Killing It

Yea we looked at the ratings last week, and the Ticket is killing it. Ratings, and interpreting them, is a beating. They serve as a general metric to tell us how the station is doing.

But you don't need ratings to realize that the Ticket is killing it right now. It has been a wild past month, with the departure of TC to some sandy small market as program director, the departure of Rich to the TMS as pit crew for Tony Stewart, the rise of Logan, the Mohawk and Jet Black. It has left us waking up on Monday mornings at 5:30 AM, tuning in to hear just what the hell is going on next. No, this isn't sycophancy, this is an observation that we have not heard the station this strong or interesting in a while. BaD interviewing Dirk, THL losing bets, D&M talking to Turturro, and the sports, oh the sports.

Granted, for hard core P1's its captivating because this is a crazy time at a place where the status quo, as discussed earlier, is the norm. Half the fun for us is listening to see what JV is going to successfully rip through a ticker or try to channel their inner Gordo and hit a home run of an 8:40 bit. The other half is listening for the inevitable screw ups and stumbling that make it to the E-brake.

For the casual Dallas listener, beaten down in their Pontiac on the way home from work, this is where they tune in to experience the conversation about the insane sports that is happening in our city. And it is truly insane right now, with the Mavs battling the Spurs, with hockey being awesome again and with the Ranger wienie at full staff (I can not imagine being a host and trying to decide what to deliver over the airwaves with this much sports going on in our fair berg). The casual listener is loving it, learning in depth about some sports points he can discuss around the water cooler tomorrow. 

Like Followill said, "Just livin' in the now, man."

PS: Hearing Grubes play Norm drops over the PA last night was bad ass. The Ticket permeates everything in Dallas. And if you don't think it is special then you can suck it.

                                           

                            

Everybody hug.

Seamless Transition

Doubt that many people tuned in this morning right at 5:30 to see what the Ticket would offer us in terms of a new Ticker man. Well, we did. And if you did your research online.... well whatever. Dick Hick's departure left a big void in responsibility and talent demanding prompt and capable replacement. At lesser stations, this would be a problem. But at the Ticket, where there is a stable of young and hopeful kids like Logan Gourley, it was no problem. The young man is no stranger to the Ticker and he nailed it all morning. Don't know how long he will stay at this spot, but we like it. Add to that Gordo's absence and Jake filling in, there is a bit of a father/son or young/old camaraderie atmosphere on the show this week, which we dig. The show had a fun sound with George and Junes cutting up with the younger guys.  

Watching this Colby performance gets my baseball pants going crazy.

Name's Logan. Bitches love my offerings.

63,000 Ticket Tickers

At a station where the status quo is the norm, and any change like this one happens rarely, the departure of Rich Phillips is a big deal (especially this close to the departure of TC). Shocking almost. Shocking in the sense that he is one of the longest tenured employees up there, to the tune of 15 years. Not shocking at all when you see where he is going. Dick Hicks (his real name, on his credit card dammit) is leaving the Ticket for apparently greener pastures. Making his money now on football, basketball and auto racing broadcasting. Leaving the morning spot for a more normal schedule and a much shorter commute in. The Musers, who has had the same crew for 14 years, will experience a shake up. Who will replace him? Unknown at this point. And how do the other Musers feel seeing him go? Do any of them hear and see the delight in his voice and on his face, leaving this job and chasing his dream? Does Junes fleetingly think about all the biking or running he could do if he left this gig? Does George dream about making music a full time gig? Does Gordon weigh the idea of going full time into writing? They have to.

Hearing him recount interviewing with Rhyner in November 1995 was special, Friday on THL. That was a damn long time ago. Rhynes didn't even have a key to the building, so they went to the Jack in the Box at the corner of Fitzhugh and Central to chat. Rhynes remembers that the guaranteed onslaught of applications during the Ticket's opening did not happen, and Rich was one of the few to apply. Apparently it was only 25-30 guys, since no one wanted a part of this seemingly sure to fail station. Ironically Rich was not hired at that time, but hired on two years later (thanks largely to the great Followill).

Rich has always been in the backseat in the P1 Ticket brain. Case in point, the gold standard for Ticket blogs, MTC, has not tagged him in a post since June of last year. His departure has brought him up front, temporarily at least, in the middle seat with our arms around him. The throw back audio we heard this week including the awesome SMU football and basketball calls was great. And it reminds us how few  Ticket people we behold in our gestalt, how its only the hosts we hear and how there is so much more going on behind the scenes that the listener does not see.

Rich, oh Rich. Such a sweet guy and true class act. This gig at the TMS is his dream job, and we are happy for him. Lets hope these big Ticket shake ups stop for a little while.

Also, look out for Part II of the Ticket Movie. Soon. 

"Hey Rich!? Are your racing pants going crazy? Well, are they?"

TC's AMA

Been well known for about a news cycle. But here again is the link to TC's AMA on Reddit:

http://www.reddit.com/r/theticket/comments/22kfow/ama_tc/

Hey ladies. Try to love me.

Sea Bass on THL

Holy dog sh*t talk about lack of continuity in coverage of the Little Ticket. Rich Phillips is leaving, the Rangers are finally toying with your sports wienie again, Mike's due for a hair style make over and Sean Bass is becoming more and more present on THL.

Which is what we wanted to muse on today. Jake's departure to BaDD has had the possibly unintended effect of bringing out more Sea Bass. His input is often funny, witty even, but it sounds forced. Most likely because his on air persona does not share the chemistry that Corby/Mike/Black Cloud do. Nonetheless, this is a good thing for Sea Bass. He has his Shake Joint gig, Ticket Tickers, Diamond Talk and now this extra on air exposure. Some people reiterated the common theme of Sea Bass being slighted after Jake got promoted, but we see it differently. Sea Bass has never had more exposure, opportunity or Ticket responsibility until now. And that is regardless of how you feel about his on air talent.

Oh yeah, has anyone heard of how TC is doing? Or where we can stream him?

Idiocracy

We watched the movie Idiocracy recently (with Luke Wilson, directed by Mike Judge). A futuristic movie where humans have bred themselves retarded, water has been replaced by Brawndo, farting is still funny and reading is super gay. Owen Wilson's character is locked in a time capsule and he awakens in this society, and tries to rectify it.

President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho

The relevance here is the multitude of classic drops we noticed come from this movie. Notably, these:

 "C'mon scro!"

"Right? Kick ass!"

..... and others. 

Just watch the movie and keep your ears listening. You will hear them and your Ticket brain will be kicked in the sack. 

 

"Right? Kick ass...."

Rich Peverley

Rich Peverley had a 'cardiac event' this evening during the first period of the Stars game. Luckily, he was quickly rushed off the ice and met in the hallway to the locker room by medical staff. From what we have heard, CPR was administered for a short period until a defibrillator was able to shock his heart back into a sustainable rhythm. Now he is in stable condition at St. Paul hospital for further treatment.

We had the radio on in the background, thinking earlier we would hear the Top Ten but instead ended up listening to Ralph and Razor call the Stars game. Cool bro, so we stuck with it. Noticed something was up when there was an extended stretch with no audio. Twitter filled in the rest. Very scary, so glad the right people were there with the right equipment to treat Rich right away.

This event was reminder of how lifesaving CPR training can be. So fortunate that this happened at a game where players are surrounded by medical personnel. These kinds of cardiac events don't always happen when professionals are around, but it does not take a professional to save a life.

To find where you can take a CPR class, visit this site:

http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class

Farewell TC...

Damn. Just when you think its safe to enjoy a few Black and Milds, a blue margarita or maybe a bucket of Bud Light's at Kay's. Big time Ticket stuff has to go down, real fast.

As far as we know TC is sitting in the airport, waiting for a flight to Pensacola. Or maybe he already boarded. His Twitter handle says as much, and a desperate call to the mother ship was not answered by the familiar sweet voice of Thomas Charles Fleming. Austin picks up instead, sweet clean Austin. Norm's intern from August to December. Not TC. Not the kid we just hugged drunkenly at Ticket Stock.

A side note to this all. There will be many. This is just knee jerk reaction shit to what is happening. Expect more posts on this later. But for now, TC will no longer run the Top Ten. Or be at the station weeknights at all, and that is cause for quiver lip confusion for all of us (he does have 2 more weeks I guess). This is a real kick in the dick.

And these things always happen fast. So fast. Faster than that which allows recognition, processing or even denial. TC has accepted a position at WBSR 1450 AM/101.1 FM, the local ESPN station. Pensacola. Guys, we are at as much of a loss as you are. No idea why he would go there, no knowledge of any family there. No knowledge of position details, sure they are better than what he had here.

So much more to say. But its Friday night, were drunk and now all we want to do is lay down and fall asleep.

Middle of the Week Quick Hits...

The Irony of Jake's New Position: Is it really a promotion? Well, I guess so. In fact, on paper (his resume that is) and with regards to his paycheck, moving from afternoon drive board-op to BaD producer is definitely an upgrade. However, we feel like Jake's daily on-air presence has been diminished, severely. He no longer sits in the chair of fun, no longer has control of the on-air flavor. He no longer can listen to his gestalt and reflexively fire off hilarious drops. He now lives in the small on-air nook that Gribble had established. Is he trying to carve out more space? Is there anymore space for him on air with Bob, Dan, Donny and the more present than ever Sean Bass? These are the thoughts of a P1 though. Like we said, this new position is a resume builder for him, its not a chance for him to sharpen his radio delivery. He has already done that. This new position is the CTO (thanks Plainsman for that acronym) playing chess, moving Jake into a position to make a big move. A move that will have big repercussions at the station.

Corby's Wallet Got Stolen at the SMU Game: Pretty funny really. The whole Courtney Madden segment was shut down by Corby's loss. Losing a wallet does really suck, pretty debilitating. Hearing Corby challenging Killer to a fight over the incident was cause for laughter.  Don't think this story is over yet, you can guarantee we will hear more about this tomorrow. Who the hell would have done that?

Ian Kinsler Is a Little Bitch: Can any big name Ranger just depart from this thing on good terms? Ham-bone, Kins and Young, all have left the team on ridiculously stupid, piss and moany' and semi awkward terms, respectively. Jon Daniels is a genius, and a large reason for the Ranger's two World Series appearances. Kins can suck it.

Rick Barnes got really old all of the sudden. 

Grubes Is My Leader

Been thinking a lot about the lower class men at The Ticket, and wanted to talk a little about Grubes. Has any JV had such an impact on the Ticket? During his decade at the station, the young man left an unrivaled mark. Grubes was not the inventor of the drop, however he was the one to harness its power and cement its place in everyday Ticket broadcasting (sorry Jer, but Grubes was the one to elevate the drop in our opinion). He cemented the chair of fun, and who could not love hearing his soft bearded chuckle waft through the studio, picked up by probably Danny's mike and played on air.

 We were truly saddened the day Mike discussed his departure. It was truly emotional to hear how he called up THL individually to tell them his decision to go back to school and leave The Ticket. Even though Jake was able to slide in and take over quickly, the P1 shed a tear or two. It was just not the same, and many argued that the show suffered for it. And Grubes moved on, going back to school full time in Denton, stopped drinking and apparently got on the straight and narrow. Even though since he has dropped back out of school and started working for the Stars/FSSW/The Observer. Not the point of this post.

His legacy goes beyond the extensive work he did archiving drops in the ENCO. Grubes created a connection with the P1 that none of the hosts can. As one would listen to THL when he was board op, it almost felt like you were sitting next to Grubes, listening to the guys on the other side of the glass and waiting for the next drop to play. Chuckling along with him as Danny and Snake ganged up on Mike about his Celine Dion hockey jersey. Off air he was accessible, you could find him playing with Gribble at Barley House almost weekly and drink a beer with the guy. And Twitter, geez. There are even T-shirt companies that sell merch with his face on it. While we don't much understand the site, the GIML message board is very active and has an almost cult like following. He created a Ticket sub-culture if you will.

Grubes was the secret leader of all the 20 somethings that listened to the Ticket during his time, and it remains to be seen who will take his place. TC lost his chance, his reputation was tarnished early. Jake is destined for a big role at the station. Sean Bass, well, just not happening. Mino? Who knows. Fact of the matter is, there may never be another Grubes at the station, because there may never be another afternoon board op who will match his tenure.

George is still out...

And the balance of power is skewed towards absurd shock jock discussion with the Dooce in Jub's place. Gordon is unleashed to talk about carrying dixie cups of ejaculate around, or insinuating that Doocey's vocal cords were damaged during oral sex. Wow, my fingers burn just from typing that. Junes doesn't offer any help either. There are no rodeo clowns to control the bull when Jub Jub is out.

Also, got a question for you P1's out there. Why does it seem like the first three Muser's segments are so short? The later segments are regular length, but the first few seem to go by so fast and turn to commercial in about 4 minutes. Something we have noticed over the years. 

1310 The Ticket - The Movie! Part 1

If there was to be a movie made about The Ticket and its 20 years of existence, who would act in it? Who would the director be? When would it take place within the two decade history? We each drank a case of Schlitz while chain smoking a box of Black and Mild's and came up with a plot summary and casting. Part 1 of the script and most roles are below:

Director: Scorsese

Lead Roles:
Gary Sinise as Mike Rhyner 
Jonah Hill as George Dunham
Val Kilmer as Craig Miller
Dwayne Johnson as Greg Williams 
Shia LeBeouf as Gordon Keith
James Franco as Corby Davidson
Skip Bayless as Skip Bayless
Curt Menefee as Curt Menefee
Spence Kendrick as Spence Kendrick

Backup Roles:
Omid Djalili as Jeremy Moran 
Matt Bomer as Danny Balis


Opens in 1995 at the Ridgelawn rental where Gordo, Greggo and the Junes are living. Shows a shot of Gordo sleeping on the ground with his clothes in a grocery sack in the corner. Audio over-layed on the scene is from the Skip Bayless morning show and the shot cuts to Skip in front of the microphone. Cuts back to Ridgelawn where Greggo is now arranging some Cowboys regalia on his shelf. Cuts back to Skip. Cuts back to Ridgelawn and now Junes is riding a stationary bike in the kitchen while flipping some eggs and drinking OJ. Cuts to airborne-helicopter shot of Dallas and a rising sun. Next it cuts to Junes and Jub in the parking lot as they are walking up to the station, both dressed in silly 90's clothes. Jub with big glasses and Junes with sneakers and shin high white socks, both exuding the sweet bird of youth. They walk into the station and into a quite control room with Mike looking silently through sound proof glass as Curt Menefee talks into a microphone. The shot only shows Mike's back at first, his arms crossed, with Junes and Jub walking in next to him, saying hello. Shot snaps to close up of Mike's expressionless face, with the broadcasting room reflecting off his tinted glasses. "Morning boys. Another day in the jungle of radio. See you in the prep meeting." Shot now goes into the broadcasting room as Curt takes a caller and you hear a brief snippet about the upcoming Cowboys super bowl. Shot switches to control room with some board op kicking a smoking computer tower, wild music on in the background, half eaten sandwiches everywhere. Riotous chaotic feel continues as camera goes back into broadcasting room, with Jub and Junes belly laughing about their college days at UNT. Junes has one hand over his mouth and the other slapping his knee. Jub bounces around like that officer in Super Troopers on the other side of the car during the Meow incident. Riotous feel continues as someone does a Ticker and 1310 jingles play on. Scene abruptly cuts to a quite meeting room, with Jub, Junes, Mike, Greg, Gordo, Skip and Spence Kendrick. Mike is again serious, talking behind dark sunglasses about the logistics of their trip to Atlanta for the Superbowl. "Now, we will be staying at this hotel here and broadcasting will be next to the stadium. Check your folders for all the information." Gordo speaks up, asking as he dumps the contents of the folder on the floor, "Hey Mike, are there drink tickets in here?" Jub rips a fart and the room erupts into laughter. Mike slams his fist on the table, stands up and bellows, "You jackasses think this is all a joke. Well I tell you what, this station is hanging on tooth and nail and this trip to Atlanta is a big God damn deal." Mike wheels around, and walks out of the room.

End part one. Tune in for more.

The Enduring Car Radio

There must be a reason this primitive technology we call radio has hung around this long. Its theater of the mind, human voice coming at you untethered by visual information. Your companion while you navigate 75. On road trips to Austin or Houston we always tough out the static until human voice is beyond discernible. And on the ride home we sit on the channel until it comes back, giggling with excitement as soon as we can recognize a host's voice. But lets focus on the thing itself, the radio.

The radio is the one piece of technology in our cars that has remained relatively the same since it was introduced. The Galvin Brothers put a Motorola radio into a Model A in 1930 and this became the first commercially successful car radio. Since then, the car radio has remained relatively the same. An antennae, tuner, receiver and speaker, pieces of technology that have been around since the 1920's. Seat belts were not even in cars until Congress made them a requirement in 1959. Many gadgets in your car have evolved or been replaced. The manual window roller is obsolete, the cigarette lighter is rare and who the hell still sticks a key in the door to unlock it?

More and more people today take in their radio programs via satellite or internet. Interesting to think about the traditional radio transmitters that carry commercialized signals becoming obsolete, and people catching their tunage solely via the internet. But there is something special about being in the metroplex and being able to tune in to the KTCK torch. Hard to tell what will happen to the car radio, but for the foreseeable future it is sticking around.

 

Some early P1's tuning in. 

Dale Hansen, that guy that left the Ticket for 103.3, unplugged

We saw a familiar face at the top of the pile this morning on Reddit. Ol' Dale is going viral as we speak. His opine on Michael Sam was impressive and draws on the irony of how the public accepts the blatant felonic wrongdoings of others in the NFL but cannot accept a gay man. Here is the link from Reddit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olc5C4SXAYM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Like Sturm says, unfortunately his place in the draft will be interpreted largely by those without proper understanding of the valuation of an NFL player. This will be the story that dominates the draft, no matter what.

We don't see it like Dale does necessarily. Yes, this is a huge story. The first active player to come out as gay within the wide world of sports in the USA, is a big deal. However, we don't see Sam as being patronized or abused for it. We don't think Sam is not being accepted in the NFL, its just a big deal since he is the first. People are confused about this, should we celebrate? Should we get pissed? Should we even be talking about it? His team mates in college apparently knew, and it was no big deal. How this never came out until Sam wanted it to, and the way he wanted it to, is impressive. The horse beaten story about his father is sad, and has given the media another thing to latch on to and drag this story out. While he apparently has little support within his family about this, the media and his peers around him have shown nothing but support from what we can tell.

Writing on sensitive topics like this is difficult. But lets be honest, you and I were becoming tiresome of that unfortunate picture of Jonny Weir on our homepage. So carry on, and let us know what you think.

Norman? Oiieeeehh oooohhhh ohhhhh, Norman?

Its been a hazy morning for us here at the Wastelander hovel. Norm is out on some vacation right? Seeing him hobble around at Ticket Stock makes me wonder how he is the resident world traveler at the mothership.

Donny-Doo with Rich is a pretty good bit. Black and Quack create some interesting demographical and generational (that looks like genital) discourse. The pace of the segments is fast and we get to hear Jer more than we usually would.

Carry on then. 

By the way, down hill skiing. OMG. And Jonny Weir, so hot right how.

 

You serious bro? Gold fish in those heels?

Ticket Employee Review: TC

Next up in our review of every Ticket Employee Ever, is TC Fleming. TC was hired in February 2009. He formerly lived with Jake. Corby says he is slow, brilliant in his own way. Not trusted to handle himself in an executive meeting. Seemingly stricken to work at the Ticket forever and destined to ride behind Jake, until the very end.He is the current Top Ten host, driving the rehash of the day's great on air moments backed by a Super Mario Brother's soundtrack. Co-host of the podcast It's Just Banter with Jake. Punching bag for all the hosts at the station. Epitomizer of the personality who never had older siblings. The room mate that leaves unwashed dishes in the sink. Keeps a piece of cake on the kitchen counter to nibble on for a few days, crumbs everywhere. The one who is messy; but you feel bad chastising him into cleaning up his act. The golden hearted puppy that means well but just hasn't had a wife or significant other to foster a higher level of cleanliness. TC is and was the messy room mate you or your buddy had in college that seemed like he barely had it together; but was a true genius, capable of accomplishing big things that took you by surprise. Kid with a unique posture. Any picture of TC the P1 lays there eyes on features his trademark "look". Shoulders drooping slightly, with a characteristic forward head jut like he is trying to peer into a book and see a finer print. A wide no teeth grin with the cheeks of an 18 month old shining at you. Shaggy hair. 

Tiny Jake, or TC standing on a box? He ain't that tall is he? At least he's wearing a belt. 

His Current Work
The Top Ten has been a spring board to a few JV startups. For TC we think it is a good place to hone his often awkward on air delivery, and to display his creative flair. For management it was probably similar to handing a child a sparkler while the big brothers are lighting artillery shells. Let him get after it, with little chance of disaster. Stars hockey beats out his hosting most nights it seems recently, which is a drag for us. We actually enjoy listening to TC ramble to himself during that time slot, imagining how much fun he is having being The Guy at the little Ticket for a few hours everyday. We have started listening to Its Just Banter recently. Always knew it existed, just never forayed into the JV audio that was not on air. Reminds us of a Bob and Dan relationship, with Jake being the level headed sports bully and TC the abstract mind scraping the dark under belly of topics they discuss.
 
His Perception at The Ticket
Each JV (non-host non-producer short timers) at The Ticket often gets known as the one who did "_____". For Jake, its the "space is super gay" audio from his podcast. For Ty, its his "I'm Ty Walker!" sign off making him sound mentally challenged. For Grubes it was playing some song at the Barley House, or his inability to hold conversation on air. 

For TC, it was his 8:40 bit prank call aimed at Corby (the "hah huf fa hah hah" incident came much later). TC needed some material for the bit, and he decides to call Corby, at home, late at night, while he is asleep. The call rouses the Snake and his wife, keeping them awake until the early morning. While it was probably misguided, what prank at the Ticket isn't? And is Corby so innocent? TC was dressed down on air regarding the incident the next day. Corby and Danny teamed up and hurled the insults, citing pasta induced comas, turning girls lesbian and his lack of relationships. The wave of anger directed at TC was stoked by TC's reaction to it, a reaction of cockiness and disregard. Bad idea on his part, but such an unfortunate start to his Ticket persona. Will he have to leave the Ticket to overcome this sour taste that has persisted for four years? Who knows, these hosts are like elephants, and so are the listeners...

Which brings us to: His Future
He is the future of the Ticket, along with guys like Ty, Sean and Jake. When you look at the big picture, someone like TC is destined for a big time position at the mother-ship, if he stays around long enough for it to happen. Long enough being 5-10 years. Let's be honest, at a station where change is rare and the lineup has been the same for about 15 years, things happen slowly. He has built a strong body of work with his pal Jake, and in a minor league farm system with about 5 guys in it, he is no slouch.

Barring any Bacsik like pop-offs on Twitter or hot boxing the studio during the Top Ten, TC should be safe at the mother ship on Victory. His current on air persona is still raw, we think he has a ways to go before he is ready for any regular conversing presence on air. Top Ten is done well, but he has a conversation with himself the whole time. Its Just Banter is shocking and funny, but its a podcast recorded out of the back of Jake's car. The kid is dedicated to his craft, which in our books is the most important thing he has going for himself with respect to longevity. And yes we don't care what the haters say, but we think the kid has real talent. The management sees something in him that is special, or he would not have been allowed to hang around this long.

So carry on TC. Good luck with your bottom. 

Post Shake Up Observations

We have been tuning in closely the past few days, and have heard little difference in the delivery of the on air content. We think Mino is doing a great job so far. If you can step in to that position, insert drops with precision and make even the Balis Black Cloud laugh, then you are doing a good job. Jake's presence is still heard on BaD, and his absence on THL is nothing to fret over. To us his THL cut ins, while interesting and impeccably delivered, gave the feeling of a crowded house, too many cooks in the kitchen if you will. It has not phased the hosts, at least on air. No telling what behind the scenes interactions are going down. All in all, the station seems healthy after the switch, albeit its only been three days. We consider it a sign of strength to weather a shake up like this one and not flinch.

*********************************************************************************************************

Live Action Update!!!
Never done this before, change a post after publishing. But we found a relevant comment on Reddit we thought was timely and worthy of pasting in here. From our friend Ruffianstjames:

As someone who is a big Ticket JV supporter, seeing early results like this is very encouraging. Mino is a real good dude, and I had no doubt he'd slide into the role with ease. He's more fluid already three days in, you can hear him hitting the staples. This is going to sound a bit demeaning, but Mino is much more a prototypical board op type.

It leads into my theory about Jake. Jake was awesome in the chair of fun, but at the same time it was keeping an every day ready prospect in a bench role. He needed more at bats if you will. So shifting him over to where Tom is, and putting Mino where Jake was is basically using your resources in a more optimal fashion. Now Mino gets to play in the big leagues, which he earned, and Jake gets a starting role which was made by moving Tom away.

Speaking of Scoops', as much as it sucked to see Tom leave the friendly confines it was the least objectionable option. You weren't going to move a host, and Fernando/Sirois/DanPaul are well ensconced. Tom was also, but he's also out of the four the most likely to succeed at ESPN. He works hard, but is also probably the most polarizing out of the four producers. Giving him a move up to ESPN(if those rumors are true) can be construed as a reward for putting up with Bob and Dan, a Herculean task.

 Thanks, Mr. Ruffian. Good luck with, your bottom. 

MTC Brings us NEWS:

Breaking News at MTC


The Plainsman at MTC brings us the news that Gribble is out to ESPN as a producer, Jake is moving to
BaD as producer and Mino is moving in to take Jake's spot as 12-7 PM boardop.


Gut reaction to this is, well okay. Biggest adjustment here for the P1 will be getting used to Mino at the board. Jake was becoming a major force on THL as well as BaD. He was delivering a bill of goods at the board similar in quality to what Grubes was capable of, enriched with solid on air commentary during segments. Going to miss Gribble though, however under the radar he was. Always a sad day when one of the long-timers leaves for different pastures.


Now, as things settle down this week and people get readjusted, one must think what affect this will have on the other JV. How will Sea Bass, Ty and TC feel about it? We don't think this behind-the-host realignment is an affront to anyone. All the other JV have solid roles and have been performing their jobs exceptionally the past year. 


That is all we have. This next week will be interesting. 

 One Month Birthday

We're one month old. Just a few weeks ago this blog was thrown together in a PBR fueled rage and has grudgingly continued to be your fart-and-fall-down HQ. Now we have like 6 regular visitors and that is pretty neat. Thanks Plainsman, Cactusflinthead, charlie0712, livinginreality, Pablonius Monk, HotGuts and the rest. We tallied 4,000 views, mostly thanks to bot tracking sites like vampirestat.com, so apparently internet robots really like our website too. Thanks, robots!

But space is super gay and so is Lee Corso's baby arm. We have a lot of fun writing fun and yuks for the sweet clean P1. And sometimes calling into the station to shamelessly plug blogs like this one and MTC to open up our conversations about the Ticket to more people. Like Craig once said, "It is good when people are talking about the Ticket."

So here is to some more months of distilling your Ticket experience into even less cohesive thought and serving it up in a big glass made of Wastelander drivel.

We're havin' fun here, no?

Super Bowl Placeholder

We wanted to throw this up here for the P1. These times around the fire tuning into The Ticket, listening to the crazy tales from the road are some of our favorite. The content is rich. 15 guys away from their families for a week, cooped up together in the Big Apple makes for radio gold.

So enjoy it my friends.

We have a few strong posts in the oven. Tune in early next week for some new, meaty Ticket Talk.

Failed Pics From Ticket Stock

We scanned some Polaroid snaps into the Macintosh for your viewing pleasure. Nothing to ground breaking here. Things we did not capture on film was the Phil-Dill boat display (a 100k pontoon boat, really?), Ticket Museum, Jerry's Cowboy bus.

 The bar, selling overpriced beer. Next year, bringing a cooler. Or a back pack full of weed.

Mechanical bull. 

Descending Hunan with his spot light during "Points for Sex". Best performance of the night.

 Keller's Hamburgers. Where P1's go to raise hell after Ticket Stock. And eat cheap burgers.

There you go. The sparest of pictures from Ticket Stock. Throw up your Picasa album in the comments if you have anything better.

The Morning After

Pure greatness, that was. We got to see some of the later round tables and all of the Time Wasters. Not going to say much now on it all, wanted to get this up for the three people that read this blog in case they want to post a comment.

Loved getting to see such a large group of P1's. There was vaping, homeless miscreants asking for money and lots of Rich Phillips look a likes. Best part was mixing with all the guys after the show. They were great, letting us beat them down to take pictures and share in awkward embraces. 

Some quick hits that come to mind: Junes's Points for Sex (I am insane now), TC rapping, Jub on the fiddle, Sirois brothers pumping up the crowd, Tweeting our asses off. 

It was pure good good fun. 

Now, who has that recording from Friday night?
 

Our Ticket Stock Prospective

We are ducking our heads in the Grey Hound station as we write this to you, fellow P1's. Trying to scribble this message to you on the back of a pull out from the latest Texas Monthly (Ted Cruz strikes again bitches), and pass it along to Randall behind the counter at the Western Union stand. If this all sounds a bit jumbled, blame our rusty Morse code. Or the tamales we bought from Delfina outside the station. Unpasteurized goat cheese was a bad choice my Hispanic friend. Anyways, we had to get this out to you before we depart for the D.

What do we think is in store for this weekend? We don't really know. Us here at the Wastelander hovel, well removed from the watchful eye of Margaret Hunt Hill as she sits on top of her bridge, have a little time to ponder as we make our way into the metroplex. There is a good chance it ends up like our previously described agenda. Hopefully not, hopefully Cat got this whole thing sorted out right and we can follow the schedule. This is a schedule for human beings for crying out loud.

Enough with the nonsense for a second though. Listening in today we could hear the hosts realizing that this is more than just another Ticket Stock. This is two decades of history we are celebrating here. This will be all the hosts, digging deep and revealing to us the personal life they have that swims around beneath their on air consciousness. Mike for example revealed today that he was getting a little nostalgic, and that for him this was a big deal. Danny chimed in saying, "you should enjoy it man." As he should. The same thing has happened to us this week, realizing that this is more than just another Ticket Stock. These guys have been together for 20 damn years, and its time to pull the curtain back as a group and take a teary eyed look at the thing. And get drunk.

So shove your paw into that bag of Redman and pull out a healthy chaw, this ride in will be a rough one. Get that spit cup ready and tune Pandora to the closest rendition of Waylon Willie and Kris. We already got our eye on that tweeker over there in the corner of the station as The One To Watch Out For On This Ride. Or that lady with the Cricket phone, Cricket means trouble.

And once we make it to that station on Lamar street, we'll make that 7 minute walk over to the convention center, to see the whole family. And beat them down, and pay homage to a body of work that will never be repeated.

Current Events: Mike Bacsik

Just read the Dearmore piece about Bacsik from the Dallas Observer (dated for Thursday the 23rd?) When this went down in 2010, we felt terrible about it. As if getting knocked around in MLB baseball wasn't enough, Bacsik decided to take on another hard hitting industry. He was a guy who had  real on-air potential (and still does), just trying to scratch it out in another tough gig. We knew him as Norm's handler and the sharp guy on the Ranger's post game show. Then, he was gone. And oddly the hosts didn't mourn him, some joked about it a little as we remember, and still do. Some of it was jabbing at Cumulus big whigs, but some seemed a little dark. It brings to mind other abrupt endings to careers at the Ticket. Namely, Greggo. But this was so different than that. There was no mystery, no questions unanswered and no conspiracy theories. Mike took full responsibility immediately and the situation's course was laid out plainly. A journey of hard work, gutting it out and taking risks halted by 15 seconds of drunken irresponsibility.

Now at the Fan, Mike is back on the air apparently. We never listen to that station, but good luck man. Stay hard Mike!

Your Favorite Ticket Experience

More nostalgia. Because that's just how were feelin, OK? The Wastelander hovel is a little sticky this morning. But as we plow through the empty cans of Pearl and plastic bottles of Canadian Mist, wondering who is going to clean this Cabana Queso off the pool table, we open the front door to a sunny morning and glow in our hangover. Sit on the porch couch and scratch. And smoke the last two Black and Milds in that box. Wood tips? What a treat. 

So you start to discuss things in that way. Channeling your inner Garrison Kheeler, laughing without moving your eyes from that weird room mate's girlfriends plant down there that has been dead for months. Feeling the potential of that Sunday Morning Coming Down, while things are still moving slowly but before the football games start.

And you think about Your Favorite Ticket Experience. Ours is Cowboys Training Camp. Thanks to the webcam, a P1 feels like he is sitting next to the hosts. You can even watch them mill about smartly during commercial breaks.  Yes you are getting beaten down in your cubicle filling out TPS reports, but you are doing it next to the Junes. As Gordo molests Rowdy on the field. There is something special about knowing throughout the day you can tune it in, turn it up and voyeur on while your favorite radio hosts do their shtick.

We remember a specific moment, maybe in 2011 in San Antonio. Somehow the Musers got ahold of some freight carts, those giant flat bed push carts you see at Sam's Club, capable of carrying a weeks worth of roast beef for an You Are Having I'm Arby's. Gordo was the moderator, with Junes challenging Jub Jub in a race around the Alamodome pushing these behemoths. And we can't remember if there were passengers on the carts, there might have been. So what happened was this: the station was broadcasting from the middle level deck in the dome. That level where the press boxes are. There was a large hallway circling the dome that the boys were racing through. The webcam was trained on the circus the whole time, watching them directly at the beginning and catching them across the dome for split seconds as they flashed by the concourses. It was complete insanity. Gordo was stirring the pot with I think Norm, probably speculating on some extra butt thrust from Jub Jub or the measured tenacity expected from Craig. The competitors had mikes too, losing connection as they figuratively went past the far side of the moon, and abrutly cutting back in when they were back in range. The whole bit was hilarious, a product of some guys stuffed away in a spare 65,000 seat stadium with nothing to do but talk about the Cowboys and drink bad margaritas on the River Walk. There was hearty Georgio laughter, Gordo screaming and general chaos. Don't know how they calmed down after that to stay on the air. The most surprising thing was that George won.

Yea for us its that moment if we have to pick one. But really any time the gang travels and camps out together in some far away city. Usually there is the webcam, and a P1 can camp out too, being part of the insanity. The stories that come from these weeks are greatness. And the camaraderie between the guys is impressive, the late nights at bars, practical jokes at the hotel, talking about rooming with Norm, the speed and efficiency of the Junes getting ready, and so on. We can do what they can do, but they can't do what we do.

So as that Black and Mild transitions from the latter to the former, and that cool room mate's girl friend starts to clean the house, let the sun shine upon Your Favorite Ticket Experience, and enjoy it. And don't feel bad about ashing in that plant, its dead anyways.

So, what is yours?

Shout out to Stephen Kelley. And TC. I like steak.

"Uh Paul in, uh..."

Current Events: Ticket Stock 2014

This is a big deal. Twenty years of the Ticket is upon us P1's. You might say, 20 years? That ain't that long in radio history. Hell, the Magliozzi brothers on NPR, our P2 station, talked about cars for 35 years. But they only did it once a week, and they were just two people. The Ticket was originally a community of about 10 people, from different generations and backgrounds, that banded together back in 1994 and have never looked back. Since then we have seen some bedrock changes, great additions and rising stars.The original 10 has expanded, but the founders are still here for the most part. And we get to hear them every day.

What a hell of a time to start a new blog, right? While we pile the Schlitz and Wild Turkey at the Wasteland honey hole in preparation for this party, lets plan out a sample Ticket Stock schedule for the big strong P1. If all the staff at the Wasteland offices can dig enough pennies out of our cup-holders we might just buy some Grey Hound bus tickets and trek on over from our far away ports of call. It might look something like this:

• Friday: 
• Noon - show up on time of course. Find Killer, give him a high five. 
•  12:15 - Find bar, shot gun beer. Order a pitcher of buttery nipples and do our best Fake Norm laugh.
• 12:30 - Find Danny. Spare him to death.
• 12:35 - Shot gun beer.
• 12:40 - Stand in a big group of people and watch some round tables. Yell vaginal slice born born at George.
• 12:45 Shot gun beer. Realize that this pace of drinking is unsustainable. 
• 12:50 - Talk to Ticket Chicks. Tell them they have nice feet. 
• 1:00 - Wander over to Exhibit Hall A, get lost in a sea of high school cheer leaders and steal some pom-poms (poor choice of weekends NCA). Hold a fake Ted Cruz rally for an hour.
• 2:30 - Watch Jim Jackson talk about sports. Eat a boom stick.
• 3:00 - Shot gun beer. Teach TC how to Frumble. TC knocks himself out, but only for like a few seconds. 
• 3:30 - Watch the real Michael Irvin talk to the fake Michael Irvin. 
• 3:45 - Ask George for fake Michael Irvin autograph. Challenge George to bong three beers at once, he wins. 
• 4:00 - 7:00 - Pass out in the Ticket Museum for 3 hours. 
• 7:00 - Listen to behind the scenes perspective from all hosts. Gordo turns into Mush Mouth and tears entire stage down.
• 7:30-10:00 - black out
• 10:00 - Get kicked out of Ticket Stock. 
• 10:10 - Fall asleep under I-30. Dream about Mike's curly hair. 
• Saturday:
• 9:30 - Wake up next to Gordo, walk back to Ticket Stock. 
• 10:00  - Walk back into Ticket Stock, rummage through Ticket Museum for a change of clothes. Find Greggo's jersey from original Charity Challenge on Ice and Grube's pants from the 2009 Great Game. 
• 10:30 - Shot gun beer. Gain Corby's favor and talk about TCU girls. Rub Donovan's shiny head.
• 11:00 - 6:00 - Entire crowd recesses into Ticket Museum. Confused P1's watch NCA semifinals in exhibit hall D, Cat forgot to schedule Ticket Stock for Saturday afternoon.
• 6:00 - Timewasters take the stage. Jub, Gordo and Junes are first and redo Captain Doo Doo song. Shot gun beer backstage.
• 6:30 - Greggo rises up from middle of stage wearing Lord Humungus outfit, with microphone. Grubes drops from ceiling on a wire dressed as Ted Nugent circa 1979, with bass. Rocco Pendola walks through smoke screen stage rear with double necked electric guitar. Bela Flec is on his back playing banjo. Gordon wearing half-cat costume rolls on stage with piano. Jer plays drums from within Dr. Wierd's Insanoflex from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. They all play Let the Sunshine In's song "Aquarius".
• 6:31 - Entire crowd is put into zombie like trance and begins to dance after Greggo removes his Lord Humungus mask revealing the location of all the drops lost during the move to the Victory station. 
• 6:32 - Shot gun beer. 
• 6:33 - Alerted by all the commotion, finalists from the NCA nationals arrive. Corby buys them all beer and goes to jail under supervision of Chief Brown. 
• 6:35 - Cat takes the stage, restores order. 
• 6:40 - Modano and Pudge are next, rescheduled at this time due to the cheer leading mix up. They do an impromptu rendition of My Little Buttercup as seen on the movie Three Amigos with Modano as Chevy Chase, Pudge as Martin Short and Mike Backsik as Steve Martin.
• 6:50 - Organize frumble circle with entire Ticket staff.
• 7:00 - Ticket Stock ends early. We are all insane now.

But were just having fun here no?

Lets get back to business here for a second.

While we don't agree with the doom and gloom predictions of others out there, or feel our radio pants go crazy when contract negotiations get sticky, we understand that nothing lasts forever (those are friendly pokes, Plainsman and Richie). We get the feelings too when we think of this Ticket birthday as a transition point, a so called kiss goodbye as the Ticket sails off into the distance and lets the JV take over. In 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, whatever it is. But for now, the Ticket is here. Norm will be there at 10 AM, we will hear what is on Mike's mind at 3:40 PM, TC will play tracks from Super Mario Brothers on the Top Ten and Rich will wake us up at 5:30 with the Ticket Ticker. Enjoy it while it is here. Just our thoughts for today.

Ticket Employee Review: Big Strong Jeremy

Welcome a new Wasteland bit, the Ticket employee review. We will attempt to pull back the triple fake curtain to look at the person behind the on air persona. First up, our review of BSJ, one of the longest tenured and least well known employees at the Ticket hovel.

Jer is the morning board op guy, and has been for a while. That is the extent of what most people know about the man, that he has been there since the beginning and stays pretty quiet. Definitely the least vocal guy at the station with a microphone in front of him. Jer has been the board op for the D&M show and Norm since August of 1997, his first big time job after graduating from Hardin-Simmons University.  A reliable person behind the board; plays drops, but not too many. Votes in the Biggest Show Coming to Town, but otherwise doesn't speak much in regular programming. A smooth operator at the board, a guy that can handle the likes of Gordo, Dunham, Miller and Norm.


Historically at the Ticket Jer is one of the founders of the drop. Along with Grubes, Expo and Psycho Dave, Big Strong Jer helped developed the art. If done right, a drop can create comedy that dominates the segment. Case in point, take Gordo's death to stricken animals segment today. Jer's drops were all over the place, he played many more than he normally does. But they made the segment, punctuating Gordo's description of chopping a Starling's head off with a hatchet. Earlier this week, we had Jub get into the problems with fracking and the ridiculous commercials oil companies produce to promote it, with kids in swimming pools next to fracking towers. Jer's expertly placed drops were not only hilarious but they paint the picture of what Jub is telling you. They add another layer to the on air comedy, another force in our Ticket subconsciousness. They are the honey mustard sauce on your Chick-Fil-A nuggets. The alcohol at your bible study Christmas party.

Gordon sees him as the eternal suffering character, a role we think Jer happily embraces. This is typified when you hear Gordon, in his fake comforting voice whisper, "Oh Jer..." in response to a rare comment from Jeremy regarding car repairs, retirement or something like that.

Random Facts: He had bariatric surgery in 2009, his wife is blind and she has a cool seeing eye dog. He likes Star Wars and pro wrestling.

Kill me: Ads

What's the moon made of? Why do dogs have wet noses? Why is the ocean salty? Why is a pizza round? How do cellphones work?

How do you throw a curveball? How high can you jump? How many phone numbers are there? How do fish learn how to swim?

Hi, I'm calling to report a bear sighting!

Kill me.

When these come on there is nothing we can do faster than to lunge for the mute button and/or punch over to Pandora. It is so painful because there are not many of these things, and when they start playing in a P1's ear its like the war veteran hearing the screen door slam. Turn that shit OFF, and NOW!

Lets face it lads, advertisements are the mattress this station sleeps on. Notice the very Carlton Maxwell metaphor people, the ads are sleep for the station. The station would soon die without them, the hosts use them to prepare for Ticket broadcasting consciousness and they occupy approximately 1/3 of the broadcasting day. Right now, the Ticket management and sales staff are popping pills or swilling dream juice to get the sleep it needs. The ads are frankly unhealthy for the existence of the station. Judging from what we hear on air and what we read on blogs next door at the Plainsman's house, people punch out when these things come on. And they punch out hard, to places like 103.3 or 90.1 (NPR, for you uncultured DFW heathens).

The perpetual conflict right? The consumer of radio broadcasting must deal with advertisements, hell the product you are consuming is free anyways. Cable TV has ads and we have to pay for that? So maybe we should just put up with it. Maybe this is just a problem for a station with such devoted listeners that they obligatorily memorize its ads. Or maybe the little Ticket could cause a paradigm shift in how ads are delivered. Require companies to send you collections of ads aimed at one product, instead of using the same one for months, for example. Because right now the advertisements on the Ticket are detrimental to its overall product.

Twitter Time Waste

Yes, we did. Follow us on the Twits for more strong time wasting fun. @AP1Wasteland

Everything out there is happening more than we think it is, apparently.

Wondering: The Insanity of WTDS

This segment on the little Ticket is complete insanity. Hosts talking over each other, rambling conversation, line 4 guy and wheels off background music. However, it is structured and is consistent in its flow. Dan leads us through with 'On this day in...', P1 birthdays (still faxed in of course), station birthdays, 'dead on this day still dead', the occasional question from Norm and spare birthdays. It is a prolonged show mixer marking the entry into the late afternoon and the start of THL. In ones mind you can almost see Dan pulling this wagon of a segment through the mud that is constant interruption, off topic comments and occasional breakout of song. In many ways it is his ideal type of segment, one with ventures into the absurd, dark humor and chaos.

The segment begs two questions:

Why does Danny never speak during this segment?
-We have heard Danny mention in the past that this segment is his kryptonite, most likely because the segment is so crowded with Bob, Dan, Ty, Danny, Mike, Snake, Jake, L4G and the occasional random.

What's the deal with line 4 guy?
- Some people say he is an old friend of Dan's, others that he is just a long time loyal P1 who calls in everyday during WTDS. Regardless, to our knowledge there has never been a 'pull back the curtain' discussion on his identity. He is rarely even addressed or acknowledged. His comments often incite laughter, but he is never directly engaged in conversation. He could be considered the voice of the P1, a 12th man on the air if you will.

Weigh in with you own thoughts wastelanders...

The Most Caustic Drop on the Ticket

It has to be the contrived Norm drop, "Black man ... white bitch".

Especially in the context when Jake Z used it today, talking about Charlie Strong and his very white wife.

But its THL, who socially lean way left of center, so its ok right?

Character Analysis: Deep Throat Informant

Modulated to create two voices, one high one low, both very creepy, talking with each other to mimic the identity-protected-witnesses you see talk on crime shows.

One of the legend bits to feature this character has to be the Informant's description of a confrontation of Antonio Bryant and Bill Parcel's fupa. Commonly replayed on Rotten Radio, this bit builds a scene between a frustrated Antonio and a Godly Parcels hanging from his sex swing in the locker room. Dez is upset because he is not getting his, "reps that are many," in training camp. After disrobing and piling his laundry on the bulbous Tuna, the Tuna's fupa, transported in its own wheel barrow, glows red and pulsates. Antonio continues to antagonize the Tuna and faces the fupa wrath, having his face melted off in Indiana Jones Ark of the Covenant fashion.

You have to wonder, does Gordo script these bits before hand? How much of it is ad-lib? The content here is stuff of deep REM stage 4 sleep dreams. Weird, bizzare, and hilarious.

Current Events: Ticket Stock promo

I am insane now. If the original promo for Ticket Stock 2014 was not bad enough, I just heard its schizophrenic little brother. The redo has Gordo and Jub singing the promo in voices such as Fake Tiger, Fake Jerry, Fake Irvin etc.

And no, Donnie is still not included.

Word Definition: Hard-by

Not used much in casual Ticket host conversation, but more in promos or live spots between segments. The term is used to describe proximity, it means close to. For example:

Ticket promo guy: "Broadcasting from our new studio, hard-by the AAC..."

In this instance its used to show that the new studios are very close to the AAC, obvious.

But where does the term come from? Who came up with it? Unknown in these offices...

Relationship Perusal: Jub and Gordo

George, the conservative, family oriented, genteel, affable UNT alum and possible future radio hall of famer; has sat next to Gordo, the aloof, quirky, brilliant, son of a preacher outlaw; on a daily basis for a shade under two decades. Gordo is Jub's foil on paper. They are opposites in many ways and Gordo, with his blood in the water mentality, profits off of this immensely. Excerpts from a fictional Muse segment:

Muse in the News
Gordo: "Here's a story for you George, and count the red flags Craig, man found in public park (ding) pleasuring himself (ding)  with a pack of hot dogs (ding)." ///Craig bursts out laughing
George: "Don't drag me into this, why do you do that?"
Gordo: "Your kinda story George."///chuckling
:::::::::
George: (George laughing from another previous story)
Gordo: (said quickly in an accusatory manner) "And two people were killed yesterday in a grocery store parking lot car crash. (pause, and slowing) What do you think about that George?"
George: "Why do you do that..."

Or a non-fiction promo for a bit coming up:

Gordo: (said with no chance of rebuttal by George): "George's hero, the star of Duck Dynasty, gets in some hot water for anti-gay remarks, we talk about it next."

And Craig is no guilt free party in the Gordo fueled tension here. His indifference to the jabs keeps him where he lives on the D&M show, his own island. One that he keeps swept clean, neat, with his bikes and running shoes kept in shining order. He is a passive observer to the constant pseudo-rivalry between his other two hosting colleagues.

It is true that both hosts, Jub and Gordon, are dynamic characters whom respect each other immensely and often have honest conversation on topical matters such as religion, death, suffering, the airport or holidays. They can function together as hosts to address deep issues, just look at their coverage of 9/11 or local tragedies. I believe its during those conversations that we see the true nature of this relationship.

Rotten Radio

Its genius. Replaying the best bits during off or weekend hours. And the segments contain three or four replayed bits, strung together with the rotten radio promo in between.

Listen long enough, you hear the same bits played, like repeated songs on Pandora. Deep Throat Informant talks Tuna, Jerry calls Felix Jones with Wade, Gay Cowboy song by Corby etc.

Filler for lack of JV talent or ambition you could say. Cat has made it clear elsewhere that rarely is he approached with new show ideas to fill the time Rotten is on. But entertaining filler nonetheless.