Friday, April 20, 2012

GRUBES UNLEASHED

Well, that didn't take long.

Folks, if you want to talk Ticket, there is only one destination for you.  You're there now.

Michael Gruber was an early adopter of My Ticket Confession.  He was the first ever commentor on this site, and from time to time he would drop us a line with information or answers to questions. Nothing too inside or proprietary, just stuff that listeners might want to know.

Turns out, he had a few other things on his mind.

If you follow this site closely, you may already have seen what follows. Michael penned some comments to the last post expanding on his decision to move on -- but he also took the opportunity to unburden himself of some observations on station operation and treatment of the JV. 

Every once in awhile someone will say something on the air that will give us a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.  We make educated guesses based on the very rare drawing back of the curtain.  Speaking only for myself, I delight in overinterpreting and jumping to conclusions based on the occasional odd inflection and unexpected pause.  Keeps the site interesting, even when I'm wrong.

I daresay we have never heard anything like some of Michael's observations from anyone who worked there, although hints of some of what follows will sometimes leak onto the airwaves. 

They don't require any further comment from me.  They speak eloquently for themselves.

I should add that I sought and received Michael's permission to rerun his thoughts as a featured post.   I have edited them very slightly for length.  His comments (and the comments to which they respond) appear in full in the previous post, if you want to check them out in context.

Michael first expands on his decision to leave The Ticket:

"In an ideal world, of course I'd rather stay at the Ticket and play drops until my hands fell off. But despite the awesomeness of the job, it's not a career no matter how hard I tried to make it one. And being a career board-op without a degree just doesn't lead to many opportunities to move up, or even expand current responsibilities. I was stuck, basically.

.  .  .  .


"June 3 would have been my tenth anniversary with the station. In that time I have gotten to do so many fun things and meet so many awesome people, I could probably write a book. I'm fully aware that the majority of that goes away in a few months once the aftershocks of my departure totally end. If no one knows who the hell the I am after that, I'll manage to survive. I've gotten more than I could ever dream out of the "local celebrity" lifestyle.

".  .  .  .  I plan on going for a business degree, but that may change. Regardless, I know that I want to LEARN and try to better myself. Especially the last few years, my focus on life has become way too narrow. All I worried about was the Ticket, baseball, Pepper Theft, and hanging out (drinking) with friends. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think I can be more than that. Seeing all the things my parents have done is intimidating at times, but it's a great blueprint for how I want to live the rest of my life. If I can achieve even a small percentage of what they've accomplished, I'd be damn proud. There's more to life than the Ticket, and I want to experience as much of that part as possible now that I'm moving on. I'm 26, so I hopefully have another 75ish years to live. The Ticket will have taken up a tenth of that time, but what a wonderful time it was.

"And I'll say it again...the decision to leave the Ticket and go back to college was mine, and mine alone. Maybe I'll regret it, but I doubt it. I'd hit the glass ceiling at the Ticket, and I have just enough inner drive to not be happy with the status quo.

"Hopefully that explains my decision a little better. I'm not bitter in any way, though I am disappointed with the way some things were, especially the disaster that was/is the move to Victory. But in the grand scheme of things, it's just a blip on the radar. My experience at the Ticket was the best time of my life, and hopefully I made some small dent in the history of it."

In response to a commenter making the intriguing suggestion that Michael purchase The Ticket, Grubes starts to warm up, echoing some thoughts expressed frequently on this site:

"I would love so much to buy the station and let everybody earn the money they deserve while working with the best equipment available. It's a shame such an amazing and unique station is run with a cookie cutter, anti-spending, "make the quarter/month's budget" mentality by those geniuses in Atlanta. I'm convinced the station could be even more successful if treated properly. But, alas..."


In response to the suggestion that perhaps the clumsy move to Victory played a role in his decision to leave, he writes:

"I will allow that the move probably helped "push" me a little bit...But only in terms of leaving in time for the summer semester rather than the fall semester. Like I said, my leaving was inevitable. The timetable just got pushed up by a few months. :)"

As far as his own potential at The Little One was concerned, he mused:

"I think a yuk monkey role would have been absolutely awesome if that opportunity arose, but realistically I don't feel I speak well enough to do that or am clever enough to do the kind of bits yuk moneys do. I feel like I become decent at throwing in a one liner from time to time, but I tended to stammer and stumble over words beyond that.

"I considered seeking producer roles when they came up, but I just couldn't reconcile leaving the board for a minimal pay raise and a supposedly better role. If I was going to be part of a show, the best role for me by far was board-op. Playing drops for BaD Radio and the Hardline was perfect for my skill set, mentality, sense of humor, etc.

"That's why the idea of management tended to float around in my head. As a P1, I know how I'd like things to be, and I feel like I got along with everybody in all departments well enough that I could be pretty good at that.

"But in the end, I'd pretty much maxed out what I could really do at the station without a degree. Hurts to leave, and I shed many a tear in the weeks leading up to my departure, but I'm excited to see what the future holds...Even if I'm not famous anymore! Haha."


Did you catch that "the idea of management tended to float around in my head"?

Well, look out, management.  A floating thing sunk the Titanic:

"Really, if I had my way, I would just let the shows police themselves. I know that's an awful way to go about being program director of a station, but seriously...The "newest" show on the station is Norm and he's been doing it since 2000. Every show has been #1 basically for as long as I can remember.

"It's silly to micromanage how many freaking times Norm does a Twitter segment in a week, or when a certain bit like porn birthdays is "played out". There's enough internet savvy P1's to let us...er, them, know when a bit is played out.

"The other way to know something is played out? When the guys on the show stop laughing at it. Working at the Ticket really sharpens your view on how funny things are because there's such an insane number of funny and creative people working during the week and on weekends. Most guys have a pretty good barometer on when to cut bait on a bit. No need to intervene.

"So while there technically wouldn't be a whole lot I'd do on the programming side other than leave the shows alone, I would spend more of my time on trying to make the work environment as positive as possible. Everyone should be treated like they matter...just because you're a board-op or intern doesn't mean you're less of a human or matter less to the station. Unfortunately, there tends to be such a classification of people by their jobs that it can wear on the self esteem for those that aren't in a more prominent position. It's tough as hell to move up at the station because jobs hardly ever come open. People do what they can to stick around as long as possible, so why treat them poorly in addition to that?

"The Ticket is a fast-paced station. Everything is live, and no matter how well something is (or isn't) planned, nothing is guaranteed to go perfectly. Whoever makes a mistake is going to feel bad already. What's wrong with just pulling someone aside and discussing what happened in an even tone? Knowing that a rip session is on the way makes you even more likely to make a mistake and that much slower on the trigger. Just human nature. I'd rather someone make a mistake in the name of entertainment than hold back and create "bleh" radio. That can be found elsewhere.

"I know that's a very Utopian way of viewing things, but as someone who was lucky enough to go from outsider to insider and now back to outsider, I think my ideas would essentially maximize productivity and by extension, ratings."


And, he adds modestly:

"I think."

I think so, too.  My thanks to Michael for writing and for allowing me to re-post his thoughts.


*  *  *

Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310
Email Your Plainsman:  ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com

19 comments:

  1. I highly recommend this week's It's Just Banter. TC and Jake talk for an extended time about their backgrounds at the station and how they got to where they are now. Good stuff.

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  2. Josh's broken groinApril 20, 2012 at 11:56 AM

    Stay Hard young Mr. Gruber..me and wifey miss you tremendously. (Can't believe you said there was more to life than the Ticket and beer, I don't even know you anymore) Don't you damn call here again!

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  3. What Josh's broken groin said... (tearing up while having an afternoon adult beverage).

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  4. So the Soul Patch has changed its name to The MaSS "Matt and Scott." They traded one bad name for another. Why? And why would management approve of such an idiotic name? The Ticket seems to be making one crap move after another. It used to not.

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  5. I bet Matt and Scott came up with that name not management.

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  6. Hey, I didn't intend for you to think I don't still like The Ticket and beer! That would be cray.

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  7. I'm sure they did come up with it. But it isn't as if they can just change the name of their show without approval.

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  8. Although they're gone now, I'd like to welcome the literally -- yes, literally -- hundreds of new visitors to My Ticket Confession who follow All Things Grubes.

    This site broke through to P1 consciousness way back when when Barb Smith dropped the site a brief line or two, and it got around that she'd checked in and I'm STILL getting hits looking for Barb Smith news and photos. I'm betting that Michael's and AP's retweets yesterday is what brought record viewers to the site. Hope they will hang around and contribute, check out the archives, and enjoy themselves.

    Thanks again to Grubes for allowing the republication of his cogent remarks.

    Now, if only Alexis would send me a few new publicity stills for evaluation . . . .

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  9. We approached management about a name change right after the new year. The Soul Patch was so named for the obvious reason that both JJT and I have them. When he left it was generally agreed that in the interest of branding it would be better to leave the name the same. (despite the fact the Matt couldn't grow a soul patch if a gun was put to his head).

    We came up with the name after dozens of ideas were developed, reworked, and rejected. We asked for ideas from people we respected but eventually The Matt and Scot Spectacular or Sunday MaSS, separated itself from the rest - "testing" best among those who were consulted both inside and outside the Ticket studios as well as inside and outside of the radio business.

    We accept the fact that many of you will hate it or at least dislike it strongly (as it was with The Soul Patch moniker), many will approve (so far the trend on twitter), and some who just want to have their weekend Ticket fix won't be bothered either way. We're just pleased that you guys care enough to discuss our goofy little Sunday morning show and that you would take the time to complain/compliment.

    So, triple fake Scot Harrison says pour one out for the Soul Peettcchh!! (of mic tribute) Stay Hard Soul Patch!

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  10. Thanks for writing, Scot. I may repost as a featured post with your kind permission, as it touches on a fairly major branding item for the station.

    Got no issue with the name, if Catholics don't start boycotting the station, since you are on during church drive. It is very faintly redolent of "Richie and Greggo Extravaganza," and I assume there is a hint of parody in the new name, in which case I approve even more heartily.

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  11. Like middle aged white males, the Catholic Church and its adherents are for some reason not "protected" by the politically correct society that we've allowed ourselves to become slaves to. Thankfully both middle aged white males and Catholics, in general, can take it. So while I think the name change is a lateral move (sorry, it's one bad name replacing another), if the show is solid, then I could care less. I think both Scot and Matt get stronger each week. I really appreciate their self-deprecating sense of humor and how you just *know* that they *know* their place on the station food chain, and act in accordance. That's not the case with everyone. I'll be tuning in tomorrow...

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  12. As a fallen-away Catholic alter boy (I only attend weddings and funerals now) I can now tell my dear sainted mother, Yes, I attended MaSS.

    [On a side note the only qualifications to be pope is to be male and Catholic. I am getting my resume ready for a new gig!]

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  13. Mornin' Plainsman,

    Feel free to repost as a featured post. Happy to help expand horizons..

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  14. MaSS is an offensive name. I guess because it's OK to say whatever you want about Christians and especially Catholics these days, so no one will complain. Because if they do, they'll be considered small minded, people who don't get it, or conservative prudes. I for one won't be filing a complaint. But I find it offensive. I know Matt and Scot and most likely the readers and host of this blog do not care what I have to say. Yet I'll say it again, I find the name offensive. I do like the show that Matt and Scot put out. Can't you be a bit more creative? Or better yet, maybe a bit more general? That's one of our society's problems: everyone thinks they have to standout in some special way. Why not just say what it is you do? And then do it in a fantastic way? Why not?

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  15. What in the world is offensive about the name MaSS? You have to be trying to be offended to be offended by something so trival... give me a break.

    Seems like an appropriate name to me but I never listen to The Ticket on the weekends and couldn't care less about show's names so I guess my opinion on the matter doesn't really count.

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  16. who would get mad about Mass? Isnt that one of the 50 great states in our union. Jeez,

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  17. I find Mass offensive just because I'm so fat.

    Physics is funny.

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  18. I'm offended by people being offended. Seriously

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  19. I don't mean to dogpile, but I do have one question - if one is offended by the acronym "MaSS", how does one listen to any of the other shows on the ticket?

    Also, on the topic of MaSS, I noticed a weird technical issue on Sunday. Instead of catching the Soulpatch show via the internet stream, my recording setup snagged three and a half hours of Yahoo! sports. I have it on impeccable authority that TuneIn radio listeners were able to catch the show though, as were regular terrestrial listeners. Did anyone else notice this? It was especially interesting because Y! was playing an ad for a website called "firestone.xxx" where the SoulPatch open normally plays. Thought Matt and Scot had sold their Soul(patch)es to the devil in exchange for some sponsorship for a second.

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