagram the tabletop.

And yeah, no, these were like a massive. I'm like, well, I'll be on the lookout. Oh, and oh, is that poop on your mat? Yeah, that's right to the shower.

There you go. Yes. Don't bring the nice mat.

Bring now. Yeah. Tattered mat.

Yeah. You bring your own mat. You should come.

I brought my nice mat. So, yeah, you're going to get goat poop on you. You will get goat poop.

OK, I think that's where we'll end the show. OK, let's keep it classy here. I was trying to be funny, but no, you've done goat yoga.

Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much for responding to my request and coming and being a little open with us, a little vulnerable. Oh, my gosh.

Thank you for making it so easy. Both of you. It was fun.

I love your podcast. And Marvin, Marv, I, it is so nice to meet you and meet you here in this level. I so don't want to call your office on Monday.

We're always so professional on the daily. And now I get to like chill out here. My flip flops, you know, it's a very nice venue.

So thank you so much for making me feel so comfortable and for the invitation. All right. So there you have it, folks.

Ninochka Mirsoyka. Good job. Yay.

That is her. All of her information will be in the show notes with the correct link to the underscore sofa sessions YouTube page. Whatever it's all of that.

And then we'll link up places where you can see her when she is out and about. Oh, thank you. All from Pompano to the Keys.

Sounds fantastic. Thanks, Nosh. Thank you.

Thank you. All right. That's going to do it, folks.

We'll be back with another episode soon. We'll see you then. Bye.