Blake Filippi grew up with his two brothers at Ballard's. His father Paul Filippi Sr. purchased the infamous beach bar after spending a week camping on the beach in a tent. Before that Blake's Dad had opened the first desegregated night club in Providence where Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and other greats performed.Blake's early days on the island were filled with the usual shenanigans a young person gets into. But after graduating high school Blake went on to college then law school. He passed the Bar and continues to work as a lawyer.But Blake also felt the pull towards the world of politics and won a seat as a State Representative. Currently, Blake is the House Minority Leader. We talk with Blake about politics on both the National level and here in Rhode Island. It's an interesting conversation with a guy who has an important job. But it's also a conversation with...well...just a guy. A guy you could run into at a bar and strike up a conversation with. And we found Blake to be a fantastic conversationalist. Hope you enjoy our chat as much as we did.