Two Terrific Teams

Saturday May 9th, 2009 - Chicago, IL/Lake Forest, IL

There’s nothing like being part of a really good team. When I was a kid what few sports teams I did get to play on were all terrible. I played basketball in 7th and 8th grade and that was about it for a Caucasian under 6 feet tall. Was I Jerry West? No. Jerry Lewis? Closer.

We didn’t win many games and we weren’t very close as a team either. I love the game of basketball but it doesn’t love me back. Baseball was a little better because I was a left handed pitcher and that’s like being a blonde with gargantuan honkers. Someone is going to give you a shot and the phone is always ringing. I played on quite a few baseball teams.

One of my favorite experiences during my high school years was playing on an all black team one summer. I was the only white guy and it was great fun. The guys were a little bit standoffish at first but we became friends very quickly and I loved it because everyone on the team was a good person. We got along and it was a pleasure to play with all of them.

That’s one of my first real experiences with a fun team environment. Another was also in my high school years when I was a ball boy for the Milwaukee Bucks. That was a total blast even though our boss tried his best to make all of our lives a living hell. He wasn’t a nice guy at all but the other guys were and we all fit in well with each other and had fun.

I still talk to some of those guys even now and they’re still great guys. Wade Waugus is still employed by the team and has always been one of my favorite people. He was a high school kid just like me and he ended up making a career out of a part time job of cleaning up sweat puddles and pouring Gatorade. Good for Wade. He parlayed it into a fun career.

Many of my radio experiences have been horrible but only because I got fired by a total idiot. My partners have for the most part been very good. My partners at the Loop were as good as it gets and we still stay in contact years after we lost the gig. That says something.

Another team that’s turning out to be really great is Jerry’s Kidders. All five of us have a wonderful chemistry and we also have a role. Jerry Agar is the host. Tim Slagle fit in so well with Jerry at WLS because Tim was a listener before Jerry even got there. I got to be the one to hook them both up and I’m very proud of that. They’ve gelled together nicely.

Ken Sevara does voices and is a great guy to hang out with and Kipper McGee is like a George Martin figure. He was the Beatles’ producer and knew how to make them sound a lot better right out of the box. That’s what Kipper does for us. He’s been in our corner all the way since day one at WLS and no matter what he will always be a part of our team.

We’re now on WGN though and Kipper isn’t directly a part of us at the moment. We’ve got to find our niche on the station and their new program director is a guy Jerry’s worked with before up in Minneapolis. I’ve met him a few times and I like him very much. I think he’s very sharp and is a good fit for WGN at this time. We’ll be able to work together and I’m sure it will continue to build but Kipper will eventually get back on our team again.

Another team that’s working out very well is The Chicago Comedy All Stars. I did a gig with them tonight at the Gorton Center in Lake Forest, IL. It was a fundraiser for the Lake Forest Youth Baseball program and that seems to be a paradox. If anyone appears NOT to need any fundraising it’s the people of Lake Forest, IL. They all seem to be squeaking by.

Actually the wealth is amazing. Lake Forest is one of the richest municipalities in North America allegedly and I don’t doubt it for a second. There are huge mansions and a whole lot of Rolls Royces and Mercedes Benzes rolling up and down the main streets. I’ve been through there many times because my ex business partner’s father was a physician there.

I performed at the Gorton Center too back with the Chicago Style Standups a couple of years ago. It’s a really nice venue and the audiences were fantastic last time so I was very much looking forward to coming back again. Jimmy McHugh was with the Chicago Style Standups and he broke off to start his own group. He has his vision of where this will go.

Jimmy is very honest and busts his ass and I really like working with him. This is totally his baby along with his friend Rick Young. Rick is a very good salesman and helps Jim to secure gigs and deal with venues. He presents himself professionally and fits in with us.

The fun part for me is hanging out with the comedians. Jimmy has about a dozen of the Chicago area comics he thinks can grasp the concept of his shows and he intermingles the crew as needed. Sometimes it’s because of availability and other times it’s a matter of the kind of audience that hires us. He can mix and match and come up with a workable show.

Tonight it was Jimmy, Mike Preston, Ken Sevara and myself. That’s a strong show and the audience loved it. With each of us taking turns at the mike we end up doing maybe 20 to 25 minutes at the most. It’s like a night off. We go back and forth to the mike but we’re sitting on stage the whole time in a director’s chair. It’s a fun concept and we all love it.

Again, there’s a real feeling of camaraderie and team with the group and that makes it a lot more fun than it already is. When a good team is clicking the sum truly is greater than the parts. There’s that little intangible ingredient that puts it over the top and it’s only at a time when everything comes together. As I get older I really enjoy being a part of a team.

Jimmy’s doing the best he can do right now and I’m very grateful he includes me in his shows whenever I can make it. We do fit in well together and I genuinely like and respect the guy. He’s funny and honest and works hard and that’s the kind of person to hang with.

The Kidders are in a nice position right now and so are the All Stars. We’re not where we want to be yet but at least we’re in a position to build something. If one of these were to hit pay dirt the other one would be soon to follow. We’re positioning ourselves to win.

This is what’s worthwhile in life. When I focus on this stuff everything else fades away. I like and respect the people on these teams and I want the best for us all. Unfortunately it takes time to build all of these things so the best thing to do now is put my time in wisely.