Xtra Time Podcast
Xavier Sanchez has re-entered the audio world with a brand new podcast called the Xtra Time Podcast. Free time does not come around often so when it does people want to spend it wisely. This weekly podcast offers a range of insight into sports, music, pop culture, and more through a 1-on-1 interviews in those field.
Xtra Time Podcast
The Xtra Time Podcast- EJ
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The Xtra Time Podcast by Xavier Sanchez welcomes EJ.
Xavier and EJ love to talk so this was not just an interview but a conversation of two friends catching up.
EJ shares his rise in the radio space, how he got connected with Xavier's uncle Mojo from the Mojo In The Morning Show, trends, music, and goals.
All that and more in this episode!
You can catch him on iHeartRadio and in Tik Tok Lives as well as one Twitter/X (https://x.com/ItIsMeEJ?fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAac0OVCdV3XHNkWmlX9GqjdaK8V6gs5uTK8Pb9upIqduziwazAjfFglGcMXSYQ_aem_pcZw5_3aXpV55VY-bGAjkA) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/itismeej/).
Follow @xtratimepod on Instagram and Twitter/x!
Welcome to the Extra Time Podcast. I'm your host, Xavier Sanchez. Thank you for checking out episode 13. Can you believe it? Already 13 episodes in the books. Almost I want to say every Tuesday of July an episode dropped. I want to keep this thing rolling right in through August and the rest of the year. So I just want to hop right into it. Today's episode is a good buddy of mine, EJ, one of the best in the biz. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the chat. Welcome to the show. One of the busiest guys in media, and probably my favorite laugh. Welcome, EJ.
SPEAKER_01What's happening? Can I clap for myself? Is that terrible? Clap for me, Mariana.
SPEAKER_00I love it. I love it. There's the laugh too. We get the early laugh. I was hoping for one. Uh what we were having dinner. We were having dinner at the jingle ball, and I just could not stop laughing. The jokes, but also your laugh was contagious.
SPEAKER_01Well, I feel like we were talking a lot of a lot of um just talking a lot. I was gonna say a lot of crap, but that wasn't the case. I feel like we were talking a lot. It was such a fun group, though. Like I love hanging out with that group that we hung out with uh back in Detroit. Like it's a good time, good vibes, and it's just like unfiltered conversation, and it's like genuine conversation, and that's what I love the most about it. You know what I mean? Like it's just fun and it's fun.
SPEAKER_00I do uh that's the carvals go pretty big. We like we like a good time, food. There's always gonna be food there.
SPEAKER_01Yes, yes, and I love going to that restaurant that we went to in Detroit, it's probably one of my favorites.
SPEAKER_00So it's my first time, I didn't really enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Shout out to the fine folks at Phoenicia. I think that's how you say it. Phoenicia. Ponisha. Yeah, that sounds about right. We gotta go and get the ribs as an appetizer. We go there and get ribs as an appetizer, which Jeff's kissed.
SPEAKER_00I want to start. So, for those that don't know, uh EJ's in the media space. He does quite a lot. And before we talk about what he's currently doing, I want to take it back. You grew up in the New Jersey East Coast area. What was that like growing up on that side of town? And what what was some of your inspiration early on?
SPEAKER_01You know what it was growing up in, I feel like I had such a great childhood growing up in Jersey, like having New York City be right there because I'm only I grew up 30 minutes away from Manhattan. So I feel like we spent a lot of time like driving around and seeing Manhattan in the skyline. I don't know if you can see it, but it's replaying in my mind right about now. Um, I always wanted to go over there and I always wanted to like work in the city. I I knew I wanted to like do something over there, but I didn't know what. And I feel like growing up, I always wanted to do something in like the entertainment space, but then there was one time where I wanted to be a teacher, and I was like, maybe I can do radio and also be a teacher at the same time. And then as I slowly grew up, the last thing I wanted to do was just like interact with kids ever on a daily basis. Um, because they're just they're a lot. Funny I say that because I ended up with a job at like an after school program all throughout my entire high school career. Um, but I absolutely loved my my childhood in Jersey, growing up in Jersey. I grew up with all of my cousins. I remember us leaving, like during summer break, we would leave um early in the morning and come back late at night, and nobody would ask where we were. It was just all of us together out and about being menaces and causing ruckuses and whatnot. Um, I really love it. Now, would I go back and do it? Absolutely not. Mainly because I absolutely cannot stand the cold weather. Like I it's just it it bothers me so much being cold. I never want to shovel snow ever again. I never want to be cold ever again. I just I I can't. I just can't.
SPEAKER_00A cali boy now. He's been committed.
SPEAKER_01Do you hear me? Do you hear me? I cannot. You cannot come to Chicago in the uh in the wintertime. No. Going to Detroit begrudgingly for jingle ball in the sum in the in the winter time, uh, I'll do it. But also, I complain throughout the whole entire experience that I'm there. But it's fun, it's fun. I just can't do it anymore. But I had a great, I feel like I had a great childhood. I didn't have like any wants. I feel like our family was just so tight.
SPEAKER_00I think um I Drake and then uh one of the newscasters who does comedy here, his name's Pat Thomas Hulow. He he talks about if he's ever rich, the sign that you'll know that he has what he calls FU money, heated sidewalks. So in the wintertime, this is shovel snow. And that's what I can think of when you're like, I don't want to shovel snow. Maybe maybe you just get big and you have that money to have those heated sidewalks.
SPEAKER_01I I I will say I think ORD is one of the few airports that have heated run runways. As a matter of fact, we may have to fact check that. I think so has heated.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but let me know. The um, you know, I this year I thought they don't, sorry.
SPEAKER_01I thought they did.
SPEAKER_00Someone does. I I hope to get to that way this year, but now take me back. Obviously, the media stuff and radio was something you were interested in doing. Where was your first job at? Because you've been all over, but what was that first one that you took in that space?
SPEAKER_01In in radio or just in general, my first job in general? Uh in radio. In radio. Oh, it was at a um it was at an RB station in New York called WBLS. Um, Steve Harvey does the morning show. Wendy Williams did the afternoon show. Um, so many legends worked at that radio station. And I always wanted to, I always wanted to work at that station, similar to like B103 in Chicago or Mix 92.3 in Detroit, it was like the music that was always around me growing up. And I just I always wanted to work there because I felt like all of my favorite personalities worked there, and it was just like compelling conversation. And I thought it was cool to like work on Park Avenue. The building was on three Park Avenue, 41st floor. And I loved my time. I was like the young kid, so they would call me, hey kid, kid, kid, kid, come come do this, kid, come run, do this, come, come run, do that. And I just thinking about it, I feel like it really did shape who I am today because it gave me um a crash course of being um a media professional in this industry because I've worked with so many legends, um, like Antrip and Von Harper and Wendy. And they they basically taught me the way super early on, and I'm super grateful for it. Like half of the stuff that I was taught, I still use to this day. So it's almost looking back, I'm thinking like I had to start there first because I think it shaped who I am and what type of person I am in this industry. And I'm always gonna be grateful for that experience. That's how I uh man, it's so funny because I'm thinking about I'm thinking back and I am um I'm like replaying scenarios in my mind. Yeah, anything specific, Wendy? Huh? Anything specific? No, you know what's funny? Not not anything um specific with her, just like seeing her in the hallways and you know having interaction with her. And I I just remember being terrified of her when I worked there. Um, just terrified. Charlie the guide also worked there too. That's where I first met him. And uh terrified because she was just this larger-than-life personality, and you grew up um listening to her. And I in my head, like these radio personalities were just like superstars. So, you know, you kind of get a little intimidated when interacting with them or seeing them in the hallway. Um, it's it's wild. Just thinking back about it, like, you know, a couple of years back, and I'm like, wow, I cannot believe that I had to walk or got the chance to walk the same hallways with her, or um, got to work with half of the people that I worked with at that station. It was just a good, it was a good experience. It was so good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you've and even to this day you get to work, not just who you get to work, like interview, but then the people you work alongside is pretty cool. I I want to bring this up here. Um you you end up in Texas and you got your you may you have like a makeshift studio, I I had heard. Uh, what was that like? And what should you learn about that process of creating this uh like makeshift studio and like gr the grind element of radio? And you know, it's competitive, and you were creating these like soundtracks and materials so you can land more jobs.
SPEAKER_01You know what's funny? Um, growing up, I had a makeshift studio in my house. And I feel like everybody had a makeshift studio um growing up because you know you would sit there and you would pretend that you were on a radio being the goddamn nerd that you are. I feel like we all had like that experience of us in the bedroom pretending that we were on the radio. And I will say, I tell people to this day, I think that's what makes people better at this job because I tell people all the time repetition is the key. Like the more that you do it, the more you are comfortable with it, the better you sound on air. Um, I actually made a makeshift uh studio in Texas, in my Dallas apartment, because I didn't want to go to work. I'm sorry. I like I legit wanted to do all of my voice tracking from the house. So I bought all of the equipment to like, you know, do all of my tracking at the um radio studio. I mean, at my house, so I can spend more time at my apartment and less at the radio station. But what's funny, so people like made fun of me for um for putting a studio in my house. Like, why would you do that? There is no, like, you would never need a radio studio in your house, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And what's funny, fast forward to 2020. So, how'd you set that up again? I gotta do it myself. Exactly that's exactly how it was. I remember specifically, one person was like, Why would you do a home studio? There's no, there's no reason for you to have that, and not even I left Dallas in 2017. I did the did the 20, so three years later, COVID happened, and I had my home studio all ready, all set to go, and I didn't have to like go into work and deal with anything like that. So it worked out in the long run. Yeah, that's huge.
SPEAKER_00Uh so me and EJ, for those listening, I met EJ through my uncle's radio station during Jingle Ball, which we kind of mentioned. And uh my uncle, by the way. They have uh my cousin has a show in Tampa, my cousin, my uncle is a Hall of Fame radio guy in Detroit. Uh, EJ, I met him through them. Uh EJ, how'd you cross paths with them? Uh how what's the connection? Where did you get a part of that joint?
SPEAKER_01It was um, so I knew Tony forever. So I um I legitimately he put me on the radio station. I think at first to like fill in, but he tells the story that I like he wanted me to move down there or move up there, and I turned on the job, but he never asked me to work in Detroit. Which I which let me tell you something. If they would have said, hey, come to Detroit, I would have been like, I'm right there, but I digress. But um, it's just being on with the radio station. So the one thing I feel about a radio is that it's almost a fraternity. Everybody knows each other, and if you don't know the person, there's somebody that you know that knows the person. It's like five degrees of separation if you don't know the person. Um, it's just, you know, going up there and forming that relationship and talking on the phone and being put on the radio station, you really do form these connections um with people, not even like the people on the air, but like, you know, your coworkers too. And it really does end up becoming family because I consider those two people extra I'm I feel like I'm extremely close to them, you know what I mean? Like going to their houses and just being around them every chance I get when I go um to Detroit. So that's pretty much how it happened. It was just like, you know, hear me on the air. And and I remember uh your uncle coming out here um for like some event that they had to do, and we spent like the afternoon together hanging out, and it's just more so that's how it, you know, that that that's how it happened. Just being on the station, connecting with them, talking to them on the phone and whatnot. And it's it's crazy how you can form these relationships just from the power of radio. Isn't that wild?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I do like like in this time social media and just like media has such like a negative like out people look at it negatively, but I've always been so pro it because it's allowed so many people to connect to those who they would have never thought to connect with. Just doing these shows, I've been able to speak with uh athletes who've won championships, broadcasters that been in the hall of fame and broke barriers, all sorts of different people. And I was just through social media and the media stuff.
SPEAKER_01Isn't that crazy? They say radio is like the original social media, and when you think about it, it's 100% true because of the you know conversations and you know the people that you meet doing it. Like I know people or I have like situations where I've made like friends throughout like good friends through this microphone. So I tell you what, I'm extremely grateful for it.
SPEAKER_00Now I've I've watched my uncle do his show. Um, I'm I see how that's done, but for your kind of like some of these other shows, how how much of it is not as intricate as your uncle's, but like what is there a lot that you're doing live? Is there a bunch that's not live? How does it work for you? I think it's a balance.
SPEAKER_01Like right now, I had to throw some brakes in the can so we can um so we can have this conversation. But a lot of it is, absolutely, but a lot of it is you know live. And I think that's the that's the beauty of radio, you know what I mean? That you have the opportunity to be live and to um you turn on a mic and what you say on the microphone goes out there. So I think uh 95% of it, you know what I mean, is live. Now I know your uncle and your cousin, they are like live, live, live, live with what they're doing. You know what I mean? But like you know, for the other cities that I do, yeah, right, right. Now, for the other cities that I do, you know, it's done, you know, maybe a couple of hours beforehand or you know, the the night before, if you know what I mean. Um but yeah, so those are recorded, but you know, here in LA, we are we are kicking in live and doing it like that.
SPEAKER_00Because uh now I know, but there was a time where I didn't, and I'd be texting and calling, and I'm like, wait a sec, this is not live.
SPEAKER_01I look like wait, so you what's funny is how I so there's some times where I'm um listening to um your uncle's show and I'm like responding and I'm like and I'm like wait, they're not even there.
SPEAKER_00It's like I'm a freaking fool.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, y'all not even there. That's wild.
SPEAKER_00That is wild, or it will be like a time where it's like they replay some of their hits, and you're like, wait, I heard this before. Wow, do I look dumb?
SPEAKER_01But no, but it's cool because uh everybody doesn't listen to the radio like how you think they listen. Like no one is waiting around with baited breath to hear, you know what I'm saying? Like people's attention spans have changed. Um, people are going about life and doing their thing, so it's just really interesting how you know folks move and whatnot, and that they're not paying attention as much as you know, as much as you think. Like, look at like me, for example. I will say, I will spend hours trying to find a movie to watch only for me to put it on and scroll on Instagram as the movie is going on. So that's me. I can only imagine like how other folks are.
SPEAKER_00I got I've gotten to the point where sometimes I'm just like not in the like I'm like, oh, I'm gonna watch a movie. I can't, so then I just watch you go on YouTube and watch a handful of movie trailers to pass the time. I'm like, this this will suffice.
SPEAKER_01What I've started doing is watching um people play video games on YouTube. I think I probably spend my whole TV watching experience, it probably goes YouTube, Hulu, Amazon, but I spend most of my time on YouTube. What video games? Um, Fears to Fathom. Have you heard that?
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_01So they're like horror game, horror games, and I watch this guy. Um, his name's Hallow. I'll watch him play the games. I don't know why, but it's so entertaining watching him play these movie games. Probably more entertaining than me actually playing the game. So I'll sit and like watch him play these games, and I'm like enamored by and it's like a cartoon type game. I'm gonna send you one uh when we get off of here so you can just check it out. And they're like horror games, and it's like I will spend my time watching that than actually like getting into a plot of a movie and like climb like no, I don't I just I feel like I don't have the attention span for that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, it that reminds me of like watching uh people open up, like you know, there's the the TikTokers that do PR, but I'm I collect cards, so I'll be like watching people open up packs of cards. I'm like, why am I interested in this? It's not something I get to have.
SPEAKER_01Did you uh I don't know if you see this, but people like stream themselves opening up Pokemon cars, and apparently, like people are so into that. Listen, what I tell people all the time, like how can I get viral on like social media or what's my niche? I tell people there is something for someone out there, there's something for everyone. Like you get paid, you you are getting views of people just watching you open Pokemon cars. There is something for everyone out there, my guy.
SPEAKER_00It's you just gotta try and you gotta try the big thing is just trying something out. I right really quick here. I so give me a rundown. Obviously, I know you're in California, you're you're uh in Detroit, Texas, New Jersey. Where are some of those other spots throughout the course of your radio career that you've uh where people have heard your voice?
SPEAKER_01Uh man, there are so many cities I feel like. It's LA. Um there's a show that I do that's in Anchorage, Alaska. I used to try, I used to be on it in Phoenix, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio. It was like Minot, North Dakota, uh North and South Carolina's Raleigh and Charlotte, um Detroit, upstate New York, Tampa, Miami, San Francisco. There's a lot of places. You know what's funny? It's so wild because you you when you're in it, you really don't think about it. But when you sit down and process it, it's like, wow, this is a lot. This is a lot. A lot.
SPEAKER_00Like a little old me, I'm doing something. I'm doing something.
SPEAKER_01I know. I can't, you know what's funny? Because looking back, I'm like, I can't believe that I am doing it, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, you have and not the not the imposter syndrome, but just like the the thought of like, wow, I really did all of this in this amount of time. Like in the moment, you don't you're just in it, but then you you do a little bit of reflecting, you're like, Well, I I did that thing today, or yesterday.
SPEAKER_01Do you feel like you have imposter syndrome too, or no?
SPEAKER_00No, you know, I I don't I haven't really dabbled in what it is. Uh I just going with the flow. Maybe if I was in the space a little bit more, I that would come up in my mind, but just going through the ropes.
SPEAKER_01So I used when I first got here, I had a big case of imposter syndrome because I felt like this radio station was so big. So many legends have come through these hallways and into the studio and used this microphone right here. Um, I had so much imposter and syndrome, like imposter syndrome. And I think I recently, maybe a couple of years ago, maybe four or five years ago, I got out of it. Um, I had a conversation with one of my bosses, and he was like, You deserve to be here, like just as much as anyone else deserves to be here. And I think it's hard for people to click, like it's it's interesting how other people around you can see the potential in yourself, but you can't see it yourself, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I I recently I had to get over that junk because that will drive you crazy. Will also second guess everything, you know what I mean? Like, am I doing this correctly? In the grand scheme of things, don't nobody care.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You're you're put where you belong. One of the things that was really cool, you know, people talk about, yeah, this guy's on radio because he's got a face for radio, like making fun of people's looks. But you know, EJ does not just have a voice for radio, he's got the face for TV. I don't know if you guys watch out there, but he soundtracked with EJ alongside Mario Lopez. How did that come up? I'm like, whoa, EJ's gonna be on TV. I'm gonna tell all my friends.
SPEAKER_01Also, I'm gonna be back there um next. What is that? Next. Wednesday. Talk about a great experience, man. And it's my first time doing like live TV. And it's it's wild. It's probably the most interesting thing that I've done in my career. I don't want to say interesting, like it's a bad interesting, but it's like a good, interesting. And I am someone who has ADD, so I'm watching everybody in the room do their job, and I'm just like in awe of the way how they are like this well-oiled machine doing everything that they need to do to put this show together. It is really like a collaborative effort. But uh it came about, uh, somebody put me in touch with uh their producer, and they, you know, she had me on the phone. Um, I I tell you what, I think working here at the radio station definitely helped a lot because you know they wanted my hot takes on like music news and things like that. And um I I was on the phone with her, and it was actually a couple of days before um before we saw each other in Detroit. That's what's funny. And she uh she's like, oh my gosh, we gotta have you on. And I was like, Oh my gosh, are you serious? It was just me just talking, rambling, saying whatever I wanted to say. And um, that's pretty much how it happened. And then so after that, it just like they kept calling me back to the show. I know it's so it's so wild. Shout out to the folks over there at Access Hollywood. It's it's really a good experience. There are so many uh great professionals that work on the show. I've learned so much just from like watching them do their jobs, they make it look so easy. And uh one of my radio aunties said, People that make things do look easy mean that they do it well. So, you know, shout out to those folks.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you describing that is like me going to watch my uncle. That's kind of a new space and something I don't get to see every day. You like entering the TV space, you're taking this all in, seeing all the quirks and little like it's like the train, you're what watching each little element chugg along the track.
SPEAKER_01It's funny because I love putting I love putting like the behind the scenes, um, the behind the screen what's happening behind the scenes on Instagram because I think people really do love to get into what's happening behind the scenes at like a TV show. Um, I know I was always fascinated in like the way how the camera will swing in and um the way how you like you know clear your throat before you say something and before it comes, like it's just it's it's a big ball of adrenaline, and I love it. Love, love, love. Like when they're counting you down, and I'm just like, let's go! Like in my head, I'm like, Let's go. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, that that's been pretty cool. That you because you get it's you've been able to try out a lot of different things from radio, TV, you're hosting events.
SPEAKER_01Um what's which are you by the way? Would you believe that I was like a shy little boy growing up? Oh, I was so shy. That's I was painfully shy. And my grand, the one thing my grandmother used to do, and it used to drive me up the wall when we would go out to eat, she would make me order my own food, and I would be like, This is what I want. This and she was like, Nope, tell tell them what they want, tell them what you want. I'm like, no, I need you to tell them. That's how painfully I uh shy I was. But I almost feel like that helped me get out of it, just like talking to adults and having conversations and ordering my food. It's it's wild how something that small can, you know, get you out of your excitedness.
SPEAKER_00Add up in the end. Isn't it wild? Yeah. I wanna talk. Well what's been like your favorite little, you know, you do a lot of different events during the course of your career. What's been one of the more fun ones? You because like right now you're doing this stuff with TikTok, which is kind of cool. Um, but maybe that's not it. Tell me, tell me some of those events.
SPEAKER_01It's uh probably TikTok. That's fun to see. It's really interesting to see the inner workings behind the most popular app on the market when you think about it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's a perfect scene, I think, to see you like live on the actual TikTok account. That's crazy. Like, I know that guy.
SPEAKER_01It's it's wild because like when have you ever been able to get a behind the scenes look or know someone that deals with an app that you use every single day? You know what I'm saying? Um, that's probably one of my favorite events because um I think a lot of a lot of people tune in, you get comments in real time, whether they are good or bad. Um I love the real time interaction of it. You know what I'm saying? Like if I say something, there is somebody reacting a couple of seconds later in the comments. Um, I really, I really do enjoy it. I really do. And I think a lot of times a lot of people get a lot of their entertainment from it. And a lot of the times it may be, I feel like it's shifting towards being like almost like a TV, if that makes sense.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So doing that, you know, TikTok live show is almost like having my own TV show on TikTok. You know, I think the I think the way how the industry is moving, it's a lot of um, I think people are getting their entertainment in unconventional ways or what people deem unconventional ways. But um I think finish up.
unknownYou're good.
SPEAKER_00No, no, no, go ahead. I was like, it doesn't necessarily have to even be short form, just like to have the device in your hand is something that's on whatever app that they can have it in their hand, they don't have to get up, turn on the TV. So that's like the TikTok, like, yeah, they're shorter videos, but you're talking about watching and tuning into like a live stream. Those aren't short, those are 10, 30, 40 minutes, hours long.
SPEAKER_01It's an hour long, and what's funny is how when you're doing it, it goes by like this, and it's like, oh, we're done. We're done? Okay. I alright.
SPEAKER_00I felt like it feels like it just started. I was um, you know, I was one of the people in the comments, I'm like, EJ better do the Zara Larson dance. EJ better do the dance, do the dance.
SPEAKER_01Well, you know what's funny? So in you're talking about the Zara Larson TikTok live one. I um I just learned the dance. Um I didn't get I didn't see that comment. We were in um so we had this we had this theater across the street. It's uh it's a soundstage and it's the former tonight show um soundstage. So like it's it's set up like an actual like you know TV studio because that's what it is. But uh I didn't get to see that comment. I would have I would have attempt I would have attempted to do that comment if I if I I mean that dance if I would have saw it. I didn't know you were watching that.
SPEAKER_00I'm tuned in I'm tuned in. I'm tuned in. You're locked in and tuned in. I support that leg hip. I support the friends. You know, it's it's going. It's it's a long, a long road, but I get to do these things more and spend some more time trying to grow this, which is a lot of fun. Having a lot of good conversation.
SPEAKER_01How um how much time do you have to actually heal up?
SPEAKER_00Uh another probably so they say four to six months, but I still I I have probably will have to do my my knee was was hurt in this accident. So it's harder to like heal when you know you have to go back to square one. Do you have a crutch? Uh I use it a little bit, even though like they say to try to walk a little bit more uh throughout the day, you get kind of fatigued, so you you use some of those aids, like if I have to walk like like the like the crutch over here in your like that, or like a walking stick. And using a cane a little bit here and there.
SPEAKER_01Well, hurry up because we got some dancing to do in this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I I do want to get out. I do want to get out there. I had my sister on this show recently, and we're nine years apart. So one of the things she, although we grew up together, we had different experiences.
SPEAKER_01So you guys have two guys is she older? Yeah. You guys had two separate sets of parents.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that was kind of in our discussion. We kind of talked about like different things. Well, while we both had really good uh childhoods, things were a lot different. Um, but one of the things I kind of talked about uh separate from that was trends. So me and you were different in age, not by much, but we're we're different in age. So what were some of those trends that you enjoyed growing up on? I'm trying to think.
SPEAKER_01Very good question. What trends that I grew up on?
SPEAKER_00I'm trying to think. Which one did you like, and then what's one that you hated? Do you mind if I Google to um Yeah. So so while you Google, my sister had talked about like she remembers the beanie babies for her. My my mom would go to McDonald's and all the local spots with her girlfriends grabbing the beanie babies or Harry Potter going to see those. Um that's right.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so that was that was a big trend, I feel like. Um that was a big trend, the Harry Potter uh books. Um wow. I'm just like not baffled, but I'm like, I feel like you're bring you're bringing me back right now. The Harry Potter books. What else were some of the trends in like um the um oh my gosh, MySpace?
SPEAKER_00MySpace for uh for me and my cousins, one of the big ones was uh Webkins. Webkins, I don't know if you ever heard of them. They're these little stuffed animals, they came with a code, you logged it in, and you had that animal in like a virtual world, and then you played the video games. Um so that was one for us growing up.
SPEAKER_01A big toy, I feel like, when I was growing up. Do you remember that? You said Elmo?
SPEAKER_00Tickle me almo, do you? Nickle me almo, yeah. One of the longstanding toys. I feel like they still do that one a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they're gonna bring it back or something like that. Um, wow. I'm I'm over here, I'm looking at some of these trends, and I'm like, I'm thinking about like my childhood and like how all of this played um played uh into a um into I guess me shaping like who I am as an adult. Oh, this is messing up my computer. Let me go out of there. Wow! God, I think I feel like you stumped me on you know what's funny? I feel like I was never one of those people that like follow trends, even right now. Like, only trend I probably follow is with clothes and whatnot. I never wore an Ed Hardy hat or Ed Hardy t-shirts or anything like that. Well, I got I got pictures with that.
SPEAKER_00My cousin Antonio from uh he he was one of the ones in New Jersey and now he's back in Mexico. He always wore Ed Hardy shirts. He had did he really on his shirt all the time, different uh other designs they had every summer.
SPEAKER_01A good Ed Hardy shirt, man. The quality, it was almost like a thin type shirt. First time I went to Florida, I remember having on an Ed Hardy shirt, so I can't I can't say that I did not participate in that because you're big into the the clothing.
SPEAKER_00Is there a style that you just you hate seeing, whether it's an old one or one that's going on right now?
SPEAKER_01No, I am appreciative. Can I just say this? This is so this is so I am appreciative of style in general, even if I agree with it or not, because I feel like it's ways how people essentially um express themselves themselves. So I even though I don't like it, I will still like embrace it and appreciate it. Like the baggy clothes. I hate, although I do be looking like um, I do um like the way how it looks, but I hate that it's coming back, these baggy ass jeans. I remember doing a um um a show and almost tripping over myself because my my jeans were so baggy. So that's probably one that I absolutely cannot stand, or dirty Air Force ones. I feel like that is a trend and that is a style. I feel like people intentionally get their Air Force Air Force Air Force Ones. The people say that I say the word air weird, Air Force Ones, um, dirty. Like, oh no, we're some crispy white Air Force ones. That's one I can't stand. If you don't clean those goddamn sneakers and get out of here, geez.
SPEAKER_00They uh like those companies that purposely make like not ripped jeans, but like where the shoe and these pants are like made to look as if they've been dirty. No, no, why? Like, why are we doing this? I don't like that. Well, we uh kind of talked about a few of the people you've got to work with or interview. Who's been one of your favorites? Like most down to earth, like you're just talking to one of your buddies.
SPEAKER_01You know what's funny? People ask this question all the time, and I legitimately cannot answer it. I feel like I've talked to so many people at so many different periods of their life, and I cannot tell you who is my favorite person. That's so wild.
SPEAKER_00Well, in the opposite way, is there someone that was kind of like it took a little bit to get comfortable with? Yes, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely, there are tons of people like that, and I'm just like, we are in here talking about your favorite topic, you just help help help me help you, you know. Because when you're in when you're an artist, I feel like you are sitting there talking about their favorite topic, and you know, I'm sure artists like to talk about themselves, you know what I mean? So we're sitting here talking about you know their favorite topic, which is themselves, and it's like, can you just can you give me just a little bit?
SPEAKER_00Like if you don't want to be here, just cancel kind of thing. Like, yeah, it's a part of your promotion stuff, but you can always like say you don't want to be here, and that's perfectly fine with you.
SPEAKER_01And I will let me tell you something, I will wrap that thing up so goddamn quickly. If they're like, Yeah, I'm not feeling it great. Thank you so much for coming in. I'll talk to you later. You know what I mean? Like, I um I'm sure who would Zara Larson's probably one of my favorites. Um we she's so she's so she's so good. I had uh just had an interview with Tanasha uh a couple of days ago at TikTok. I had a really good time with uh Shagozi, and I'm just like running off some of the people that I've talked to recently. Tyla had a really good conversation with. I your uncle says that I can talk to a wall, so that's why I rarely have bad conversations with these artists because I just like talk and they are receptive to it and I'm appreciative of it.
SPEAKER_00People would say the same thing about me because sometimes I'll be speaking and I don't realize that they've fallen asleep because like I'll talk to my parents, I'll talk to my parents and like they've had a long day, they've been busy, they they still work, and they'll like be receptive in the beginning, and I'll like sometimes I won't look at the person, so I'm not seeing that their eyes are closing, I think they're still listening, and then I turn around and I start to hear a snore.
SPEAKER_01I'm like, oh did you fall asleep? How rude I'm talking here. Yeah, yeah, that would that would drive me a little crazy though.
SPEAKER_00We most are gonna block out walls, yeah. Because I've been on that same thing where people like accept to come on the show and then they're just not interested. I'm like, well, we're gonna get we're gonna power through this because I've kind of been talking about this a while.
SPEAKER_01But my thing is like if you're not interested, just don't go cancel, say something. Don't for don't make me. There are some people, um, somebody once said they make you work for it. And I'm like, oh, I don't want to work for it today. I wanted this to be a good, easy interview. Don't make me work for it. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00When you get those interviews that are easy, it's like, ah, this this is why I like to do what I do.
SPEAKER_01Do you know what's interesting? There is a um there is a a sign that I have that I know the interview is going to go to sh. And it's when I'm like, hey, what's going on? How are you? Good. I'm like, no. I'm like, save me, save me. Because whenever it's like that, I'm like, oh, you guys are gonna make me work for it. Because it's if you you you you ask anybody else um that question who's been like doing it for a minute, I'm good. You know, we want to know why, because the but it's all it's the difference between media training and and not be a media train because it's like, oh, I'm good. No, you asked me that. I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm good. The album is finally coming out. I've been working on this thing for such a long time, and I'm so excited that people are finally getting to hear it, or I'm so anxiety written because the album is coming out. Bubba, you know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00So you can south and like start the conversation with what they guide in a little bit in that sense, right?
SPEAKER_01As opposed to just like I'm good, I'm good. Now people are gonna go and watch the interviews where people start off like that, and you can see it's there's one in particular that I'm thinking about, and it was awful. They actually have a really big song on the radio right now.
SPEAKER_00Oh, you'll have to tell me. Um yeah, the link. Hold on. Uh guided when you have these conversations. The I the question and answer ones are the worst ones. I like when they become more conversational, and like you see, you can see in their eyes that they're having fun with it.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and I'm just like, and that and you know what's funny? That amps me up to know that they are having a really good time. And I'm like, oh my gosh, so now I gotta like step it up. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00Yep. One of uh your your fellow Pisces, uh Olivia Rodrigo. I've seen all of the clips for that one. Next time you, if you ever have her in, you you got you gotta get an autograph for her. I know you can't do that, but you gotta help a brother out. Give it to my niece.
SPEAKER_01I could absolutely I could. I'm the person that's doing the interview, I can do whatever.
SPEAKER_00She is uh my niece's favorite, and she is an enjoyable person.
SPEAKER_01I love her. I had the best conversation with her, and I feel like we spent 20 minutes, actually, two 20-minute interviews on us being a Pisces, which is wild.
SPEAKER_00You know, I'm not too the astrological stuff. I kind of joke around. I'm sure it's a serious thing, and it's kind of fun to be a part like into, but one of my favorite things When's your birthday? I'm a Scorpio, but I know there's some variation. Like I think it ends at Scorpio, but then you talk up to these people and they have other words added to No, what's your what's your what's your um what's your birth, what's your number?
SPEAKER_01Your October and November.
SPEAKER_0027th of October.
SPEAKER_01Oh, so it just it just started.
SPEAKER_00No, October 27th. Yeah, Scorpio season. So what does that's that's a long time from now.
SPEAKER_01No, I'm talking about like, you know, you're you're at the beginning of Scorpio season, but that's why we get along so well because we're both the water signs. Yeah, I'm so lost, but I'm guessing. Pisces, Scorpio, Pisces, Scorpios, and uh and Cancers are all water signs.
SPEAKER_00Okay, so score uh yes, I'm a Scorpio, you're a Pisces, we're connected somehow, somehow. Not too much.
SPEAKER_01No, not some way, somehow. We are connected, Zay.
SPEAKER_00What you talking about? Yeah, we're connected, but in the horoscope world, we are damn near family. Yeah, we are we are once once it once we break bread in a meal, we're family. You're Carbala.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. Yeah, I know. It's it's like Olive Garden. Once you're here, you're family.
SPEAKER_00Oh that's how we get down. That is that's great. I you know, that's the hardest part when you're family. You're like, we had so much fun and then leaving. I went when we left and departed Detroit for um jingle ball. I'm like, man, that was so much fun. I gotta go back to my reality. When did you um when did you uh when did you leave? Oh I I left what was it the next day. I we we went into the studio, the Coney dog place brought in. There's like snowstorm. They brought the Coney Dog people brought us hot dogs that morning, and then like that afternoon, I think I departed. It's wild. Did you fly or um I did fly? I did fly. I love flying. I like being in the airplane. I feel like I feel like famous, like I'm going places solo.
SPEAKER_01You know what's funny? I I hate I um I only hate it because I'm not in control, but when I flew to Europe, I absolutely loved it because no one could bother me for like nine hours, and it was just like great. Nobody could ask me for anything, no one could call me. I sat on a plane for nine hours and just scrolled on Instagram and TikTok, and it was the best feeling ever. The best.
SPEAKER_00Headphones in rolled out.
SPEAKER_01Correct, correct, correct. It was so much fun, it was so much fun. Um, but we had to leave early because I had to get back to LA because of the snowstorm like threatened everything. So I just had to get back um super early. And um I remember waking up, driving to the airport, and it was just so goddamn snowy. And back to what we were talking about earlier, how much I cannot stand all that cold shit. Um, but it was fun, it was really fun. I wish I could have stayed longer though. This year I absolutely will.
SPEAKER_00It's funny my uncle's you know radio music business, but we don't really talk too much music with him. Do you have like who are your artists that you like to listen to? Maybe not ones that circulate on your show, but what's on that iPod of yours or iPad?
SPEAKER_01Uh okay. Can I open it? Let me open my Apple Music right now. Uh Common, Chicago legend, um, is on here.
SPEAKER_00Huh? Which one? Which one you've been in rotation?
SPEAKER_01This it's an old one. It's called Reminding Me of Self. I got Luther Vandros on here. I got LL Koo Jay, Paul Wall sitting sideways, Black Street Joy, Maya, it's all about me. I just recently met her, and she was the best, the absolute best. Um, Drake Fancy, one of my favorites right there. What else did I got? I got some throwback Chuck Brown, Go Go Legend. Um, I'm looking at my playlist right now. Some uh The Bratt, Mariah Carey, Buster Rhymes, Tamiya, Janet Jackson, any of these names ringing a bell, Snow Allegra, Lil Mo, uh Cisco. Um, um, let's see, the Gat Band, a Tribe Called Quest, Calvin Harris. I got my um young thugs on here, Aryana Grande, Stevie Wonder, Troy Savannah. There's a lot of like stuff on here that I just like absolutely love. I love listening to um my thing is like this is gonna sound so crazy, but I can't listen to the music that I play all the time at work. That's normal, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, you get you're you're you hear too much. I uh I have this people love making playlists that like are connected to their feelings or the season or whatever. I got one one playlist. I I tried to do that and was like, I can't do this. I created a list that said mile, like for running. That list now is like two days worth of songs.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, same. Like, so I tried to do that with like gym, like songs that I want to hear as I'm working out and stuff like that. So, but there's three songs on there because everything I just end up putting it in this one right here. So it's like favorites, yeah. I'm not doing that. I'm not like listen, if I want to hear a song, I will go and just like you know, go to whatever said song and just play it. I am so disorganized, I I just I cannot, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Do you say brat or the brat? I say the brat. The brat. I love it. No, I think that I was trying to, I'm like, that rang a bell on my playlist. I have not tonight by Lil Kim featuring like all these other people.
SPEAKER_01Angie Martinez. Who else was on that?
SPEAKER_00Left eye and left eye comes in at the end and just kills it. Oh, great.
SPEAKER_01Oh, what a no, wait, wait, what is golly? Is Ladies Night? What? It must be Andy on the mic, the butter pee, honey, got the sugar, got the spice, Rhoda L's tie. Yes, on the Rumi on a Susap team. Yeah, yeah, that was my song right there.
SPEAKER_00That one's another brat's on there too, right? Yeah, the brat. That's why that's why Mike, a light bulb went off when you said the brat. So I'm like, wait, where do I know that?
SPEAKER_01Not tonight is my song.
SPEAKER_00Yes, that one's I got a couple more of this before we wrap up. We're having a lot of fun. I love, you know, I love the question and answer ones, but I love when you get a buddy on and you're just talking about it. You're vibing. And I gotta ask you, what's coming up? What's coming up this year um that you're excited for in through your jobs?
SPEAKER_01Do you know what? I don't know. Because let me tell you something. It always ends up like, hey, uh, this is three days out, by the way. Hey, by the way, you know you have to do such and such, right? And I'm like, I do, yeah. Oh, yeah, we didn't tell you about that. Yeah, you're gonna have to do that. So what's funny is how I I um I feel like I don't know yet. And that's the beauty of it, because I am the type of person that will like book a last-minute ticket just because I am a very fly-by-the-seat type of person. On a whim type of person. I will book a trip on a whim. I booked that uh trip to Italy literally like two weeks out. Let's do this. I I am that person, and you know what? So far, it's been working for me, and I'm continuing to do it. You want to know why? Because y'all not about to be stressing me out overthinking about something. So, you know, it works for me, and I'm gonna continue to do it, and I love it.
SPEAKER_00I I just went to the dentist, they're like, Okay, we're gonna schedule you for an appointment in six months. I said, I guess I don't know what I'm doing then. I might have to cancel it. I got I might have other plants that might pop up. I'm not you can put pencil in for now, but I'm a guy. If something pops up, I'm gonna be there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I do it every four months, and I absolutely like will be like, I will forget because they'll text me. I don't know what is with these doctor's offices. They will send a smoke signal, a carrier pigeon, a they will text you, they will call you, they will hunt you down just so they can just so you can make that appointment because I absolutely will forget four months down the line that I have a dentist appointment.
SPEAKER_00Oh, this would be an hour-long discussion. I don't want to hear from the dentists, the doctors, the portals. I'm sick of it. It shouldn't be so hard to live.
SPEAKER_01I shout out to what's that my chart? Is it my chart? Jesus Christ. I always feel like I'm dying whenever I have a message in my mind chart. And I'm like, God, and it's just something like so generic. And I'm like, you guys stop. And it's always at the most obscure times ever. And I'm like, guys, my anxiety is through the roof because I got a message at my mind chart at one o'clock in the morning.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that they're I'm running for uh local government president, whatever, on the campaign of we're fixing, you know, obviously we want free health care and all that, make it a little easier, but I'm running to fix this non-personal medical discussion stuff. And also under there, you can't text me during sleeping hours. If I can't on my curb during these times, you can't text me.
SPEAKER_01I hate I there like whenever I go to the doctor and the blood work comes in and I get it at like two o'clock in the damn morning. I always think that, oh my gosh, I got six months, yeah. You know what I'm saying? So it's just like uh it drives me crazy. It drives it absolutely drives me crazy. Oh, I feel your pain.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm gonna joke and do that too. I'm like, well, we're gonna have fun while we're here then. They're there for a good time, not a long time. That's what they say. Uh we talked about some things coming up. What what's like a goal? What do you what's something you want to try to do in this space that you have yet to do? Improv. Improv? You know, I I my brother hates me because I just recently said I would love to do like a theater thing. This is like something on the stage. My brother was I'm I was the sports person still and he was the theater kid. But I'm just like, I want to do something like in front of people and just like I don't know if I like I have ideas, I don't know if I can do like scripts. I think in a collaborative space, I think I could come up with something and like be on a stage. Uh, but when I tell my brother that, he's like, hey, that's my lane. I tell him, well, I haven't been to a show in 10 years, so you better get on stage or someone's taking over.
SPEAKER_01I don't think that there is any specific lane for any person. I think what's meant for you is for you, and what's meant for someone else is for someone else. That's how I feel. I like that. That's how I feel. But I um I would love to do an improv class. I feel like I would be good at it because I can just like we did this one exercise where it was like, and then, and you know, you just gotta keep the conversation going, and I'm good with just like spewing some BS and and and just saying, you know, just just keeping the conversation going. I would love to do that. Love.
SPEAKER_00One of the things that I liked when my brother was growing up, he did he got all his buddies together, like him and his they did a garage show where they put together, they spent a week hanging out from like seven in the morning to four o'clock, coming up with a script, ideas, characters, and at the end of the week, we all watched them perform this garage play. And here they're in like junior high and freshman in high school doing this little thing.
SPEAKER_01That's amazing. That's remarkable. I don't know if I could do something like that, mainly because I would um I would uh I can't focus long enough. Also, I have a really hard time performing in front of my family. I feel like that's a real like a real thing.
SPEAKER_00I know I've been doing these uh TikTok videos. I'm like, okay, no one's home, I can do them now. Or I'm I'll be walking, I'll do them like outside, and I'm like comfortable with that, but I can't be in the same room filming them unless they're like a part of the video, like where I'm like just doing a panel of the yeah, uh yeah, but you know, you really do have to be comfortable in your space and comfortable in your skin to really just perform with everybody in the room, you know?
SPEAKER_01It's so wild. It's when you think about it, it's so wild because I can literally do an interview with like uh although I don't like it, with a ton of people in a room just like watching and gawking. But you add my mother and my grandmother into the mix. Like when I was on the radio one time, we were driving, listening to me in like another city. I turned down the radio so they didn't have to hear me talk or what I was saying. It's the craziest thing. I cannot perform with any like family or anyone in the room as crazy as that sounds.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I want you to listen to the show just not when I'm there. You can listen to this podcast. I'll have to be away for now.
SPEAKER_01There's certain stuff that I won't repost because I don't want them to see me and my element.
SPEAKER_00Crazy. That's true. I think we're just about done. I want to ask you so one of the things that through this show I like to do, I introduce people to people. So I know EJ. Now people know EJ. Where else can they stay in tuned with you where they can hear you, where they can follow you?
SPEAKER_01You can follow me on TikTok and Instagram. I have the most complicated username ever because somebody has it's me, EJ. So I have to do it is me, EJ. It is me, EJ. You can say what up. Um, we always have a good time on Instagram, on TikTok. Um come around and come hang out for the party. It's always a good time. Also, I have links up there um um about where you can listen to me at.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, it's fun. We're gonna be tuning in very soon. Thank you so much, EJ, for coming on. I love shooting the shit with you. I love hearing your laughs. Uh, a Hall of Fame laugh, if I do say so myself.
SPEAKER_01Oh, thank you so much. No, it was so much fun. I always have a good time whenever we hang out, and uh, we're gonna be hanging out really soon, my guy. Yes, see you soon.
SPEAKER_00Thank you to EJ. Always a good time getting together. Nonstop laughs as well. Uh, hopefully you guys enjoyed that one. I have plenty more in store. Uh, before we wrap up, once again, follow the extra time pod on socials, stay up to date with everything with the show. I post clips, highlights, I even post a little updates of what our guests have been up to as they continue to pave ways in their fields. Once again, I'm Xavier Sanchez, and thank you for listening to the Extra Time Podcast.