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The Junkies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Junkies | |
| Genre | Talk, Sports |
| Running time | Monday through Friday 5 am to 10 am |
| Country |  United States |
| Home station | 106.7 WJFK |
| Starring | John Martin “Cakes” Auville Eric Carlton “E.B.” Bickel Jason William “Lurch” Bishop John-Paul “J.P.” Flaim |
| Producer(s) | Chris "CK" Kinard Bret Oliverio |
| Air dates | 1996 – present |
| Website | www.junkiesradio.com http://www.wjfk.com/pages/703003.php |
Podcast feed  |
junkiesradio.com [2] |
The Junkies, formerly known as The Sports Junkies, are a group of four male radio personalities who host a morning-drive radio show broadcast in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The show is heard on WJFK 106.7FM. The show primarily focuses on the day-to-day lives of the Junkies, but also contains a consistent mix of discussions about sports, women, and popular culture.
Contents |
The Junkies
John Martin “Cakes” Auville
Known as “Cakes,” Auville was born in 1970 and adopted by his parents at five weeks old .[1] He was raised in Bowie, Maryland alongside fellow Junkies Eric Bickel and John-Paul Flaim, and attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Greenbelt, Maryland). After high school, Auville studied communications at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, about which he is occasionally ridiculed for achieving a 1.5 GPA one semester ;[1] he then managed a local Toys Я Us store until making radio his full-time occupation in 1996.[2]
Known for his willingness to go to great lengths to win a bet, Auville once spent days in a coffin as part of a $2,000 dare; he then won an additional $600 after being dared to ingest 15 hot dogs in 15 minutes.
Auville's family currently lives in Olney, Maryland. He married his wife, Amy, in 1995. They have three children, Kurt Joseph (1997), Juliet (2002), and Brendan Craig (2004). After the birth of their third child, Auville had a vasectomy and has since been mocked with the name “Johnny Blanks.”[2]
Eric Carlton “E.B.” Bickel
Usually referred to on air as E.B., Bickel was born in 1970 and grew up in Bowie, Maryland across the street from fellow Junkie John-Paul Flaim and in the same neighborhood as John Auville. Bickel attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he befriended soon-to-be-Junkie Jason Bishop. He lettered in tennis. After high school, Bickel attended the University of Maryland, where he majored in psychology and received his master’s degree in school counseling before becoming a "Junkie" in 1997.[2]
Bickel is considered the most crotchety member of the group, often affecting an unlikable "know-it-all" attitude towards guests on the show. His family is known to be politically and socially conservative; his mother occasionally calls in to reprimand her son when the program features especially racy content.[1]
His mother-in-law, Ms. Hu Tianbao, was a key figure in suggesting that E.B. start a sports show[citation needed]. He also spends much of his free time playing online poker[citation needed].
Bickel married his wife, Dina, in 1996. They have two kids, Stephen (2000) and Megan (2002). They are attempting to have a third child, but have been unsuccessful.[1]
Jason William “Lurch” Bishop
Nicknamed "Lurch" because of his height (an allusion to the Frankenstein-like butler on the television show “The Addams Family”), Bishop grew up in Lanham, Maryland and befriended fellow Junkie Eric Bickel while attending DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, where he played basketball. Six-foot-six in height, Bishop went on to play basketball at the University of Richmond, where he received a scholarship, but transferred to Salisbury State University the following year to pursue a degree in communications.[2] Bishop currently lives in Ashburn, Virginia with his wife Teresa and their two children.
John-Paul “J.P.” Flaim
Simply known as “J.P.,” Flaim was born in 1970 and grew up across the street from fellow Junkie Eric Bickel in Bowie, Maryland. Flaim attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, and then went on to major in international business at the University of Maryland, College Park before studying law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1]
In 1997, Flaim failed the Maryland bar exam, reading his results publicly while on the air; however, he passed the exam the following year and can now legally practice law in Maryland.[2]
Flaim is also a professional middleweight boxer, fighting under the name "The Latin Donkey." He sports a 0-1 record, losing in his December 9, 2006 debut fight to Jay Watts by TKO in the first round, just days after the passing of his father-in-law.[3] He is currently the 991st ranked Light Middleweight out of 999 in the world.[4] J.P.'s performance in his professional debut earned him the nickname Glass Joe[citation needed].
Flaim is married to Carol, and in 2000 they had their first child, Kelsey.[1] In February 2007, the Flaims had their second child, Dylan Carlos.
Other show staffers
- Executive Producer Chris Kinard (a.k.a. CK): Has been with the show since 1998. Starting as an intern, Kinard was named producer in 1999. He moved with the show to WHFS in 2002, and back to WJFK in 2005. Kinard grew up in Fairfax Station, VA and attended Lake Braddock Secondary School and American University.[2] He was recently named WJFK's Program Director. [2] .
- Producer Bret Oliverio: Is known on the show as Bret Michaels. He joined the Junkies as an intern when he was 18. An on-and-off member of the staff, Oliverio joined as a full-time staffer during the Junkies' stint at WHFS. He attended Lake Braddock Secondary School and graduated from James Madison University, which he claims to be the Harvard of the South, in May 2003. [2] He won $50,000 while participating in the Bodog's Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker tournament in 2006.[5]
The Junkettes
The Junkies's personal promotional models. [3]
- Kat
- Kara
- Teresa
- Shannon
- Lauren
- Joy
- Valene
- Jenny
- Laura
Origins
Auville, Bickel, and Flaim grew up as friends in Bowie, Maryland. Auville and Flaim attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School; at the same time, Bickel met Bishop at DeMatha Catholic High School. Bickel and Flaim also attended the University of Maryland together.
After graduating from college, the foursome and other friends hung out and often shared living quarters with each other, all while watching professional and collegiate sports, and wisecracking on women, music, and current events. In 1995, Auville, Bickel, Bishop, and Flaim began their broadcasting career as a hobby. They produced and hosted a 30-minute cable access show in Bowie. The show mixed sports chat, irreverent humor, a soundtrack of alternative rock music, and featured the foursome's charm and wit.
The show flirted with local notoriety, and following a review in the The Washington Times, the Junkies were hired in 1996 by Infinity Broadcasting to create a weekly radio show carried on Infinity's Fairfax, Virginia station, WJFK-FM. The show later moved to weeknights.
The Infinity Broadcasting years
The show focused on the interplay of the foursome, featuring guests such as Playboy models, rock notables, and local sports celebrities such as University of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams. Their high local ratings lead to their national debut on May 18, 1999, airing on about 50 affiliates of Westwood One's radio network. [6]
The Junkies broadcasted nights from 7-11pm (and at one point 8-12pm) from mid 2001 until early 2002. In October 2002, the Junkies program moved from WJFK to WHFS, the market's alternative rock station. This also was the first time the show appeared in the morning drive time slot, and gave the Junkies a new fan base in the Baltimore market.[2] Infinity abruptly changed the entire format of the station to Spanish-language, changing it to "El Zol" in January 2005.
It was later announced that the Junkies would be returning to WJFK-FM in a lunchtime spot, and with Howard Stern's jump to Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006, the Junkies show eventually returned to the morning drive slot, this time appearing on both WJFK-FM and WHFS (which is now located at 105.7 FM in Baltimore). The Junkies later acknowledged that they were promised Stern's morning drive slot (upon his move to Sirius) when they moved back to WJFK.
WHFS Baltimore has severed its relationship with The Junkies and replaced The Junkies morning program with former 98 Rock talk show hosts, Kirk and Mark.[citation needed]
The Junkies website offers a podcast of daily radio broadcasts, usually available a few days after original airing.[7]
Junkies Lingo
After recent changes in station policy and FCC (Federal Communications Commission) decency regulations, the Junkies have devised a way to circumvent the use of obscenity by replacing expletives with the name of a public figure, such as an athlete; for example: Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis alludes to the clitoris. Much of the lingo is borrowed from existing English words or slang, but some of the terms have originated on the program. Listeners have often remarked that much of the lingo comes from common African-American slang in the DC area, a fact acknowledged by the Junkies. Others have noticed that Junkies lingo also bears some similarities to Cockney rhyming slang.
The extremely parochial nature of many of the terms used by the Junkies is a recurring topic of conversation. In the summer of 2004, CK remarked that "the lingo around here is atrocious", after Cakes asked "what if the sillies aren't money?" In January 2007, J.P. ridiculed E.B. for saying "if I get cised I'll hook it, and if it's not hurting it's going to be a show", a sentence so lingo-riddled as to be impenetrable to anyone not very familiar with Junkies lingo.[citation needed]On April 24th, 2007, nearing the end of the show, as the Junkies are talking about unattractive men with attractive women, E.B. says, "Well you know who's got a silly who I think is trifling?" This sentence brought the show to a near standstill with the Junkies briefly questioning the extent to which they use their lingo.[8]
Events
- Junkies Poker Open
The Junkies have sponsored three "Junkie Poker Open" events at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Texas hold'em poker tournament has gained some notoriety as former World Series of Poker contestants (Lee Childs, among others) have participated in the events.
| Event | Location | Date | # of Players | Purse | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPO 1 | Borgata Hotel Casino | November 30, 2006 | 300 | -- | -- |
| JPO 2 | Borgata Hotel Casino | -- | 420+ | $32,000 | Gary Heffner |
| JPO 3 | Borgata Hotel Casino | November 29, 2007 | 365 | $28,000 | Andrew Phillips |
- Unauthorized Redskins Pre-Game Show
Since the 2004 season, the Junkies have hosted a 2 hour pre-game show prior to kick-off of each Washington Redskins game live from Champps Restaurant at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Virginia and airs on WJFK-FM. The show is considered "unauthorized" because they have continued doing the program even though WJFK no longer holds the rights to broadcast the Redskins games.
Sound Drops
A list of some of the sounds bytes currently heard during the show.
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Show Segments
Current segments
Daily
- Cheat Sheet: A brief look at the top headlines in the news. Typically done by JP.
- Entertainment Page (a.k.a. the EP): All the gossip and news from Hollywood. Typically done by EB.
- Sports Page: A breakdown of the sports headlines from the previous day. Typically done by Lurch.
Weekly
- Donkeys of the Week (a.k.a. DOW): On Fridays each Junkie gives his "donkey" (someone who has done something extremely stupid or idiotic) and a brief explanation why he chose this person. Callers then submit their own DOW's (sometimes one of the Junkies) and the best one wins.
- BDK's Movie Reviews: On Fridays, the Junkies invite Big Daddy Kev (BDK) in to do movie reviews.
- Fantasy Notebook: Every Thursday callers can ask the Junkies for advice about which players they should start on their fantasy football team.
- Friday Football Picks: Typically every Friday, former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich and professional sports handicapper Brandon Lang call in to give their picks for the weekend's college and pro football games.
Games
- Junkies Shootout: Callers have to answer 3 general trivia questions correctly to receive a prize. Categories range from Lurch's favorite, "Where are they from?", to sports knowledge, to pop music.
- Bet on Bret: Game where callers bet whether or not producer Bret will know the answer to a relatively easy trivia question.
- Name That Hurting: Game where callers try to beat one of the Junkies in identifying celebrities and athletes by listening to sound clips (similar to Name That Tune).
- Whore or Bore: Women call in and the Junkies ask questions to try and determine how many sexual partners the caller has had.
- Name that Fattie: Women call in and the Junkies ask them questions and try to guess if she's skinny or fat. This game originated when EB claimed he could tell if a woman was fat by the sound of her voice.
- Missing Link: Listeners compete against a Junkie in a game where the first name of one person and the last name of another person are given. The listener must try to guess the common name that connects the two people. An example is Bill blank Portis. The common name would be Clinton.
- Crazy Connections: Listeners compete against a Junkie in a game where contestants start with a movie star (e.g. Tom Cruise) and try to connect other movie stars by using movies (e.g. Tom Cruise was in Mission: Impossible III with Ving Rhames}. Similar to Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
- Junkies Password: Two callers are each partnered with a Junkie as they play the classic game of Password (TV series)
Past segments
- Whut Tha Bruthaz Be Sayin: Sactown Mike would dissect common conversation with other brothers (African Americans) so that the Junkies would be able to understand the cool, hip lingo.
- Doo Doo Browns: Much like the current segment, "Donkeys of the Week".
- Hit or Hurting: This segment was done when The Junkies were on 99.1 WHFS. The Junkies would listen to a new release that was to be added to the station's playlist. The Junkies would then guess how high up the charts that song would reach.
References
- ^ a b c d e f The Washington Post Magazine cover article (02/26/2006)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i The Junkies Official Web Site
- ^ "Glass Jaw Is Half Empty" The Washington Post article (12/11/2006)
- ^ BoxRec.com Retrieved on 06/30/2007
- ^ Bret Oliverio Takes Home the Win in Episode 2 of Calvin Ayre Wild Card Poker (04/18/2006). Archived from the original on 04/08/2007. Retrieved on 06/30/2007
- ^ "Called up to 'The Show'" Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal article (06/07/21999)
- ^ [1] Podcast
- ^ Junkies Full Podcasts - April 24th, 2007