Meat Friday
To say I listen to the Dan Patrick Show is like saying…well, let’s leave it as an understatement.
I’d been hearing about Meat Friday for a while, and, when they came out with Meat Friday t- shirts and aprons, I thought: “I should write a theme song.”
I let it incubate for a few days, then, put down a quick demo, because I was having an old love stay at the house, from San Diego (Hi Tam!). Monday night, I started getting the drum beat/tempo down. I got out my Fender Strat and hooked up a distortion box and hit a riff. I immediately liked the energy of it, switched sounds, and played a second guitar track. I added bass, sang it a few times and dug it.
I sent the tracks to my engineer/co producer of my kids CDs, Marv Truetel. He mixed it while I was at work, and when I heard it, I thought it was fine. I sent a quick email with mp3, to the DP Show. I had this gut feeling that it would work. No one had mentioned a ‘Meat Friday’ theme. They usually have contests with listeners calling in, doing home, or phone demos. I had a feeling our “jump out of the speakers” mix would work. High production: High results, right?
I got no response from the show, no call or email . Curious. I had visions of an intern deleting my song, or a lawyer writing “no unsolicited material accepted”. I sent the email/mp3 again Friday morning. At the outset of the show, Dan says “We have Meat Friday theme music.” I knew I was in!
An hour into the show, Dan says: “I didn’t know I asked for this, but, we have Meat Friday theme music, sent in by Bill Crosby.”
I was aghast, exhilarated, and excited to hear them play it, and, say my name! This show goes out to 300 radio station affiliates across the country! Talk about maximum exposure. I joked with my family that I would probably never be more famous than I am today. 🙂
One of the Danettes, Seton said, after hearing the song “You know, if he had sent this in earlier, “Get your hungry on” would’ve worked great on a t- shirt”. Unbelievable.
An hour later, another listener from LA called in to say he had a Meat Friday theme. They played my music again, and Dan said “That’s good”. The guy was in his car, clapping and singing his theme idea. Dan said mine was “still the leader in the clubhouse” and asked his audience if they thought they could beat mine, send it in.
My family was texting me all afternoon, and I didn’t get much work done.A tad distracted…
My brother Pete sent the link around, and, I thought it was just how to get to the Dan Patrick Show website/podcast.
Imagine my surprise when I got home and saw they had put footage of the pre-show meeting on Youtube! They played my theme, and commented on it, saying it sounded “late 70’s, early 80’s” like “Saved by the Bell” era. I have no problem with that. I was an 80’s guy, and , it’s similar to an Aerosmith riff, anyways. Then, the producer, Paulie, asked Seton to play it again, and Dan was tapping his foot, grinning at the “get your hungry on” line.
This was definitely a career high for me.
Perseverance, initiative, dumb luck, a little talent and Boom: You’re on a national radio show ! 🙂
http://youtu.be/V7FD0llZng