What do Nine Inch Nails, Goldeneye 007, X-Men Figures & Cinnamon Toast Crunch have in common?

For brothers Alex and Austin Ward of Hembree, they’re four pieces of a childhood spent growing up together in Fort Scott, Kansas, surrounded by music, video games, action figures and the occasional bowl of “vacation cereal.”

Nine Inch Nails takes them back to discovering the band at an impossibly young age, falling down a rabbit hole trying to find “Closer,” and eventually blasting Broken and The Fragile while playing GoldenEye for hours. They also talk about how Trent Reznor’s approach to sound, negative space and live production continues to influence the way Hembree makes music today.

Then there’s GoldenEye 007, the game that turned a tiny bedroom into a summer hangout for a rotating crew of friends. Four-player split-screen, proximity mines, unwritten rules and eight kids waiting their turn all became part of the experience.

For the X-Men figures, Alex and Austin revisit their childhood collection, the battle over who got which character, and why Austin willingly stepped away from Wolverine so he could be Beast instead. That childhood idea of everyone bringing a different “superpower” to the group eventually becomes an unexpected connection to the way Hembree works together as a band.

And finally, there’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It wasn’t an everyday cereal in the Ward household. As they agreed, it was more of a vacation cereal, something special enough to make the case for. Their mom would even buy the knockoff version, which, according to the brothers, sometimes managed to eclipse the original.

Maybe that's what makes these four choices stick. Some were shared, some were discovered on their own, and some were simply things that made being a kid a little more fun. Together, they paint a pretty good picture of where Alex and Austin came from.

Four choices. Four pieces of childhood. One room that tells Alex & Austin’s story.

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Produced by: Brian Colburn & Jay Sweet

Theme Music: “Rewind” by Brian Colburn

TRWW Logo Design: DT Carel

What do KISS, Looney Tunes, GI Joe & Olive Loaf have in common?

For comedian and rock 'n' roll lifer Don Jamieson, quite a bit.

Don takes us back to the room he wanted, starting with KISS Destroyer, the album that introduced him to a band that was more than music. KISS were rock stars, superheroes and comic book characters all rolled into one, and Don's childhood bedroom eventually became a shrine to the band.

Then there's Looney Tunes, where Bugs Bunny and the gang introduced Don to a different kind of rock 'n' roll attitude, absurdity and comedy. We also get into the adult references hiding in those Saturday morning cartoons and why their humor still works decades later.

For The Stuff, Don brings G.I. Joe into the room, along with memories of playing outside, and giving those action figures a life far beyond what the commercials promised. And for The Taste... well, there's olive loaf. Don explains exactly what it was, the experience of getting a slice at the butcher shop, and whether he actually liked eating it as much as he liked the idea of it.

Along the way, we talk about George Carlin, Cheech & Chong, Andrew Dice Clay, the strange connection between rock and comedy, and how some of the things Don loved growing up stayed with him, while others simply remain memories of his childhood.

Four choices. Four pieces of childhood. One room that tells Don Jamieson’s story.

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🎵 Browse the Catalog: https://theroomwewanted.com

💬 Join The Roommate Community: https://www.patreon.com/theroomwewanted

🌐 Connect on Social:https://theroomwewanted.com/social

📧 Contact Brian & Jay: https://theroomwewanted.com/contact

Produced by: Brian Colburn & Jay Sweet

Theme Music: “Rewind” by Brian Colburn

TRWW Logo Design: DT Carel

What do Mambo No. 5, Ace Ventura, Pokémon and Warheads have in common?

For Dylan Chambers, they're four pieces of a childhood that helped shape the musician, songwriter, guitarist and producer he is today. It sounds like Lou Bega's "Mambo No. 5." It looks like Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. It means Pokémon cards spread across the table. And it tastes like Warheads.

What starts with an unlikely conversation about "Mambo No. 5" quickly becomes a look at the music Dylan grew up hearing, from NSYNC and The Beatles to James Brown, Elvis and the late-90s revival of big-band sounds. We explore how those influences helped shape his musical instincts, why Brian Setzer made such an impression, and the connection Dylan sees between the music that made him happy as a kid and the music he wants to make today.

Then there's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and the unmistakable influence of Jim Carrey. From physical comedy to endlessly quotable moments, we talk about why that kind of humor connected with Dylan so strongly as a kid... and why some things never stop being funny.

Next, we dive into Pokémon, from the first-generation games and characters to the trading cards that became a full-blown childhood obsession. There were holographic Charizards, cards getting banned at school and even Pokémon trading parties in a friend's basement. But underneath all of that was something bigger... the first real sense of community and friendship that came from sharing something you loved with other people.

And finally, there's Warheads... the kind of candy that turned eating something incredibly sour into a test of toughness, especially when your friends were watching. We talk blue raspberry, Sour Patch Kids and the strange appeal of deliberately making yourself miserable for fun.

When you start looking closely at the things we loved as kids, you realize they're never just music, movies, toys or candy. They're the experiences that make us laugh, the things that bring us together, and sometimes the first clues to the person we're going to become.

Four choices. Four pieces of childhood. One room that tells Dylan's story.

🚪 ENTER THE ROOM 🚪

🎵 Browse the Catalog: https://theroomwewanted.com

💬 Join The Roommate Community: https://www.patreon.com/theroomwewanted

🌐 Connect on Social:https://theroomwewanted.com/social

📧 Contact Brian & Jay: https://theroomwewanted.com/contact

Produced by: Brian Colburn & Jay Sweet

Theme Music: “Rewind” by Brian Colburn

TRWW Logo Design: DT Carel