"Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can"
"Here’s to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.
They invent.
They imagine.
They heal.
They explore.
They create.
They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
You hear a ton of performers daily, who is your favorite and why?
That used to be a hard question to answer because in this business you hear so many great bands so often that it was hard to ever pick just one. Recent events though have profoundly altered that seemingly chaotic sense of total and utter indecision. Now when this question arises there is only one answer. For now and for eternity my favorite band is Drowning Pool.
That used to be a hard question to answer because in this business you hear so many great bands so often that it was hard to ever pick just one. Recent events though have profoundly altered that seemingly chaotic sense of total and utter indecision. Now when this question arises there is only one answer. For now and for eternity my favorite band is
You recently went overseas. What did you do there and what was it like?
Back in June our station approached the USO about taking my show on the road to the troops in Iraq and/or Afghanistan. We wanted to bring a band and the USO literally started drooling when they heard the name Drowning Pool.
Drowning Pools music has been ubiquitous in the various combat zones since their song Bodies came out back in 2001. Their music is frequently used as both motivation and inspiration, so to have the band physically go over and play live for our troops was going to be HUGE.
And it was.
Due to the voter referendums and the ensuing safety concerns, the shows ended up being in Kuwait rather than "in the box". We did three shows for a total of 10,000 U.S. and Coalition troops at Camp Virginia, Buerhing and Arifjan. Every day we were in Kuwait was 16 to 18 hours in length and encompassed facility tours, meeting commanders, meeting and eating with the troops, sound checks and full on, in your face, full blast two hour plus performances.
Each performance was dazzling in it's own right, but it is what happened every night AFTER the stage show that REALLY rocked our troops. Drowning Pool had been going full throttle all day every day, but everyone at each show wanted to meet them. So after every performance, Drowning Pool would come off stage and immediately and quite literally STAND in the sand next to the stage for HOURS.
Over the course of the tour Drowning Pool actually proceeded to meet all 10,000 troops. This meant 4 hours at Camp Virginia, 6 hours at Buerhing, and 8 hours at Arifjan. The band did not just drone a mumbled hello, scribble a non-chalant signature and send a soldier on his way. There were passionate hugs and radiant smiles and photos taken and given.
And if a service man or woman happened to be from Texas then you know the people behind them in line would be waiting a couple of extra more minutes, because Texans LOVE other Texans and we got to say so.
The response to the band was immediate and DRAMATIC.
Drowning Pools astounding integrity and collective character as both artists and men really knocked the socks off everyone including the military brass who in wide-eyed amazement and gratitude bestowed each band member with numerous battalion challenge coins and medals.
Not to be outdone by their commanders, the grunts proceeded to offer their own brand of personal gratitude. Heroes are men who do what they can. One by one and by the hundreds these still sweat soaked and thrilled service-members whipped out their Gerber service blades, cut off the patches and name badges on their uniforms and with trembling hands gave a piece of themselves to the utterly stupefied band members.
It was breath-taking to witness firsthand and a story impossible to relate without a steady stream of tears.
On an intensely personal note let me add that prior to this journey I had always liked Drowning Pools music. But witnessing their incredibly tender and passionate personal attention to each of these men and women in arms forced me to call NASA so that they could help me track the admiration as it exploded into the stratosphere!
Now the only way that I can accurately convey the magic of what occurred, is to equate the generous and tangible spirit of these heavenly human beings in Drowning Pool to the Seraphim, the angels closest to God. They surround his throne with their thunderous music and regulate the movement of the heavens with their songs.
Did one soldiers story in particular touch your heart?
I will always remember the Marine I met on a landing zone in Iraq. After the tour of Kuwait with Drowning Pool ended, I went solo in country with the 206th BOD(Broadcast Operations Detachment) based in Baghdad.
On the second day, we were going to Al Faw Palace and then on to Camp Victory to broadcast on Armed Forces Radio. To get there we had to fly Space A(space available) on a Blackhawk. So while my military escort was taking care of the requisite paperwork at the Washington LZ, I took a seat in the corner to wait. While sitting there, a large contingent of burly Marines came in and one of them stopped in his tracks right in front of me and laughed long and loud...primarily because it was obvious that despite the Kevlar helmet and body armor I was not exactly military issue. He laughed even harder when he discovered that I was being escorted by Army officials but was clearly wearing Marine issue body armor. A ridiculous mistake I did not realize until I was already in Iraq and it was too late to fix. This Marine Lt. Col., was so intrigued by my obvious ignorance to military protocol that with a huge incredulous smile, he LOUDLY drug a chair from halfway across the room, plopped down right in front of me and in a booming voice inquired...COMMANDED "what the hell are you doin' HERE"?
I asked if I could record the exchange and explained that I was a dj from Dallas, here to find out what our troops had to say about their experiences in the combat zone. He didn't hold back. He curled up his lip and practically snarled that he hated the media because they never told the whole story. His demeanor seemed to soften as he scanned me up and down and announced with sheer loyal Lone Star pride that he was from Austin and since I was also from Texas added "you MUST be ok!"
He proceeded to speak about leading his units passionate efforts to assist in the reconstruction process in Iraq and how monumentally frustrated his unit and others were that the journalists they were constantly bumping into only seemed interested in focusing on the discord, blood and mayhem. He started to get audibly and visibly upset so I thought I would try to diffuse the situation by changing course and asking about his family back home and if he had a message for them...it was at this point that the earth beneath us seemed to give way creating the intense sensation of a total free fall .
We were enveloped in a lengthy, palpable silence as he looked at me with a gaping stare that was so deeply haunting that even now I have no words to accurately describe it. The stare seemed to last forever and just as I tried to re-phrase the question, I suddenly saw the tears. They were streaming down his face and he was clearly overwhelmed. He took a moment, looked away then came back composed, but still full of raw emotion. The next words he spoke were full of strength and passion as he talked with tremendous affection about his mom and dad and friends back home. About how much he missed not only them but also the little things. The comforts that most of us take for granted and would have no idea how much we missed until they were summarily revoked and replaced with sand.
It was then time for him to go and we shook hands as he got up to leave...but he walked backwards to the door still staring in curious wonder at the seemingly out of place fellow Texan standing behind and/or in front of him. I will never forget him.
How would you describe the environment there?
I have been to a zillion rock concerts but never one that was this heavily fortified with M16s, 9MM and the occasional M60 sniper rifle. EVERYONE was armed, even the kids in their PT uniforms.
There are no words in this or any other language that can accurately represent the atmosphere..because it was one so unlike earths. The second we walked into the first camp, I felt like we were on an entirely different planet. That sensation was prevalent at all three camps as well as my solo jaunt into Iraq.
The atmosphere in all locales was thick with sand and worry, sand and depression, sand and anxiety. The only time that palpable sense of anguish and potential doom was abated was when the music was blaring.
Did your feeling change about the war after you went overseas?
No, I am still confused by it. But that confusion has no bearing on my love, respect and 100 upport for our troops.
Do you plan to go back again?
The experience of going to Kuwait and then on in to Iraq with the Army's 206th BOD was extraordinary. Prior to departure my drill instructor at the boot camp fitness program I joined to prepare told me.... WARNED me that this journey, this "mission" would be life changing. I did not comprehend or appreciate the full weight of his words until I came home and found the previous life I had known was nowhere to be found.
To illustrate the gravity of that point I will confess that I can not bring myself to unpack the bags that went with me over there.
They are still covered in dirt and sand and sitting in the hallway by the door.
Waiting. If the call comes, I'm ready.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of
- wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious, burning blue, I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew
- And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high untresspassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched the face of God
SKYDIVING WITH THE US ARMY GOLDEN KNIGHTS
3/14/08
"If riding in an airplane is flying, then riding in a boat is swimming. If you want to experience the element, then get out of the vehicle."
Never let it be said that I did not follow these directions.... I leapt "out of the vehicle" today by flying up to heaven with the US Army’s Golden Knights. At 13,500 feet I stepped into the ether and joined my instructor Billy V for a 120 mph free fall.
...and here 4 hours later I am still trembling, pondering, terrified and exhilirated and exhausted. I feel like some sort of burrito of emotions. Layer upon layer of wildly conflicting sensations that I am at a loss to describe. Suffice it to say I am wrapped up in awe.
If you have never had the pleasure of exquisite terror that this sort of leap of faith provides, I have a nutshell visual that pretty much sums up how it felt
Did you ever see Look Who’s Talking? Do you remember the scene when Bruce Willis character narrates his own birth?
He is nice and safe and warm in the comfort of his mama’s womb and enjoying the sounds of Jimi Hendrix when he becomes suddenly intrigued by the distant light. One push and he is hurling toward it, SCREAMING from the force of the rush. There is nothing to grab onto, nothing to slow you down as you plummet into the unknown.
That is a little of what it is like to be standing IN the airplane and then suddenly push off, ARCH and hurl your body into the wind. The force of of which adds to the terror because it is all in your face. The plummet was so pronounced that your cheeks become jowels whose consistency is that of jelly usually reserved for toast.
The terror increases by degrees because it was ALL sensations all at once and at it’s peak the red alert in my head sounded like a air raid warning. It was sensory overload. The overload created further weirdness because body functions became obsolete and even exasperating. I forgot simple mundane tasks such as breathing. The wind feels like a pounding and continuous gale force blast. It slaps your bare cheeks with the relentless fury of a woman scorned. The earth is far away and yet approaching with a speed that I am sure only NASCAR drivers and astronauts have any frame of reference for. So all of that in my face stole focus and I totally forgot to breathe which made me dizzy and disoriented. But the wind would fly up my nose and force the issue.
It is the weirdest sensation to be breathless and gasping for air at once. It was like being suffocated with pure oxygen. I tried not to pay attention to the temperature which at that altitude was -10.
Ohhhhh...And while all of that is happening there is a guy with a video camera on his helmet right in front of you but in my case I was so shocked by everything going on and coming up around me that not only did I forget to breathe I forgot to smile and/or mug for the camera. I had seen countless videos of people just having a blast during their jumps but in my sheer terror I forgot to do any of that.
The energy was so palpable you could taste it, there was texture and a flavor so remarkable I wonder if I will ever find the right word to accurately describe it.
We were only half way to earth at this point
At 6000 feet Billy V ordered me to put my feet on top of his and to pull on the straps above him which deployed the droge shoot which would slow our descent and allow for the primary shoot to be deployed.
THAT was the next degree in the ratchet of terror because in the prep class Billy said this was when most people barfed. I had not felt sick until we were in the plane and wondered if I would be THAT girl. The training class was hilarious because Billy said that if you thought you were gonna throw up to pull your suit out and away from your chest and barf down your front. That would minimize splatter and keep everyone clean. "It ain’t purty when someone pukes into the wind"
He pulled the droge and we got sucked back up into the sky with staggering speed that again I forgot to breathe. PS Suffocation has no baring on bile and I could taste it and just when I toyed with the idea of seriously puking down my front he deployed the primary shoot and gave ME control by putting my hands on each lever. I could not pull my suit away to puke so had to endure. Well who knew that solved that....here is an idea just don’t puke.
"When the people look like ants-PULL, When the ants look like people-PRAY."
He said we were going to have some fun and to pull a hard left, he had me yank down on the lever and we SPIRALED to the left in another maneuver that happened so fast it felt like plummeting...oh look here comes the earth
If ever the words HOLY and SH*T were appropriate, it was in this particular moment. Truer words have never been uttered. They were and with considerable volume I might add.
"Out of 10,000 feet of fall, always remember that the last half inch hurts the most." -- Captain Charles W. Purcell, 1932
It was coming time to land and I was scared again. Let me tell you this...when it comes to skydiving for the first time, I think there is such a thing as TOO much information. YES safety and good instruction is key but the nitty gritty details and thinking too much will psych you out and you will make stupid mistakes. Yoda got it right. You have to trust the force in order to understand it and ultimately master it.
I KNEW this and yet...
The key to a good landing is, as irony would have it, is a strong fetal position and my uniform facilitated a good fetal position as each leg had grips so that you could hoist your legs up as far as possible to ensure a safe landing. Everything seemed to be going good. Billy wanted to do a stand land so I was geared to "just step off the escalator"...this was when Yoda took a coffee break and I became the glunk that got thunk. I THUNK to hard and became a human surf board....
I stepped off the escalator but unlike most astute and COHERENT shoppers FORGOT to keep stepping so I caused a minor calamity and got royally "surfed". That is, Billy toppled on top of me like a man hopping on a surf board and he rode me for 40 yards to a photo finish that I am sure will be mocked endlessly for years to come.
Oh were not done. The cameraman wants an interview. But I cannot form complete sentences so I just stand there stammering like a fool.
I would love to say I was elated but I was really in shock. I still am. I am happy but also so staggered by the experience that I need a couple of days to ruminate and perhaps even weep.
The experience made me laugh in wonder about the old cliche about men who fall asleep right after sex. I NEVER understood why they do that. Today I do.
There was such a tremendous release that even now hours later I am desperatly craving a cigarette and a nap.
This experience was a stunning culmination of three years of passionate work on behalf of the military.
Todays adventure has changed me.
It reminds me of that first USO tour with Drowning Pool and the embed in Iraq. We were all so focused on boosting troop morale that it never occured to any of us what would happen to our souls when we came home. We had no way of knowing how much we would grow and be forever changed by the experience. And the continued revelations related to the metamorphoses would fall on the deaf and frequently disinterested ears of loved ones who had no frame of reference to genuinely understand.
Ultimately there is really no way to really prepare for adventures of this magnitude. You can read all the books, you can watch all the documentaries, you can do what I did and sign up for boot camp fitness to try to some how get ready for the enormity of the mission...but nothing ABSOLUTELY nothing can truly prepare you for the heartpounding kinetic energy that is part and parcel of a leap of faith. And leap I did
As I have grappled with my burrito of emotions I am strangely reminded of the limited choice presented to so many girls in my culture. Would you rather be pretty or smart? My answer is the palpably invisible third option...
I would rather be brave.
Sadly I wasn’t entirely brave today but I hope I somehow managed a baby step in that direction. It is frequently said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I would like to be brave as a measure of my passionate admiration for our troops and especially for these Knights of Gold who graciously invited me to join them for a rare personal tour of God’s country. I stepped out of that vehicle and into pure wonder. I am left totally transformed. Gentlemen I think I might have left my heart up there. I give it to you with passionate gratitude.
Hey mom!!! You wanted me to let you know if I survived. I will do you one better. Auntie Mame always used to say "life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death! You have to live! Live! Live!"
New ticket plan aims to keep Dallas fans out of Cards' stadium
Tuesday 07-22-2008 3:48pm CT
The Arizona Cardinals are trying to "protect the nest." This means they'd like University of Phoenix Stadium to continue to sell out, and to do so with as few opposing fans as possible.
In the past two seasons, there was little concern about this since the team sold out every home game. But with ticket sales a bit slower as the third season approaches, the Cardinals are requiring fans who want to buy tickets to the Dallas game on Oct. 12 to also buy tickets for the Aug. 7 exhibition opener vs. New Orleans. Cardinals fans have "created a decisive home-field advantage" the past two years, and the team wants to keep it that way by discouraging single-game ticket sales to Dallas Cowboys fans, team spokesman Mark Dalton said.
"Our goal is to have as many Cardinal fans in the stadium as possible," Dalton said.
In terms of overall ticket sales, "We're a little slower than we were at this point" last year, Dalton said, citing the slowing economy. Dalton estimated about 58,000 season tickets have been sold. Ideally, the Cardinals would like to sell about 60,000 season tickets and hold back 3,000 or so to sell for individual games.
"If we don't get to that threshold, then there will be a few more individual single-game tickets available," Dalton said.
***Article from the East Valley Tribune
THE AMORY WARS 8/1 with Claudio Sanchez
Tuesday 07-22-2008 3:34pm CT
-----Original Message----- From: DAL Store [mailto:store02@lonestarcomics.com] Sent:Monday, July 21, 20084:37 PM To:JESSUP, JESSIE Subject: Coheed and Cambria signing Jessie, Hey, my name is Amie and I'm a long time listener of your show, as well as the manager of Lone Star Comics in Dallas. On August 1st from 12:30 to 2:00, Claudio Sanchez, the lead singer of Coheed and Cambria, is going to be in our store signing copies of his comic "Amory Wars." I just wanted to let you know, because I'm sure lots of Coheed and Cambria fans listen to the Edge, and hopefully the opportunity to meet Claudio Sanchez for free will interest them.
Joel "So Meaty" McHale. The comedian and host of the Soup on E! is coming to Dallas on 8/9.If you would like to win tickets to see his show at the Majestic, I got em. I am having a MANKINI contest. Submit a photo of yourself in your own tricked out mankini. The top 3 entries win (I have 3 pairs of tickets). LADIES you can enter as well just make sure you tape hair to your chest and face...be as MAN as you can in your own mankini. The hairier the better for both male and female entrants so bring it on you sexy freaks.You have until next Friday the 25th to submit your mankini photos all of which will be used to create a big card to welcome Joel to Dallas.
Hey if you have a bicycle or know someone who rides, here is a dementer bit 'o fun. It is a sumo wrestler bike horn....check out the man boobs...the best part is his bare butt. Pinch it and he squeaks. So much fun on the road. Click his nipples for information on how to order
Wednesday 07-16-2008 6:59pm CT
Dave Navarro to Host Wade Randolph Hampton’s Birthday Party at Ghostbar
With Special Guests Jesse Murphy and Aaron Johnston of Brazilian Girls
Friday, July 25, 2008
Dallas, Texas – Dave Navarro needs no introduction. He is a household name as guitarist for most notably Red Hot Chili Peppers and Jane’s Addiction; as former husband to Carmen Electra; and as a television celebrity in such shows as Carmen and Dave: An MTV Love Story, Rock Story, Punk’d and Celebrity Poker Showdown, among others. The handsome bassist for band sensation Brazilian Girls, Jesse Murphy and drummer Aaron Johnston will grace Ghostbar’s turntables. Not new to the vinyl scene having DJed at Coachella this year, Jesse and Aaron are currently working on a side project, Sounds for Your Hounds.
But who is Wade Randolph Hampton? Marketing Director of N9NE Group Dallas including Ghostbar, N9NE Steakhouse and Nove Italiano, Wade Randolph Hampton (aka DJ WishFM), is the man behind-the-scenes of Dallas’s nightlife mecca. He plans the events, parties, celebrity hosts and advertising for the N9NE Group Dallas adult playground. He is also a celebrity guest DJ for numerous events and fashion shows (including Neiman’s 100th Anniversary) throughout the city and abroad. He appears in advertisements for luxury car dealerships and is the king of who’s who in Dallas. Let’s just say his blackberry, packed with contacts, is priceless in AMEX bucks. He has worked with Paris Hilton, the Wilson brothers, Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz, and Erykah Badu, to name a few. As a DJ and music producer, he was music supervisor and album producer for Sony Pictures Classics Groove and Requiem for a Dream remix producer. More recently, he was music supervisor for TV Junkie which won a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize. He's been featured in an unbelievable 19 TV/film documentaries, including MTV’s True Life series, CBS 48 Hours and the late Peter Jennings’s heralded Ecstasy Rising, cementing his rep as one of the true historians of American dance music. His best gig was Timothy Leary’s funeral, in which Winona Ryder and Oliver Stone danced barefoot to Stevie Wonder’s song, ‘Superstition.’ His best is also his worst – Leary’s funeral and holding back the tears. BAM Magazine once wrote, "You may not know Wade Randolph Hampton by name, but the 31 year old San Francisco resident is making great progress in his bid for world domination."
And world domination continues at Ghostbar on Friday, July 25, when Wade Randolph Hampton celebrates his birthday with celebrity hosts Dave Navarro, Jesse Murphy and Aaron Johnston. The event is $20 for men only (ladies are complimentary) and doors open at 8pm. Extend the party into tomorrow with W Dallas - Victory’s Take the Lift Home package. Enjoy cocktails, breakfast in bed, valet parking, plus a wonderful room you’ll love starting from $209. Explore whotels.com/dallassleepover for details.
© 2008