Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You know, when Jake was at the station and we did the sampler platter, we would play hip hop songs and, you know, the samples, how they, you know, came together with that music, and we do a show like that on the air for a couple hours on a Wednesday night. And I don't know how that came about, but those are great. Yeah. No, I love them. I love them.
Music has been such a part of my life, like, the entire life, that I don't even think about it like that. But I was in the band from, like, fourth to 9th grade. My parents would play music religiously on a Saturday night. Like, as we're preparing to go to bed or whatever Saturday night was, put the Bobby Womack on or put the Gap Band on and dance around the house and all that.
Didn't now I realized that maybe he was trying to get my mom in the mood or something. Now it kind of disturbs me a bit, now that I think about it.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: One for the game.
[00:01:03] Speaker C: We know sports brings different people together, and we know that music brings different people together. We certainly know that interesting people with fantastic and interesting stories bring different people together. And after today, you'll for sure know that the biggest dog in any school will bring all of us together. No question. This cat I've admired from afar, been a big fan. Finally got to meet him. He's a fantastic dude. I've really enjoyed the time spent. I'm sure you will. Also, please help me in welcoming to the Tcast. The ticket's own Donovan Lewis. All right, so let me start without going terribly far back.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:42] Speaker C: But I know Oak Cliff is kind of the hood where you grew up.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: That's my hood.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: That's your hood, absolutely.
And there's greatness, and there's not so greatness when you talk about Oak Cliff. So what was your experience growing up in Oakcliffe? And what the hell gave you the idea to get into this industry? Because you've kind of had that on your mind for a bit, right?
[00:02:05] Speaker A: Yeah, for a it's, man. I love my old neighborhood. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in. As a matter of fact, my younger sister lives next door to my parents. So still going to the old neighborhood. It always brings back really cool memories, man. I don't want to sound like old man here, but I did grow up in a time where all the neighbors were looking out for everyone else, and everyone seemed to have kids our same age. So there was one summer, all the parents on our section of our street where we grew up got together, and all the kids were on a Little League baseball team.
You know, we went out that summer, played some games and all that, so it was so tight knit as far as the neighborhood went. Like, you don't even think about what you have or what you don't have. You just know, I want to go outside and I want to play with these dudes, because we can be outside all dang day playing football and baseball and doing all this other stuff. So that's the only thing we thought about, man. You kind of, over time, start thinking about other aspects of the neighborhood. And I lived about three, four blocks away from South Oak Cliff High School, and so our zip code has the most kids or black kids in the jail system, percentage wise, in the whole state. So that's just something I never thought about as a kid. But as you get a little older and you realize some of the lines that you could have crossed as a kid probably were you were really close to having something go the wrong dang way. Yeah.
And you're just thankful. And I'm thankful that my parents really stressed education, really stayed on our behinds a lot, saying, hey, you got to do the right thing. You got to get out of here, because that's the only way you can succeed.
[00:03:54] Speaker C: Do you think they were the primary reason why you didn't succumb to some of those pressures that are typical?
[00:04:00] Speaker A: Yeah, because I was so scared of my dad that he would kick my ass, and I would rather have some dude out on the street beat my head in than my dad. And that's to this very day, I say that, and I mean, it is true, but he was the coolest dude in the world. But when it came down to, hey, keeping your head straight, keeping your head level, keeping your eyes focused on what you need to do, both my parents were like, hey, you just got to do it.
No other outcome is going to be acceptable than you getting out of school, getting good grades, going to college, graduating, getting a job, getting married, getting out. That was it. That's the script.
[00:04:44] Speaker C: That's accountability, though, right.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: And so it was not wanting to disappoint them because I'm a woos and I'm a mama's boy and I don't want to disappoint her, but it's just you start getting other teachers involved. Also when you were in school, that kind of had the same message, so it was, hey, man, this is what I want to do and I want to accomplish, because I want to get out of the neighborhood, but still keep the neighborhood in the back of my mind. And I think that's the goal of pretty much every single person that grows up where I grew up.
[00:05:15] Speaker C: Yeah, because there's a lot of development out there, and that could be looked at in two different ways. Right. It's gentrification, but it's also beautification if you can develop the neighborhood and not chase everybody out.
[00:05:28] Speaker A: And I think a lot of people write, and they have mixed feelings about that, because even on the street where I grew up, there's one house that doesn't belong, and it's this two story big house that's just not like any of them in the neighborhood. So it's trying to creep into the neighborhood where I grew up. It's not quite there yet, but, yeah, you're right. If it's going to run the people out that's been there for generations and generations, then yeah, that's not acceptable. But other than that, it's just such different aspects to it because that can be a little money pumped into the neighborhood, but if it doesn't affect the people that's living there right now, then what's the point? They're not benefiting from it at all. Right. It's a mixed bag, I'll say. And every time I go through a neighborhood and see some of the houses that stick out, like, here we go, it's happening. But I don't think there's any stopping it. There's nothing anyone can do to stop it.
[00:06:20] Speaker C: Were you guys poor? Because I remember even me being in a college age, and I had nothing. Ramen noodles and beer was fine with me.
[00:06:28] Speaker A: Right? Yeah.
[00:06:29] Speaker C: And again, it was kind of the norm where you don't think about the suffrage. It's what I'm supposed to do because I got $3.60. I'm going to walk it up to the cash register, tell them to put.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: It on, pump a that's right. Just get everything you can. Hey, lift that couch cushion up. Oh, there's a nickel right there. Go get it, poor. I would say no, but I will bet you my parents would say, hey, it was paycheck to paycheck for sure. And we just never went without because my parents sacrificed a lot. Like, my dad worked two jobs for a long time, and my mom, who at first I thought they thought wasn't going to work when I was first born, had to go to work to make sure that we were okay with having three kids. So when I went to college, man, it was, hey, Mom, I need some money. And she'd send me a check and say, write it for $20. And then I wouldn't see another penny for, like, three weeks. It's like $20 for three weeks. What am I doing here? I'm just surviving on water and crackers or something like that. But, yeah, no, they provided, and they did a really good job of not letting us know if we were poor or not because they really tried to provide for us, and they made sure we had things to food to eat, clothes on our back, but we really didn't do a lot of extra stuff. We never went on a would. Our treat in the summertime would be to go to Six Flags, and we could bring along one friend to go to Six Flags once a no no. That's not cheap at all. So that was almost kind of like our vacation instead of going to Disneyland or anything like that. So I wouldn't say we were poor. We weren't good times didn't at all.
[00:08:16] Speaker C: No, it's just trying to find we often like we've had guys here that have been to prison, that live there, that been to prison, that didn't deserve to be in prison.
I just know how the cycle goes with a lot of folks, and so in a quest to find what is the equation that can get somebody through being in a poorer community where it's more likely that they can get into trouble because it's more available. And how does that maintain? Because even when you say, hey, you had the fear of God putting you by your dad, but he's working all these jobs and your mom's, that's still somewhat absentee. You hear of other people that have well, I had my complete family, but they had to work so much that while they were gone, I was a rugrat run around, whatever, but we had.
[00:09:05] Speaker A: A ton of support system. My mom has two sisters that were always around. My grandparents, my mom's parents were always around. That was our summer vacation because my grandparents lived right at Inwood and Lovers Lane.
[00:09:18] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:09:18] Speaker A: So we would go over there, and that was our summer vacation. We stay over there for three months, and they would definitely had to handle on us to make sure everything was okay. So we had a really great support system as far as if my dad had to work or even if my mom had to work in certain situations, that we could always go up north and stay with them and they could bring us to school, take us back home and all that.
[00:09:40] Speaker C: That's wonderful.
[00:09:40] Speaker A: They tried to minimize us being out in the wild ourselves a lot to try to stay out of trouble. And again, I was a scaredy cat, so there was not me wanting to go and try to find trouble. I was actively avoiding trouble because I just knew I probably couldn't handle it whatsoever.
[00:09:58] Speaker C: You knew the penance.
[00:09:59] Speaker A: Oh, my God, I just cried myself to there was a fight going on. I'd probably on the curb just crying, my, you go home. We're not going to even do anything. So yeah, I just realized that I wasn't built for that early on, so I just kept my nose clean.
[00:10:13] Speaker C: That's awesome. Then what did you end up studying when you went to college? You said it was all planned out and that also, by the way, kind of dates you because that's never the plan anymore.
[00:10:21] Speaker A: I know, right? Yeah.
[00:10:23] Speaker C: But not that it's bad because it obviously was very advantageous. It worked out for you.
[00:10:27] Speaker A: Yeah. When I went to college, first went to college, it wasn't radio, television at first, I kind of got on this by accident because I always thought when I was in high school, I was good in math, and if you're good in math, you need to be an engineer. Yeah, that's what I was going to do, major in engineering. When I went to Commerce in the first semester of my freshman year. I took an Intro to engineering class. I think it was Intro to Drafting or something. Hardest class I've ever taken in my life. And I was like, okay, if this is intro, I'm screwed. I can't even make it. So I went and talked to this one counselor, and I don't even know her name, and I wish I could remember her name, I really do, because I must have talked her ear off, man, because she said, have you ever thought about communications, radio, television? And I was like, no, not really. And she said, hey, take this announcing class. If you like it, you found your major. If not, you can use the class as an elective. Took it, loved it right from the jump. And I was like, okay, this is what I want to do. So it started really early, but it wasn't what I technically went to college to go do. But my second semester of my freshman year is when I decided I was going to go down this path.
[00:11:30] Speaker C: So is there something that triggered that? Because that seems even random for her to bring up.
[00:11:34] Speaker A: I know. I don't know. Again, I must have not shut the hell up, because it's like, okay, this dude needs to be in front of a camera or behind a microphone or something, because I guess I just didn't stop talking. So that's what she suggested. And I was like, okay, I'll give it a try. You got to have electives in college anyway, so may as well try to take it and just kind of hit it. Again, I wish I would remember her name so I could thank her, because she really, truly just put me down on the path that I didn't even think was a path that I could possibly take seriously. I didn't even think that.
[00:12:08] Speaker C: And then when you got out, how does someone start in that industry, especially an industry that's so already tight knit and so little diversity, especially the places that you've been, so little diversity. So I think what you've done really is trailblazing more than you probably know. But I noticed things like that just because of my background, and it's fascinating to me. So how did you end up scoring gigs when you got out of school?
[00:12:38] Speaker A: That's a great question. And it's kind of all almost happenstance because I got out, graduated in May of 93, and me and a buddy of mine would go every day and go look for jobs. I mean, downtown you want to talk about pounding the pavement. It was almost like old school. You have resumes, what little resumes you had, and you're just walking place to place. But my uncle, as a graduation present, set me up with a lunch with Bob Ray Sanders. He's a journalist at Four Star Telegram, and he had a show at KLIF, a nighttime show. So we had lunch, and again, I must have talked his ear off at the lunch. I remember I would never forget it. We went to Chili's, and I was so happy because I didn't have Chili's too often.
He's paying, too, like I was in hog heaven.
[00:13:29] Speaker C: I'm the appetizer.
[00:13:31] Speaker A: You mean three for ten?
[00:13:33] Speaker C: Like, this is crazy.
[00:13:34] Speaker A: And so we talked, had lunch for about an hour and a half, and then about a week later, he called me and said, hey, man, I think there's a job opening up here. You may want to come apply for it.
Okay. So Went applied for it, got the interview, and when I was it may have been a day or two before my interview, I broke my glasses, and I was freaking out because they aren't going to pay for some new glasses. You can't get them immediately. And the only thing I had to go for the interview for this business that I was majoring in were these huge prescription glasses. Yes, they were this big dude, and so dark, like, I could barely see if I was on the inside.
[00:14:20] Speaker C: And that's all Public Enemy version of.
[00:14:24] Speaker A: So I drive my dad's El Camino to Maple in Oakland, the old building. And when I was turning into the garage, you had to pay. And I had no money, no credit card, nothing. And I was like, I don't know if I can talk my way into this garage. Because you could park in it, but you had to pay to get out, right?
[00:14:45] Speaker C: I'm just going to get myself spiked on the way.
[00:14:47] Speaker A: I don't know what I'm going to do. So they had Rivershawn Park was across the street, and as soon as I was going to drive over there, it said, if you're not coming to the park, you're going to get towed. And I was thinking, if I get my dad El Camino towed, he's going to kick my ass. They got to pay all this money to get it out. And plus, I'm not going to get this job. All this is happening before I go up to try to interview for this.
[00:15:09] Speaker C: The clock is ticking, man.
[00:15:11] Speaker A: So I'd say, screw it. Parked over at the park, went across the street in my big old sunglasses, and interviewed for the board operator job over at KLIF, a station I had never heard of before in my life. And after I talked to the lady who interviewed me, her name was Connie Herrera. She interviewed me. She said, you know what? I like you. Let's make it happen. You're hired. It's great. Sweet. Loved it. And then, like, three days later, I got a letter in the mail saying, thanks for your interest. Unfortunately, we don't have any positions available, so try next time. And again, there's the freak out factor. Like, I thought I had the job, so I called her immediately. It's like, hey, I got this letter saying thanks for my inquiry like I didn't get it. She's like, no you're fine, you got it. Just come to work. So that's how my radio career got started. Oh my gosh, it's incredible.
[00:16:06] Speaker C: To even started in a freaking sweaty suit and shade.
[00:16:10] Speaker A: Oh my gosh, the biggest shades you will ever see with the thickest lenses that I had to interview. And if I took them off to even try to talk to, I probably would have started. That's how blind I was. It was a mess. But yeah, that's how I started Klif. Just running the board on the weekends, four or 5 hours a Saturday and Sunday and then just kind of worked.
[00:16:32] Speaker C: Up from there and then you ended up so that was a news program.
[00:16:36] Speaker A: That was a talk station. Yeah, it wasn't conservative talk the whole day when I was there but yeah, I never thought I'd be working at a conservative talk radio.
[00:16:46] Speaker C: Part of that is happenstance, but it's also enlightening right for somebody. Regardless of what you think, you get put in these situations where you've got to function as the board op or as somebody that is moving behind the mic, whichever. So you did that and then you did a classic rock.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: Yeah, I was at Klil for ten years and then moved to The Bone 93 three. The Bone is a classic rock station. At first I was the producer of the Morning Show with Bo Roberts and then when he left, they brought in another guy and they made me a part of the Morning Show. So for three, three and a half years I was open up to a whole new world of classic rock. Which was great man, because those songs made in the were all brand new to me. So I'm discovering all this new stuff and everybody's like, this song is like 30 years old. And I was like, I've never heard it before in my life.
[00:17:39] Speaker C: But I think that's beautiful. But I also think no one else would get hired to do that. That's what I think is so brilliant about it. And it wasn't a tongue in cheek. I mean they expected you to get in there and assimilate, right?
[00:17:51] Speaker A: Yeah. I tell you the very first day on the job well, I interviewed got hired and I was going to start that Monday and they were having a huge event on that Saturday and they said, hey man, once you come to the event, just kind of feel yourself around before you start on Monday. I was like great. And then they said okay, because you can meet Alice Cooper. And I was like, fine, who is she? And they were like, oh my god, you got a lot to learn.
[00:18:17] Speaker C: She's ugly, that's a woman.
[00:18:21] Speaker A: But yeah, that's how my classic rock career got started. But it was fun. I'm telling you man, it opened my eyes to a lot of new things and I had a blast at that station.
[00:18:32] Speaker C: That's really cool. Yeah, that's so cool.
And then you transferred over the ticket. Was that in the same building that you were working on?
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Same company, same umbrella. So technically based? No, it's not technically. I've been in the company for 30 years now because it's all same umbrella. So when Cumulus came and took over 2006 and everybody got fired at the Bone, I thought I was going to get fired, too. I was just prepared to go get something else. And they had this huge meeting, huge meeting. And they started listing everybody who got let go. They didn't list me. Okay. So kind of go to the boss and say, like, what am I doing?
[00:19:10] Speaker C: Your dad called up there.
[00:19:14] Speaker A: I hope so. I hope he did.
And then they kind of a little shady about what I was doing from at the very beginning of that, and then a couple of weeks later said, hey, man, I think we're going to try you out on the ticket with Bob. And went, okay, that's fine. That's great. So that's how that started. It was almost kind of a, hey, what are we going to do with this? Know, we want him around. It works hard, but what place can we yeah, so they put me with Bob and Dan, and it kind of worked. Didn't work at first, but it know, building, and we started having some fun. And that's how it's that the level.
[00:19:53] Speaker C: Of knowledge that a lot of the sports guys have, and I will give you that same credit. But being thrust into that and then coming into an environment where you feel are you just the same with the classic rock or whatever? Do you feel like you're just cram learning stuff? Because even back then, you didn't have Google at your disposal, and you can't always get away with that. I know, because you guys know stuff off the top of your head.
[00:20:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
And it's funny because I think the guys at the ticket work really hard to sound like they're not working really hard, and that takes a lot of work. Like, it sounds dumb when I say it out loud, but it's true to almost kind of make it seem like we have that stuff off the top of our heads. It's a lot of work to prepare for it. Right. But yeah, no, it took that those guys were on the air together for seven years, and then all of a sudden they go, all right, here's Donovan, make it work. And they didn't have any direction. They weren't given any direction. I really wasn't given any direction as far as what the roles were and what we needed to do. It was like, hey, just figure it out.
[00:20:52] Speaker C: Wow.
[00:20:52] Speaker A: So it took a while, and there were a lot of times where I was like, man, screw it. Like, this is not working. And I just didn't feel comfortable at all. And it was my first training camp out in Oxnard. So it was about a few months after I started Corby, and I sat at the pool for like 2 hours, and he talked me off the ledge like, hey, man, you wouldn't be here if they didn't want you here. You're here for a reason. Just find your voice. It took me a long time for me to get comfortable. You will figure it out. And it helped tremendously. I was really ready to throw in the tile. Seriously.
It was with the Mavericks when they had their first title run. Those guys were in Miami. I was back in studio. So they're talking to each other in Miami, and then all of a sudden, okay, Donovan, what do you think? And I'm falling asleep because they're not talking to me, they're talking to each other. It was really weird at first, man, but I'm glad we stuck it out.
[00:21:53] Speaker C: And I'm jumping ahead here. But that was one of the questions I had, too, because of the fact that it seems so easy. And the further back you go, and you've been in this industry long enough to know when people do rattle off stuff off the top of their head, you have to appreciate that you didn't just assimilate that from studying the night before. I mean, it is a lot of work. What does a day in the life look like so that somebody can actually appreciate? There's so many people that I think aspire to jobs similar to that, because it is a great job, I'm sure, but nobody has an appreciation for the work it takes to get there. And that's why I think people like you end up getting plopped in when there's a line of 100 other people because of a work ethic thing and ability to just pick up and run with it.
[00:22:41] Speaker A: It's a lot. It starts like, almost immediately after you're done, because, seriously, right when we're done with our show, even today, as we walk out of the studio and maybe even walking to the car, we're talking about what we're going to do the next day or what ideas maybe we have the next day. So it starts immediately as trying to say, okay, what do we have for tomorrow? Okay, maybe this is happening. This is happening. Maybe we pay attention to this, that but I give myself two and a half hours when I get home to just kind of chill out and relax and take my mind off of things. But once it gets to about 430 or something like that, it's like, okay, let's start preparing for the next day, realizing what games are on that you want to watch, you can talk about. And I'm consistently living with a laptop in my lap, so even if I'm watching television, I have the laptop here, and if I kind of get bored about what's going on up there, you kind of start searching around, and the beauty about our station is everything you do is a possible segment. So even if you're not watching sports or if you're not looking for stories to talk about, you can go to a concert. That's a segment. So now you're kind of thinking about how you want to present this on the air the next day. Or if something crazy happens to you like it happens to us all the dang time, you're thinking about presenting that on the air also. So people don't believe me when I say it's kind of 24/7. They just kind of look at it and say, oh, you're on air for 3 hours. You work 3 hours a day. Okay, well you can think that if you want to, right. It takes a whole lot more to get ready for those 3 hours and entertained than what people will expect. That's probably the one thing that kind of rubs me the wrong way when people talk about that. You just work 3 hours a day. The only time you'll probably get a response from me that's negative.
[00:24:24] Speaker C: Yeah.
Not even in the industry. I know damn well there's no way that it's 3 hours a day.
[00:24:30] Speaker A: You're watching a game, you're working.
I think it takes my wife a little bit to understand that, especially at first because if there's a big game on but she wants to go to dinner or something, I'm like, I got to watch this. And she's like, well, it's just a game. Well this is a game that I'm talking about the next day. So I really have to watch this. And we watch things I think differently than others because you're looking for other ways to present things that happen in the game that maybe someone else isn't thinking, a, I love it and I think I'm ruined now because that's the only way I'll watch a game. Even if I'm watching Green Bay in Detroit, I'm saying, oh, look at that. They did know. You're kind of looking at it a different kind of I love that aspect of it. But it's a cycle that gives you about a couple of hours to kind of recharge and maybe not focus on the show. But other than that, I am consistently thinking about the things that we want to talk about and creating content.
[00:25:27] Speaker C: Look at how many people struggle to do that just even on their social media.
It's hard work.
It's creativity.
[00:25:35] Speaker A: Right?
[00:25:36] Speaker C: Not everybody has that kind of creativity.
[00:25:38] Speaker A: But those influencers are working hard. Like they got to keep churning out you get paid for this stuff, you got to keep churning out the information to keep people interested and that is not easy.
[00:25:48] Speaker C: Yeah, so you bring up your wife so she puts up with the laptop and the TV and everything else which is already admirable for the right reasons. But how did you all meet? Because I have an interesting question surrounding that. Maybe you could package this question. Into two, but first, how did you meet? And then I run into people that are in the entertainment industry who have a kind of a character persona when they talk about their family. They either don't talk about it ever, and you just assume they either do or don't, but you know nothing, or they talk about them, and they're either facetious or just in a character, whatever it is. And I keep thinking, man, even if she knows it's in character, it's got to piss her off to see that I know who's the head of the household. For real in my household. You already met my wife.
[00:26:42] Speaker A: Yeah, no doubt. It's same in mind.
[00:26:44] Speaker C: Yeah. And so how does that work? I'd love to know how you met and then how you managed to work through that in your on air persona when she's part of the topic.
[00:26:55] Speaker A: We met in college down in East Texas, down in commerce. I was there for a couple of years, and then she transferred in. We met we were friends for the first couple of years we knew each other, and then my last year there, we kind of started liking each other a bit, but circumstances happen, and you're not together as a couple, but you kind of realize that, all right, you know what? You start thinking about the future when you're in your last semester or something in college, and you say, all right, you know what? She'd be kind of cool to hang out with even if we weren't out of school. And she's from East Texas, and I didn't know if she was moving back home or she was moving to Dallas or, you know, we started talking toward the end of the last semester I was there, and she's like, yeah, I'm moving to Dallas for my grandmother, so ting. Okay, she's moving to Dallas, so let's see if we can get this party started. So it took a bit for us know, hey, you know what? I like you. I think you like me. Let's just start dating and all that. But once we did, it was like, okay, it's me and you, and we're together now, so screw everybody else. And so that's how or not screw everybody else. Yeah, exactly. Let's screw everybody else to not screw everybody else. Yeah, no, that's kind of basically how it worked. And it was like, late October of 93 is when we decided, you know what? It's just me and you now. So that's how we met. That's kind of how we got together.
It's been great. We got married in 96, and it's been all skittles and pancakes ever since. That's awesome.
And I understand what you're saying, and I totally agree with you about one way or the other. Either they don't talk about it, or they make them as a caricature. And I always believe that I am who I am, even when I'm off the air. Like, you have to build up some kind of a character or something like that. But, man, I'm telling you, 90% of what you get on the air is just who I am. So I'm that way when I'm at home, and I'm that way when I'm on the air, so it's not that big a difference. So I don't think there's a ton of adjustment that she needs to have as far as getting used to me being who I am on the air and who I am at home. It's basically the same person. So she knows who I am. She's been knowing me for 30 years now. She knows how stinking crazy I am at times and how I am and how I go about my business and what I think is funny and what I'm going to do and what I'm going to say. So she's used to it. She lets a lot of stuff roll off her, and she's great, and she'll listen not a ton, but even when she does, at first she would text me, like, why are you saying this? Like, stop. And then now I think she realizes that, okay, that's just who he is, and that's what he has to do to get his personality out over there. But you need that cooperation. Oh, my God.
[00:29:43] Speaker C: Because if that would cause stress at home, you'd have had to shift into character, right?
[00:29:48] Speaker A: No doubt. And, yeah, no, she's been great, letting me just be me, and every time we kind of get into a little bit of a tizzy, I'll go, you know who I am. Like, I haven't changed in 30 years. How long you been knowing me? That's what I say to her. How long have you been knowing me? You know, I'm going to say this, but she's great, man. She is awesome. Because I promise you, I probably wouldn't be where I am at the station right now without her because there were a couple of times that I was going to leave and just do something to make more money, because I figured, I'm married, maybe start a family. I got to make more money, right?
[00:30:26] Speaker C: Obligations outside of yourself, dude.
[00:30:28] Speaker A: And she was saying, hey, I know this is exactly what you want to do. I know it's a long road. I know we're going to struggle for a while. Don't worry about it. This is your passion. Just keep going. And she even got a second job to have us kind of keep afloat as far as money in the house and paying the bills and all that stuff. So once she did that, I was like, okay, full steam ahead. We got to make this thing go because this is what I want to do. That's awesome. We'rewarded for it. And she's a huge part of it. She knows that, too. I tell her that all the time.
[00:30:58] Speaker C: That's great teamwork. I experienced the same thing. You go into anything entrepreneurial or passion, project, whatever, it is, then you got to have her. They're sacrificing too, for sure. So going back to then where you guys came from, you do some charitable projects and stuff, do you guys share in the charitable passion projects or anything like that?
[00:31:24] Speaker A: Yeah. No, because I try to make sure I'm not jumping headfirst into anything without letting her know, because I would want her to be a part of it and for her to be involved with it also. So, yeah, man, once we talk about all those different things and even she's mentioned a couple of things that maybe I should think about maybe looking at or trying to get into. So it's definitely a partnership. She's a pretty passionate person when it comes to things like that. So when she gets involved, she really, truly gets involved. And I'm kind of the same way, so no, it's a beautiful thing. If I'm doing something, she's right there to support and then no matter what, so it's been great.
[00:32:05] Speaker C: So what types of projects are you into that support? I mean, you're into the children's charity, right? That helps. It's kind of a generic description about what the what is it called?
[00:32:16] Speaker A: At Last.
[00:32:17] Speaker C: At last. Helps kids at home.
[00:32:22] Speaker A: I try to explain it quickly so we can kind of move on and get about our business. But it's a boarding experience for kids in a neighborhood where I grew up in. So it's not a school because the kids go to school, right, but after school, they come back and stay at the facility Sunday through Thursday, where they get all the nutrition, all the tutors, all the help they need to make sure that their education is number one. That's what they're focused on because a lot of kids growing up there, they may be the oldest sibling in the house, and they're responsible for their younger siblings, and they're like nine. So this nine year old has this responsibility of making sure the kids are bathed, fed, put to bed while the parent has to go work. And that's a huge responsibility for a nine year old. So it gives them the opportunity to focus on their education. And when you think boarding school, you think Switzerland and Germany and going overseas.
[00:33:21] Speaker C: Singing songs really catchy, you don't think.
[00:33:24] Speaker A: About a boarding school in South Oak Cliff in the 75216. That just doesn't even cross your mind. So when I heard about that and saw that, I was like, okay, if that were me, it's taking kids from the same school that I went to, so it could have been me if I was born 48 years later or 46 years later. So that's why when I heard about it, definitely wanted to get involved with that because that's unique, that's something new that's just not being done anywhere. And it's gaining a lot of momentum to where other cities are wanting At Last to come to their city. So Waco and other places are reaching out, saying, hey, man, let's see if we can do this here. So it's doing really well.
[00:34:09] Speaker C: That's great. And that's the perfect neighborhood for it, really, because, again, that's where the cyclical issues happen. So if you can stop it there and intervene right there in the neighborhood and teach accountability, which you have, no doubt, but a lot of so many kids don't have because of circumstances, I think that's awesome. And then your wife supports that as well. You guys work together on those types of things.
[00:34:31] Speaker A: She's probably the pretty face on it when we go out and stuff. But the guy that is the head of it, the CEO, is a really good friend of mine. So when we started talking about it and then I mentioned it to her, yeah, she's visited and she's gone. But as far as kind of diving headfirst into it, when we have events or whatever, she'll definitely come out and support. But that's awesome. Yeah, it's been great so far. And just to see it from the dirt to now where it is now, is really cool, man. It moves really fast. Faster than what you think.
[00:35:03] Speaker C: It's the one location.
[00:35:04] Speaker A: One location right now, yeah, they're looking to it to build another house on the same property. But then again, they're looking to go to other different cities also.
[00:35:14] Speaker C: And I support one here in Fort Worth that's very similar. So you have to hit me to that.
I like to contribute to that stuff, too. That's awesome.
All right. So you also being the diverse cat that you are, having come up through.
A lot of our plight here is finding commonality in different people.
And I notice a lot of times on the air, so much of it is music. I know it's sports and all that, and I love when it's music because I'm a big music guy and a big sports guy. So tell me a little bit about how you listen to music now. Has it changed? You grew up listening to music, and then all of a sudden it becomes part of your work. Does that, again change the way that you listen to music? Are you thinking about a new project or a new segment now? Does it flip the way you look?
[00:36:06] Speaker A: Oh, boy, that's great. You know what? I don't think I've ever even thought about it like that.
[00:36:10] Speaker C: Because maybe.
[00:36:13] Speaker A: When Jake was at the station and we did the sampler platter, we would play hip hop songs and the samples, how they came together with that music. And we do a show like that on the air for a couple of hours on a Wednesday night. And I don't know how that came about, but those are great. I love them. I love them. Progressive music has been such a part of my life, like, the entire life, that I don't even think about it like that. But I was in the band from like fourth to 9th grade, my parents would play music religiously on a Saturday night, like as we're preparing to go to bed or whatever Saturday night was, put the Bobby Womack on or put the Gap Band on and dance around the house and all that.
Didn't now I realized that maybe he was trying to get my mom in the mood or something. Now it kind of disturbs me a bit, now that I think about it. But it's close to bedtime and he's playing some Bobby Womack, it means something else may have been going down.
[00:37:09] Speaker C: We're not listening to Luther anymore.
[00:37:13] Speaker A: I can't listen to it anymore. But no, it's just man, I remember buying my first album with my own money, and it was Eric B and Rock M, their 87 album. I know. Eric B for president. That was the name of the album, eric B for President. And just having the headphones on and just listening to that album, thinking, my gosh, this 87 hip hop was out there. But I really didn't know too much about it. Early, right? And I just fell in love, man. And my sister, my older sister loved music. She loved Prince and all that, so we would listen to music all the time. So it's always been something that I've always enjoyed, and to incorporate it in the station, man, it's really cool because what other sports stations you would think would allow you to kind of stretch your legs a bit and really talk about your passions like that. That's why I love the ticket so much, because they allow you to do things like that.
I remember when New Edition came to Fort Worth and I did a two hour New Edition show, just playing, I guess, one of my favorite bands and playing those guys hits before the show and all that stuff. So just able to express it that way. It's been really cool. Creative. Yeah, it's fun.
[00:38:23] Speaker C: Did you actually have to stand in line? That's my other question. Do you remember the time when a new record came out and you stood in line at the record store?
[00:38:30] Speaker A: I never did, because I was always like, you know what, I can wait until the line dies down to get the music or whatever. But I can definitely remember going to Sound Warehouse and all those places trying to get the album or the cassette tape of my favorite band coming up, saving the money. When I got my first job, man, it was all about buying music. Like, I didn't want to buy anything else. People want to save up for a car, want to go out to eat or whatever, man, I was buying music. That was it.
[00:38:58] Speaker C: Me, too, until I made my job, Sound Warehouse. Then I really made no money because you get all the demo stuff and you see what's out and you're going to get the oh, man, that was a disaster.
[00:39:10] Speaker A: It was great, though. You wouldn't have any other way, right?
[00:39:13] Speaker C: Unless your date just appreciates you for knowing a lot about music, but she's going to have to buy because you ran out of money.
[00:39:19] Speaker A: Man, I'm hungry. But gosh darn it, this Luther Vandross album is kicking. Yeah.
[00:39:25] Speaker C: So do you listen to music or listen to talk or do you listen to nothing now? Because I know as we get older, sometimes maybe it's just me, but I appreciate all kinds of music and I love different kinds of music, but I don't always want to listen to old music either. And I try to listen to newer music. I try to stay as close to the cutting edge as an old man can.
[00:39:46] Speaker A: Right.
[00:39:47] Speaker C: Sometimes it just wears me out because there's so much music out there. Sometimes it's really hard. So I find myself listening to podcasts or listening to The Ticket or whatever, and then I think, man, I'm listening to music for a while. Do you ever get that?
[00:40:01] Speaker A: I will. I could tell you I'm almost like a robot when it comes to this. Like on the way home from the Cowboys post game show, I listen to nothing because my mind is racing. I've talked for a couple of hours about football. I just want to ride and quiet and go home.
The majority probably 70, 75% of the other time I'm listening to the ticket. But if I'm going on a road trip, I have my phone plugged into my playlist and I can't remember the last time I downloaded a newer song. I'm just old school to my heart. Now when I'm in the car with my wife, she listens to XM the heat. So that's where the only time I'll listen or hear newer music is when I'm in the car with her.
[00:40:43] Speaker C: Okay, well, that was my other question because that's kind of a big one. So you're going on a trip. I mean, you're going to spend four, five, 6 hours in the car.
[00:40:49] Speaker A: It's her control.
Her control, but it's at least in.
[00:40:53] Speaker C: The ballpark, what she listened to, sort of.
[00:40:56] Speaker A: It's all new music.
[00:40:58] Speaker C: Oh, it is all new music.
[00:40:59] Speaker A: Yes, all the and sometimes I'm lost. And sometimes if I hear a song, I'll bring it to the station because it's the most ridiculous song I've ever heard. Or I didn't realize how jamming this damn song. You know, again, that's almost in your mind that you're working. Because I was really upset one time we were going to her hometown of Gilmer and she had controls of the music. And I'm mad because all the songs that are coming on are crap to me because I'm playing my old man role here. And I heard the Girls is Players two song coil array and never heard it before. And I was acting so mad that I didn't realize that that's one of the jamming song songs I've ever heard in my life. But I was trying to act mad as I'm driving down. And then when I got back to work Monday, I was like, hey, man, have you heard this song? It's the greatest.
And I'm jamming it and playing it. I actually did it at summer bash. That's how lunch. I loved it. But I was such being a grouch that I didn't want to let her know that I liked the music that she was having me listening to. And it was jamming.
[00:42:03] Speaker C: You are an old man.
[00:42:04] Speaker A: I am an old man probably all the time. More than I want.
[00:42:07] Speaker C: That's great, though.
[00:42:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:09] Speaker C: Oh, my gosh. Okay, so back to when you were growing up. I read something about the fact that you grew up, and now that I know the influence that your dad had on you, I kind of understand even a better perspective on this. But he was an Eagles or anti Cowboy nonetheless, right? Anti cowboy. And you grew up basically in Dallas proper during an era where they were America's team by earning it. And you managed to not be a fan all that time. Did you catch the stunt of flag for did?
[00:42:44] Speaker A: But you want to be like your dad. My dad was not a Cowboys fan, but I wasn't either. But I don't care who I was a fan of. Soon as I saw Randall Cunningham, wherever he went, that's where I was going. That was my guy. I loved him. So Randall Cunningham played for the Eagles.
[00:42:59] Speaker C: I am an eagles fan or Vikings.
[00:43:01] Speaker A: And it was vikings. Had to be a Vikings fan. He even played for the Cowboys for a year. And he's a Ravens. He was played for the Ravens for a year. So I was just Randall Cunningham backwards and forwards. So, yeah, I was a Philadelphia fan. Went to Texas stadium one time in Cunningham jersey with my wife, and I thought I was going to get beat up and I thought they were going to take her from me. That's how bad it was at Texas stadium in that dang Eagles jersey.
[00:43:26] Speaker C: Was that a Philly game?
[00:43:28] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay.
[00:43:29] Speaker C: Well, if it was role reversal in Philly, it might have been more of a problem wearing.
[00:43:32] Speaker A: Yeah, they probably would have beat I probably would have had to get a leak in can't I can't be with this cowboy fan. Come on. I'm eagles. But no, it was he never I don't know why. And I think he's still that way today. It's just like he just never liked the Cowboys. So I didn't either.
[00:43:49] Speaker C: Well, it's kind of just loved or hated, especially back then during that era. I think it still exists only no question, when they don't win, it's not quite as sweet because you either love them or hate them. But nobody ignores them.
[00:44:01] Speaker A: Right.
[00:44:01] Speaker C: There's something beautiful about that. I know, but especially when they were winning so often that it made it a lot more contentious between people that either love or hate.
[00:44:09] Speaker A: Right. And now that they haven't won for almost three decades now, the haters just want to see them fail, and they're winning.
Those guys are on top, been on top for a long time.
[00:44:22] Speaker C: And you do so much work now, and so much of it is focused. Is it okay that you're an industry guy and do you consider yourself a fan or as an industry guy, do you try to still remain unbiased even though you're so involved?
[00:44:35] Speaker A: No, I consider myself a fan now because we work so closely with them. But I think your fandom is not going to take away what you really want to say about the team. And I think that's another line that if you cross, then people will really see through you, because you can be a fan of a team, but you can talk critically about the team when they aren't doing something right. So you have to think objectively, even if you want them to succeed. Right. Because the more success they have, probably the better it is for us and the more things we have to talk about when they lose. You have a lot of things to talk about also, but it's just kind of draining. So I'm always like, you know what? I want them to win. I want them to have success. But you can still say what you need to say about the team, about ownership, about everything, because I've been working there for a while. So you can kind of separate the two. Yeah, there are some people who can't, and it makes it a little more.
[00:45:29] Speaker C: Difficult, especially the listeners or the fans or whatever, journalistic integrity. You've got to do it. But I'm sure you get a lot of people that just flip out.
[00:45:39] Speaker A: And I see what you're saying, and I think that may be more writers than I think on the air. Because if you're writing a column just talking about all the great things the Cowboys are doing, okay, people see right through that. And they'll see right through that if you're saying it on a talk show or something. But I think you probably get a little more leeway on a radio talk show than if you had to be around them every day, especially local, too.
[00:46:02] Speaker C: I mean, if you're being paid by a team to report, I can imagine that would be that's tough to line across.
[00:46:09] Speaker A: But I think they always say the one thing about Jerry Jones is that even if you work for the team, he's not going to get upset if you talk critically about him. That's your job. You have to do your job. And he definitely believes that any press is good press. He loves the fact that the fact that all those morning talking head shows always mention the Cowboys, whether it's bad.
[00:46:29] Speaker C: Ignored, they're always in the top of the conversation.
[00:46:31] Speaker A: Exactly right. And he loves that. So I think the cowboys may be a little different than other franchises, but I would bet you other franchises, if you work for them, they'll probably give you the, hey, man, don't say anything too badly about us, okay. And they'll have to oblige because they work for them.
[00:46:47] Speaker C: Yeah. Are there people when you are used to meeting people of stature that are in the public light, are you still kind of a fan sissy or does it just become kind of a normal thing? Because I think it's more personality than anything. But do you ever find yourself giddy meeting any of the people that you get to meet?
[00:47:09] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. That's never going to change, man. No matter who you meet, if it's somebody that you really admire, whether it's sports, entertainment, all that, and you meet them, it's something like, okay, don't say anything stupid. Don't just stare at them in their eyes and be weird or anything like that. And no, it's always a pleasure meeting and especially when they're nice because salt and pepper, spinderella. I've always loved spinderella. And I know her husband, he's going to kill me for saying this, but always loved her. She's always my favorite out of the group. And she was in studio with us one time. She was a birthday guest of mine on the phone one time, a surprise. So I didn't know. Once I found out, I was a little bit nervous, but they were like, hey, next time you're in town, come in studio. And she did. And man, you want to talk about sweaty palms and underarms and all that. Like just so nervous to not say anything dumb and then to come to find out she is the nicest person in the whole wide world again, I know her husband and we've texted back and forth and all that, so when they're really nice, it just makes it everything really cool. But man, I am way more nervous than what you think. I should be meeting anybody that has a name. Really? Yeah, but once you talk to them like a regular person, they'll start acting like one and then it kind of goes away kind of quickly. But at the very beginning I am a nervous.
[00:48:33] Speaker C: That's interesting because that's usually the perspective is that people don't usually get the opportunity to spend more time. So an average Joe would see someone in an airport flip out, right, and then get their 20 seconds and they.
[00:48:44] Speaker A: Do to go, yeah, they're going to.
[00:48:46] Speaker C: Meet the next one and flip out.
[00:48:48] Speaker A: Yeah, we get about 15 minutes to calm down, which is great. But no, we had Ice Cube when I first met Ice Cube.
Ice Cube, man.
[00:48:59] Speaker C: Crazy.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: What am I going to say? Yeah, we had to sit down with Tyson. I'm like, I love this dude.
[00:49:10] Speaker C: Tell me something.
[00:49:11] Speaker A: Right? I don't know what to say. So yeah, I am always nervous nilly at the very beginning. And then once you ask a question or two. I'll calm myself down and laugh or whatever, and then it's great.
[00:49:24] Speaker C: That's great. And I love meeting people like that, too, that are down to earth, and I think that's what most civilians, whatever you want to call them, don't recognize about them. And I think that's why you get that sensation so much, because you don't realize, man, they're just normal folk, right?
[00:49:39] Speaker A: It's hard to imagine when they're on TV and that stature is way up there. You just think that that's who they are and that's how they live, and it's tough to do that. And, yeah, I would freak out if Beyonce walked in here right now. I would freak out, but then I'll probably ask a question and know, I'll be, you know, the freak out factor. I don't think I ever go that's that's very cool.
[00:49:58] Speaker C: I love there. What are you working on these days, outside of the tickets or anything projects or anything that you wanted to talk about that's going on?
[00:50:07] Speaker A: We just got done with the domino tournament. That the fifth annual domino tournament that benefits at last. And you know what? That's almost kind of becoming a year round thing itself, trying to make sure that it goes off okay, and we can make as much money for the charity as possible. But with the brand new show that's happening, that's been a pretty big focus on making sure that we're on the same page and trying to gain as much momentum as we can. So it's been basically my whole thought process here for the last couple of months or so. I had to even tell my wife, hey, if I'm talking about the show too much, you can tell me to shut up. But just trying to make sure that we get off on the right foot and everyone we're putting the best stuff out there and putting our best foot forward. Probably my whole concentration now until December when we go on vacation.
[00:50:56] Speaker C: Do you feel more like the mentor now, kind of the corby role, where you are in a position now where some of the newbies that come on, you can kind of put minds at ease and show them the ropes?
[00:51:07] Speaker A: Yeah, I do, and it's kind of cool. I never thought I'd be in that position because those guys at the Ticket, they don't go anywhere. I was the new guy for 14 years before Jake started working there, so, yeah, I told all of them, hey, if you ever have any questions, concerns or whatever, you know my number. I've been in your situation before. It's not easy, and sometimes it's not fun. So you just got to make sure that your head is on level, and if you ever need to say anything, a vent or curse or whatever, just holl at me.
I'm the old man on our show now, so I kind of feel like Norm esque right now as they talk badly. About me being the old man. So I kind of feel like if you ever need anything or need someone to bounce ideas off of, I'm always there for them, man, because I want everybody to win. We're a family. We're a team. So we just want everybody to win and do the best show they possibly can.
[00:52:00] Speaker C: That's great. I think you're doing the station a solid, for sure. I think you've made your stamp. You're not the new guy. You're not having to fit into something that has already set a culture. I think you do a lot of good, and I appreciate hearing that you give back so much and that you're a solid dude. Just you being here and spending time with me, too, is greatly appreciated.
[00:52:21] Speaker A: I would want anybody who listens to the station or watches this podcast or whatever to say that I'm the same person on the air than I am off the air. And that's what I strive to be, people. Hey, what's your radio name, man? My name is my name. It's who I am. I try to act the same on and off the air. I try to be who I am. And I think that authenticity kind of comes out over the air. Hopefully it does that. People just say, hey, he's just help me. That's who he is and that's who he's going to be. And it's no different than if you listen and then you meet me in the same way. So I try to strive to be that. That's what my guy. When I first started working at KLIF, I was working with Kevin McCarthy, and, man, I call him the Godfather because he taught me everything I need to know about this business. I love that guy, and he would be the one to tell me, if they see you as the person you are on the air, off the air, when they meet you in the Kroger or something like that, then they're going to see that, oh, man, it's a real dude, he is who he is. And then, yeah, they'll be more apt, know, gravitate towards you at that moment. So I try to keep on that and just try to be who I am and have fun and talk sports and try to laugh a lot. That's all I want to do in life, man. That makes it fun.
[00:53:32] Speaker C: Well deserved.
[00:53:33] Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you.
[00:53:34] Speaker C: I appreciate it.
Will you hand me that bottle and the book over there right in the middle?
So I started making a habit of sharing some Fort Worth with folks. You sip any?
[00:53:47] Speaker A: Okay. Oh, yeah. Browntown.
[00:53:49] Speaker C: So the best part about this Fort Worth made I don't know if you've had the blackland before, but this is rye. I'm a big fan of the rye.
[00:53:57] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:53:58] Speaker C: Even if you don't sip straight, then that has such a unique taste that even if you mix it in a drink, you'll love it.
[00:54:04] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:54:05] Speaker C: You'll be able to tell it's not just somebody dumping a bullet into whatever.
[00:54:09] Speaker A: Right.
[00:54:10] Speaker C: Distinctive. So just a piece of footworth. And then my book here. If you ever get a hankering to sit around and not think about content and get your mind on something else, the main reason for that is, again, I think my plight in there is very similar to the At Last program that you're talking about. So ultimately, it's really about trying to keep kids on the right path so that I think it's helping people way down the road. So I appreciate your vision, and I appreciate you spending time. Thank you.
[00:54:38] Speaker A: Thank you. Yeah, I'm going to check this out, man. And I'm going to check this out, too, for sure.
[00:54:43] Speaker C: Check mine in reverse order. It's even better. Okay.
[00:54:47] Speaker A: All right. I'll check this out first. Okay. This is great, man. That dude is good. And I like it. I like it.
[00:54:52] Speaker C: Type is kind of blurry, but it's all right.
[00:54:56] Speaker A: Well, thanks for having me, man. I really appreciate the invitation.
[00:54:58] Speaker C: I appreciate you, man.
[00:54:59] Speaker A: All right.
[00:55:02] Speaker B: What's it gate what you going to do? What you're going to do? Successor other than second grade rules a confident faith to make you do make you do what they want when they won't be the fool a diplomatic face is the one to see you through don't let those figures take you off you came adjust a lot of them loose sit here in the front seat baby, ain't that sweet? Take a little honey from the money be but don't pay the fool a political magical potion a missing piece at the end of the game the roll see the truth of ocean I never found a 60 frame like between blurry lines if you gonna call me back.
