Vermont Maple Syrup

Maller starts right now that it does. It is a Friday, which means a conversation with someone we like in someone we know. I say that in air quotes because four hours or not enough on the overnight show during the week, and we do this now eight days a week, eight days a week, and joined for better or worse. I guess this week we would say for worse after that

performance the other night. We'll get to that in the Saturday podcast where David guesstcon sabotaged the show one Night of Torture as a producer sitting in for the Cooper Loop. But he is over there a gascon. Somehow you made it back to the podcast battered and bruised, but happy to be here. As always a nice warm welcome from you as uh we get into a Friday edition. So thanks for having me back. I appreciate it. After that,

the militia thought you did a great job. I put up there on my Twitter feed to grade the performance of Gascon producing the show, and they really voted some good things for you. So you got that kind of an assholes produced, Like kind of an asshole are you? I was just pointing out, you know, tough love. Tough love makes you better. But it's not about you, guess because right now one of our college I have worked with this guy at two different places over the years,

at least two, probably more than that. The man he's lived the life of like a military brat. He started out in southern California. To my note, he's lived everywhere, literally everywhere, from coast to coast in the United States and done radio. Have a microphone, have phones, will work. The man known as the Stinking Genius, the star of fs are. On the weekends, the great Arnie Spaniard is saying, Laker Fast, Let's go on, Arni, Arni, Oh my god, I think we should start with that Arnie, because when

I when I first met you. You came in. You had worked in Chicago, if I remember correctly, right, I think you were in Chicago. I don't remember. I don't remember. You worked all over the place, but you were hired as the big afternoon guy at the sports station in l A that we were was working at the time, and I remember, I think it was Mike Thompson was the program director, if I remember correctly, and Mike he sang the praises of you, Arnie and oh my god,

and you came in there with guns of blazing. That was back in the Shaq Kobe period of time. What time that was. And the funny part is when I was up in Chicago and I got the job offer, company wouldn't let me leave because I was under contract for another year. So I'm like, well, you're not gonna keep me here for a year, and they're like, yeah, you can't leave. I go, wait a minute. You're not gonna give me a new contract. You're not gonna let me go. Um, You're you're not gonna give me anything.

You're not gonna give me more money, and they just stared at me. I go, I am not leaving this office until you give me something, and I was so furious at the owner that I reached over and grabbed a dozen goal balls. I go, I'm taking these golf balls, and I'm leaving. And I just walked out of the office and I could hear them laughter you as I walked out. It's hard to believe, Annie, that a radio company would not treat its employees. Well, that does not

happen in radio, right, Arntie. I mean we were well paid, we make a lot of money, we live a great life. Yes, it's shocking and shocking. They just wouldn't say, yeah, go ahead, do it, you lot, and they go moved to Los Angeles and and bother. When I got the l you guys, I mean, you guys treated me like I had leprosy, the contagious leprosy, not the non contagious one in papion, the one that's contagious. Because I'm like, who is this guy?

I can't believe they're giving him afternoon drive? What's wrong with people around here? I can't believe this. It was. It was insane. Well, Arnie, I gotta tell you you know how to make an entrance, because you know who knows if this is accurate, not but from what I remember, you came in and you took shot. It's like going to the church and taking shots at a priest. You were you were taking shots at Kobe and Shock right away, like you didn't waste any time the most And I

love that about you. Aren't because I'm right there with you. Man. I despised the Lakers, but you were throwing haymakers at the Lakers from day one. They're not gonna win, They're not gonna win, and you were annoying the hell out of people. Was a brilliant strategy by you on There was no strategy in this. You know, I came there

and and we really doing this. You just said whatever the hell you wanted back then, there was no you know, let me tell you, you you gotta say this, you gotta do that had and you've got to be this kind of person. And it was It was just amazing because you know, the Lakers had not won in a long long time. And that's remember when we started that thing.

If the Lakers win the championship, I said that year, I'll watch everybody's car in l a And how many times do you say something when the season begins and then you know, eight nine months later in June, it actually turns out that the Lakers won the championship, and we're playing that stupid song car wash like every day too, or three times a day for eight months. I mean people, people didn't wash their cars for like a year just to go ahead get a watch for free in case

the Lakers won the championship. And if I remember correctly, that was like the best day of my life, the Lakers Woman Championship. We had that that we had like, uh cars lined up like three four miles long, helicopters flying over and it was you in Dave that we're actually helping watching the cars and doing the show. Why, I was just meeting, greeting people. I'm saying hello. It was really great. Xactly was on Ventura Boulevard, and you know, I think it was if I remember, it was the hand.

I don't know if it's still there or not. I have not driven down. Yeah, the giant oversized hand on Ventura Boulevard, which is a staple of l A in the San Fernando Valley. And yeah, so you know, I was the Benny I was doing the Ben and Dave show at at the time, and so you know, we were not, and we were competing. She was not a competing We're on the same team, but you were the

big afternoon star. And so yeah, I remember we parked there and the line of cars from the hand car washing army as far as I could see down Ventura Boulevard which goes on forever, right and as far as Legacy, And then you're right, and you didn't wash any car. You sat there in a Hawaiian shirt, smoking cigars, and you were sitting in like a folding chair, if I remember correctly. And we I actually watched, I actually got my hands dirty. I did more car watching than you

did that day. And the police came up to men. They go, you know, we're gonna have to shut this down. It's causing too much of a uh you know, traffic jam. And I said, don't you dare. You're not shut nothing. Now. This is the best thing ever. And it was just great. They had Laker players coming. You know. I want to tell you when in that series, this was like the

best thing I ever did. I got in so much trouble for this, not not really in trouble, trouble, but believe me, if there if there was a baseball pat somebody would have hit me over the head with it. Do you remember when we were doing when we first were doing remote at Staples, Um, right next to Staples, there was that big glass room that there was nothing in. I think, now it's a Starbucks, right then, help me if i'm if I'm thinking that was Yeah, when Staples opened,

they didn't have anything. It was kind of empty. And then and then across the street was a parking lot which is now the l A Complex whatever they call it, right next to Staples, right next to it it is I think it's a Starbucks style. But it was wide open, glass, wide open, and we were doing the show. I was doing the show in there. I noticed I don't know why this happened, but when I went to a commercial break, UM, they would stop playing the commercials outside on the speaker.

But when I was doing the show, you could hear the show, which is obvious, right. But when I went to a commercial break, they would cut the commercials but the mic was still hot, so like, oh no, yeah, I could talk to the people outside. So I thought I'd have a little fun and I and we went to a commercial. I get on the I get on the on the Mike and I go, welcome to Game six Portland and los A. Kobe Bryant out broke and Land and people told people are looking to be like

he is. He is, he told the Jude, I go, he's God. He won't play that e R. All I know is after after about thirty seconds of saying this um, our boss came in Mike Thompson. He said something like didn't you please stop? But not in those words, different words, different tone, And let me tell you something had had he could say, if he could have grabbed me by the neck and thrown me out in traffic on the four on the freeway, I would have been in traffic.

The Lakers have been so mad at me that they called my bosses, who had to run down to the remote and tell me to uh please be quiet and something like that. But I mean, I've never seen on a he was red faced A couple of times. He was. He was like a boiling thing. I wanted to take a pit and pop. But my thought he was thought he could have a heart attack. You know, I love Mike, our our old boss, Mike Thompson. I love the guy,

but he was such a hot ahead of times. I remember we would do a bad segment of the Ben and Dave Show, and he was listening in his office and he would become he would become rumbling down the hall and he would like bang his hands against the wall about how bad that segment of radio was and started screaming, shoutting. But as far as that classroom, arty, all right, I have some of my favorite reason radio in that classroom. I don't know if you were there

that night, and maybe not. They were the riot say to riot after they were you in there? This? Yeah? I was. I was there. You know what's funny. I was coming out of Staples after the Lakers won the championship, riding outside. Um. We were supposed to do the post game from that room. Ye, all I had to do was go out from Staples. You might have been with me at that time, and all we had to do was walk a hundred stats, not even that much. Go

to the room. I come out, I see, of course, a couple of things getting burned, a couple of cop cars getting burned. And and as soon as I step out, I hear there's already sire, And I turned over to the policeman and he goes, yeah, you're on your own. So I said that. I said, Ben, why don't you go over and get ready for the romote. I'm gonna stay here for a while so I can figure out how to get over. Arnie. Let me tell you that was the craziest night because as you said, there were

several cop cars that got burned. There was a channel to news van that guy burned, and we are broadcasting. All there is is a bright of glass in front of us, and the mob is outside, and I remember they started a fire on the street in right across from Staples Center. There right in front of us. There was a little street which is still there, and they were dancing. They were doing a chance dancing around the fire in the street, as I remember. Uh. And then

we remember who we sent out. I don't know if you came in there. I think you got in the evention. But we sent out Vic the Brick because the mob loved Vic. Vic was like our on site reporter. They couldn't get enough of it. They were chanting his name, and we love you, Vic. You got and we got in trouble because they're like, they're riding and burning the cop cars and and of course the boss comes to this you can't say you that, don't say that. So I got on the mic and go, come on down. Family,

filled out this year breathing. I want to I want to say this speaking about her old boss. Do you remember what he wanted me to do with that sports bar? Refresh my memory. There were so many crazy promotions we did with people being buried alive, and that's what he wanted me to do. He wanted me to one to be buried alive six feet under in the concrete and dude, that's not happening. I will die down there in concrete. So Tom Mooney did it. And it's funny, but I

think our boss passed out from drinking. So nobody was guarding the area where Mooney was buried, and I remember we were talking to we go. Tom was running out, What are we going to do? We can't get you out here? Running out and we had him been a full paddent looking back at that, but it wasn't very funny, but it was funny. Oh no, that stuff was hilarious. We remember we put somebody on I don't know if

you were here at the time. We put somebody a billboard into because the clippers had a long losing stream. We put a Ali McKay. We put her on the billboard for like until they won, and that became a news story. One of the funny things. I want to tell you one more the best, the best truck anybody ever had when we were doing in l A. And you known him, but you never brought up his name. We had a guy that they hired I don't even

know who the hell he wants. We called him three way Freddie, and all he had to do was take this brand new Honda and drive around watching Dodger games wherever they traveled. And at the end of the summer, you got to keep the Honda and he would never call it to night show. He was supposed to call it like every day, and he would never call it. And he kept the Hansa. Do you remember that I

got Freddie? I don't. I don't remember. I remember we had Check was our our promotions guy at the time, one of our promotions guys, and he was driving around the promotions vehicle and we would google was a Honda Honda. I don't remember that. But you know one of the one of the one of the interns, Arnie at that station is now the head football coach of the Texas Long Lawrence. Can you aieve that that is a nuts?

Tom Herman, who's the coach of Texas, was an intern at the station me and Arnie worked at back in the day, Sam whatever your name is now, Yeah, how much you think you get? I don't know how much he's getting paid. He must be getting paid like five million dollars a year to coach at Texas. I would think he has a big time that we got that job, because a coaching job. I I just remembered Arnie the one of the other fun stories about that time we were doing radio in l A. You mentioned the Freedom

we were doing. Me and Dave. We're doing a midday show from that same glass room, and we sat there for the for the riot after the Lakers won that championship. We were we were in there and it was like a day after the the Clippers had played the Lakers, and the Clippers had scored like three points in a quarter or two points in a ridiculous quarter, and then

it was so embarrassing. The team was terrible. You know, I'm a Clipper house guy and I was then as well, and and so Dave had this idea, so we gotta you know, I want other Clippers to move back to San Diego. So he had this brilliant idea, says, let's put a petition together and we'll have our intern go out and because our business people in downtown l A, we'll have him signed the petition and we'll do a bit out of it. So we send our intern out. Okay,

this is a great story on it. So we send our intern out to get signatures from people who were on lunch because we show and hand to guy all right. About an hour later, a steaming man, Andy Roser, who was Donald Sterling's right hand man, comes running in. Our intern had asked Andy Roser to sign the petition to move the Clippers back to San Diego because they're an embarrassment. Oh my god, he was so pissed. He was so angry are he he was spitting fire when he came

in there. He was firing brimstone. Oh my gosh. It was a mess. By the way, I think now the chance to kind of bring this up. Now, I know people are listening for one story in one story only kind of awkward that you haven't brought it up. Well, I think we can talk about how you own the eastern part of Vermont. If you want come to want to know why you and I were in the hot top with four topless women back in Indiana, they were

up to four topless women out. The number changes, but no, fine whatever it was said, it was me you with a mar Kenez so um all the time. Yeah, we had we had different people in there, but we were in Indianapolis on assignment, Arntie. We were big radio stars on assignment at the NBA Finals for the Pacers. And was that Reggie Miller's Pacers, right, I believe it's time And they read it to from the David Letterman show.

That's right. That was the big thing because the Letterman would send Biff out to do his goofy interviews and that was that was we read it. It wasn't that we ran him at a bar, right, He was like he was kind of depressed and he was drinking a little bit and uh, but that was a lot of fun.

So we were standing at the hotel there and we somehow ended up I don't know how, yes, in a jacuzzi, and as I remember the story, Arnie, there were a couple of beautiful ladies there and they were pretty attractive, and then they were kind end of uncomfortable when we got in the hot tub. And then when you started talking, they immediately got out. As I recall, first of all, they were really uncomfortable when you took your shirt off. I had my shirt off, and and everything was good

until that. I I don't know what you're talking about. Yeah, I I've never seen someone exit a hot tub quicker than that. As soon as as soon as they got out of there, that oh my god, Frankenstein and his son had gotten in into the into the hot tub. I already I got. I found some photos a few months ago. I should, I should, I should take a picture. I have a photo of you. I think it's you, me,

Tony Bruno, and a bunch of the other guys. Uh No, this was actually remember that, um we were broadcasting from that bar in downtown Indianapolis. Remember it was like a Hollywood theme bar thing if you yeah, yeah, they had like they I forget what the name it was, but that's where we did the show from. So we took up. We took a photo, and I should send that. It's hilarious. We look so he looks so different, Artie. Remember the weather guy in Indianapolis spent his seven minutes of weather

just ripping me. Yes, yes, the local local. You know you've arrived, Arnie when you are the top story on the local news and they are bashing you and just destroying you. Just smith the reens, Arnie. Oh my god, that was hilarious. I forgot about that. That was it was. It was a lot of good times out there, I think. And we started off the show like this. Um never in my wife did I think of all the things I said on the air that the one thing that people would always bring back up to me is a

Laker fan. I remember. I remember they brought me into the office and I'm talking like some secret private office that's only for the big wigs and people that are about to get fired. And they brought me to the office and it was like every person, um like every boss one higher than the next. And and and one guy says to me, you're you're going to have to stop to say, You're gonna have to stop saying old Laker fans. I said, I excuse me, They go stop

saying it is defensive. And I said, just tell me which words offensive and I'll cut it out all Lakers are fans, and he goes, you're going to cut it out now, that's what he's going to do. And okay, I said, I go, let's everybody calm down. Um, if you brought me in, the fire me and just fire me. But I'm not stopping a Laker fan. It's it's not even anything. It's not even offensive. What's wrong with everybody here?

I don't know what's going on. So um, they kind of left me alone after that, but with me, it gets like a hundred guys about this whole be a s Laker fans, Like, really, is that big of a deal? Unbelievable? Well, remember the boss and the big Boss at that station. Remember he would he would wear those purple suits and those bright colored suits and stuff. He's walking around there of the power suits and all that back and in those days, remember one called Darth Vader. Oh that's right,

we had We had Darth Vader. And uh, you know, I don't want to I'm not gonna name anybody, but I remember what we were. Occasionally I would do the morning show, we'd fill in on the morning show, and I remember the Boss would come in every Monday after a very tough weekend, and he would spend like the first hour and a half kind of cleaning up in the bathroom, if you know what I mean, Like you're kind of rubbing his face with some water and trying to wake up after a very tough weekend. Yeah. I

did love our boss, and I get it. One type. He came in and when I was doing afternoons and he pulled out three hundred dollars cash and I'll give you three hundred dollars if you don't take any more phone calls for the next hour. Oh yeah, he hated. Yeah, he did not like the calls. He was not a Yeah, it was funny. Uh, what are some of the I'm trying to think of some of the other crazy stories from back back in those days. What was the Los Angeles That was just so many different places? I know,

unlike you just stayed that for your whole life. Well, I was in San Diego, but yeah, I'm in southern California, but I didn't do I'm beloved Boston Icono. I spent two years filling in at w E. I already remotely come on and I was ahead of my time. Everyone's doing remote broadcast. Now I was ahead of my time already, back in those days, they couldn't get anybody else. What was that? Well, no, they actually wanted to hire me,

and they wanted me to move back there. And I my wife of course, wouldn't allow me to to move back there. But they're like, hey, we'll have you at night. You know how radio stations are. They don't cann't put anybody to put us on at night. They don't care about that. He said, are you kidding me? Or Boston? Who will pick l A? What's wrong with you? I know Boston is a better sports town. I mean, I love that I grew up in l A. Might stay

up here in Vermont. We we carry the Celtics, the Patriots, the Bruins, um, you know, we we carry all the teams out, Celtics, all of them. It was great already. I was when I was working in e I I would be on after the Red Sox. I would have to do Red Sox review. After the Red Sox game, people will be leaving Finway calling up. Of course, nobody knew I was in l A. And they all thought. I was like, you know, they're asking me about the game. You know I was watching the game. But I wasn't there.

I was still thousands of miles away, but it was. It was pretty crazy. So how did they? By the way, I can't even understand their accents half the time. I'm like, and I know I have a New York accent, but Boston accents like one of the top three worth accents in the United States. I love it. Man. They would find that all the teams win all the time in Boston and they still bitch and moment It's great. I love it. They they find things to complain about it. Just like, so, how the hell did you end up

in Vermont? Aren't you've lived all over the country. Why didn't you settle on Vermont? Explain the secret? I must know? Arnie Spaniard witness a relocation. No, um we I was in Dallas. I had enough of Dallas. I mean had a good time. I was doing nights, I was working for CBS. That's just so funny. But when I when I got hired by GPS UM, I was supposed to go to Detroit, and and three days before I I had my car packed and I was ready to roll.

Three days before I was supposed to go, I got a call and go No, no, I can't do Detroit. We're gonna send you to Dallas. And I'm like, Dallas, Texas. I go and I started to cry, I go, please, don't don't do this to me. You know, I'm just it's miserable. I can't do this. But um, I ended up, you know, going to Dallas, and I had enough for that for three years. It was fun, but I still got,

you know, stood out like a sore thumb. I went to Puffle, where my wife was from, because my son played hockey, and he went to a private school up there, and then um, we took the next step because he was getting really really good. We put him in another program and that happened to be at Burlington Vermont and we ended up staying here because we liked it. So my son plays nowt in college and when he finishes there, hopefully you'll play somewhere and you know, like in slap

shots the Federally or something like that. That's unbelievable, man, Your little son, who you named after a baseball stadium, is now in college. That is insane. That is nuts. Hockey Goldie too, out of all positions the hockey goaling. Wait a minute, the son of a sports talk show host is a is an athlete and can play at a professional level, possibly when he's done with college. Are you kidding me? Aren't spend it's a federal league. It's

you know, it's like slap shot. You know, they get drunk before the game and they go out there, they play it. They make two a week or something. Yeah, well, if that happened, maybe you never know, aren't you never? Strangest things have happened. And I remember there was a writer at the l a Times, a baseball writer whose kid made the major leagues? Was it? Yeah, he's David Newsom.

I think Ross our newhand, Ross Newhand. He was a baseball writer at the Times years ago, and his kids like made the major league, and every sports writer it was like orgasmic, you know, every every g sportswriter was like cee cee. We don't really write about it, but our kids can make it. We can figure our we have genetics. Our kids can make it in baseball and all that. Yeah, I just realized. I just realized, Arnie, we have completely left David Gascon out of this exactly.

That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. But are you proby eating some kale. Yesterday was kale Day or something. It's probably eating some kale. Yeah, But it's the West of the four or five guy, you know, Arnie from when you lived in the in the l A. Area. It's it's different West of the four oh five versus four or five. It's a different, different animal. I'm just I'm not allowing you guys to reminisce about the good

old days when you guys actually got paid. Well, you guys had Christmas parties ever luxurious, and yes, yes we got paid what we had freedom, As Arend said, right, how great was it Aarnie when we would just b s and shoot the ship and do whatever we wanted pretty much, and it was wonderful. Oh the parties were great too. They that have awesome parties. There was a

lot of good stuff back then. And I really sometimes think that if I if I never left l A. I think I went to atlant after l A. I wonder, you know how long that would have ended up being in Los Angeles? And I probably would have been an old man like Ben out there in l How dare you are used? When I was a little kid, aren't I used to listen to you on the radio, and I was a little just like you are, and it's so serious I want to be. We had one of your colleagues on last week. We had and you worked

in Chicago. Were at one on one right, you had Peter Brown was on your your lineup right? You got Yeah, you worked the same We had Peter on last week. He's out of the business. He made so much money. He's done. He's not doing anything. He's just kind of hanging out these days. He's a glassblower. I don't know if you know that he does glassblowing out there. I haven't spoked to Peter in a long long wait wait wait, wait wait wait. He said that that's not real? Is

he said that? I thought he was bssing. That's not real. That's that's what he does. That He I guess, really good at it. So that's what he does. Oh, I thought he was kidding. I didn't know. I thought he was pulling my chain. I thought that there's no way he's not doing that. That's crazy. That's what he's doing now night, I think Chicago. Yeah, a lot of guys who used to work with there's that too many left around. Uh.

That are still doing radio. That's kind of scary, Aret, right when you think about all the people we worked with and some good people, some talented people, and like we're like the last of the Mohicans here. It's crazy for getting old, my friend, there's no doubt about that. I don't know, well, my hair disappeared, But other than that, I feel young, are other than my, other than my But you know, I just bought a bunch of hats,

aren't That's all? And I'm gonna shave my I think I'm gonna I think I'm gonna buzz my what's your advice? Are you lost your hair for us? Like? Should I just buzz my hair and get rid of it? Lose my hair? I choose to wear like this? No, that's a lie. That's a lie, Arn'tie, that's a lie. So really, what we're saying, Gascon is you should learn how to blow glass, is what we're saying. Well, there's plenty of

glass around here in Sherman Oaks. So for kind though, our Arnie, you guys, well you're sons with sending us the great Christmas gift of all time. Like we get some kind of jankie gifts that I kind of popped to Ben every year, but you send the maple syrup and the pancake mix from Vermont, and well, I don't

know if it's you or your wife. I I you don't understand the joy and glee that you get from some of the colleagues here at Fox, because like that is that really is a Christmas gift beyond Christmas gifts, especially especially during the holiday season when we come in here there's nobody around and then all of a sudden, it's just a box of goodies from Arnie and courtesy Vera. Somebody took the bosses I said, want to try to get just about everybody, uh you know, producers on not

on air, but producers and and the blosses. Somebody took the bosses one and walked out with it. It's good because I wrote the names on each box and somebody just said I'm taking this one and left with it. The boss ever got one, It's it's glorious. Man. Hey, do you have I mean, I'm kind of curious because you and Ben A bounced all over the place with stations and networks. Do you have any professional regrets? The only professional regrets um I would have is not taking

a job to not being more serious. Um, when people called me, I think when we first started out that I went from the network to Phoenix. I got a call from Seattle. Um that were really I mean that the job certainly could have been mine. And and you know what Sonny Betton's um uh and David the Jim Rome, the syndicated show that he does now which was went out of Sermon Oaks. That came down between me, Jim and I think Scott Farrell and I knew nothing about syndication.

I was working in Phoenix and they called me up and said, yeah, I go, what's this all about? The said you'll have to move back to l A. Sherman Oaks. I go, we could to stop there. I'm not moving anywhere. I like Phoenix. I'm crushing it here, so you know, I'm not doing nothing. So UM, you know that that would have been a regret if I would have paid that more. And I think the biggest regret I probably have though I don't know how well I would have

done this job. Um. Do you remember Opie and Anthony? Yes, yes, in New York and they got in trouble for doing some sex spit where some listeners went to a church or something like that, and they got fired and they were looking for a replacement, and once again it came down between me and Scott Pharrell. Um is the last two and they gave it to Scott, and I think they end up getting rid of him after a year. That was like a really really tough job and we

were supposed to go solo. So um. I mean, those those are a few, but for the most part, I have no regrets. Man. You take the jobs you want, you pass on the ones you don't, and you just keep looking at the head and hopefully you did the right decision. Yeah, we we had Farrell. He worked at our place for a little bit in in l he was he was out there, and we also worked at

Fox Sports Radio years ago. We you know, it beat somebo I've start to Scott about this when it's I mean, there's at least three or four times jobs have come down just between Scott and I and I got two of him and he got two of them, and UM, it's just weird because you usually don't see something like that. No, I'm not a guy. I mean I would certainly look at a bunch of stuff, but I would turn out a lot of jobs to now do you have a big agent on because I had an agent like a

year and he just didn't work. He didn't do anything. He's like, oh, you get the job, and then all all of them the goost the contract. I'm like, well, what's the point of that. I can do that. I mean, I don't how to negotiate a contract. Well, who cares? You know. I used to have an agent back in the day, but they always say you are your own best agent. Nobody's gonna work as hard for you as

you know. I I just thought, like some people in the industry, um, you know that were former program directors. But other than that, I've had an agent about twenty years or something like that. Yeah, And I people ask me, like, young guys are like, how do you get in the business?

You know, I was like, you pretty much just have to stick around because like all the guys aren't that used to be our producers and are you know the guys behind the scenes, the board ops, they all be game program directors and they all became you know, they moved The people that stayed in radio, they all moved up and they have good jobs now and they're people people we know from years ago. I have producers who now run are the program directors of Bosses in San Francisco,

in Detroit, in Scargotting, North Carolina. Um, it's amazing. And now with podcasts like this, you if you're trying to start off in the radio or anything, to start your own podcasts and you know, get clicks and stuff like that, it's a lot easier to get into radio now than it was back then. For us. Oh yeah, it was a nightmare to get a radio show, even like on a Saturday morning. It was you couldn't do it. It's all about getting your reps right already. Gotta get comfortable

from a microphone and find your style. And you can do that on a podcast, which is obviously a lot different than a radio show because the radio show you get the clock and all that crap. You gotta deal with a bunch of you. You look back at, you look back at down. If we would have had podcasts to kind of get our feet wet, things weren't been a lot different. You know, think about that first station in Los Angeles, CAMPC. It was like who's who? Famous

people out there like Jim Moiapily and stuff. Yeah, looking at the stars of the world. Oh no, no. I when I got into it, I thought I was gonna be like a minor league played by Playgue. I interned at six ninety in San Diego, had hacks On and and Rome was doing a local show and they had, you know, a bunch of a bunch of big name guys also that we're doing shows there. And I was like, Yeah, that's not gonna work. And then I just kind of stuck around and but you're right, seven ten. They had

a huge budget and it didn't work. They didn't get the numbers, and so they eventually changed they changed it around after after what what's the most trouble you got in Arnie, Like, what's the that's something you did on the air? What is the craziest bit that you did that Did you ever get in trouble with Like you mentioned the Lakers, but like with a coach or a player that you were going after and they were they

were upset with you. I don't know if I got a lot of trouble for this, but I think it one of the biggest regrets I had um when I was doing this show with Dave, your former partner and we had Rudy, I'm John of it, John, and things were going great. We're having a great talk. And for some reason, you know, I'm just such a smartass, I said, well, Rudy, let it be one thing. Let it be known that you certainly can take a punch, you know, because of what happened in me. Yeah, for those killed, for those

under the age of like sixty. Uh. That one of the great moments. I'm not one of the great moments, were one of the crazy. He got punched Curvitt Washington right, punched him, right, yeah, yeah, punch and it almost him. Yeah. And when we when we say punched, not just like a small punch, like a direct hit type of punch, yes, right, right, And and I think he just said, um, okay, you guys have a good day or something like that. He he didn't think it was funny put it that way.

He wasn't laughed. And that guy was laughing. Oh, that's that's that's crazy. And who's who's the I just got you. You're like, oh my god, did you really say that. I'm not even laughed. That's that's that's who's the worst program actor? You had? Aren't you want the worst program director X me you already talked about the golf balls in Chicago. We both have great stories about our program director we had in l A who I love the death but I used I love the guy in retrospect.

But I mean, we've we've had some crazy things that have happened. I've had program directors who have given me terrible advice. What's the worst advice you got from a program director? The worst thing? I had one in Phoenix had no business at a sports station, and he told me he wanted to get rid of me. And I was not, um. You know, I had no idea what the hell was going on with radio and how things were supposed to be handled. And I remember he goes, he goes, who did you have on to that? I said,

that was Paul Westfaul. He goes, who's that? And I just almost started to cry. I know who is this guy? And you don't even know Westca. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you, But I don't think you're gonna be here much longer. We're gonna get rid of you. I said, you're gonna get rid of me? Huh? I said, I'll tell you what I picked up the phone right there in front of everybody. We were having a meeting. I was so friendly, didn't say that in front of

people's was just too much. And I called the owner um of the of the of the whole cluster, and I said, right here in a meeting with so and so, he said that you guys are getting rid of me. This is in front of him. And the guy tells me on the phone. He goes, yeah, I wouldn't worry about that. He's the one we're getting rid of. And I just hug up the phone. Oh wow, that's great. And they fired him a day later. So that was

that was That was one uncomfortable situation. But otherwise, for the most party kind of got wrong with my boss? Is it? Then you would always pick on people like us because you can't pick on the athletes, you know, like the loans of the world that you used to work with. You you can't do that, so you have to pick on people like us. Oh yeah, we remember that station they had Karl Malone Terry Bradshaw did a show at the station. Yeah. Yeah, there was like a

different there was a code. There was a pecking order, as there is in every business. But yeah, the regular radio working stiff like Arnie Spanier and me. We would we would take the brunt of the races, like if the ratings were not good or if you know, the program director was having a bad day, he would take it out on guys like us. But the star athlete,

you know, you're doing a great job. I remember they had to go to and I love Terry Bradshaw, but they had to go to his house sometimes because he forgot to do the show and they had to find him to do the show. And they never really yelled at him for that. If I imagine if we had done that, aren't you we're not going to show up

one of these days? Even remember when we were we were in first back, we were on the high Rise, I don't know, like four fourteen fifteen, and I was coming in through the afternoon drive and the guy that was on before me, I'm not going to say his name. I saw him hallway and he was literally on before me, and I go hey, he goes hey, and he just lucks by, and I think I must be going to the bathroom and I walk into the to the you know,

to the offices. I walked by the studio about two or three minutes later, I got here, we're so and so, we're so, and so I go I just some walked by me, got an elevator. The guy went down to get a sandwich in the middle of the so I'm cool that and they fired the producer and they had to tell the guy that you can't fire the producer

because the host was out. They get a sandwich that I got a sandwich, build the show, well, Arnie, in fairness, that cafeteria did have good sandwiches in that Bo was right. It was right near the Warner Brothers, right across the street from Brothers, and they had amazing And did you ever go to adults in those days? Aren't we remember? You guys would, but you've never invited me, So I would never, Arnie. I I my entire twenties, late twenties,

I spent adults. It was unbelievable. Everyone I never you never went with We had all like that, those nineties sitcoms like I'm Trying to Signfeld was on at that time. Here not er. I don't think Scheers was on. That was more of the eighties. But you guys would never. You would always call what you guys tears I'd like to go with you. No, no, no, we're just going home. It was it was crazy like l a bar with all the burbank but all these Hollywood people from those

sitcoms that carry show they would come in there. That was there. But you get to hang out with guys like Gascon you know the day here in Vermont. I'm like one of the four famous guys out here. It Spending Jerry, Me and and uh and Bernie Sanders. So that's pretty much the four famous people that live out here in Vermont. Is there a sign Arnie when you enter this is the home of Arnie Spaniard, the stinking genius, Oh Laker fans, Well, there would be, but we have

a lot here. There's no billboards allowed in the state, so we keep the queen out here. Bet we don't allow that stuff. But isn't there Like the taxes are good, right like I when I when I did stuff at e I, a lot of the people would live in they live in Vermont, New Hampshire. Yeah, New Hampshire. That's right because it was cheaper and you didn't you didn't have to pay the taxes of message. Not so cheap up here in Vermont. Especially in Berwin did it's not

so cheap. Think I live in a townhouse. I live in a condo. You you live in a mansion. You live in a man That is a lie. You have like an entire block acres and acres of land, and you've got like maple trees and like the whole thing. You got, you got the whole thing going on. Don't lie to me. You're you're you're the ball or you're the ball. Are Arnies fan? You're come on? You know they have a place. It's so funny. But everything gets

so big here. There's only my wife and I was my soul's in college, and our places like square feet. I go, we need to place this big. I like, it's it's ridiculous. It's like three levels and there's only two people in the house. Well, every night on you can go to a different room. It's like you're in a it's like you're staying at a hotel. Right, I'm gonna looking at this roll. It's unbelievable. It's amazing here.

It's not that big. But I live. I live in an area where there's a lot of retired people, so I'm like the youngest, I'm my block. People go to Vermont to retire. I thought you go to Florida, Arizona retired. They come up here for the summers and then they go down to South Carolina or Florida for the winners, so they do one of those days. Yeah, well, you're like an old New Yorker. Shouldn't you go to Florida? Like,

shouldn't you have a place in Florida? Also, Yeah, I haven't left here though, you know, I got my own studio up here. I haven't, you know, with the Corona, I'm not traveling munch. It's it's it's pretty easy. I'm right across from New York, and it takes me about four hours or three three hours to get the Boston four and a half to get to New York. I'm about an hour from Montreal, so I'm not that far for some major places. It's pretty cool. Are you are

you a waiting guest? Are you awake over there and fall? It's it's Friday night. I'm of course I'm awake. I'm just doing I'm Friday night. I thought it was Friday morning. I didn't know what it was going, not have any idea. He's just ready to go party. This weekend. That guy now with King Newsom. Here in this state, we don't do any of that, aren't. I don't know what it's like out Vermont, oh, Arnie, Yeah, yeah, it's brewing California. Man, you can't. They don't even want you to leave your

house today. It's like a police state out here. It's nuts. We I look at the numbers here for Vermont, Um. We usually get like two to five new infections a day. We had one that was in like twelve and people were freaking out, going, oh my goodness, we're here. It comes we're really gonna be bombarded now. But we're usually single digits per day. A matter of fact, we alway have had about eighteen hundred new infections since March, since it's all started. We're we're like the last state. The

state above us is triple the amount of us. So we're really having it not pretty decent out here. Well, I think it's probably because you guys took the appropriate steps like we're supposed to do now, where you guys actually eat your food and then put your mask back on eat your food. I saw that. I mean most people out here, we have a lot of outdoor seating I'm sure you guys have that in California too, So we do a lot of that, a lot of take out, but we don't have a lot of people, as you

know out here. I think it's like four hundred five hundred thousand in my you know, in the whole growing pin uh, pretty much less than a million in the whole damn state. Now, Arnie, what do you coming back to l A? I guess not after. I guess it's gonna have to wait till after COVID. Right, you came out here, well, I wanted to come back to see my marvels an assistant living. Um, I couldn't do that in the summer. I was actually to come back a couple of weeks ago, but the assistant living is closed.

I'm just gonna have to wait, so probably after the first of the year and let this thing, you know, hopefully died down a little bit and I'll travel is I you know, it's just so tough right now, and then when you come back, you got to quarantine yourself, and it's just too tough right now. So hopefully I'll be back in l A soon, but I hope it's probably gonna take till after the first of the year.

You know, it's crazy. And I read a story that like, do you think flying is like unsafe right because of the air, But they say that it's actually not because they actually the planes now for many years have taken outside air. That's so it's not you're not actually breathing the same air over and over again. And so that was actually I haven't gone anywhere. I haven't flown anywhere

since this all started. But from what I read that, you know, who knows, maybe it's bullcrap, but they made it seem like it's not that risky as long as I have like a private airport for me here in Brobington. You know that I live like two miles from the airport. So if I'm leaving for a flight, I will leave no earlier than maybe forty five minutes before my flight. It takes me five minutes to get there. The t S A agent. The t S A agent. His name

is Jarvis. He used to be my boss at the radio station here, so he's like hery lord, I got Jarvis, just come out, bro walk out. I'm to day. It's about twenty minutes. Yeah, of course, l a X. Here's you know, Arenie, you gotta get there three hours before the flight. And oh my god, what a nightmare, man, What a bleeping nightmare that is? It is? Are you doing the radio seven days a week now? Aren't you're doing?

Because you were? I'm not doing nothing too extensive. I'm doing four pm to six Monday to Friday here locally, UM one of my U, one of the local pumpkins here in town, and then U the Sunday and Sunday night and at Fox. So I'm keeping myself busy. No doubt that the grind, the Arnie Span, your grind, making the big real grind, the real grind. You're the highest paid radio guy in Vermont? Is that true or false? There you can look at you alright, Arnie. I love you, man.

We go way back me. Man, you're the greatest Arnie. I thank you for doing. Thank you for finally asking me after three and a half years of doing your podcast about as every person and every every even people out of radio. But I do appreciate that gas guy, you need to not talk as much next time. You took up way too much time. Hey, listen, I give away for you guys. Consider the fact. So we're doing old Guy Radio, Me and and Arnie Man. We're talking

about war stories. Man, back in the good old days, all right, come on, if they were good old days, but they were days, they were days. We love you, Arnie, Thank you Man, appreciate it. I love you guys. Those read you later. To be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Miller Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific