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Jake Kemp
Producer, radio host on “The Ticket”
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Jake Kemp
1. Backpack
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Jake Kemp
2. TrayWhat he uses to eat in the car. Seriously.
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Jake Kemp
3. Bumbo seat - For when he has to work at home and watch the baby at the same time.
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Jake Kemp
4. 5-hour ENERGY - The green tea variety, so he doesn’t “die at 40.”
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Jake Kemp
5. Richer Poorer Inc. T-shirt - The only brand he wears.
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Jake Kemp
6. Quaker City Night Hawks’ self-titled album.
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Jake Kemp
7. Championship belt - From his station’s Fight Night boxing match.
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Jake Kemp
8. Apple earbuds - With an adapter to work on air.
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Jake Kemp
9. Moonster journal - Where he writes notes to his daughter.
Being on the radio wasn’t necessarily Jake Kemp’s childhood dream — he just liked putting on a show. He remembers dressing in a blazer and singing Harry Connick Jr. songs as a kid while his mom filmed him. He also liked turning down the sound during sports games and pretending to be the commentator.
He also remembers listening to KTCK/1310-AM “The Ticket” with his dad in the car. So, when he decided to pursue a career in the media, he emailed producer Danny Balis and landed an internship at the station. That internship eventually turned into a career, and now, he produces the afternoon show, “BaD Radio,” while also working as a fill-in host.
Between “The Ticket,” a writing gig with sports website The Athletic, and life as a new dad, Kemp dropped by the Fort Worth Magazine office — this time, to be on the other end of the interview table.
Q. What’s your typical day like?
A. Well, it’s definitely different now because my daughter was born in January, so you have to plan around a 6-month-old’s schedule. I’m up at like 5, 6 o’clock probably. I leave the house at 10, so I try to make sure that I’ve done two to three hours of work on the show before then. From pretty much the time I wake up until the time I leave, it’s going through email, trying to book guests, editing audio for our show, and even just reading and trying to figure out what we’re doing that day. It’s pretty much just trying to consume as much of the internet as I possibly can before I leave every morning.
Most days, I’m there from like 10:45, and I’ll leave at 3:45. Some days I come back over here and either pick my daughter up or just go straight home and get right back on it.
Used to, when I would [spend all night writing], my wife would leave for work in the morning, and I would sleep until, like, 9 the next morning. Now, the baby doesn’t care that I was up writing until 4 or 4:30. At 6:30 or 6:45, she’s ready to go. It’s a lot to balance, but it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened.
Q. Crazy. Do you get any sleep at all?
A. Very, very little. That’s where all the 5-hour ENERGY green tea comes in — even before the kid. So, whenever everybody’s like, “Oh, whenever you have a kid, you’re never gonna be able to sleep,” I’m very used to this already.
Q. So how do you keep the baby busy while you’re getting ready for the show?
A. “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.” She has no idea what’s going on, but if I can just sit her there for 45 minutes in the morning, I can get something done.
Q. What’s the most challenging aspect of your job that people don’t often think about when they listen to the radio?
A. I think most people think that you just show up and do your show. That might be the way some people do it, but that would make me nervous. [I’m working] from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep — and sometimes even when I’m sleeping because I dream about work way too much. You’re really never not working — ever. If you’re watching TV at home at night, I think about it from the perspective of, can I use whatever I’m watching on the air?
That, and just from a technical standpoint, you try to think of things to talk about or ways to talk about them that not everyone else is, without seeming forced. You don’t want to seem like you’re having an opinion just to be controversial, but you also don’t want to just say what everyone else is saying, so you just have to find the balance.
Q. What’s the coolest thing you’ve gotten to do so far while working for “The Ticket”?
A. Honestly, being at Dirk [Nowitzki’s] last home game. Dirk’s been on our show every year for the past almost 20 years. It’s not like he remembers who I am or anything like that, but being there that night and covering that game, I probably cried like four or five times.
Q. In this internet-driven world we live in, where do you think the future of radio is headed?
A. Sports is such a localized entertainment vertical. The live thing is important too. Whenever you listen to something that you know is happening in real time, it feels more communal, and you know that there are thousands of other people listening to it at the exact same time you are. That’s what makes it feel like you’re just with friends — listening to friends talk.
That being said, the question is the delivery system. I could 100 percent see a scenario where, in however many years, every car has a solid Wi-Fi signal; then streaming is more popular, but you would still have advertisements. I mean, I would be lying if I told you I think FM radio is going to be the primary delivery system for it, you know? Could be sooner rather than later. But I think, as long as people have to drive 30 minutes to an hour in their car every day, they’re going to want to hear something.
Q. It’s officially football season. Any way-too-early Dallas Cowboys predictions?
A. I think they’ll be pretty good. They’ll win a bunch of regular season games; then I think they’ll get to the playoffs — and lose their first game.
Jake's Essentials:
1. Backpack.
2. Tray. What he uses to eat in the car. Seriously.
3. Bumbo seat.
For when he has to work at home and watch the baby at the same time.
4. 5-hour ENERGY.
The green tea variety, so he doesn’t “die at 40.”
5. Richer Poorer Inc. T-shirt. The only brand he wears.
6. Quaker City Night Hawks’ self-titled album.
7. Championship belt. From his station’s Fight Night boxing match.
8. Apple earbuds.
With an adapter to work on air.
9. Moonster journal. Where he writes notes to his daughter.
