- Learn, Monroe County. If you don't learn, then you're gonna die. Welcome back to a new episode of Learn,
- Monroe County. I'm Ethan Hamilton with the wonderful Mr. Kempelo. Kemp, say hi to everybody. Hi, everybody.
- We're at Boomerang here. Kemp's been cutting my hair for 18 years, and I still know nothing about the
- process. So he's gonna give me a little haircut. We're gonna learn a little something here and there.
- And by the end of this, maybe you can get your own haircut to yourself. All right, Kemp, I don't know
- what I want. I always say that.
- Make it shorter. Yeah, I mean if you're comfortable with it being shorter, I would like to see a little
- bit of delineation instead of it just being all even. Yes, let's do that. Because I like to give folks
- a verticality to them. And for those, I know what it means, but for those out there who don't know what
- delineation is, what is that? So it's a change from short to long. Okay, okay. Transition. Is that what
- a fade would be? Particularly, yes.
- Sometimes you go from skin to a length, that would be a bald fade. Or you can establish some shorter
- length but not to the skin to a length and that would just be a fade. You're so full of knowledge. Thanks.
- You're welcome. So would you like to begin? Yes, let's do it. Can I just maybe trim the sides for you
- and the back and then I'll let you be the guide after.
- I love that. Let's trim the sides and back and then I'll be the guy. Now, uh, it's size and like, if
- you're going for a haircut, I assume you have a starting point, maybe generally. Yeah. Usually the neckline
- and, uh, then that kind of drives up through the side of the neck and over the ears. And once I established
- that link, then that'll be my, my shortest link. I always imagine that ears were the enemy.
- of a hairdresser. Is that true? Yes it is. I really don't care for them. I would prefer to relocate
- them somewhere else. Yeah. Where do you think the best spot for ears would be? Probably on your forehead,
- wouldn't you? Yeah. Because then you could see and hear. Directly. Right. Yeah. We'd have to rethink
- all the headphone situations, maybe. But that's, you know, we're going to be transforming into a better
- person, a better human, type of human.
- Some things have to be thrown off to the side, like headphones. Now, I feel like a big part of getting
- your hair cut is making small talk. What are your favorite topics to talk about? Oh, usually, I'm kind
- of empathetic. I can feel the vibes from the person. Sometimes folks just don't want to talk, and so
- I just won't talk.
- And then other times there's topics like the fantastic weather we're having right now. And what would
- you say about this weather if I was like a 45 year old woman? I would inform her that today is possibly
- the best hair day of her life. And that gets me excited, even as a 30 year old man. Dry, hardly any
- humidity. You can make your hair do whatever you want.
- when there's not a lot of humidity. Sometimes I practice small talk because I'm not good at it. Do you
- ever practice small talk in the mirror? No. I don't. I guess I might be just a natural at it. I just
- am in tune with the vibes and go with it. Typically, I'll ask if they have children or they're married
- and then go from there.
- I have a few that I wrote down that I think maybe you can test out in the future. Can I give them to
- you? Sure. Or here's just some examples of small talk for those of you who have never had it before.
- Weather's a good one. Did you see the game last night? It can be any game. Right. Any game. Here's just
- a phrase I thought of. That ain't my son. So that's one you can try. Yep.
- Hey, Ford or Chevy, that's another one. Very good. Thank you. Here's a question I've never asked you
- in the probably, you've probably been cutting my hair for close to two decades now. Is that accurate?
- Yes. Music question, I don't know if I've ever asked you, why boomerangs? Initially, we were gonna call
- the salon roots, but if you remember back in the 90s was the first
- period of America. Sure. And we didn't think it would translate very well. We met by roots, as in roots
- of the hair. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But then people might have misconstrued that into some racial type of
- way. Like that TV show. Right. Or the band The Roots from Philadelphia. Right, I didn't even think about
- that. There's sell-outs. I've always liked just the appearance of the word.
- look at Boomerang. It has good balance. Sure. And then we had a professor type tell us that the adverb
- meaning means to bounce back with great force. Okay. And that's, that was what sealed the deal.
- Cause in my, in my partner's time, lifespan, we were kind of struggling and we were trying to bounce
- back with great force. And so it all came together. I love that.
- You have a wonderful shop. What's the address of this shop one more time? It's 220 North Madison Street,
- Bloomington, Indiana. You heard that right. Now how often do you dissuade young men from getting mustaches?
- I don't dissuade them, especially if they can grow them. But a young man of like 11 or 12 that thinks
- he has a mustache? That was me.
- I usually just shave it off and act like it's a mistake. Sure. Because it looks like chocolate, milk
- chocolate. Yeah, yeah, yeah. A little sip of milk from school. I usually give them my word of advice.
- I tell them that I know hair and facial hair. And now I inform them when they're able to grow mustache.
- OK. And today's not the day. I had a mustache.
- It went out really well. Thank you. You're a grown human being. I am. You can grow a mustache. Yeah,
- I can. My mom tells me all the time. There was a point when I couldn't though. Any tips for people who
- want to grow mustaches? Try to keep it neat and tidy if you can. Sure. That's the only request I have.
- Can I tell you a fun, I just learned maybe a month ago how to more properly grow one. I was always,
- I don't know why this never hit me. I just would always shave right after the lip. Right. But the hair,
- if the hair keeps going and it's connected, you could just have a longer mustache. I didn't realize
- that. Yeah. And there's all the different labels of mustaches. There's candelabra. Absolutely. Yeah.
- There's creep mustaches.
- Actually, there's the Venn diagram of handlebar and creep moustaches is close to just a circle. Yeah,
- it's a newer thing. I've never really championed the moustache on myself. I used to wear a goatee for
- years and years. I remember that. But I don't know, I just, moustaches just have never died for me.
- I think it was because of Magnum PI. He was big. Tom Sellett did it so well that I knew I could never
- do it justice. He ruined it. He ruined a lot of young men's dreams. Yeah. Yeah. It was a perfect mustache.
- Is there a type of hair that you prefer to work with? Like, do redheads have easier hair to work with?
- Uh, hair's hair. People at home should remember that. Yeah, hair's always hair. It comes in curly, straight,
- and in between. And then it comes in coarse to fine. And you're a little bit more on the fine side.
- Thank you. So, of course, you would assume that straight, coarse hair would be what I would prefer.
- But then you would be wrong. Medium,
- of course, curly hair is what I prefer to cut. Okay. Yes. I hope the rest of your year is filled with
- that. I have a lot of clients that typically meet that definition. Now, I myself kind of have it, which
- you can't tell it's not a hat on. I think it's a great hat. Thanks. I like your outfit a lot. Appreciate
- it. I was going to ask you,
- I shouldn't have smoked any weed before this, you know. I was gonna ask you, do you know anything about
- the history of haircuts? The only thing I know is way, way back, the barber, I think it might have been
- in the Greek times or maybe a little after, they also were the doctors. Okay. And so they would cut hair
- And then, notoriously, Sunday and Mondays were their travel days. And they would go to your home and,
- you know, take your blood. They would throw some leeches on you. Of course. They would, I guess they
- were horrible gossips. Really? Some things haven't changed. Even today, the red and white barber pole.
- Sure. That's blood and gauze. Oh.
- That was what it stemmed from. And of course, now, Sunday and Monday are my taste off. Of course, because
- you tradition. You're a traditional man. Yeah. And every sense of the word. How would you like to do
- the top now, now that we've established shortly? We've done it already. Time flies when you're talking
- with your hairstyles. You know what? I'm thinking that I'm so clued. I like literally, I always come
- in here, I'm like, just whatever, because I don't know anything. Right?
- What are options with this hair? Do you have hair like me? I would rather not leave it like this because
- this is all same or mono. Yeah, sure, sure, sure. So I like to give it a little bit more movement in
- light and texture so that it's kind of fun and you can do different things with that. I would love some
- movement. Great. I'll use this length, but then I will cut into it
- to establish a different kind of feel. OK. Do you ever feel like you're an artist and wear your canvas?
- I do. But I think we're back to just being, I think a lot of people are just born into this craft. Sure.
- I feel like, I mean, I appreciate the compliment. I mean, a lot of people say I'm an artist.
- I don't even know what exactly that means. But yeah, I mean, I'm sculpting a fabric attached to a sphere
- that moves in space. I like that answer. And I just love it, and I can feel it, and I know what looks
- good and what doesn't look good. That sounds like what an artist would make. And it just feels like
- something that I was going to do.
- I love that. Passion is important. It's never a struggle. Sure. I'm going to go back a little bit. This
- is what I was hoping the history of haircuts would be. I was hoping that there was a guy in the 1800s
- named David Haircut. And before that, everyone just had very long hair. And he was like, you know what?
- It probably wasn't scissors, but if we take this ass or something else
- And we lay their hair down on the surface so we can cut it. And they said, what do we call this? And
- we think it would be obvious because you're cutting hair. But because his last name was Haircut, David
- Haircut, it got named after him. I was hoping that was the answer. But I like the truth more. And I
- also want to go back to what you were saying. You mentioned sometimes it is art. Sometimes you're just
- cutting hair. Sometimes you just paint a tree. You know what I mean? Right.
- Yeah, my partner that trained me back in the day, he told me that there's haircut and then haircut the
- verb. And by that, it's like hair removal. Sure. And so you'll find that in a lot of establishments,
- great clips, places like that. You go and get your hair removed, right? And if you expect anything more
- than that, that's on you. Yeah, you're in the wrong place. Right? I've been to great clips.
- Well, I mean, I have clients that, you know, make me remove their hair. And I fought them for years
- and then I realized, what are you doing? That's what they want. Give them what they want. So now I'm
- okay with it. And for those of you at home like me who are like, whatever, ambivalence won't get you
- far in life. You probably would have just loved taking it back down one length
- And you would have been fine with it. I would have. But I find that that's disingenuous. And I want
- you to be the best you can possibly be on the world. So why wouldn't I give you something a little better?
- Why would you not get your hair cut from this man? Did you just hear what he said? He wants positive
- things for me. Yeah. I mean, that's what it's all about. It's about the love. I've been here.
- I've been here when there are lots of clients. I've been here when it's just you and some co-workers.
- The community here is great. Can I just say that? Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. And it's not just
- here. Kemp is good friends. There's the bicycle place still next to you. Yes, bicycle project. Good
- friends with the bicycle. Community bicycle project. That one. Yeah. And also hopscotch. He's a neighborhood
- man. Fantastic coffee. Fantastic haircuts as well. Thank you. And mediocre bikes. Just kidding. We'll
- get you on the show.
- They are used. They are used. Better than some bikes. I got my bike stolen once. That's a whole other
- story. Yeah, it was not fun. Such a bummer. When I lived in LA, I would leave my car unlocked to see
- if anyone would steal anything. Because after a while, no one was. My thought was it's because I had
- Indiana license plates, and I figured there was nothing good in there. It's something I did. In Bloomington,
- you can get your bike stolen for free.
- LA, you can ask for it and they won't do it. So there was never anybody living in your car? No, I didn't
- have a wheelchair in it for a very long time. Because I found one on the street. Oh, wow. And I thought
- I would use it. And I didn't. What you ended up doing with it? It just was in my car for like four months
- and then I threw it out on the street again. At home. I thought, I'm going to do so many sketches with
- this and I just did not. Yeah.
- I shave my head at home sometimes, but I've never cut my hair. Yeah, I wouldn't recommend it. It's good
- to know. If you have a good clipper, you can pull it off usually. But yeah, any time you're cutting
- with scissors, you run the risk of cutting a hole, not only in your hair, but you could also cut a hole
- in your flesh or your fingers. I do what I can to not have sharp objects in my hand.
- where I can't see them. Yeah. Every day I do that. Yeah, you always want to avoid holes in your body.
- Yeah, I try to. Or man-made holes. Exactly. You should tend to the ones that you just have. Right. You've
- got plenty of holes. You don't need to make these. Take care of your own holes. Yeah, I mean, what are
- we talking about here? We've got plenty of holes. We don't need new holes. No. Maybe this will be like the
- Don't eat new holes. Don't mess with your holes. The amount that you start with in a day, you should
- go to bed and have the same amount. Exactly. And if you have to count them, there's a problem. If you
- have to count them, you probably have a big day. Make sure you rest. OK, so now, I would like to ask
- you if you would like your mustache trimmed. You know what? While I'm here,
- I've never trimmed my mustache. That's a life's a lie. I have trimmed my mustache. For educational purposes,
- let's do that. Great. Anyway, when we're done with this, I'll probably have you or I can just do it.
- Just get some B-roll of this shop and outside, maybe we can go walk into it. There. So yeah, I like
- to keep it off the upper lip. Sure.
- Just in case you have that extra sticky biscuits and gravy, because you don't want it to stick in there.
- And then of course, if you have close friends, they'll tell you it's there. But then other folks will
- just assume that's how you roll. Yeah. That is never cool. It's never. I've never met anyone who purposely
- has gravy. No. Who rolls that way? Not me. And so I just tend to turn that off so that you don't
- This is smart, too. When I trim mine, I just use scissors at the very end. But this is like you're getting
- layers here. Yeah, that's another thing you gotta be careful with. There's so many blood vessels in
- the lips and nerve endings. Makes them good for kissing. Right. And if you hit it with a scissor, it
- will ruin your week. You will bleed and the pain is like lightning bolts through your body.
- Um, that makes sense, because whenever I busted a lip, it bleeds. Yeah. So what was your motivation
- to grow a mustache? Uh, I like having facial hair because my dad's side at least, they all have, besides
- my dad, they all have a lot of facial hair. Oh, so you grew up seeing adult males wearing facial hair.
- Yes, yes. And I was like,
- I wanted one so bad. Talked about that chocolate milk thing. I had that in fifth grade when I was 11.
- Did I accidentally, on purpose, shave it off for you? If you did, I didn't remember it. Oh, OK, good.
- So I didn't traumatize you. No, no, no, no. Yeah. I think I traumatized this one young man less than
- a year ago. But he got over it. I feel like that's something where maybe years from now he'll say, you
- made the right decision. Right. I hope. Hopefully there was no documentation on it. Yeah. He didn't
- get it before and after. No.
- We shouldn't be taking pictures of milk chocolate mustaches on 11 year old boys. That is just sick and
- wrong. I'd like to have it in balance and a flow to it. How does it feel? I feel hotter than ever. Would
- you want to look at it really close up?
- Wow. I like that. Isn't that fine? It is. It's short, but like also has some depth to it still. Would
- you like a product in your hair or would you like to wear it unnaturally? I like to go natural. I heard
- that about you. Yeah. I'm going to put some water in it. That's the most natural. Oh my gosh.
- Viewers at home, how hot am I? Right in.
- Call our line right here. Now, can you see the delineation? Yeah, because it's... Yeah, it's not all
- just a ball, right? It's not. It's beautiful hair that was crafted by a smart gentleman. And it's more
- flattering for your face. It is! I'm gonna come to work on Monday and everyone's gonna want to kiss
- me. Well, I don't know about that, but that might not be appropriate.
- Well, that has been how to give a haircut, everybody. I want to thank Kemp Logan and Boomerang for being
- part of the show. Come check him out. Did you hear all the small talk he was making? I had all those
- suggestions. He didn't use a single one. He didn't have to use it because he's so just good at it. Come
- get your haircut here. Thank you so much for watching. This show could not be done without the library,
- so make sure you get your library card.
- and get a haircut for the fall. Everyone should do that. Have a good night everyone. Bye. I was really
- into Black Flag and Dead Kennedys. I was lucky enough to see them both.