STAY HARD GRUBES!

It's been a while.  About a month to be specific.  I've taken no criticism though because this is hardly ever read, and it shouldn't be read.  What's been going on?

For me, a lot.  For a while it appeared some pretty extreme changes would be made to my scene, but I found out on Friday that is not the case.  If you listen to the radio station I work for, Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket, then you know that cultural hero Michael Gruber "Grubes" left the station to return to college and get that degree.  There's so much to say about the guy.  I think anybody who knows him will immediately call him a friend.  I'm not going to rehash what every host has said about him, but Grubes undoubtedly is a good friend.  He was sort of a father figure type for me as an intern when you're thrown into trying to learn the board and all that other stuff.  I'm the type who tries to stay out of the way and not interfere with the natural flow of things, which as an intern for me meant doing my job and not really getting in anybody's way.

I emailed Grubes a few months before I began my internship at The Ticket.  He didn't know me and had no reason to.  I just asked him who to speak to regarding an internship.  He had no reason to respond, and it's not like it's a big deal that he did respond with the proper information but it still meant a lot to me.  I got on board and he was immediately a huge help.  The speed dial go to guy when I had a technical question.  The same goes for Big Strong Jer, but I don't exactly go get wasted at bars with Big Strong Jer like I do with Grubes.  Those dudes are/were really great at what they do/did.  The best.  Unless you've ran the board, I don't think you can fully understand the complete brain power it takes to be a board op.  It's stressful, tense, fun, difficult, taxing, and wheels off most of the time.  There's a lot of responsibility.  It's a position that is undoubtedly underpaid.

Now Grubes is gone, and it's a little weird.  I've been a fan of the station longer than i've worked at the station so it was a little sad to hear the Grubes news, even though it in theory would open up an opportunity for me.  In radio or at least at The Ticket, you must pounce on opportunities.  I don't know the business side, but from the programming aspect it's been a pretty stable operation for almost 20 years.

When I began my internship in January of 2010 there was no open position in site.  I remember coming in to get the recorder before heading out to games and seeing guys like Mike Sirois (@mikesirois) doing weekend tickers.  I remember coming back from games to put audio in the computer and seeing Jake Kemp  (@notjackkemp) on the board working the overnight shifts.  In fact, that was the first time I ever met Jake.  Me putting audio in the computer, he wearing athletic shorts and eating left over snacks from Stu Cedar while watching The Shield on his computer.  It all comes full circle.  Forgive me if i'm wrong on dates here, but I feel like i'm pretty close...I remember in August or September of 2010 beginning to get worried that I wouldn't get a job there.  No positions had opened up.  Nobody had left.  Time was running out on the internship.  Again, the order and dates could be off but at some point Chris House decided to be a cop.  This opened a fierce competition between TC, Tara, Jake, and probably someone else for the Top 10 gig.  Jake got the gig, opening up a weekend spot and moving everyone up a slot.  At some point the inappropriate tweet from an unnamed former MLB pitcher opened up the spot for the Norm producer gig which was taken over by Mike Sirois.  Another open slot.  Either way I got a job, because of the Chris House departure and it's kind of full circle that Jake is now in Grubes position.

TC and I had a similar battle royale last week.  TC got the job and is now the Top 10 host.  I was a little frustrated on Friday, but I understand.  TC has been there longer than me and it's probably better for the station as a whole to keep me in a versatile role for now.  Not that TC can't do these things, but i'm counted on to be a fill-in ticker guy sometimes, to be a reporter, and to also  now be the main fill-in board op as well as the fill-in Top 10 host.  Roster construction.  I'm the utility infielder for now.

I wanted the full-time job.  I'm 24 and I feel like that's fairly young to have a full-time radio job in a top 5 market, much less the #1 station in a top 5 market.  I'll stick my foot down and keep grinding of course.  Fun will happen.  I'll have to keep my boring day-job on the side.  Many people are dying to have jobs and yet i've got two, the one I love not necessarily paying the bills at home like the other job.  It is what it is though.  Just catching up, because it's been a while.  Don Draper wrote to himself in Mad Men so at least I know it's not gay to write stuff like this.  Peace.

Stay hard Grubes!

KT