1560 The Game part 1: John & Lance

I've been a 1560 listener since the first minute they started broadcasting. Well kind of, those first few months the signal was pretty sketchy, especially out in Cypress. I've been a long time gamer none the less. In fact, I've been listening to John and Lance since way back when they were The Bench. I suffered with them through the Russ Small experiment and laughed through the J-Fizzle years. I remember when John Harris was just Lance's friend who knew a shit ton about college football. What I'm trying to say is, I've been around and I've got opinions.

I started planning a 1560 blog post 2-3 months ago after Travis Rodgers was fully entrenched in his new position but for whatever reason never got around to writing it. Then a few weeks ago I read a post concerning the John & Lance show and Chris Solis at Houston Media Watch. This post along with the 1560 listener survey finally convinced me that yes I do need to put my thoughts on the station down.

As just a base of where I'm coming from, here's a little about me and my listening habits. I've been a stay at home dad for three years now. I spend an average of 5-8 hours a day listening to 1560. On a typical day I start streaming John and Lance at about 7 am and stop listening to Sean and John somewhere around 6 pm. Life and it's many detours keep me tuning in and out all through the day.

Now that you know my listening experience, how much I listen, what I listen to and why I'm writing this let's get going with the John and Lance Show.

The Hosts

What I like

John and Lance have been the gold standard of morning shows for a decade now. They have tremendous chemistry and through years of experience have learned to play off of each others strengths. You can tell these guys genuinely like each other without feeling compelled to agree on everything. Some of their best segments are when they are on opposites sides of an issue.

John's strengths are in driving the show and his willingness to push the boundaries of appropriateness without being overtly offensive. John is also the only radio personality who you don't want to change the channel during live spots. He has a confidence in his relationships with sponsors that allows him the freedom to go sideways with their live spots. The fact that you never know when that is going to happen keeps me tuned in when I would usually be checking in elsewhere.

Lance continues to be one of the funniest guys on radio. He has an array of characters he's developed through the years along with some very good impersonations. I don't want to be the one to pull the curtain back on the wizard so I won't list the characters but they can be heard on various 1560 shows throughout the day.

Both hosts have good sports acumen, although Lance is generally the go to guy for scheme and player analysis, especially concerning football.

Lance has developed a quality list of contacts he's able to call on for inside information and bring on for analysis.

John has very good local contacts and a well developed pipeline of information.

Lance can also be counted on for quality television and movie recommendations.

Points of Criticism

Years ago I almost had to quit listening to the show because Lance's eating on the show drove me absolutely nuts. He's improved greatly in this area but on occasion that old demon will rear its ugly head.

Anytime there's more than just the two hosts, there's a tendency for everyone to talk over one another.

I want Ketch back during the football season. This may be an issue because of the station he works for in Austin but his past appearances for big Longhorn games were pure radio gold.

Gary Trichter - If I ever get divorced, I'm pretty sure his commercials are going to play a big part in it. My wife was hit by a drunk driver when she was a teenager and we both find driving drunk despicable. Whenever the Gary Trichter spots come on, my wife starts fuming and I'm faced with the choice of changing the station of riding around with a pissed off woman in the car. I think you can figure out what I choose. 

Regular Contributors

Richard Justice - I'm one of the four people that really liked Richard Justice's original show on 1560. He always had a great lineup of both local and national guests. He was at his best when having a casual conversation with the likes of Peter Gammons or Kirk Bohls. However, Richard is more in his element the way he's being used now. Justice is plugged in to all the local teams including UT and A&M. He's not afraid to give his opinion on the state of the franchises although that opinion is prone to change on a dime. The dynamic he has on each show is a little different which keeps his appearances fresh. My biggest complaint with Justice would be that he tends to offer up the same anecdotes from show to show.


Chris Solis - Solis is a sniper. That is what he's there for and he's really good at that job. Anyone looking for analysis on the Texans running game would do well to look elsewhere. But if you want someone to offer a biting quip on Drayton McLane's apparent cheapness, then Solis is your man.

Adam Caplan - Caplan offers very good NFL information with his own unique opinions. His laid back delivery is very reminiscent of Mike Leach. Caplan isn't quite as dynamic or staunchly opinionated as Mike Lombardi but he is very good and a quality Twitter follow.

Joel Dreesen - I'm not a fan of player shows in general. Steve McKinney was about the only player show I found worth listening to and that was only when he wasn't talking football. Players aren't going to offer honest insight into the teams problems so I'm not sure what the point of having them on is. I usually spend this hour listening to my ipod.

Kevin Sumlin, Les Miles - The only thing worse than player shows is a segment of coach speak. No insight has ever been gained by speaking to a coach in season unless that coach is named Jeff Van Gundy. I'm a Texas fan and I wouldn't even listen to a Mack Brown segment if 1560 had one. Now Mack Brown on a mobile is a completely different story.

Del - I didn't care for Del's contribution to the show at first even though he was a breath of fresh air following the Raheel era. However, Del has grown on me over the past couple of months. The little snuggie of hate definitely has his own on air persona. I'm still not big on everything being a racial issue but maybe that's just played up for effect.

Listener Interaction

I am so glad the morning show isn't caller driven. There are a few good callers to the show like Lesbian Craig, Jose and Mouton but quality callers like this are few and far between. Longhorn Scott is very entertaining and his ability to get listeners riled up is high comedy at the expense of the lowest common denominator. Most of the rest of the show callers I can do without. Brad is Spring Branch is good for a laugh in small doses. PD is barely coherent and every time he calls I just start hearing the DBT song "The Company I Keep" playing in my head. Once guy, Kirby I think it was, called the other day to tell a freaking joke. Yeah, a joke like you'd read in a "The 1001 Dirtiest Jokes" book. Worse still, it was a bad joke. Let's leave the comedy to the professionals fellas.

Gilbert? Next.

We don't need calls about how great your pee wee football team is or your hitting instructions for Hunter Pence because you coached Little League for 6 years. We don't need you you play Rockets GM even though you've devised a way to get Kobe and Carmelo if only you could get Daryl Morey to listen. If you have a legitimate opinion to offer and you absolutely must share it then, fine call. But don't subject the rest of us to your scripted routine you've already delivered on 790, complete with fake anger and yelling. We didn't care for it the first time and don't want to hear it again.


Around the Dial


610 - I don't fall into their 55-85 year old target demographic so I don't listen to them, ever.

97.5 - Mike & Mike is actually worse than the name would suggest. ESPN hasn't had a decent national show since Tony Kornheiser and Dan Patrick left the network. Don't waste your time.

790 - Matt and Adam are my alternative of choice. Wexler was terribly underused for years at 610. He offers smart well developed analysis on the Houston sports scene. Matt Jackson, I can take or leave as a host. I think Jackson is better when simply talking sports and offering opinions. Whenever, he consciously tries to do comedy, he misses the mark, badly. My biggest issue with Matt and Adam is their tendency to lift bits from other shows. If you hear a good bit or segment on another show, there's a good chance you're going to hear something very similar on their show very soon. They have a good show overall though.

The Secret to a Happy Netflix - 12/14/10

Best Worst Movie - See it - Anyone who loves cult classics should see this movie. Anyone loves being a little odd should see this movie. Anyone who had their 15 minutes of fame and lived every second to the fullest should see this movie. Best Worst Movie is a documentary that follows the cult rising of the movie Troll 2. The 1986 movie is widely considered the worst movie ever made. Even though it's called Troll 2 it actually has nothing to do with Troll. Over the 20 or so years since its release Troll 2 has gained a notable cult following through word of mouth and the efforts of fans. Troll 2's child star, Michael Stephenson, now an adult decided to explore why this movie has become a cult classic and make a documentary of his journey. Along the way he recruits dentist George Hardy who played his father in Troll 2. The two of them spend the next few months reconnecting with other cast members, organizing screenings and convention appearances, along with fans of the movie. No one has more fun with this than George Hardy. The only person who doesn't seem to enjoy their new found cult status is Troll 2's director, Claudio Fragasso. Fragasso never seems to embrace the humor of being a cult classic and is uneasy when people laugh at the serious parts of his film. Best Worst Movie is an engrossing look at how we accept the absurdities of our past. Some in this movie have learned to embrace their notoriety while others continue to hide from what they consider a blemish.

Wordplay - See it - I learned three things while watching this nicely done documentary. 1. People who do crosswords are way smarter than me. 2. This is where those spelling bee dorks ultimately end up. 3. Jewish people love to do crosswords.  The doc revolves around two central subjects the New York Times crossword puzzle and American Crossword Puzzle Tournament both of which are led by Will Shortz editor of the New York Times crossword puzzle. In the movie, Shortz details what goes into creating the NYT crossword, from clue submissions to puzzle construction as well as the genesis of the NYT puzzle. Through out celebrity interviews are cut in with their personal connections or obsessions with the NYT puzzle. The other half of the doc is the crossword puzzle tournament where the worlds best puzzle solvers convene every year to crown a champion. The viewer is given a glimpse at the lives of some of the top competitors which adds to the drama as the tournament climaxes on stage at the Stamford, CT Marriott.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - See it - After seeing Youth in Revolt, I lost a lot of my enthusiasm for seeing Scott Pilgrim. I thought, well I've seen all the typical Michael Cera character has to offer. I was wrong. Scott Pilgrim is the natural progression of the Michael Cera character. All his awkward, quirkiness is finally channeled into a focused goal of defeating evil and getting the girl. I haven't read the graphic novels so I can only judge the film on its own merits. The film was beautifully shot and perfectly cast. Kieran Culkin, Aubrey Plaza and Allison Pill provide great supporting performances. The score and songs are pitch perfect for the film's style and subject matter. 


Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong - Skip it - I actually gave this documentary a positive rating on Netflix after I initially watched it. After a day or so passed I started to sour on that opinion. Not because the movie was worse than I thought but my view on the subject matter began to change. I'm all for making documentaries about unimportant subjects but I think the more frivolous the subject matter the more well made the doc needs to be. In other words, either have something important to say and/or do it very well. This movie misses on both accounts. There is nothing particularly compelling about the competitors or organizers and the editing is much too clunky to create real drama. There are better movies to spend 90 min with.

Non Netflix Movies

The Secret to a Happy Ending - See it - Over the past few years some of Houston's best small artsy theaters have closed their doors. The Angelika and Landmark Greenway have both gone away and with them went opportunities for Houstonians to see some of the better small independent movies at the theater. The Landmark River Oaks continues to hold on despite repeated threats to its survival. This past week I was able to catch a screening of the new documentary on the band The Drive-By Truckers, The Secret to a Happy Ending at Studio Movie Grill City Centre. My wife couldn't go so I invited fellow documentary enthusiast @SeanInCypress who runs a website dedicated to the enjoyment of the documentaries, docdaddies.com.

I loved the movie but then again I'm a huge DBT fan. The director did a nice job of telling the story of the band while presenting the obvious connection between their music and northern Alabama community they come from. The common theme among all members of the band is that music is the only thing they could ever do. Each member readily admits to being terrible at everything else. But when they do what they are good at they do it in outstanding fashion. DBT writes songs about the south and the people who characterize it. They don't apologize for our shortcomings but rather celebrate what makes us unique while sympathizing with our plight. Technically, the film has it's shortcomings. I would have liked to see more of the bands internal struggles highlighted including the disintegrating marriage between two of its members. The record making process especially during the A Blessing and a Curse sessions. The graphics were terrible and the chapters poorly conceived but the stories behind the songs were priceless and the on stage footage made it all worth it.

30 for 30: Pony Excess - See it - I was fortunate that as a kid my parents took me and some friends to see Eric Dickerson and the Pony Express play at Rice Stadium against the Owls. We got to meet some of the players and get autographs after the game. I will go to my grave with the opinion that the 1982 10-0-1 Mustangs were jobbed out of a national title. Of course, they probably wouldn't still have that title because of the litany of NCAA infractions during the era. Pony Excess spotlights the late 70's early 80's SMU program and its outlandish policy of buying players. The old footage from signing day at Craig James' house and Eric Dickerson driving around in his gold Trans AM is outstanding. Ron Meyer is almost a caricature of the extravagance of Dallas and college football in the 70's. I was 11 during the last year of the Pony Express and Eric Dickerson was my favorite player between the Earl Campbell and Barry Sanders eras. I was a teenager and can remember being at a Houston Oilers charity basketball game when the news of SMU's death penalty came down. We were young and naive but even then we knew this was a terrible thing for SMU. However, I don't think we or the NCAA knew just how terrible the death penalty would be.

Lombardi - See it - As good as Pony Excess was Lombardi may have been better. As a football fan, I've always known who Coach Lombardi was but this exceptional documentary by HBO films enlightened me as to who Vince Lombardi was. The doc does a great job of explaining how his need to coach, to teach and to succeed is what drove him to be great, to be a champion. It was also the same thing that made him a miserable person and ultimately made him work himself to death. The obvious collateral damage of his obsession was his family. His passion for football left him with an alcoholic wife and strained relationships with his son and daughter. The most moving moments though are by those people who worked for or were coached by him. Even nearly 40 years after his death, Lombardi left such an indelible impact on their lives most are moved to tears when speaking of the coach's last days. If the greatness of a man is judged by the imprint he leaves on those he touches then Lombardi was truly one of the greatest among us.