TRANSCRIPT Bullseye with Jesse Thorn: Herb Alpert

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Transition: Gentle, trilling music with a steady drumbeat plays under the dialogue.

Promo: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.

Music: “Huddle Formation” from the album Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team—a fast, upbeat, peppy song. Music plays as Jesse speaks, then fades out.

Jesse Thorn: It’s Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. Herb Alpert, with his band, sold 72,000,000 albums. And that’s probably not even his greatest achievement in the music industry. He also co-founded A&M Records, which broke artists from The Police to Cat Stevens to The Carpenters, Joe Cocker to Janet Jackson to Soundgarden. And since he and his partner sold the label a few decades ago, Herb Alpert has been one of America’s greatest music philanthropists. But of course, he will always be known, first and foremost, for his band: the Tijuana Brass.

Music: “A Taste of Honey” from the album Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass—a spirited, jazzy horn piece.

(Music fades out.)

Jesse Thorn: And it was everywhere. In the ’60s, they sold more albums than the Beatles. I talked with Herb Alpert in 2015, when he’d just released Come Fly With Me. Since then, he has cut nine more records. His newest, 50, gets its title because—well, because it’s his 50th studio album. 50 albums, one man. Extraordinary. He’s pushing 90, he’s still got it. Let’s kick things off with a single from that new record. This is “Dancing Down 50th Street”.

Music: “Dancing Down 50th Street” from the album 50 by Herb Alpert—a jaunty brass number with a playful, syncopated beat.

(Music fades out.)

Jesse Thorn: Herb Alpert, welcome to Bullseye. It’s great to have you on the show.

Herb Alpert: Thank you very much. Nice to be here.

Jesse Thorn: So, we were talking right before we went on mic about the fact that you grew up here in Los Angeles.

Herb Alpert: Oh, yeah. I’m a native.

Jesse Thorn: How was the LA that you grew up in? You were born in East LA in Boyle Heights and grew up in sort of central/west LA.

Herb Alpert: Yeah. Well, how did it differ? It was smog-free. (Laughs.) And the freeway wasn’t as crowded.

Jesse Thorn: I mean, my dad lived in Glendale when he was a teenager. And the thing that he most remembers is that when he would steal his parents’ car—which I found out, as an adult, he did regularly—and drive out to the beach from Glendale, which is northeast of LA, it would take him like 15 or 20 minutes. (Chuckles.)

Herb Alpert: Oh, yeah. No, it was a whole different feeling in the city. And you know, those mountains that surround Los Angeles, you could see them every day. It’s a beautiful city, and it got a little congested. But it’s—you know, there’s still some magnificent parts that the natives still love.

Jesse Thorn: It seems like living in LA was a big part of what moved you towards the entertainment industry. I mean, not only that you were studying music, but like when you were a young guy, you got discovered in the classic Hollywood way and almost became an actor. (Chuckles.)

Herb Alpert: Well, yeah. A lot of that happened much later. But I mean, the thing that was fortunate for me is when I was eight years old, there was a music appreciation class in my elementary school—Melrose Elementary School. And in that room, there was a table filled with instruments, and I happened to pick up the trumpet, tried to make a sound out of it. Because I thought you just blow hot air into the mouthpiece. That didn’t work. But you know, when I finally made sound, it was speaking for me. Because I was super shy as a kid.

[00:05:00]

And when the trumpet started making noise, it was talking for me. And so, you know, one thing led to another. I studied formally. I have a classical background. And little by little, you know, the trumpet really became a friend of mine. It started to make sense. It started to talk in a really unusual way. Because I have this ability to—if I hear a song on the radio, I could play it right back. I mean, I don’t know. I have relative pitch. So, that was kind of a fortuitous thing that happened for me.

And so, we had a little group in high school—piano, drums. Was bass-less, but piano, drums, and a trumpet. And that was in the ’50s. And there was this—

Jesse Thorn: Was that you and your brother and sister?

Herb Alpert: (Chuckling.) No, no, no.

Jesse Thorn: ‘Cause you had a sister that played the piano and a brother that played the drums, right?

Herb Alpert: Right. Yeah, they were older than me. But no, this was in high school at Fairfax High. Fred Santo and Norm Shapiro. And there was a—at the beginning of television, there was this show called High Talent Battle. And so, we entered, and it was pitting musical groups from different parts of the city, different high schools. And we won like six/eight weeks in a row. And from that point, you know, we just started playing weddings and bar mitzvahs and parties and having a good old time playing the horn.

And you know, I found myself not knowing if I was going to be a professional musician—take it all the way—but I started, you know, emulating some of the trumpet players that I heard. And I could play a little bit like HarryJames, and a little bit like Louis Armstrong. And you know, my jazz favorites. A little Miles crept in, and then I realized, who wants to hear that? That’s—they’ve already done it. So, I was—

Jesse Thorn: I mean, at the very least, who wants to hear that at a bar mitzvah?

Herb Alpert: (Laughs.) Well, I was searching for my own identity, and it took a while to get it.

Music: “Spanish Flea” from the album !!Going Places!! by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass—a high-tempo, cheerful brass number.

(Music fades out.)

Jesse Thorn: When you were a young man was one of the most exciting times in the history of American popular music. Because you had the rise of jazz music, the rise of soul music, the rise of rock and roll music. Or I shouldn’t say the rise of jazz music, which would—you know. But the rise of jazz as—significantly as art music, but also as popular music. And I wonder like what were you like into as a 19-year-old?

Herb Alpert: Well, like I said, I had this classical background. I was into classical music. I was into Maurice Ravel. And a major experience that I had, I was drafted—

Jesse Thorn: But I mean, like were you like hanging out at high school parties or like college parties listening to romantic classical music?

Herb Alpert: No. I was listening to both. Actually, the thing that spun my head around was, in high school, I heard a song called “Sh-Boom”. Was that before your time? (Laughs.)

Jesse Thorn: It’s comfortably before my time. But I know the song, yeah.

Herb Alpert: Okay, Yeah. (Chuckles.) Anyways, anyways. You know, “Sh-Boom”. And all of a sudden, I remember staring at this radio, listening to this song, thinking, “That’s pretty cool!” You know. And I was—you know, in that time I was playing in junior symphony orchestras. And so, I started thinking about, you know, pop music. And when I was in high school, I got a chance to hear the Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker. He used to go to The Hague and listen to that music. And I really started buzzing to that. Because I mean, to me that was—that’s a real true expression of one individual’s ideas. So. And these guys had something very unusual to say in a very unusual way.

And I remember Gerry Mulligan, he used to go up to the mic while they were ready to take a break. And he’d step up there with his eyes kind of glassy, and he’d say, “Shortly.” (Laughs.) I thought that was cool.

Well, my big experience was when I was drafted in the army, and I told them that the only thing I know how to do is play the trumpet. You know, that’s—I can’t do anything else. I’m not a secretary. I don’t want to carry a gun. I just play the trumpet. And I—

Jesse Thorn: This is like the early ’50s, right?

Herb Alpert: Yeah, it was the early ’50s. And I lied a bit. I said, “Look, I played with Count Basie. I played with—” You know, all sorts of things. I kind of lied my way into it.

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Okay, so they sent me to band school in Fort Knox, Kentucky, for six weeks. I was there, and these trumpet players—there were like 12 trumpet players there—they were all pretty darn good. A lot of them were a lot better than me, you know. So, I had this aha. “Man, if I ever decide to be a real professional, then I’m going to have to come up with my own way of doing it.” And that was a big moment for me when I realized, you know, I’m not as good as I thought I was. (Laughs.)

Jesse Thorn: Even more to get into with Herb Alpert, co-founder of A&M Records and legendary recording artist in just a minute. Stay with us. It’s Bullseye from MaximumFun.org and NPR.

Transition: Thumpy synth with a syncopated beat.

Jesse Thorn: Welcome back to Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. My guest is Herb Alpert. He’s a trumpeter whose recordings with the Tijuana Brass have been heard by millions and millions and millions of people. Alpert is also the co-founder of A&M Records, which was home to Quincy Jones, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, Cheech & Chong, and literally hundreds more. Alpert just released his 50th studio album called, appropriately, 50. It’s out now. When I talked to him about a decade ago, he’d just released Come Fly With Me. Let’s get back into it.

You know, I read you somewhere describing your brief dalliance as an actor and talking about— You know, you got discovered working in a gym and were and are—and you didn’t have to speak on this, so I’ll just stipulate it—extraordinarily handsome. And you know, you went and like screen tested. And they’re like, “Yeah, I mean, you’re a really good-looking guy. You kind of have to learn how to act.” And part of learning how to act was learning how to engage with your own like actual emotional authenticity, right?

Herb Alpert: Hopefully. That’s the goal. But I mean, I didn’t have those chops in that particular period of my life. Yeah, I was working at a gym. This agent comes up and says, “You look like you should be in movies.”

I said, “Okay, well put me in.” I mean, I was—

Jesse Thorn: (Playfully.) Yeah, it’s happened to all of us.

Herb Alpert: So, yeah, I had an audition at Paramount Studios. And they said they liked me, but they thought I was a little green, and I needed some work. So, I started studying with Jeff Corey. I was in his group. And then when Jeff was—you know, Jeff was a great actor himself. And when he was on location, Leonard Nimoy would take over his class, so I studied with Leonard for a while. This was before Dr. Spock. Was it Dr.? Yeah.

Jesse Thorn: Yeah, Dr. Spock. Although, there’s also the other Dr. Spock. It was before that too, though. I think.

Herb Alpert: Yeah. So, anyways, I learned a lot. But I had that feeling that I just didn’t really have… I didn’t have the right chemistry. I don’t know. I didn’t have what it took. I was a little self-conscious. And when I walked into Paramount Studios, and this guy says, “Well, you’re a nice-looking guy. You should be doing well.” And walking around that lot, there were, you know, ten guys that were much better looking than me. And then all of a sudden I saw John Derek, who was like—looked like he was chiseled, you know? (Chuckles.)

And looks don’t get you anyplace. I mean, you gotta have the goods, and you have to study and be serious about it. And I really didn’t have that. I have it for the trumpet. I mean, I put in my time, and I love doing it, and I practice it every day, and it’s something that’s part of me—along with the painting and sculpting.

Jesse Thorn: What made you feel like—at what point in your life did you feel like you could express your authentic voice on that instrument? That you could—you know, irrespective of like who had what chops, who could play the fastest or the highest or whatever, that you had something that was original that other people couldn’t do?

Herb Alpert: Well, I guess I found it when—you know, we started A&M Records in 1962. And The Lonely Bull was our very first record. And the feedback I got from that, you know, kind of catapulted me onto doing other things. Because I felt maybe I did have something as a trumpet player.

But the aha experience was when I heard “How High the Moon” by Les Paul and Mary Ford. And this was in probably 1958/59. And Les Paul was layering his guitar on this record. And I tried that at home. I had a little studio. I had two tape machines, and I went from one tape machine to the other with the trumpet. And I hit on this sound that was the genesis of the Tijuana Brass sound. So, when The Lonely Bull hit, and it was like top ten in the country—it took off like a rocket by the way.

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And then I got a letter from a lady in Germany who said, “Dear Mr. Alpert, thank you so much for taking me on this vicarious trip to Tijuana.” I chuckled when I read it. And then I thought about it. I said, “Wow, man, that music was so visual for her that it took her someplace.” And I said, “That’s the type of music I want to make. I want to make music that transports you.”

Music: “The Lonely Bull” from the album The Lonely Bull by Herb Alpert—a bright, celebratory number with a robust, mariachi-inspired sound and light vocalizations.

(Music fades out.)

Jesse Thorn: Who did you think was the audience for this? Like, were you making this with the idea that maybe you could make a pop hit of this song that sounds like what it’s like to be in a bull ring?

Herb Alpert: You know, I didn’t have that in mind. I was just trying to make a good record. I was trying to reflect the feeling that I got watching bullfights for, you know, a couple of years. And I was just trying to reflect on that afternoon. I didn’t—I never heard mariachi music, but I heard this brass band in the stands at the arenas. And they would play—you know, they would announce the individual performances, or whatever they call them—the fights—and you know, be playing (sings an energetic introductory bar). And then the bull would jump out, you know.

So, I got excited about that. And I tried to, you know, give the feeling of that afternoon. And when I first did the record, I played it for a disc jockey friend of mine. And he said, “Where’s the hook?”

I said, “What are you talking about, the hook? It’s an instrumental record.”

He says, “You need a hook, man. You need to put something in it that gets people to, you know, listen to it.”

So, I took that advice and called a friend at Liberty Records—an engineer friend who had— Luckily enough, he had a tape of 30,000 people screaming “olé”. So, I put that right in front with the fanfare. And that became the hook. And then when that record took off as the first record on A&M Records, we were getting calls from distributors—record distributors—all over the country and all over the world.

So, my partner, Jerry Moss, was more of the business end of it. And you know, we gathered these distributors. And to just—you know, when the door opens for you, really interesting things happen. Because we got a call from our distributor in Washington, DC. He says, “Man, you guys got a smash. This Acapulco 1922′s a monster.”

I said, “Man, you are on the wrong side!” (Laughs.) You know? Lonely Bull is on the other side, you know. So, like when things open for you, you know, they just kind of like go crazy for a while.

So, I thought about—you know, you need momentum in this business. And certainly luck plays a part in it. Timing plays a big part in it. You know, I think if we tried to start A&M Records in today’s music industry, it would not have happened. It’s a whole different way of making records, distributing records, listening to records. You know. So, we got lucky. We were at the right time, at the right place, and we had the right idea.

Because I was recording for a major record company for a year and a half prior to A&M. I didn’t like the way I was being treated. I was treated like a number. And the recording studio was very uninviting. It was cold—white on white on white And you know, I had some negative experiences there that I filed away. And I said if I ever have a chance to have my own company, I would certainly be more conscious of the artists’ needs.

Jesse Thorn: I want to play a song that you co-wrote before the Tijuana Brass even existed, when you were just working for sort of a midsize record label. It’s one of the great pop songs of the ’60s: Sam Cooke and “Wonderful World”.

Music: “Wonderful World” from the album The Sounds of Sam Cooke by Sam Cooke.

Don’t know much about history

Don’t know much biology

Don’t know much about science book

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Don’t know much about the French I took

But I do know that I love you

And I know that if you loved me too

What a wonderful world this would be

(Music fades out.)

Herb Alpert: Oh, love that guy.

Jesse Thorn: Had you heard him sing before you met him?

Herb Alpert: Oh yeah! Well, you know, “You Send Me” was the number one record. And that was when Lou Adler and I, we got together at Keene Records. Lou Adler and I were staff writers. We met Sam, you know, shortly after that record came out. And watched him record, listened to him, learned a lot from him. The guy was brilliant. You know, he had instincts. He was a great soul singer from The Soul Stirrers. He was the lead singer with the great gospel group. And he taught me a lot. He didn’t know he was teaching, but he listened from the heart. You know, he listened for the real stuff.

He was auditioning an artist once for his label called SAR Records. And this guy from the Caribbean came in, who was really a good-looking guy with green eyes, and sat down, and started playing. And I was in the control room, and this guy was out in the studio. And Sam was in the control room with me and Lou, and he said, “What do you think?”

I said, “Man, I think this guy is great. This guy has—he looks good, he sounds good, I like the songs.”

He says, “Well, turn your back on this guy for five minutes and let me know what you think.”

So, I did. I turned the chair around and listened to him. And nothing was happening. I didn’t get him. (Laughs.)

And he says, “Hey man, people don’t care whether you’re Black or White or what kind of echo chamber you’re using. It’s a cold piece of wax. It either really makes it or it don’t.”

Whenever I auditioned artists at A&M, it was always with my eyes closed. I didn’t want to be intimidated. I didn’t want somebody dancing like Michael Jackson around me to, you know, make a decision whether I like the music or not. So, it was a great lesson for me. And Lou and I and Sam, you know, wrote this, “Wonderful World”. Which, oddly enough—I don’t think people know this—it was a demo, man. It was just something that Sam did to see if that song would work.

So, it was a demo, it was filed away at Keene Records, in their library. And then when Sam left Keene Records, and he was recording for RCA, and all of a sudden his career took off again with the hit records he had—Keene Records pulled this record out and released it. And oddly enough it became, (chuckling) you know, one of the biggest records Sam ever had.

Jesse Thorn: We’re going to take a quick break. When we come back: in the late ’60s, near the height of his success as a solo artist, Herb Alpert had a crisis. He couldn’t write new music. In fact, he couldn’t even play his instrument. We’ll talk about what brought it on and how he overcame it. It’s Bullseye from MaximumFun.org and NPR.

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(Music ends.)

Transition: Thumpy synth with light vocalizations.

Jesse Thorn: It’s Bullseye. I’m Jesse Thorn. My guest is Herb Alpert. The trumpeter and co-founder of A&M Records has just released the new album, 50.

I know that in the late 1960s you had kind of an artistic existential crisis. How did you sort of lose the feel for what you were doing or fall off the tracks of, you know, where you were headed?

Herb Alpert: Well, for one thing, you know, I had the American dream come true. And I didn’t feel good. I was financially set. I had—you know, my name was out there, had notoriety. And my neck was tense, and the feeling inside my body was not real. So, I mean, I had to at some point come to grips with that.

I was in Germany, actually. We were doing concerts in—I don’t remember the city in Germany. But I had this out of body experience. I was on stage playing; I wasn’t having a great time playing. But all of a sudden, I was in the third row looking at myself, and I was thinking to myself—

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“Why is this guy unhappy?” You know? So, when I came to that “aha”, I decided I was going to do whatever I had to do—throw my horn into the Pacific Ocean, sell my half of A&M Records. And I just wanted to find out who in the heck Herb Alpert is and where he’s going with his life and see if he can make some sense out of it. And in that period, it was just really hard for me to play the instrument. Because I was going through a divorce, and the horn was not talking.

I mean, I was starting to stutter through the— So, I couldn’t play a note that started in the right moment. It was b-b-b-b-b. You know, I was stuttering. So, I had to work that out. And this took, you know, several years before I made any sense out of it, so I could have fun again. Luckily enough, I found this teacher in New York named Carmine Caruso, who taught me the physics of playing the instrument. And that’s the thing that really saved me.

Jesse Thorn: In what way did it save you?

Herb Alpert: Well, he taught me that—what he did was he likened the musician to the athlete, and you had to sync your body rhythms to time. And he never played trumpet a day in his life. He was a flute player, and he played saxophone. (Chuckles.) But these exercises taught me that there’s—this is a little technical, but there’s no difference between if you’re moving a half step, or an octave, or three octaves up. The distance between those two notes are exactly the same if you time them. So, these exercises that he had, you know, kind of worked that out. And you know, at this moment in my life, it’s easier for me to play than it was, you know, 50 years ago.

Jesse Thorn: I mean, it’s remarkable to me that this—that there was such a deep relationship between the physical part of this crisis and the emotional part that, you know, this thing that was going on for you when you were like facing down something that I think a lot of successful artists face down—which is like, “Oh, I’m successful and I’m still the same person. Like, whatever it was that was driving me towards success is still—I’m still scared of it. Or you know, it’s still pushing me to do things. And I have the success, so that wasn’t the answer that I thought it might be.”

Herb Alpert: Yeah. Well, I never thought it was going to be the elixir. But I always felt that, you know, getting that American dream come true and making life a little more comfortable for me and having, you know, A&M—the reputation that we had was beautiful. I thought all that would factor into me being a little more in touch with myself, which I wasn’t. So, I needed to get in touch with, you know, my core. And that just took some time; it took a lot of work. And I think it was well worth it.

I wanted to make sure that I was—what I didn’t want to do was wake up, you know, when I was 50 or 60 and say, “Why didn’t I?” So, I was 31 or so at the time, 32. And I just took the—it seemed like the road less traveled. I wanted to go—you know, go digging, do an excavation on Herb Alpert. (Laughs.) And it took some time, and it was good. It was a great experience, and I’m certainly better off for it.

Music: “Tijuana Taxi” from the album !!Going Places!! by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass—a chipper, vibrant trumpet number with a playful beat.

(Music fades out.)

Jesse Thorn: Was it hard for you not to compare yourself? Like, if you’re hanging out with Dizzy Gillespie—you know, one of the greatest trumpeters of all time. Like, when I say one, I mean like top three or five, you know? Or if you’re producing a record for Stan Getz, or you’re at Frank Sinatra’s house. (Laughs.)

Herb Alpert: Yeah, I was.

Jesse Thorn: Which I know you’ve been to Frank Sinatra’s house. Is it hard for you to remember that like you had a thing to offer to the world that was about you that maybe was different? Like, that you didn’t have to be a lousy Dizzy Gillespie. You could be a really fantastic Herb Alpert?

[00:30:00]

Herb Alpert: Yeah, I think that’s the whole goal as an artist. You try to get up to your own water level. And these people you mentioned—including Sinatra, man—they were unpretentious people. I mean, we all know—you know, everyone had this idea of what these people were like. But I mean, Dizzy and Sinatra and Stan Getz, they were just like regular folks that, you know, had this extraordinary talent. But the insecurity was there with (chuckles) all of them that I met.

The only one that I met that was like—I didn’t feel it—was Louis Armstrong. I played with him one night. I was doing—I was the MC of the Kraft Music Hall. And Louis and I played together, and I interviewed him. He was like one of the only guys that his personality came right through that instrument. I mean, just the way Louis was—he was like a delight. He was fun, he was upbeat, he was… he was special. He was—you know, he was the guy—do you know how scatting started? You know, that when a jazz artist takes a tune and goes ba-dee-ba-da ba-woo-ba ba-doo-ba-doo-ba, you know, on the song?

It was like—the story goes like in 1929 or so, Louis was recording. He had the lead sheet on the—what do you call it? The—you know, so he could see the lead sheet? And the lead sheet fell. And instead of him, you know, stopping the recording, he started scatting on the tune. (Chuckles.) And you know, that was the genesis of, you know, scatting. So… but all these people that I’ve met through the years, they’re all, you know, regular folks that can do extraordinary things.

Jesse Thorn: So, you sold—you and your partner sold A&M for a quagillion dollars, 20/25 years ago.

Herb Alpert: You’re not going to hit on me for some money, now are you? (Laughs.)

Jesse Thorn: No, no, not at all. I promise.

You sold A&M for a quadrillion dollars 20/25 years ago. And you are, as you sit here now, 80. Am I right?

(Herb confirms.)

Do you feel like you have to, you know, put mountains in front of yourself and climb them, still? Or do you feel like you are secure in, you know, your moment-to-moment and day-to-day that’s satisfying enough for you?

Herb Alpert: Yeah, I love what I’m doing. You know, I wake up all excited about—well, one, seeing my wife, who’s my muse. And—

Jesse Thorn: And a really brilliant singer, herself.

Herb Alpert: She’s a brilliant singer. She’s a brilliant person. She’s—she changed my life. She really did open it up into something that it probably would not have been without her.

I like what I’m doing. You know, I got to the point where I’m satisfied playing music. I like doing concerts around the country. We have a group—Lani and I have a group together that we’ve been playing together for the last nine years. It’s all pretty much spontaneous, except for when we play a little Tijuana Brass medley. She’ll do a little Brasil ‘66 type medley.

Jesse Thorn: She was the lead singer of Brasil ’66, with (inaudible).

Herb Alpert: Yeah, she was the lead singer. That’s how I met Lani in 1966. Lani was the lead singer. My partner, Jerry Moss, and I auditioned them. And they started traveling with us for a period of time. They opened the show for us. And it was the height of The Tijuana Brass, so we were playing for 20,000 people at a crack, and they had all that exposure. Then I produced the first few albums for them. And it’s been great. Lani and I have been married for the last 41 years. And so, I have no complaints. Are you looking for a complaint from me?

Jesse Thorn: Yeah, what’s your complaint? Come on, let’s hear the complaints!

Herb Alpert: Ah, the complaint is the—

Jesse Thorn: You didn’t hear? The name of the show’s The Complaints Department.

Herb Alpert: Yeah, well, I’ll tell you, man—there’s just some terrible things happening in the world, and that’s—I think we can all complain about that.

Jesse Thorn: Well, Herb Alpert, I really appreciate you taking the time to come on Bullseye—without complaint, I should add.

Herb Alpert: I appreciate it.

Jesse Thorn: Herb Alpert. What a charmer. And let me tell you—you couldn’t see him: as handsome as he is charming. Almost impossibly handsome. His new album is called 50. Let’s go out on another track from it. This is “Are You Lonesome Tonight”.

Music: “Are You Lonesome Tonight” from the album 50 by Herb Alpert—a lilting, wistful number.

(Music continues under the dialogue.)

[00:35:00]

Jesse Thorn: That’s the end of another episode of Bullseye. Bullseye is created from the homes of me and the staff of Maximum Fun, in and around greater Los Angeles, California. Here at my house: my dog, Junior, has recently discovered burying bones. Like, the most classic dog activity of all time. It is very annoying.

Our show is produced by speaking into microphones. Our senior producer is Kevin Ferguson. Our producers are Jesus Ambrosio and Richard Robey. Our production fellow is Daniel Huecias. Our video editor is Daniel Speer. We get booking help from Mara Davis. Our interstitial music is by DJW, also known as Dan Wally. Our theme song is called “Huddle Formation”. It was written and recorded by The Go! Team. Thanks to them and to their label, Memphis Industries.

Bullseye is on Instagram, where you can find pictures from behind the scenes and all kinds of other stuff. @ BullseyeWithJesseThorn. We’re also on Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. And I think that’s about it. Just remember, all great radio hosts have a signature sign off.

Promo: Bullseye with Jesse Thorn is a production of MaximumFun.org and is distributed by NPR.

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