Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work as a bartender? In this, another special two-part Chatterbox episode (this is part 1), Andrew interviews his friend and bandmate Ben, who works as a bartender in Montreal. Join them as they talk about their friendship and some of the highs and lows of working in the bar and nightclub industry.

Expressions included in the Learning Materials

* To travel in same circles

* An institution

* To drink your face off

* To go without saying

* Shaken, not stirred

* To not do anything for me

* To not bode well A vibe

 

Sample transcript

Ben: Hello.

Andrew: Thank you for agreeing to do this with me.

Ben: You’re welcome.

Andrew: And I guess we should start at the very beginning. That’s a good place to start, right?

Ben: Yeah.

Andrew: So maybe you could just explain a little bit about who you are and how you know me.

Ben: OK. My name is Ben, and I live in Montreal. I know Andrew from the West Coast of Canada, in Victoria, where we met and he was playing music with some friends of mine. I was back for a little while while he was there, and he played a show and we met up. And then he was moving to Montreal and started a band here in Montreal, and now I guess this is year 2.5 of our friendship.

Andrew: It’s weird because, yeah, I was trying to think how long we’ve been friends, and it’s only been a few years, but it feels like I’ve known you for a really long time.

Ben: Right.

Andrew: And I think that’s because, like you said, we have a lot of mutual friends. We travel in the same circles, but we weren’t in the same place for quite a while. But once we connected, it just felt very natural.

Ben: Yeah. And then also… But it’s… Being in a band is like spending an unnaturally long amount of time. Or just, like, it’s only with your, probably, immediate family that you actually have such the same experiences. Because usually with your friends, it’s, like, you know, you finish hanging out or you go out to eat or whatever, and then you, kind of, go home. But in a band, it’s, like, you see your bandmates all the time, and then if you tour, like we do, then it’s really the only time that you ever spend that much time with the other person. It’s, like, rare that I would have, like… like, wake up in the same place, have breakfast, go wherever; you know, like, you get into the van, you hang out for the whole day, and then you play the show and then you both stay at the same place again. It’s, like… It’s really rare, other than maybe, like, a camping trip or something that you take. And so it isn’t like just being regular friends with somebody because it’s like you share these experiences that are a by-product of being in a band that even some of my closest friends I don’t have that often. You know, for better or worse.

Andrew: Yeah, it’s very true. It’s weird being in a band with other people because it’s a relationship that you don’t find anywhere else, it’s kind of like the relationship you have with a girlfriend, and it’s kind of like the relationship you have with your family. Like, it’s very intense. And we fight and we joke around, and we have these intense experiences together. And, yeah, probably that’s why we feel like we’ve been friends for so long, too, is because if we added up all the hours we’ve spent together, it would equal a lot more than just a regular friend that you’ve had for 10 years or something.

Ben: Yeah, definitely.

Audio/Learning Materials: Culips English L...