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Grubes is leaving KTCK to go back to school

U

Unaffiliated Observer

Hey guys...I've been reading this board for a couple years and find it very informative. I do not work in radio nor do I have any aspirations to do so but I find the subject of local TV and radio fascinating. I appreciate everyone's input and insight into the business.

Anyway, Grubes announced he is leaving the Ticket and enrolling at UNT full-time. For those who don't know, Michael (Grubes) Gruber is has been a board-op with KTCK for about 8 years. One of his predecessors, Kevin "Expo" Fox was the original Officer of the Drop. Grubes has become the Master of the Drop. Grubes is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He has endeared himself to the listener in ways never thought possible. He spent two years at SMU after high school but dropped out as his "career" with the Ticket took off. Best wishes to him but he will be missed. I know he'll still be around but I felt like I was punched in the gut with the announcement.
 
I too wish Grubes well with the rest of his life away from radio.

It does say something about the state of radio in Dallas and the industry in general when one of the most popular people at a station is a board op. ;D
 
says something about the sorry state of the economics of radio too
 
"Economics of radio" has nothing to do with it.  His father is a prominent Dallas attorney and it's well-known that Grubes comes from a pretty wealthy background.  He is indeed one of the nicest guys connected with The Ticket that I've ever met (really all of the ones that I've met have been good guys).  I hope he keeps up with his Twitter antics.  That's been where he's probably picked up the bulk of his fandom.
 
Yes, I think this is family driven more than anything. I don't think his dad is necessarily pushing him to do something with his life but I think he feels in his mind it's time to stop living like Peter Pan. He plans on getting a business degree and maybe returning to radio afterwards. I laugh at the thought of Shoopy become a PD or part of management. Can you picture this troll of a man suited up and giving a Marconi acceptance speech?

He will be missed. I see him around town from time to time but it won't be the same. I've been a P1 from day one and he is by far the best and hardest working board-op they've ever had. It's not a glamorous position and he certainly wouldn't get rich doing it but he loved getting up and going to work every day. That's a lot more than I can say. He is indeed one of the more special personalities that have ever gone through the revolving doors of the Mother Ship. I hope we haven't heard the last of his talents on the airwaves. Stay hard Grubes!
 
I run a podcast with a couple other guys. A few months back we were able to do an interview with Grubes. He was awesome, we ended up talking for close to an hour. After the announcement yesterday we cut it up into two parts and re-posted it. Listen Here.
 
JBB said:
"Economics of radio" has nothing to do with it. His father is a prominent Dallas attorney and it's well-known that Grubes comes from a pretty wealthy background.

Really? He is an integral part of two shows, one in drive time and I'm guessing he still gets board-op pay. Or maybe I'm making too much out of the time that Killer got hurt on the job and had to pay his medical expenses out of pocket because he had zero benefits. He's 26 years old; I can't imagine he is leaving the job after, what 7 years, because of his father's vocation.

Danny said that this one hurts maybe more than when they lost The Hammer, truer words never spoken.
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XUOHTX said:
I run a podcast with a couple other guys. A few months back we were able to do an interview with Grubes. He was awesome, we ended up talking for close to an hour. After the announcement yesterday we cut it up into two parts and re-posted it. Listen Here.
Click to expand...

Thanx for the linkie, will try to listen in full later. Maybe tonight at work. A bummer of a news flash, I'm still a little stunned, but happy for Shoopy too. Thank you Ruby Room bloggers, for recording a moment in local radio history.
 
He sounded a little bitter on air about it and with good reason. He obviously has felt he deserved more for the last year plus which coincides with around the time he started doing remotes. If he really cared about the college degree he probably could have picked up 6-12 credits a year online the last five years and already graduated. I think his departure speaks more to the environment there. This began around two years ago when Freedo surprisingly bailed.

I think one of the big shows will be next to go at contract time.
 
From what I hear on the air when the hosts take little "shots" at being "A Cumulus Station" especially about their new, not so special studios, the general environment at The Little Ticket isn't nearly as much fun as it used to be. And I'll bet (sadly) that it won't be too long before one of the daytime shows (probably Norm) will be replaced by a syndicated show.
 
There is absolutely no way they will run a syndicated show during the day. It will kill the flow of the station and ratings. If Norm leaves or falls face first into a plate of spaghetti I'd put my money on Doocey taking his slot.
 
miked5551 said:
Unaffiliated Observer said:
miked5551 said:
Nice post until you typed out the above portion.
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I can hardly wait to find out what else is on Mike's mind.
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Since you asked, it's not nice to call a guy you seem to admire a "troll of a man". Make sense?
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Maybe you don't listen enough...they have affectionately called him a troll for years. I think the world of the guy.
 
BenB said:
Them calling him that (friends and co-workers) is one thing. You doing it is another. Just sayin'.

Best of luck to Grubes.
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Please tell me how I'm in the wrong here. They make jokes about it all the time. I'm about 4 inches taller than him which isn't saying anything at all. He told me once "it must be nice to finally find someone to talk down to, huh?" We had a good laugh. He has a good spirit about it.
 
Unaffiliated Observer said:
There is absolutely no way they will run a syndicated show during the day. It will kill the flow of the station and ratings. If Norm leaves or falls face first into a plate of spaghetti I'd put my money on Doocey taking his slot.
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I sure hope you're right.
 
Mike Fisher is still around. No one thought Norm would work for the Ticket until that merger.

Stranger things have happened.

Now there is new talent in the cluster I would love to see Steve Lamm come over one day as a fill in. Take the blinders off and turn him loose. Might be radio gold or a three hour sermon. Not sure which but I bet it would be entertaining. :eek:
 
Doocy may ultimately get the 10-noon gig, but the Soul Patch, Cirque du Sirois and Quack & Black will get the first looks.
 
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