The Josh Innes Show - A Day Of Calamities

Episode Date: February 26, 2025

Let me tell you, Tuesday was a true day of calamities. Allow me to explain... Also, here's some advice from ol' Uncle Josh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The following was recorded from inside an ice plunge. Ah! Woo! Okay. All right. When a Coors Light is cold enough, the mountains on the can turn blue. So the next time you want a cold lager, cold filter, cold package Coors Light, just wait until those glorious mountains on the can turn blue.

It's easy to say that fast when you're freezing cold. Spring is here, and you can now get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? You can't get a well-groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parmesan delivered. Sunshine? No. Some wine? Yes. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now.

Alcohol and select markets. See app for details. Whether you own a bustling hair salon or a hot new bakery, Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. See app for details. Whether you own a bustling hair salon or a hot new bakery, you need business insurance that can keep up with your evolving needs. With flexible coverage options from TD Insurance, you only pay for what you need. TD, ready for you. Well, hello, friends.

Welcome in. Glad you're listening to the podcast and telling all your friends about it. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me. What are you? I'm unemployed, man. Sitting around in my bedroom recording podcasts for you because I love you and I care about you and we care about each other. And that's because not enough people care about us.

So here you are. So here's a funny story for you. Let me share one with you today. So as you know, I stopped getting my severance last week. So now we're kind of in this limbo because we're not going to stay in this house very much longer, but we don't really know where to go, right? Like my dad's like, come stay with us in Louisiana and I'm like well I could but we got a dog and you got giant dogs and it's a whole deal and you know so we're kind of in this like limbo right now because we got about another month in this place and then after that it's kind of like well we could go another month here but that's another $2,500 in rent down the drain that now I don't really have let me tell you a mistake I made.

So, look, and this could just be the mistakes I've made podcasts with Josh, but I share these mistakes with you because I've made them and I don't want you to make mistakes and be like me. Just like when Mickey Mantle tried to explain to all the kids when he was dying of cirrhosis or liver disease or whatever killed Mickey Mantle. He was on TV like, hey, I went out and drank and did all this shit my whole life, and now look at me. I'm like in my 60s, and I'm about to die, and kids, don't be like me, was his message, right?

That was Mickey Mantle's message. Don't be like me. Well, first off, I'd say that you lived a pretty cool fucking life, and I'd like to be like you. Like, there's different examples of don't be like me. Like, if you're some guy who got into meth when he was 16 and had rotted out teeth in a life that never went anywhere, yeah, don't be like me. Like if you're some guy who got into meth when he was 16 and had rotted out teeth and a life that never went anywhere. Yeah, don't be like that guy.

But if you're Mickey Mantle who drank his way through Major League Baseball, one of the greatest players ever, slayed ass, was on top of the world, and then you died like in your 60s. Well, I'd say you had a pretty good fucking time doing it. But that's neither here nor there. So I do like to offer up advice because I have lived a life of mistake at times. I've had great highs. I've had lows. I've been in between. It is what it is. But I will share this with you, just a little piece of knowledge, just a little piece of information here. So I took the job in St. Louis knowing that it was paying me a base salary that was considerably more than the base salary I was going to get paid with iHeart. My base salary with iHeart was going to be good.

It had gone from one of the lowest base salaries I'd ever had because I needed a job. And they're like, here's what the pay is. Take it or leave it. And I said, well, I got to take it. I'm out of work. This will get me back into the game. There was a new format for me doing classic rock or doing music instead of talk, all that. So I took it, spent two years there and was very successful. They wanted to offer me more money. And I'd say that the raise that they offered was like 30 or 40%, which was a good

raise. Like, I mean, if I would have signed that deal, I wouldn't have felt terrible about it. And Nashville is a cheaper place to live in terms of no state income tax. There were a bunch of really good factors that I should have considered. Plus there was growth opportunity. Plus here's the part where I made a major mistake. Now this may not impact you at all because you may never be in a situation where you have a job where this kind of decision comes in where like there's bonuses and other shit. You know, some people just have jobs that are jobs. Some people have like commission based jobs. Some people have jobs where you make a, where you make bonuses and other income from your job. If you looked at what I was making combined with live endorsements, remotes, I had two

other radio stations that were paying me, not a ton, like I wasn't getting rich off of those, but it helped elevate my salary even more. I was doing kind of like, I don't know that we ever talked about those, but it helped elevate my salary even more. I was doing kind of like, I don't know that we ever talked about this, but I was doing just random radio stations through iHeart. Like if they needed somebody to fill in on like a midday shift, like in Seattle on a station called KZOK, which is the station that Danny Bonaduce was doing mornings on at the time. KZOK would be like, hey, Josh, we need somebody to fill in and do an air shift 10 to 3 on Tuesday, 10 to 3 Seattle time. And I'd be like, sure, I'll do it. It would

take me all of five minutes. I'd go in. I'd look up a couple of things about Seattle, talk up a couple songs. Boom. I did weekends in Dallas. Probably nobody ever heard these things, but I did weekends in Dallas. I did a weekend shift in, um, in, uh, New Hampshire. I had done some stuff in some other cities and filled in. Right. So like, if you would do those, you'd make 25, 30 bucks a pop and it would maybe even more. And it was no work for me at all. Like Jilly puts max effort into that stuff. Cause it's like her job, me, that was the third or fourth thing I was concerned about. So if they wanted me to do it to make an extra $30 and it took me five minutes to do it, I'm like, fuck yeah, let's go. So with all of the stuff I was doing, I was making somewhere in the neighborhood of what the base pay was going to be in St. Louis. So in my mind, I'm thinking, all right, well, if the base pay is this, I'm going to this big-time radio station.

There's going to be more money to be made on top of that because at this big-time radio station, of course, you're going to be doing more endorsements. And of course, you're going to be doing appearances. Of course, you're going to be dominating in this way, and it's going to be great. Well, that didn't really happen. And then I didn't factor in that there is state tax here. And I didn't factor in the fact that you know I had to find a place to live and I don't know I'm sure we told the story but when we moved here we we rented a place sight unseen and then after looking it up a little bit more realized it was in the fucking hood and it was too good to be true like it was 1600 bucks a month I'm like fucking right our rent is cheaper

than it was in Asheville so in my mind I'm making more money and I got cheaper rent. Well, as it turns out, we looked it up and like jelly started getting into the reddits about it. And they're like, well, if you go down this side of the street, you should be safe. But if you turn down one wrong path, you could run into some, some gunshots and stray pit bulls and shit. And we're like, fuck, we can't do this. So we end up bailing on that and have to like eat two grand or whatever we had to eat on that one because we'd made the deposit and they're like, well, you can break the lease, but you got to pay the deposit. And we're like, fuck, whatever. We got to get out of this. So the only place we could find in a hurry, because we were looking for a place to live in this neighborhood we wanted to

live in was this house that's like 2,500 bucks. But in my mind, I was like, well, I'm making all this money and like, I can, I, you know, I can afford this,500 bucks. But in my mind, I was like, well, I'm making all this money and like, I can, I, you know, I can afford this, whatever. Well, in the process, I didn't really think like now that my, so let me play a couple of commercials and we'll continue. All right. If you're ready to win some real cash during the basketball playoffs, you got to check out pick six from DraftKings. When it comes to basketball payouts, DraftKings pick six posterizes the competition, including prize picks. It's a very simple concept. Hit all your picks and score higher minimum payouts on pick six, plus even more cash if you outscore the competition.

Pick six is available in most states, including Missouri, California, Texas, Georgia, and more, and I absolutely love it. Look, every night we're going to be having playoff basketball. Every night. So when you're sitting around and you might not have interest in a particular game, let's say you're a fan of a particular team, they're not playing that night, here's how you make it a little bit more fun for the other games. Build a little lineup there with pick six.

It's really great. Me and my wife do it all the time so make sure you do it and new players get 50 in pick six credits instantly on just a five dollar entry download the DraftKings pick six app now and use code Ennis that's my name I-N-N-E-S for new customers to play five dollars get 50 in Pick 6 credits. Better payouts, bigger wins, only with Pick 6 from DraftKings. The crown is yours.

Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut. Must be 18+. Age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut. Must be 18 plus. Age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction.

Pick six not available everywhere, including New York and Ontario. Voidware prohibited. One per new customer. Bonus award. It is non-withdrawable pick six credits that expire in 14 days. Limited time offer. See terms at picksix.draftkings.com slash promos.

So just to kind of give you info on it, like my agent, for instance, that I had. My agent didn't take anything from me that was like an endorsement, but her pay came from my base pay. So in Nashville, my base pay was so low that I wasn't paying my agent all that much money. Like it was low and I was making my money do another shit. Like I got in a very good clip. My salary, my pay, my take home pay at the end of the year was very good. And that was with a low base salary. Uh, so I didn't have to pay her a ton. Well, when I got the higher base salary, it like tripled what I was paying my agent. So now every month I'm paying triple what I was paying to an agent. I'm paying $700 more in rent than I was paying in Nashville. Our house there was like 1800 bucks. It was a

smaller place, but it was fine. It had a big yard, a deck and all that shit. Here we move in, I'm paying like seven or $800 more a month in rent. I'm paying my agent triple what I was paying her there. I'm paying state income tax. And there's also shit like sewer and shit that we didn't have to pay in Nashville. So before you know it, like this glamorous base pay hike that I was expecting, like, wow, I'm rich now. All my money. And I'm still paying off loans from other shit. Like I took out a loan whenever we had moved to Nashville during the Rona and shit. So I was paying like 600 bucks a month on that and a couple of credit cards.

Before you know it, I had no fucking money. So like it seemed glamorous. It seemed like a great idea when in reality I should have just stuck with what I was doing. Like that's the lesson to be learned in radio stuff, especially in this current era, but it could apply to any job. The second you start making legit money is when you become a target. Now, if you're someone that's like a Bobby Bones or someone who's on a million radio stations and has TV shows and shit like that, the base pay isn't that big of a deal because they're going to keep paying it to you because you're much more important to the bottom line. If you Ryan Seacrest Bobby Bones Woody Show whatever these like big syndicated radio personalities like the base pay isn't a huge deal because

again they're getting you at that base pay and they're putting you on you know 70 radio stations in which they don't have to pay a morning show anymore right so they're getting their money back when you are local dude making a big salary, if you're not bringing in the bread right away, you're a target. Mo' money, mo' problems. When I moved to St. Louis, truly, mo' money, mo' problems was the ultimate. That was the calling card for my time in St. Louis, was mo' money, mo' problems. If I would have stayed in Nashville, I probably could have been there forever, but it is what it is. But anyway, like I tell you all that to tell you this, that's around about 10 minute way of getting to

the point of here we are, no more severance, got to get out of this house, got to go find a job. I'm truly not opposed at this point. Like if this Houston radio thing doesn't work out, which I think would be a mistake on their part, because I truly believe I'm perfect for the job. For what it's worth, I haven't spoken with anyone there. I think they're kind of not him hauling around, but I think they've got other shit going on. I think the guy that runs the station is also a country PD and they're in the midst of rodeo shit there. So I don't think they're in a huge hurry to talk with anybody about this. I don't think, I mean, I haven't heard from anyone, but from what I've heard from people is they're taking it kind of as a slow process. So who knows? I am not opposed at all. If someone's got some sort of full-time fucking employment

in Houston, I'd move there, take a full-time job doing something that isn't radio and do the podcast. If it's something I felt I could do well, you know what I'm saying? I just got to get the fuck out of Missouri, get back to Texas. So like I've reached out to mattress Mac and I'm like, dude, if you have anything full time, bro, I'll do that. Now, if the radio job pops up, I'd probably take it. Um, and I'm in the process still have seen what could happen with this radio job in Houston that I'd like to have, but I want to get back to Houston, build the podcast there. Cause I think it's got a better chance of being successful, making money, building an audience there. So, but if anybody knows anybody that's got full-time employment and something

that thing, like I, dude, I was thinking about this. Like, I'd like to work at one of these craft breweries, you know, like, and like, I get, I don't have a history in marketing, but I understand marketing. I can help people come up with ideas, you know, for how to brand their shit. But like, I think it'd be cool to learn something new and maybe something new would be beer. I like to drink beer. Maybe it would be cool to work at a fucking craft brewery and learn more about how the beer is made. I don't know, but like that kind of shit, or I've been looking for full-time jobs cause I got to find something. I can't sit around and be a bum forever. And that kind of gets us to the point of this today, which is I started door dashing just to make a couple extra bucks.

Knowing how easy it is now, I wish I would have been doing this the second I got fired because I probably could have built up. Well, I mean, let's do the math on this. Now, granted, there's going to be a calamity here in a second, so don't think I'm like, boy, everything is fucking hunky-dory today.

But like, I've door dashed four days days it was last Friday I did it and that was kind of a trial run and then every now and then I'll pop out for like an hour and at peak times and see what happens and in that time I've probably made about 250 300 bucks total between Friday I did I mean a couple of deliveries Saturday nothing on Sunday a little bit Monday a little bit and Monday uh Monday was a pretty good day and then Tuesday was yesterday and it was going fairly well until I got to fucking Denny's and it took for fucking ever to get the order that's where you're at the mercy is if some of these places take forever it eats into your time and before you know it your peak hours are gone right but anyway um here's where things

became a calamity so i was done door dashing for the afternoon and i had made you know 50 bucks or something over like two hours two and two and a half hours something like that it was fine it's decent money and if i would have been doing it from the time i got fired i'd probably have you know five six grand just sitting around in in door dash money. Who knows, right? But yeah, I guess I would because let's say I averaged even 800 bucks a month in those six months that I was collecting my severance. I mean, you're talking five grand, something like that. So it would have been pretty good. But again, I didn't. I didn't think about that at the time. I thought I'd end up with a job somewhere, whatever. Wish I would have done it. Didn't. What are you going to do? So anyway, I didn't. I didn't think about that at the time. I thought I'd end up with a job somewhere. Whatever. Wish I would have done it.

Didn't. What are you going to do? So anyway, I'm done for the day because Jilly and I are going to see the Led Zeppelin movie because we're classic rock people, of course, and we need to understand the history of Led Zeppelin. So I'm on my way. I'm on the interstate heading home to meet Jilly to go to the movies, 3 o'clock, whatever. It was Tuesday.

It was discount Tuesday. The tickets were like $5 a piece. It's the day we go. And I'm driving and the car starts to kind of jerk a little bit. And then all of a sudden I can't go faster than 20 miles per hour in the car. Like, like there's no accelerating. It's like, I can get up to about 10, 15 miles an hour and I got no oomph at all. So I'm like, shit, I may end up dying here. This is on the interstate.

This is on like interstate 270. So I'm like, what the fuck? So I have to try to kind of get over. Fortunately, it was at like a downtime in the day, that kind of middle time between lunch and when people go home. So it wasn't overly busy, but I'm in my mind. I'm like, shit, what if I die here? So I veer over, I find an exit, I exit like shit what if I die here so I veer over I find an exit I exit

and I pull off into some apartment complex or whatever car will start it'll run but I can't get anywhere so I have to call Jilly I'm like Jilly listen you're gonna have to come get me call the insurance and see if we can get a tow I sit in the car for about three hours waiting for a tow truck so tow truck shows up guy's pretty efficient with it but uh we get the car home whatever now this morning i was able to coast it over to the to the to the to tire shop the auto body shop right down the road point being here is i thought i was finding a way to kind of survive a little bit and get ahead. And then sure enough, boom, car fucking craps out. And if the car costs a certain amount, like if it's over a certain amount, I'm calling like, you know, that one, eight, seven, seven cars for kids and saying, you can take the

fucking car. It's 13 years old. We've put too much money into it. It's over. But if that's the case, then there's no door dashing. And then let me tell you this while we're talking about bullshit and why this state sucks. We were talking about the unemployment stuff, like, you know, getting paid unemployment. There are some States that pay like six, $700 a week for unemployment during the

Rona. And this sounds weird, but we survived during the Rona because of all the fucking, the, the, the stimuluses and all that shit. Like it benefited us in some weird way. It sounds shitty to say that, but it did relative to now. But here in Missouri, it's like 300 bucks every week. So you're talking about 1200 bucks a month, right? You go from making like 10 times that a month to this. So I try to call and I get it set up, but then somehow I'm locked out of my account. So I couldn't request the money. So I call I'm like what's the deal I've signed up like why can't I get it they're like well we're investigating a fraudulent claim I'm like a fraudulent fucking claim I don't have a fucking job I tried to log into your site your

site wouldn't let me log in it locked me out they're like well sir you're gonna have to go to like the Missouri job office and you're going to have to talk to somebody there I'm like I have to get my ass out of the house and go drive to some building to to talk to somebody there. I'm like, I have to get my ass out of the house and go drive to some building to go talk to some asshole so I can get $300 a fucking week from you people. Like what the fuck? It's ridiculous. So that was my calamity of a day yesterday. So I found out that I have to go talk to someone in person to get this fucking unemployment. I found out that there's a chance I won't be door dashing anymore because our fucking door dashing mobile might be fucking dead. I mean, just, I mean, it, it was a dreadful day. So then I just came home and we drank wine

and, and forgot problems for like five minutes. But basically we've got another month in this place and then we could probably stay another month. I'll do some haggling, and then who knows? So hopefully I hear something about this Houston thing. That'd be nice. That'd be a positive. It'd be nice to know if I even have a chance at that job because, again, I think I'd be good at it, and I'm not looking to get rich from it either. I just want a fucking job at this point.

But what did we learn in this episode, kids? Well, we've learned that it's not always about the money. Money is great, right? But when you see a big round number that you're guaranteed and you're like, well, shit, that sounds great. Just remember that sometimes the lower works out better for you. Like I'd still have a job in Nashville probably and be on maybe even more radio stations than just Nashville, Detroit, and Memphis. I might be on more, but then making more money from each of those. But instead, I was like, well, hell, this is an easy job. I'm getting paid. I don't have to do all these other jobs. This is great. Now here I am, two years after I signed that deal,

done. Don't hear from any of those people, by the way, you know, that you don't hear from these people that fired you, these people that loved you, these people that when they'd write your reviews, cause we used to have to do these little reviews and they'd say most talented guy we've ever had here. Funniest guy that's ever been on the radio station, which really isn't saying much. It's a dull radio station, but like all this. And then you never hear from these people again. They think you're the most brilliant human on the planet. They laugh at all your shit. They drink beers with you.

They love you. They treat you like family. Then they fire you. Never hear from them again. Got fired seven months ago. Don't hear from any of them. You know what I'm saying? But it's just funny because so seven months ago, eight months ago, nine months ago, you

thought I was the funniest fucking person on the planet, most talented person ever, and now you don't even call or text and be like, hey, how you doing? Just checking in. Funny how the world works. But anyway, more to come.