Without further ado… I give you Part Two if my Jake Fogelnest, Sirius XM DJ and Stern contributor!

What’s the best part of working at XMU/Alt Nation?

The people are great.  It amazes me, I’ve been at Sirius XM for four years and I’ve never had an argument once.  I love who I work with. Rob Cross and Jeff Regan, Gregg Steele, Steve Blatter. It’s like all the guys who GET IT in radio seem to come work at Sirius.

It’s also pretty damn awesome who passes through the halls.  I get to interview all these amazing bands and see them perform a few feet from my face.

And the way we produce stuff it gives me lots of free time to work on other projects.

I am really happy to be at Sirius XM – it’s the best job in radio.  I feel bad for anyone who works somewhere else!

Do you get to choose any of the music you play?

Jeff and Rob are extremely good about that. I’m always asked for my input but I don’t take advantage of it nearly as much as I should. The thing is those dudes are so great at programming there’s not a lot for me to complain about!

What have been your most memorable interviews? The good / The bad?

I got to interview DEVO this year which was a total dream come true.  I’ve been interviewing bands since I was a kid, but no band has meant more to me than Devo.  Just getting to sit down with those guys and get them to sign my energy dome was amazing.

Do you ever get to hang out with Howard?

Howard is amazing.  I’ve been lucky enough to be around the Stern show since I was 17.  The first time I called in to the show I was 13.  I made a phony phone call to a local Bible show in Philadelphia:

“Can you say a prayer for my sick daughter… and have you ordered Howard Stern’s Butt Bongo Fiesta 1-800-52-Stern?”

Howard and Robin loved it.

The whole Stern show crew have been so cool to me over the years.  I got to see a screening of “Private Parts” with them, one of the first times the whole crew had actually seen the film.  I got to go to Scores and have Lonnie take care of me on my 18th birthday.  They just recently replayed me as a guest on the Stern show when I was seventeen years-old.  Howard had me on as a guest because MTV had canceled my show, there were all kinds of rumors about me with drugs and he wanted to hear the story.

I was actually pretty amazed listening back to it a few months ago.  I was seventeen when it aired. My show had just been canceled.  I wasn’t officially hired at K-Rock yet.  That could’ve been the absolute end of my career right there.  And I found myself listening to it, almost fifteen years later… and it wasn’t the end of my career at all, but the start.  I can’t tell you the gratitude that filled me with.

One other cool Stern story: The day after he left for Sirius, I ripped the “MIC 1″ button off of his radio console.  I didn’t like the idea of anyone turning on that mic besides Howard. I stole it to ensure it would never be used by anyone but him. Besides, it was easy to replace. David Lee Roth could use a replacement.

One morning I heard Howard was gloating about the demise of K-Rock and CBS Radio and he mentioned feeling a bit nostalgic about his old console. I decided it was time to return this item to Howard.  So I gave it to Tim Sabean.

Tim had the button enclosed in a glass box and gave it to Howard.  He thought it was really great and has it in his office.  I thought that was an insanely cool thing for Tim to do.  I’m glad I was able to return that little piece of history to the Stern Show.

Anything else you can think of that our TSS Contingent would want to know?

I think it’s the job of a disc jockey to be unobtrusive and as non-annoying as possible while playing the music.  There are so many DJ’s that try to force in their agenda instead of just presenting the music and some brief cool stuff with it.  Those DJ’s need to find other outlets to get that sh*t out of their system.  I hope that when people listen to me on Sirius XM I’m doing my job right — just trying to be slightly amusing and not being too much of a pain in the ass in between the songs!

TSS Radio is awesome – all you guys are so cool and such great fans of what Sirius XM does.  And it’s been a pleasure to promote it during my idiotic webcast on Friday night!!  It’s cool to talk radio stuff and Howard!  Not that I don’t love VH1 and comedy and everything, but radio is such a big part of my life.  You guys are like Sirius XM’s biggest supporters and that is AWESOME!!!!

Thanks, Jake… We think you’re alright too!

Follow Jake on Twitter at @jakefogelnest

And follow me on Twitter at @TSSKaren

Karen

Jake is a regular contributor to VH1’s I Love the 80’s, I Love the 90’s, and I Love the 2000’s, and Best Week Ever. Jake’s work has been seen on Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update,” the film We Hot American Summer, The John Stewart Show, Howard Stern, and Late Night With Conan O’Brian. You may also have caught his stage work with the likes of Sarah Silverman when he served as the assistant director for her one-woman show Jesus is Magic.

For us old-school fans, we remember Jake fondly as the kid that interviewed Liz Phair and Cypress Hill on his bed in the MTV show, Squirt TV:  SQUiRT TV!

Jake was nice enough to let me ask him pretty much whatever I wanted about his new digs at Sirius XM. I bring you, JAKE FOGELNEST: PART ONE: Behind the Scenes

TSS-Karen:

How did you go from SQUiRT TV to VH1 to Sirius but you’re a writer/blogger/tv personality… How did you get into satellite radio?

Jake Fogelnest:

In 1996 K-Rock switched from a classic rock format to “alternative.”.  My show had just ended on MTV and I was seventeen and unemployed.  I  called the request line and a DJ named “Sluggo” picked up the phone.  I said, “Hey, it’s Jake Fogelnest! I wanna be on K-Rock!” He knew who I was and thought it was an awesome idea!  Next thing you know I was having a meeting with legendary KROQ programmer Kevin Weatherly and I was on the air.

I know, I know – I’m a terrible person. I didn’t travel around the country. I got my first job in radio over the request line…

I worked at K-Rock from like seventeen to nineteen.  I hosted a weekly new music show called “The Buzz.” Then I quit for some stupid reason.  Probably because I was angry they wouldn’t let me play a Sleater-Kinney record or something.  I got involved with comedy stuff with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.

Around 2004 I heard that same DJ Sluggo back on the air in New York so I called him up just to say hello.  Turns out he was being ISDN’d in from LA and that there was an awesome new program director at K-Rock, Rob Cross that Sluggo said I had to meet with.  So I met Rob and he was AWESOME.  I was quickly hired back at K-Rock and it was so much more fun the second time around.  Rob and I have very similar sensibilities so it was a blast.

Then Howard Stern announced he was leaving terrestrial radio for Sirius.

That’s when things got really interesting.

David Lee Roth showed up on Stern and they announced he’d be taking over and they were switching the format to FREE-FM in a few months.

In an act of madness I decided to get in a cab, go up to the station and ask Gary if Howard Stern knew that he’d indirectly just fired a bunch of people with his announcement.  During the cab ride up I left a voicemail for Ross Zapin who was already working at Sirius. I told Ross, “I’m on my way up to Stern… And I want a job.  Call me later”

I ended up on the Stern show that morning for almost an hour.  Howard was amazing.  I have the tape if you’d like to hear it. He thought the way management was handling things was terrible and was beyond unsupportive.

Sometime after that Rob Cross, the awesome program director I was working for decided to leave K-Rock and go work for… You guessed it, Sirius.

I was still on the air at K-Rock, but in a few months I’d be done.  A new program director came in and didn’t like the attitude I had been using on the air so he suspended me.  I had to go meet with him.  I figured he’d either pull me off the air immediately or let me back on for a few weeks after giving me a lecture.  What did it matter, I was out the door anyway?  Instead he didn’t something I wasn’t expecting.  He offered me a job.  I am the only person in the history of EVER to get offered their own talk show by getting fired by the same person who hired me.

Right as I was preparing to start this new talk show on Free FM I got a call from Sirius.   An executive named Walter Sabo called me in for a meeting. He said “You’re amazing, you should be over here with us – how would you like to EXECUTIVE PRODUCE Howard’s new years eve show?” Howard’s contract was going to expire at midnight and it would be the first time he could call in and legally be heard on Sirius.

The thing that sucked was, I had this handshake with Tom Chiusano and CBS to start the new Free FM show in a few DAYS!  So I took the gig for the weekend, but kept my name off the air.  Instantly I knew after producing that show I had to be at Sirius.

I made a deal with the folks at CBS Radio – I would do the talk show, but if I could put something together at Sirius, I’d like to do that too.  At first they were okay with it and then the whole thing with Howard’s lawsuit went down. They went back on their word.

I never signed a contract with CBS which was one of the smartest things I ever did.  David Lee Roth was s***canned and they were bringing in Opie and Anthony.  I knew I was about eleven seconds from being canceled.  So very quickly and quietly, I signed my deal with Sirius XM.  Then when CBS called to give me the bad news… I beat them to it and said “Actually, I just signed a deal with Sirius — but I’ll still take my severance since you technically “fired” me.”

It was one of the rare instances of show business where things worked out PERFECTLY and I did stuff right.

Part Two: Coming Soon!

Karen

Since we don’t think of older people and satellite radio together usually, I want to fill you in on a secret.  Your grandparents will FLIP OUT if you get them SIRIUS for a gift.  For example, take my Nana.  Satellite radio is perfect for her because she:

1. has some time to kill, especially lately, as she has been recovering from shoulder surgery
2. is used to listening to the radio a lot, most of her life has been spent during the years when FM radio was a major form of entertainment
3. loves music (and news) and wants to access the ever-proliferating amount of content, but has NO PATIENCE for figuring out complicated technologies like internet radio, ipods, itunes, etc.  The genius of satellite radio for her is that it puts modern technology into a familiar interface.

I attached a voicemail message that she left me a couple days ago (on my birthday) where she talks about how much she likes the Tivoli Sirius table radio that I sent her a few weeks ago. Take a listen.

SIRIUS radio is a great gift for grandparents everywhere.

http://www.tss-radio.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/nana.mp3

Me and My Nana in Door County

Two weekends ago I went to a wedding in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  I have been to Steamboat a few times before, but always in the winter to snowboard.  In the winter one of the biggest appeals of Steamboat over other ski areas out west is that it has a little airport about 20 miles away that has direct flights from Chicago – much nicer than driving out I-70 from DIA to get to Breckenridge or Vail.

However, in the summer there are no direct flights from Chicago to Steamboat / Hayden Airport and I had to drive up from Denver.  It’s about a 3.5 hour drive and my wife couldn’t come so I was doing it solo.  I rather like road trips and I took the long way, through Rocky Mountain National Park, which was beautiful, and spent the morning hanging out in Boulder, which I enjoyed as well.

I am really really cheap, especially when it comes to travel, especially when I’m not traveling with my wife (who is not that cheap).  So I completely skimped on the rental car and got a $20 / day rental from Hotwire.  The car itself wasn’t bad, a Carolla from Avis.  Because of the mountains I would have preferred something with a little more power.  But what really sucked is that it didn’t come with satellite radio.

I am also really spoiled since, as an owner of TSS-Radio, I have satellite in my car and home and I completely take it for granted.  After about 20 minutes of listening to FM I was seriously pissed off – the stations sucked, the reception was awful in the mountains, there were way too many commercials and the playlists were generic and boring.

More Mountains

In Boulder I hit up a cd store and bought 4 cds for about $50.  I was a pretty happy camper for the first two listens of each cd, or about 3 hours.  Unfortunately, between the drive there and the drive back (thanks to some horrible traffic on I-70 coming back) I had about 8 hours of driving total.

Lesson?  I should have paid the extra $10-15 to get a fancier rental car with satellite radio in it.

Long has media been a part of our lives. We use media every day; Magazines, DVD’s, or Radio, we use these tools to either get information or the entertainment that we need/desire. The types of media that is available to people is so numerous to even begin counting. But there has to been one media you use that you rely on more. For some TV is the largest media device in their lives for others Radio either Satellite or Terrestrial. We all find a devices and medias to suit our needs and desires.

I am asking you, the readers of the TSS-Radio Blog, What media do you use and how do you like it? I asked several of the employees here at TSS-Radio to see what media they use and how the feel about it. Here is what I got:

Myself(Josh): I just got Netflix for my Xbox360. It streams right to my HDTV and displays the movie’s full glory. The amount of instant content on Netflix is a little lacking(around 12,000 titles), but the quality of the stream(variable by ISP of course, I use just standard cable internet) is outstanding. As my colleague on Digital Radio Central, Sgip2000, pointed out, you have to preselect the content you want to see on Netflix.com from your computer first and then it becomes available on your Xbox360. Other than the preselection of the content, I would suggest to anyone who has both an Xbox360 and Netflix to check it out. It’s a great way to watch the Netflix Instant content on your TV and in HD.

Tish:I have a lot of stuff. Specifically, I have a lot of entertainment options.  From an iPod and Wii to DJ equipment and digital cable, I can never legitimately be bored.  There are two things, though, that have really simplified my media consumption.  First is the Tivo.  Tivo allows me to watch whatever I want whenever I have time.  I love that I can set the Tivo to record some obscure movie that only plays once at 3 A.M. on Wednesday night and then watch it at my leisure–which is definitely NOT 3 A.M. on a Wednesday night!

The second media device that has made my life a lot easier is my SIRIUS Satellite Radio.  I currently live in Chicago but my family lives in Southwest Ohio, so I travel back and forth several times a year by car.  The SIRIUS radio allows me to listen to commercial free music, with a wide variety of musical genres represented, without changing the channel or dealing with static for the entire 500 mile trip.  Besides the music, I LOVE the NPR stations!  I always try to schedule my trip so I can catch Talk of the Nation Science Friday and The Splendid Table on the weekends. In addition to the great programming–SIRIUS has that traditional radio feel that is missing from the iPod or Slacker experience.  I actually really like hearing DJs and top of the hour news reports and the variety of talk programs.  I love music, but the human element is really missing from most of the other portable media options. There is something special about the personal feel you get with talk or terrestrial radio and I feel SIRIUS offers that without all of the repetitive junk and commercials.

All in all, the Tivo and SIRIUS Radio both offer diversity in your programming options and the ability to enjoy only what you are interested in without all of the filler.  So, if you haven’t already….Check ‘em out!!

Ross:I put the Memorex cassette mix tape into my GE walkman and then put my Koss over ear headphones on (need to replace that damn missing foam on one ear).

We will be adding a few more opinions from TSS-Radio Staff, but now we want to hear from You. Just Click Below to COMMENT and tell us about your media!

Digital Radio Central- a great forum for all forms of digital content.

Woot.com- a cool site that posts a daily deal

TigerDirect.com-a top computer and computer related retailer worth checking out.

Etsy.com-”Your place to Buy and Sell all things Handmade”.

TheHottestGadgets.com- “your source for some of the hottest gadgets on the planet. We post useful, and interesting information about gadgets and technology.”

If anyone has any cool sites they visit, feel free to post them in the comments!

No, this isn’t a joke. We are reviewing what will likely be one of the Summer’s biggest blockbuster movies–Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull here at TSS Radio. And no, there aren’t any Stilettos or Sportsters in the movie, we just wanted to lighten things up and not be so “SIRIUS” all the time. (Pun seriously intended)

This fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series starts off a bit slow and although it ends up being pretty entertaining there’s still something to be desired–especially when compared to the previous Indy films. The first hour of “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is filled with half-hazard plot development and boring details that you will forget by the time you are to the good stuff anyways. It seems as if the back story is kind of an after thought and the plot is so all over the place it doesn’t end up mattering. The first hour also introduces us to some campy, over the top characters–most notably the Russian femme fatale/Natasha from Rocky & Bullwinkle-esque villain played by Cate Blanchett. I couldn’t help but find her accent laughable and the character’s weird interest in the paranormal and psychic communication led this avid television watcher to compare her to Jackie from Lifetime Network’s “America’s Psychic Challenge” (they even have the same haircut!). After we are through with Natasha…er, I mean, Irina Spalko (Blanchett) we are forced to meet the not very believable as a rough and tumble greaser Shia LeBeouf as a character called “Mutt Williams”.

Our first encounter with Mutt is with him riding up on a motorcycle doing his best impression of Marlon Brando from “The Wild Ones” (hat and all). Maybe I can’t take LeBeouf seriously as this kind of character because he was in “Even Stevens” for 4 years, or maybe it’s because his character’s dialogue is dotted with cornball ’50s slang and all he seems to do is comb his hair. As the movie progresses he kind of loses the lame slang and comb, and becomes a highlight of the movie. I think LeBeouf has a quirkiness about him that translates really well in a role that mixes action and humor, especially alongside Harrison Ford who has pretty much made a career of that.

Once the movie gets rolling there are some really enjoyable action sequences that remind me of why I thought being an archaeologist was the coolest job in the world when I was a kid. The action is reminiscent of classic Indy and we finally get to the cob-webbed caves and situations that only Indiana Jones could get out of. The last half of the movie also reintroduces the character of Marion Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen) who you may remember as Indy’s love interest in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. The banter between Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood is also a throw back to the earlier films and provides some of the only humorous moments in “…Crystal Skull”, which is a disappointment.

Overall, I would say that “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is worth seeing if you are a fan of the series, however it didn’t leave me with the same excited, adventurous feeling I remember after watching the older ones. In conclusion, this movie will not spawn a future generation of wannabe archeologists like the earlier films may have, rather it will most likely just create another overworked action franchise and more work for Shia Lebeouf (as if he needs it).

Tish
TSS Radio