Blue By Ninety - Beat State Week Featuring the Big House DJ, DJ Array

Episode Date: October 25, 2024

Justin and Tanner are joined by DJ Array who shares his favorite moments as the Big House DJ and takes a peek behind the curtain to show how DJing for 110,000 Michigan fans works.

All right, welcome back to Blue by 90. I'm Justin, joined by Tanner today, and it is Michigan, Michigan State week. We're going to try and be more positive on this pod. The last pod was quite negative for good reason. I'm not going to like, I'm not apologizing for that because they're really, it was in real life that like, I don't have anything to smile about meme um but uh you know hey we're we're changing our tune we are feeling good uh we've got dj ray coming on the pod here in a little bit so we'll get to that interview after we preview uh michigan michigan state right now um but tanner where where are your vibes at right now i'm gonna be honest this is a little bit of post-production magic we've already talked to d DJ here, Ray, and I'm going to keep it a stack. He made me feel better.

Breaking the fourth wall right now. He made me feel better, and we didn't even really talk about anything too crazy. We just talked about him being on the field, maybe for some better times in the big house. But I don't know. He gave me some good vibes, and, you know, I told myself, I don't think I'm just, he, he gave me some good vibes and you know, I told myself, I don't think I'm going to continue to predict Michigan winning by scoring 20 plus points, but I'm going to do it again. I don't care.

I'm back on board. And you know, I think with Michigan, you said it with DJ area, run the damn ball, run the gosh, darn football. Right. Not that hard. You don't have to over complicate things here and this is a and i think i saw this from our boy uh um fan josh on twitter uh he he made the point that over the last three games michigan state has zero sacks and has given up 11 so this is a game talking about both sides of the ball in the trenches on the line of scrimmage michigan should be able to control this football game and so i you know you can't have the back breaking turnovers we have no idea what the hell they're going to do with the quarterback position but just give it to call mollis 35 times i can

come up with much worse game plans or ideas than that i i definitely agree with you um i think also just going back to the vibes i i was like, all right, we're going to be at Pretzel Bell tomorrow night. As soon as the beer, as soon as the Hale IPA hits my lips. We might play us. I'll talk myself into it. Don't stop me. You cannot stop me. Well, the Spartans Illustrated guys there for a great dual pod for Rivals

for a Cause. Go to Rivalsforacause.org, please. Michigan State's kicking our ass right now, by the way. It's like they're dominating us in terms of dollars donated. So we need to pump that up. You know, you got to pump those numbers up. Our fan base is buying too many gosh darn fireworks. Yeah.

Which I went to Costco the other day. It's completely off topic, but they had fireworks. I'm like, does anyone know that it's October and they were full price it's halloween it's not fourth of july yeah it's very interesting but yeah yeah rivals for a cause i'm super excited for uh on friday the the podcast um that's always just a really good time and obviously you know some of the lesser games i mean you know week one was was great because it was the first weekend uh you know all the students are back so we did have a decent sized crowd to Texas. The, uh, podcast was absolutely electric. I had some friends that, uh, that came into town. I'm

really good friends with a guy that played at Texas in the two thousands. And, uh, so him and his, his guys came, one of his, uh, teammates came and it was a great time. And so the last few home games we haven't had for like a month, but you know, the last few home games we haven't had for like a month but you know the last few home games uh you know not not as uh big of a presence but man this one you feel like is going to be a lot of fun uh you know just walking around downtown ann arbor that the weather is truly hitting that fall that fall weather that we we know and love here in southeast michigan it's gonna be bumping downtown i can't wait man it's gonna be a great time regardless of the on-field results i think that's enough to just you know get me just ready to rock and roll i mean we've got pretzel belt tomorrow night big event there uh so starting at 6 p.m we'll be doing a live podcast followed by some michigan trivia

so really excited there and then straight into a night game tailgate on saturday i mean we we probably will die we're getting too too old to do this back-to-back days. I'm going to do it anyway. I'll feel terrible on Sunday. I don't care. You don't have a concert in Detroit. That's true. Last time I went straight from Pretzellville to a concert in Detroit

until like 4 in the morning, then straight to a nooner tailgate. And you beat me there. And I beat you there. I was there like 7 and you were already there and i beat you there i mean i was there like seven you're already set up some people are just built different you know some people probably changing a diaper or something you know but probably were i probably was and that delayed me but no it's going to be regardless i think it's going to be well can i just say this i just feel like there needs to be some some healing in this rivalry it's just like it should be fun when you say healing you mean like

us kicking the shit out of them on saturday because that's what i was thinking yes i prefer that outcome but i just mean the interactions between the fan bases and look i've not been an angel i feel like i've kind of put that aside as far as the last few years of kind of you know whatever i'll talk you know trash about football and stuff. But I feel like, I don't know, this is just such a – It's, like, gotten so personal. Like, I mean, like doxing people on Twitter. It's crazy, man. Yeah, it's too much.

Yeah, so I think that, you know, hopefully it can be something where it's amending of the bridges. How about that? There you go. Between the fan bases because, at the end of the day, yes, you don't like each other. You know, there's that hatred. But it should be something that is still fun because last year the Ohio State tailgate

I thought was very fun and we hate each other more than any other fan bases in sports right and so I think with the Michigan Michigan State rivalry you're an hour and 15 minutes away from each other and there's just so much anger and angst and uh disdain for each other and yeah I think that should be part of a rivalry but i also kind of hope that moving forward this thing could get to a point where it's not so toxic it just mean it's just mean-spirited you can like you can hate each other what i what i said actually on the podcast with the spartans illustrated people was like i wanted to be a john beeline and tom iso hatred, right?

Where it's like, that was where I thought that the rivalry was the best where both programs were really good. They, they went back and forth beating each other. You know, one year it's Michigan one year it's, it's Michigan state, or they, you know, flip-flopped even within the year. But then at the end of the day, both programs really respected each other iso and b liners respected each other you know i know iso has been on the record that he's like i hate those guys but like i love coach b right and so i think that you know at the end of the day that's what we're looking for is i can hate you i can want to win this game so bad we

just but at the end of the day let's shake hands after the game and not like fight you know what i mean so um so with that though i i do want to get into the game because absolutely i the other thing i want to hear your take on this i i want to hear your take on my take how about that okay i do that so exception it's an exception i think that this is going to feel like a rain game, but it's not even a rain game. It's just going to be ugly, and there's going to be turnovers and running. There will be no moisture, but it's going to feel like it is a sopping wet game. Will the players slip like they did at Washington?

They might, and they probably will. I don't think that's a bad take at all. I use the term inadvertently. I said said dog fight and i meant to say rock fight rock right right what's the difference between a dog fight and a rock fight i think with a dog fight it's like all right yeah i mean these guys are just playing their tails off and you know maybe the defenses are just battling i think in the rock face maybe the offenses are just making some mistakes right we're in a low scoring game um like we're our offenses are dumb as a rock is because that's how it feels but yeah we're being positive sorry sorry positivity yeah um stoppable object uh

movable force type game uh you know back to positive i had to think about that one you know it's like when i say when i say cross t's dot i's i have to think about that one. You know, it's like when I say cross-tease, dot eyes, I have to think about it for a second to make sure I'm not screwing it up. So, no, I agree with you. I think it's probably going to be a lower scoring affair. I think both offenses. I mean, I really like Aiden Child's game. Like, he throws a really pretty ball.

He makes some mistakes, but he also had the opportunity to grow. And we kind of talked about that with Davis Warren, was kind of pulled immediately once those mistakes continued to happen right but with aiden charles he's made some mistakes he's also i thought been been really good and i can see that you know why they're so excited about him uh coming over from oregon state with jonathan smith so yeah i think it's going to be a game where guys are going to make some plays uh probably not make plays more often not offensively um but i think for michigan again it just really comes down to the trenches uh offensive line has been has been

very brutal for the most part um but i thought they held up well in pass pro against illinois i thought tuttle just held onto the ball a lot so who knows what that looks like against michigan state and how detrimental that will be um if they just follow my game plan they'll run the ball 55 times and uh throw it i'm i'm honestly fine with that i legitimately feel like even if it's even if you're pounding and you get stuffed a few times you're gonna break through at some point like that's how much faith i have in colombo is like he's gonna shed a couple tackles at some point and so i know this offensive line hasn't been amazing but i i think that you know they have a chance to to dig down deep and honestly this team has a chance to prove to me and prove to this fan base like hey we do have some grit to us we do have some blue collar we

can dig down and fight even when our backs are against the wall and so you know they've got we've talked about it every week but they still keep getting opportunities to prove that right and so I'm looking to to see them hey it how much do you want to win this football game because I know that MSU wants to win it right I know that they do and I I'm looking and wondering, honestly, sadly, does Michigan want to win this football game? And if so, how badly? Yeah, no, I'm with you. I think the times that Michigan, Michigan State,

and not to diminish anything that Michigan State did under Mark D'Antonio because they were a really, really good program, probably a top-ten program in the country under D'Antonio. But I think the difference in that game a lot of the times was how he approached this football game. Yeah. Right. This is the biggest game for them every single year. And again, no shade, but for Michigan, it's not. And so, but you still have to find a way as a football team and as a football player to get amped up for this game. And it shouldn't be look coming off two losses here, but I have to imagine that it's still going to be pretty loud and raucous in that stadium,

because this is one, if you're going to just struggle all year and maybe win a game here or there, this is the one that you should say, Hey, we need to win this game, right? From, from all the way at the top of the athletic department all the way down to the bottom and the fan base collectively this is one that you want to win right so um you know i think it's going to be a scenario where yeah you know i don't know how i don't just what do you think man because i really i feel like i'm maybe being optimistic about how people are going to come on saturday to the game um to try to get behind these guys. But I don't know, man. I agree. I mean, it helps that it's a night game so people can come out. I think people care

still. Yeah, I'm going to be I'm going to have plenty of drinks on Saturday. So I'm going to do my part. I'll tell you that. I think, you know, I also do think that Michigan State fans will probably show up if I'm being honest, like they're more positive about their program right now than Michigan fans are. So I do hope that Michigan fans show up. I think at the end of the day, people are going to show up to the rivalry, right? I understand this is nothing compared to, you know, we're already at the same amount of losses in this season

as the last three years combined, right? So it's a tough pill to swallow right now for Michigan fans. But, you know, I hope that we can get up. If not, I just think that's a little sad, if I'm being honest. Like, I think that's sad, and that's not the fan base that I hope that we are. You know, and so it's something that I'm really hoping to see. Like, can Michigan fans get up for this game? And then also, like I said, can theigan fans get up for this game and then also like i said can the

michigan players get up right um i think uh i want to let's talk about some keys to the game as well um you already talked about uh running the damn running the damn ball that run the football you have to establish it honestly i'm looking for them in the first drive let's say they get the ball i don't care if it's on defense or if they start on D or start on O. They have to go out and score right away, and I want it to be mostly running the football, maybe a few dink and dunks to Colston, but it doesn't have to be crazy.

It doesn't have to be pretty. Just get it done. That's what I'm looking at. The other thing you talked about, Aiden Childs, I want to see our defensive line put him on his ass multiple times in the first drive. Yeah, no, I'm absolutely with you. I need to see, you know, need to see, as if he hasn't been doing it all year.

But I want to continue to see Josiah Stewart playing like a man possessed because he has been, I think, the best player on this team. Maybe it looks like Colston and Colell, but I think Josiah Stewart on this team. Maybe, maybe it walks like Colston and Colelle, but I think Josiah Stewart brings it every single game. The effort is honestly reminiscent of Aiden Hutchinson. Not saying that he is Hutch, but the, just the motor. Yeah. He's going 100 miles an hour every single play. Right.

Absolutely. I mean, he, you know, he gets held. He still causes a throw away on the quarterback against Illinois on, on Altmire. He's just a one-man wrecking crew. And, you know, again, this is an offensive line that has struggled. This was always going to be for Michigan State in 2024. The biggest concern was the interior on both sides of the ball, right, the trenches, as we call it. So I think to your point, yes,

Michigan needs to establish the line of scrimmage on the offense and defensive side of the ball. They need to be able to run the ball. They need to be able to run the ball. They need to be able to stay out of their own way. I'm sick of the dumb penalties. I'm sick of the dumb turnovers. Hold on to the football. I mean, if you're going to scramble, do not hold it like a loaf of bread. You need to have like 12 points of contact on that thing.

If it means you get one less yard, two less yards, I don't care. Like, you know, I'd rather keep the football. Yeah. It's a shocker, right? And real quick, Justin, to your point, the scripted drive coming out first whenever they get the ball on offense needs to be well executed and well designed. Because if you get down, you talk about the fans you're gonna have some

boo birds coming out the wind already kicking out of the place and i mean they're college kids and i'm not you know saying it's right if they're going to start booing you know you know where the boos are directed it's not at the players because they're college kids and yeah they get nil money whatever i don't care i'm still not a fan of booing at college games. But that's going to, to your point, take the wins out of these guys' sales. You think they don't hear it? You think that doesn't make them feel it? They bust their ass.

They bust their ass all day. There was a tweet out there, by the way, that was, I don't know if you saw it, but it was something going viral today about how momentum is not a real thing. I couldn't disagree more. Could not disagree more, especially in the college game when they're 19, 20, 21-year-old kids. Momentum is huge. You know what we should do? I just watched this.

It was on Netflix. It was like a 20-minute documentary about Trey Turner with the Phillies. You know where I'm going with this, right? He was in a slump. They paid him $300 million over 10 years, and he is one of the best players in baseball, and he's struggling. He's like 0 for his last 17. And what do the notoriously mean Philadelphia fans do?

They give him a standing ovation every single time he's up at the plate. And then he turns it around. His slash numbers were ridiculous the rest of the year, like 350, like 15 home runs. That shit means something. Right? And so, you know, sometimes guys get in their heads and that's, you know, a rest in peace to Greg Harden,

but that's why you have like a sports psychologist, psychologist, psychologist, psychologist. Good Lord, brother. I did not graduate college. Sports psychologist. Just to help these guys go through these tough times, right. Where you get down on yourself. I mean, dude, you know what your job, anybody like, Oh man, I'm i'm having a rough day am i good at this you get in your own head you can't

get out of your own way so maybe we need to come out with standing ovations for this team i don't know i i would love that i would love that you can positive reinforcement you can hold your guys accountable you know to an extent but also let them know that you're behind them 100 right so um all right let's do some predictions before uh we get to our interview with dj array um he gives a good prediction that we both like uh again breaking the fourth wall that we already interviewed but um so i i want to hear where where your head's at right now yeah i do think that michigan if they follow my game plan, as somebody who has been pretty decent in NCAA 25, if they give the ball to Colell and give him 25 to 30 carries and try to play complementary football,

I think that they can score a few touchdowns. Maybe you need a defensive touchdown or maybe you need a short field. I don't know. But I've got Michigan 24, Michigan State 20. I just can't not pick the guys in this one i uh i agree i'm gonna go this is going to be an obscure score but i'll tell you why i'm gonna go 17 16 because i don't know if you saw the michigan state game last week but they scored or they hit like six field goals right so? So I think they're going to kick three field goals.

We'll do a little bend but don't break defense. They're going to kick three field goals and a touchdown. And then we score two tuds in a field goal. We win it 17-16. That's going to be my prediction here. Okay. Listen, we've got good vibes, right? I'm back.

I'm back on board. We've got vibes, right? I'm back on board. So I'm back on board. You know, I'm looking at around my room. The 2023 schedule is up on my wall because you know, why not? I've got stuff. Look at this guy, Blake Corham buying me. I mean, what is a lovely human being? I've got the photo of the aftermath of the fans on the field at the Michigan-Ohio State game last year. I just, you know, I feel something.

I agree. And, you know, shout out to our friend Caleb. He's been kind of on our ass a little bit this week. And starting at the end of the Illinois game, he flipped the switch immediately, and I had not. I'm still sulking. And he's like, this still means something. And he is 100% correct.

It may be sometimes difficult to get up in this scenario when you're sitting at four and three and you're playing another team that's four and three and they seem like they're very excited about that four and three and michigan fans we're not so excited about it but sometimes in life you got to do things that are difficult and even if you got to put a fake smile on your face man you just got to fake until you make it so that's where i'm at i'm gonna just be you know vibes are high uh until kickoff and then i'll probably be biting my fingernails hoping to god that they win that game same i'll be i'll be in the same boat but i what i do know is for the next 48 hours vibes will be extremely high um we'll be at pretzel well again uh for rivals for

a cause.org please go there and contribute if you have the means. We've got to kick MSU's ass in that, so please help us out. And shout out to North Peak Brewing. We'll have a lot of Hail IPAs tomorrow. Actually, Truly and Suncruiser will be there tomorrow as well at Pretzel Bell. So that's a new addition to Pretzel Bell. They'll also be at the tailgate on Saturday. So thank you to truly sun cruiser uh

thank you to hail ipa we've got a blue by 90 we've got the blue by 90 beer uh as well and so we're gonna have some fun uh at the tailgate on saturday too so come check us out we'll be in the chrysler parking lot and thank you to truly and sun cruiser thank you to north peak and the hail ipa go to rivals for a cause.org let's kick it to our interview with dj array and we've got a special guest joining us dj array the official michigan dj how you doing dj array i'm lovely man how are you i'm great i'm great it's good to have you on you are truly a friend of the pod, friend of the program, friend of Blue by 90. So we appreciate you. You know, a regular at the Blue by 90 tailgate. You'll be spinning this weekend with DJ Mainframe.

So we had to get you on the pod to talk a little bit about it. You excited for this weekend? I'm excited, man. It's you know, the whole season's been exciting, but every game day I look forward to Saturdays, especially in Ann Arbor, man, because, like you said, the tailgates, you know, everybody's just in town, ready to have a good time. Everybody want to turn up, you know, so it's like we look forward to Saturdays in Ann Arbor for sure.

Yeah. I mean, obviously this season hasn't gone the way that we've wanted to so far, but, you know, you, you go through a natty last year and you know, the vibes are at an all time high, you know, during, during the last year, like, tell me from your perspective, like, let's say even going back to the Ohio state game last year, you know, obviously we see it in Ann Arbor too, but you kind of see it from a different lens. Like, what does it feel like being, you know, one of the DJs, whether you're at the entrance, whether you're on the field, any of that? What are the vibes coming that you see from your lens as the DJ?

I think that it's just it's really it's really surreal, man, because it's like everybody is just on a high. You know, everybody is just so, so pumped up from no matter if it's a night game or a noon game. Like, you know, early in the morning, people are ready to go. And that energy really is what brings, as a DJ, my energy up. You know, because once you see how invested people are into the game, into the atmosphere, into just everything that's going on, and then they have fire music going with it you know it's just like it's just it's an unstoppable unbelievable feeling that people just can't replicate whether it's ohio state or the natty or even even this weekend michigan state is gonna be

crazy regardless you know what i mean so uh from a dj standpoint it's like the people feed us, even though I'm feeding the people. It's an even exchange. You know what I'm saying? For sure. For sure. Go ahead, Tanner. Do you have any autonomy? Or is that kind of, I mean, is there certain points where you've got to play certain music?

Or does the university and the program kind of give you some control? What does that process look like? Obviously, it's got to be clean music. But what does that kind of look like in that relationship with the football program? Yeah. So, so everything does have to be clean. Like you said, um, no, no profanity because ultimately it is a family environment, right? Um, so we got to have clean music, but for the most part, it is a free range type of thing, except for things that are scripted or things that need to happen, like such as, you know, the Mr. Brightside or the Seven Nation Army or, you know, things of

that nature that are university staples. But, you know, during pregame warmups, when the players are on the field, you know, sometimes the players will give me certain songs that they want to hear. But, you know, being a DJ and trying to keep up with the things that are trending, I try to, you know, incorporate the new things that I know that they like. So there's really no specific format that I have to follow. But except for those like scripted things, like I said, like the Seven Nation Army and things like that. So even during timeouts, I get to play whatever I want, whether it's a old school 80s song or a new song that just came out on tiktok or whatever it may be you're playing hot to go at this point or or what i played it a couple times i haven't had

the chance to play it in the stadium yet but um it's dead what is what is that am i out of the loop you don't know the h-o-t-t-o-g-o maybe i've heard it man chaperone i know who that is through tiktok but i i just i feel like you know music is passing me by i used to be on dat pit back in the Maybe I've heard of him. Chaparral, man. Chaparral. Oh, I know who that is through TikTok, but I just – I feel like music is passing me by. I used to be on Dat Pit back in the day. I was listening to Mac Miller like 2009, and a lot of these guys before they blew up. And now I'm like, I have no idea what's going on.

You are a big Sabrina Carpenter espresso. I do like Sabrina. I have new albums, pretty nice. Big fan of Sabrina's. I'm sure my wife is going to love to hear that on the pod. And she makes great music. You know what I mean? Just a big fan of hers.

Yeah. No, I mean, it is funny because Jacqueline and I talk about it all the time that it's, you know, you go back and forth, right? You need to play some of the newer stuff, but also you have to realize that a lot of the people in the crowd are you know 40 50 60 70 years old right so what's that what are the things that uh you know you got to play to 110 000 people uh you know it's different than you know when you're at skeeps on a thursday night and you're the dj there you know that some of the

things that are new those are going to be what gets the the kids going but then you're the DJ there, you know that some of the things that are new, those are going to be what gets the kids going. But then when you're playing to 110,000 of all demographics, of all ages, it's a lot different, right? Yeah, it's very different. And like you said, the majority of the Michigan crowd in that 110,000, like you said, is an older crowd, whether it be, you know, third, 40 and up or 50 and up you know and that's that's the the major fan base that we have but at the same time you know you do have the

students that are there in the student section um you do have the players that want to actually get into the game that are on the sideline that want to vibe out during the game so um it's definitely a task to try to try to not please everybody but try to incorporate songs throughout the entire day that everybody can kind of you know resonate with and say hey oh you know i remember that from 99 or i remember that from you know 2004 or whatever it may be you know for sure for sure what's uh what's something that somebody that doesn't really know what goes on behind the scenes of a game day, what, what's something that they might find interesting that you, maybe you go, you know, through that nobody else understands, or, you know, whether it's just

from the DJ booth on the field, from the DJ booth up top. You know, I do think a lot of people don't know that there's two djs going on right one in the booth and one down low right right that is correct so um you know my guy pj so normally we interchange so it'll be so from that you know behind the scenes portion that you mentioned there's obviously a script that you know goes into the game from start to finish you know and uh that's the whole game day script, you know, whether it be during timeouts or who's going to come on the field and speak during win or whatever it may be. So during with the script, it's like we all have these designated points of time that we're going to do our specific thing. So whether it be the booth DJ upstairs, PJ,

he'll do his thing, you know, during a kickoff, like it'll be just kickoff hype music. And then once it's a big timeout, that's like three minutes long. You know, the director say, hey, Ryan, you go, you take the whole time out. You do the whole three minutes, you know, try to get people involved, get the energy higher with the songs that are playing and things like that. So and that all goes on on the headset. I mean, I know people probably don't see that we have headsets on during the time. But, you know, all that's being communicated in our ear while having a headphone in the other ear with our music. So that's probably one thing that people don't see either unless, you know, they know that's what it is.

So it's a lot of things that go on behind the scenes, and it's just a really big atmosphere and a really big show that gets put on with the little intricate things that people don't see, you know? Have you ever, you know, picked a song selection depending upon the opponent? Maybe a little trolling to the opponent. I've always wondered. I mean, I can't think of anything off the top of my head. I think you probably need to do a little research, right? It's almost like when guys are researching some trash talk, you know, you get the things you hand out to the student section of like, hey, here's X, Y, Z and these guys.

But I'm sure, you know, you could probably come up with some things. So have you done that before? So actually, when USC came, when USC was here, you know, I know you're familiar with Kendrick, right? So obviously Kendrick's from L.A., you know, UST is in L.A., right? So during, I think it was like the last minute or last two minutes of the game, you know, it was a break that happened. I don't remember if it was a 30-second timeout or a commercial timeout. But, you know, I mentioned to the director, I'm like, hey, I got a song.

I want to play Not Like Us because obviously we won that game, right? Yeah. It was a close game. It was a battle. But that was just one of those scenarios where it's just like, oh, what can I play to kind of troll the opposing team that came here and they lost? So, you know, like I said, USC from L.A., Kendrick from L.A.,

they're not like us. And it's like, y'all not like us because we won. So, you know what I mean? I almost thought I said, USC from L.A., Kendrick from L.A., they're not like us. And it's like, y'all are not like us because we won. So, you know what I mean? I almost thought – I wasn't at that game, unfortunately. I had a wedding. But I feel like – Bandful weddings, by the way. Bandful weddings.

Hey, man, it is what it is. I know you've had some too, Justin. It's unfortunate, but it's part of life. You know, I don't know how much country gets played, but there's a song from Luke Combs called Ain't No Love in Oklahoma. I feel like that might be a good one with Lincoln Riley leaving OU, maybe Trillium a little bit. I don't know.

That would be a good one. Yeah. You got to do some deep dives into this. Maybe we can get you some intel and see if we can help in any way. Listen, we're all prone to learning, man. We all need to learn. So whatever you can throw my way, I'll take it for sure. I love it.

How much of of so you mentioned the script that you know is from the the first part of like the first opening you know when the gates open all the way till the game's done and much longer than that honestly how much actually ends up going by the script and how much is like just in the moment live whether it's you the band whoever you know a video how much of that just ends up being like on the on the spot yeah it's it's sometimes it's on the fly because football is a game of situations right football is a situational game so um yeah it'll be a script written with the timeouts and everything designated to who's going to do what, whether it's me, the band or the booth DJ or whatever it may be. But it can all change in a snap. You know, it can all change in an instant.

So I would say maybe 80 percent, 75 percent of the time we try to stick to script, you know. But like I said, it's all situationalational and if a big play happens on our end and we need the crowd involved then we'll we'll try to deviate from you know what was really on the script to something that is more hype to get the crowd involved whether it be me playing a song or one of the the videos that you see on the video board like the crowd rousers or something like that so uh you know it's it's all situational but i would say maybe 75 percent of the time we try to stick to what we actually uh produce prior to the game kickoff what's the what's the craziest environment you you've been a part of at the big house i mean i

know you've done some big games but there's been a few of the last few years that kind of come to mind but i'm not sure if you if you ded those games. Yeah, so the one that will always stick in my mind, and it's probably what elevator-like, you know, trampolining me to another level was the very first year we beat Ohio State, which was, I think it was 2022? 2021. Yeah. 2021.

And that was, you know, it was snowing outside. It was cold, you know, and we hadn't beaten them in years. And that was like the first time that, you know, we got a victory. And it was like I wasn't even on the field at that point. I was still upstairs. You know what I mean? I was still playing music upstairs at that point. And just seeing the way that the crowd rushed the field. And I don't know if you remember, that was when the Pump It Up was like – Pump It Up went crazy that day.

Pump It Up went crazy. Listen, Ryan Day still, when he hears Pump It Up, he goes into like PTSD mode. Well, and it's also the TV broadcast just showing all of the sad Ohio State fans who have to drive four hours back home in the snow and that song's playing. Oh, that's incredible. But it's, yeah, that day, I think that day was the craziest for me. I will probably put that one

along with probably last season, Ohio State. I mean, that's the biggest game of the year in all of football, all of sports. And it's like when those games that we won, the energy on the field was one thing, but even just the energy after the game outside, like at the bars that night, just people in the city, you know, it was just, it was crazy, man. So those two games will probably be top three all time for me as a DJ that I've ever been a part of. Well, I've got to say, too, last year, Ohio State, probably the loudest I've ever heard the big house on an interception. Yeah, that was great. And then, you know, you're you're you're trying to get to the field and it's just pandemonium.

And then, you know, Mr. Brightside comes on when you're on the field. And then I think they I don't know if you did this, but I don't know because I don't know. Are you still manning at that point when the crowd's on the field? Or like is that kind of taken over by up in the suites or the box? That was upstairs. Yeah, that was upstairs. Yeah, because they started playing the SpongeBob Sweet Victory.

That was electric. I was just like running around on the field trying to find anybody I knew. And I didn't, but it was still amazing. You know, just like 70,000 people on the field somehow. And the big house still looks full. It's unbelievable. I know. Exactly. It was amazing. So this weekend, so you're at Skeeps tonight. You'll be at Pretzel Bell tomorrow, right? So Pretzel Bell, we've got a big event of our own at Pretzel Bell, you know,

partnered with North Peak Brewing for Rivals for rivals for cause we'll be doing a live podcast there with Spartans illustrated. I know you'll be at the men's basketball game at Chrysler arena first, then going to be a pretzel bell. So we might have to hang around Tanner. Maybe, you know, it's a night game on Saturday, so maybe we can go downstairs and, you know, get loose on the dance floor a little bit uh you never know you never know tanner i'm not opposed i am a new father guys but uh so yes i mean hey listen we'll talk

to the wife it'll be okay i i always just say i'm going down for one drink and then like seven drinks later you know it's like i don like seven drinks later, you know, it's like, I don't know what happened to traffic, you know. Got to go home. Got to go home. I hit pitchers. It was a deal. I was losing money if I didn't buy the pitcher, Justin.

Exactly. But then Saturday, so you will be at the gate. Which gate are you at? Gate 10. So they have me at the student entrance. So that's the good part about it is that it's when all the students come in and gate 10, music's playing, energy's high, you know, the students come in ready.

So gate 10. Gate 10. So you're there pregame. And then, obviously, we've got a night game. So I wanted to ask you this. Like, when you have been on the field and you get in there and, you know, all of a sudden it's dark, the lights come on. You know, now they've got the flashing lights with the maize and blue when they shut the lights down. You know, what's that like? You know, we we see it from the stands, which is amazing in itself.

But from you seeing it from the field, what's that like when you're like, all right, I've got the keys to firing up 110,000 people at night. They've all been drinking all day. They're ready to party. You've got to feel like you've got all the power in the world, right? It's like I said, man, it's so surreal, man. And it's like when you think about it, it's a lot of pressure because you don't want to mess up right you don't want to do anything that's like uh boo type thing but yeah right you know it when the lights go down and it's like it's really a weight that gets put on you but at the same time it's

like once you hit that one song or you hit that one thing and everybody starts singing along and like it's total it's total crowd control you know and like just not being in control but just having the key like you said the keys to the the keys to the car man it's it's crazy like i can't i can't even explain it you know what i mean and like being being 110 000 sometimes 115 or right whatever whatever big game it is. And nobody can match that, you know, and I will always pride myself on saying that, you know, I do that. And I've been a part of that for for a couple of years, you know, several years at this point.

And it's like nobody can ever take that from you. You know what I mean? So great feeling every time. And like I said, we look forward to it every week, man, every week. Look, I i gotta just say this real quick it's a lot of pressure when you're on the offscore i'm here at the tailgate like if if he has to yell that bro i get yelled at and then like i walk away from the speaker with my phone because i've got to go you know take a leak or whatever it's a lot of pressure obviously you're

not dealing with those circumstances up you know on the field there you know, sometimes you play a song and they're like, I'm not really feeling this. It's like, well, that's, you know. It kind of is like that, though, because, you know, they put us on the screen now. You know, they put our name. They put my name up there. Yeah, so it's like if I mess up and they see, oh, that was DJ Ray, you know, it's the same thing, but that's never happened.

You know, I try to practice and do my best. Yeah, I get into, like, tunnel vision. I'm like, all right, I'm going to play this genre. And then I just, like – because, like, we're at the tailgate. Like, I feel like there's a couple songs that are, like, great for, like, you could lift weights to it. You could drink to it. You get hyped to it.

And for me, that is kickstarter harvard motley crew and i don't i don't feel like the tailgate vibes with it and also welcome to the jungle just two great stadium songs and i just feel like i get just torn to shreds every time it's just and i'm like guys these are classics give me a break here you know it's always tough i mean that is definitely the tough thing that like these djs you don't realize also like one thing ryan i i gotta give you a ton of props for is you'll on thursday night play to a bunch of students at ski right and that's a totally different genre of music from friday night at pretzel bell then saturday you know back to students in the uh you know in the uh the at

the entrance but you'll also be at our tailgate djing before that right and like so you gotta know our vibe sometimes you're on the field for 110 000 so it's like you know to your point tanner like you may love that but the crowd may not right so you gotta know you gotta always always gotta know your crowd right exactly you gotta know your crowd because you know everybody does not like the same stuff and it's very apparent in 2024 people voice it very very loudly these days you know so it's uh like you say you gotta know who you're playing for and that's in every situation um and i try to i try to do my best with that. You know what I mean?

So, like you said, all these events this weekend, it's going to be a busy weekend, but everything is going to be different and you got to cater to everybody. Real quick, Jess, I've done this like twice now, but I just want to say I think you probably don't have anybody who's drunk coming up to you while you're on the field holding their phone on Spotify for a song they want to play because I've done that to you before.

I've done that to you a couple times because it's a lot easier than speaking. Right? Like, I'm just like, it's just Sabrina Carpenter espresso, and it's just on my phone, and I'm just like. Yeah, do it. Yeah, one of those moves. So, hopefully nobody does that in the student section too yet. No, no.

I've never got that in the student section. But at the bars, though, definitely. I've done that to you at Pretzel Bell, and I apologize. But it's just the easiest way to get that message across. It's all good, man. All right. Last question here for you. One, you've got men's basketball kicking off their first home.

I know it's still an exhibition game, but first home game under Dusty May. How are you feeling about them? And then second question would be, how are you feeling about the game on Saturday? I'm kind of excited, man, to see what this new team is bringing. Just because I watched the charity game versus Oakland, you know,

and it's, you know, no shade to Oakland, none of that. But, you know, you put up 94 points in an exhibition game, that means you're moving the ball fast. That means you're moving the ball quick and you're hitting a lot of shots. So to see that, it makes me hope that it'll equate to a season-long thing. Now, I know every game is not going to be perfect, but it's really exciting to see that these guys are actually ready to play and actually ready to ball because obviously these past couple of years haven't been the best.

But with a new coach, new team, new environment, look, really looking forward to men's basketball, trying to show us, you know, what what everything is, what they've been doing over the summer, you know, practicing and things like that. For sure. We're pretty hyped for Dusty, man. I mean, it's – I met him too. He's cool, man. Real cool dude. Really cool dude.

Just seems like a nice, genuine guy, you know, and feels like, you know, he probably already hates, like, the B-line, the people that are, you know, saying, oh, we're back to the beeline days, you know, but just, he's got to be his own guy. Right. But it does feel like, I mean, obviously we're just going to be excited because it's something new there and things didn't go well last year, but I do, you know, I really like his the way he's going about things already. And they've got a legit squad this year.

They do. They do. They do. And then, you know, if we're talking about Saturday, you know, Saturday is going to be obviously crazy, like we said. You know, in-state rivalry game, no matter whose record is what, it's still going to be like, listen, it's going to be a brawl because, you know, it's in-state rivalry. Everybody wants to win. I'm going to go 24-17 us.

I like that a lot. I might steal that. I know that's what I was thinking, so that's pretty good. Yeah, so, you know. We got to run the damn ball. We got to be tougher. We got to, you know. We got to run the damn ball. We got to be tougher. We got to, you know, we got to be gritty. So, I like where your head's at.

But, all right, man. Well, I appreciate you joining us today. You know, we'll see you at Pretzel Bell tomorrow night, Friday night. And then we'll see you at the tailgate Saturday. And, of course, at gate 10 on Saturday if you're a student heading over to him. So we appreciate you, man. Tell everybody where they can follow you at. It's DJ Array everything, man.

So DJ Array on Instagram. My TikTok is actually DJ Array Go Blue. And then I really don't use Twitter that much, but my Twitter is DJ Array as well. So those are all the places you can follow me at. And like I said, every week I'm somewhere in Ann Arbor. So keep your eyes open. You never know where you're going to run into this, man. I just got him on.

I'm like, oh, shit. What's going on? I love it. I love it. He's everywhere. He is everywhere. He is Mr. Ann Arbor. But DJ Ray, we appreciate you joining, man.

Thank you, man. Of course, man. Of course. For us, you can follow us at Blue by 90 on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, at Blue by 90 Podcast on YouTube and blueby90.com. We appreciate you. Go Blue. Go Blue.