I have been crazy busy with the new show these past two weeks… I have never launched a show from the very beginning before, there are so many things to do!  You think you just fire the mics and go on the air… There are automation systems to set up, production elements to create, schedules to be made, websites to set up and all kinds of other stuff.

I took the kids to dinner last night at Tony P’s!  It was weird to be there on Cinco De Mayo, not for a jamie, Jack and Stench event (And I must say they weren’t pulling the crowd that we did… Not even when we did our podcast there!)  It is also odd just to be back in there, so much of my 30′s took place there… We had some of our first show events there, Jamie, Stench and I would hang there socially, I had my wedding there and now, divorced, I take my kids there for a mid-week dinner visit.  It is odd how life works out!

My Sister was attacked by a cat yesterday… OK, she wasn’t attacked.  Her dog, Emma, caught the cat in the yard and when she tried to rescue it, it bit her.

I love all these discount sites that have been popping up (they’re kind of like online versions of Marshall’s) , I told you about Sample Sale, My newest find is Glit… The cool thing about this site is they have kids stuff too.

Still not sure where I’m moving, I change my mind almost daily (usually based on traffic stresses!) I think I’m going to stay in the valley… And then it takes a hour and a half to get home and I think Valencia (Awesometown) isn’t that bad… And then Lucy and Bing say they miss me and I think sure Venice is really far from Santa Clarita, but whats a couple hours a day on the freeway!  I’ll figure out what’s best for everyone… I have no choice, I’m out June 1!!!!

Because I have been so busy I’ve been posting news stories on twitter when I find time… I’ll start putting them back here when things mellow!  And I try and keep Facebook and the “Please Like Me” page fresh too! (Which I’m over 400 on!!! You like me, you really like me)

Rock On, Jack

This is by no means an attack on the people who said they stopped listening when Jamie left (I get that and those people really didn’t cause that drastic a change in the amount of listeners.)  Many people listened to the radio show strictly and specifically for Jamie, and I don’t blame them she is a radio superstar with a unique gift that many have tried to copy (Jillian Barberie, Chelsea Handler), but none do as well.  But lets face it, she was never a huge part of the podcast’s three year history.

I’m not going to lie, the podcast started as an “F” you to big radio… You think you can fire us and make people not care, we’ll show you.  No radio show had done that, no one had taken ownership of their listeners.  In days prior, you got fired, and if you weren’t hired at another radio station, you disappeared.  There was no model, no one to look to to see how to do it, we kind of made it up as we went.  Angela Channel tackled the technical part (With the help of Andrew) and built a system that would work for our subscriber based idea from scratch.  There was trial and error, as those of you who have been here since the beginning know, but we figured it out.

We were a joke in the radio industry, look at those has-beens and their pathetic “podcast”.  “It’ll never work, it’s just sad”, was the sentiment going around the business, but we swallowed our pride… and proved them wrong.  Now, three years later, it is crazy to think of a popular show not podcasting, whether they are on or off “terrestrial”  radio.  The same people that mocked us on their radio show years ago, ran to the podcast format when they were let go.  Ultimately the “joke” has become the standard.

But that is really not why our podcast matters.  What it started as, is not what it has become.  Our pod is not always the most entertaining, technically perfect or even relevant.  Don’t get me wrong, some days it is all those things and more.  The Jack and Stench pod (The name it has had for the majority of it’s existence) is about friendship and dedication, it’s about family and sacrifice, honesty and sharing.  Not just between Stretch and me, but between us and you.

It hasn’t always been easy, for either of us.  I won’t go into the stresses and challenges Stretch has gone through over the last three years, I wouldn’t want to speak for him (We all know he has his own voice!)  Stretches of unemployment,  a mental breakdown, divorce, full time jobs and full time families have all been intertwined through the fabric that creates the podcast.  There were days, when the last thing I wanted to do was record that damn show… I remember recently, coming home from court, my divorce final, sitting down on my couch and breaking down crying, and thinking I have to pull it together, we have to record the pod in a hour.  Or logging onto Skype the day after getting out of the mental hospital, having to confront my demons into that headset.  There are days when I wish we could keep going, a hour isn’t long enough to laugh with my friend and talk about the world and it’s strangeness.

The pod is an inside joke between us and you, it’s good times and bad shared with friends, it’s our secret club that we’d at least like to think others would like to be a member of if they just knew about it. It’s not a radio show anymore, and it’s definitely not the Jamie, Jack and Stench Show.  It’s become about us being loyal to each other through thick and thin, the line between audience and entertainer almost totally erased, you are the pod, we just show up to turn on the mics and make sure they record. Maybe that’s why it can’t survive, something that personal may not have the mass appeal to sustain it’s self.

The Pod Mafia, The Myspace Army, The Silent Listeners and those of you who have not received a title yet, You are the podcast… And no matter what happens (We haven’t given up yet), you should be proud… You accomplished that “F” you and you created a family from a radio show… And that Rules!