This is the center of our universe.
Once again, I find myself alone in the dark to gather my thoughts in the closest thing I have to a cathedral.
It’s dead silent this night, the lights are low and, while 24 hours ago, the guys and I were having an unforgettable evening together eating, drinking and laughing, tonight it’s just me.
When we started, I had no idea we would still be here at the end of 2013. I had no idea if I would be anywhere.
For me, the odds were even in 2010 that I would simply keep a low profile, write an occasional blog, make an occasional TV appearance.
When The New Normal was no more than a germ of an idea in January 2010, I said that, if I did do a show for the internet, I would give it just a year, even though I had to wait until two years later to begin, due to my contract with CBS Radio. We only agreed to a second year because we had to accept a two-year lease to get this cathedral for our own.
I didn’t even know at that point if I would even be tempted to go back to radio.
And, in considering to go to a whole new and still developing medium, I had no idea what I was in for.
We all agreed that Wednesday’s show was the absolute best show we had ever done.
But we couldn’t do it (or so many of the other things we do) without so many of you as willing participants.
You call us. You write and produce elaborate show material. You support our advertisers. You buy from our Amazon links. You’re patient with our occasional technical hiccups. You share us with your friends and family. You come to our parties. We know you and you know us.
We try doing things we could never do in radio. And you indulge us.
All the things you do for us make us feel as if we’re all doing something pretty special. Together.
I don’t know yet whether we will do a third year. Although our financial picture has improved dramatically, we still haven’t broken even.
But I would miss this very much if it stopped.
As I sit here alone in my studio, my cathedral, I am thinking nothing but the warmest thoughts about our supporters in this holiday season.
Have a fantastic holiday season and thanks so much for everything you do for us.
On behalf of Gary Zabransky, Dean DeMilio, and Mike Timpson
The New Normal LLC.
COUNTDOWN TO TOM’S IN-SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE NEW NORMAL
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Tom, I would also say THANK YOU for the endless nights I doze off listening to you on my Cell phone. A Proud P1 such as myself would not have it any other way. I have a Feeling You will begin to have Imitators because I sincerely believe Your Entrepreneurial Spirit is alive and WELL!!! and You have Especially shown CBS that you are not an ordinary Hack, You Had Energy that NO one they came across had ever replicated…. Well, I Typed enough, I also wanna say when you were in Radio, I enjoyed my Drives Up the NYS Thruway passing Albany Laughing and saying who is this guy? Now I Know!!!! Stay Strong Tom… Regards, Mike…. PS… Happy Holidays..
The New Normal is cutting edge and vulnerably transparent. Love being a part of all you guys do. Thanks
Tom – come back for year 3. You have to! Splurge on some LA area physical media buys. You have literally thousands of listeners who simply don’t know you’re back on. Thousands of P1s. The show only gets more entertaining with more scale, more callers. More enraged females who stumble upon your show. Do NOT give up. This is the most entertaining audio content ANYWHERE.
I want to thank you on behalf of all of who listen to you. You say that this is all because of us, but the truth is that we do all of this as a thank you to you and the guys. You have changed so many lives and inspired so many by doing what you do, that personally, i’m happy to support you. We need you, you need us. It is the circle of life, the circle of the P1. Merry Christmas to you Tom, and once again thank you.
Jonathan.
Every so often, I crack open the family bible from the 1800’s and read what my ancestors were writing to each other with ink well pens on paper that is practically crumbing. I read the letters, news clippings someone saved from 156 years ago advertizing land, elixirs and scraps from diaries from my bloodline – the direct descendents of William Bradford; the first governor of the first colony who sailed on the Mayflower landed on Plymouth rock after crossing an ocean to land on a continent that had no guarantee, and I realize that I would not be here, this fucking country would not be here if rebellious fools with big dreams refused to lick the boots of royalty, refused to be ‘subjects’ of imperial scum, and gave up financial stability to create the American dream before this land had roads, or civilization.
They had balls, just like Tom Leykis has balls.
Reading Tom’s post here reminds me of why we are all here now spoiled rotten, rich with civilization’s luxuries; beer on tap, weed on demand, money at the ATM, pussy, cars, and The New Normal every day at 3pm at blowmeuptom.com What a bunch of spoiled fools we are, compared to our forefathers who worked broke in candlight and unrewarded just for a dream.
If Edison hadn’t invented the light bulb, we wouldn’t be online. How many times did the great inventors of all the bitchin shit we take for granted want to give up because they didn’t see a reward for all the work they were putting in? Every entrepreneur works for free, and the great ones end up filthy rich beyond their expectations; yet they started out in a garage, failing over and over until they mastered their craft and filed their patents.
Seems to me our professor is at the point that Ben Franklin was when his kite found lightning. Where Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were when the first mac started working. Where Jonas Salk was when he realized he found the polio cure. Where Albert Einstein was when he understood the theory of relativity. Where the first Astronauts were when they were shitting their pants on the way to the moon.
The one thing all the greatest minds of all time had in common was that they didn’t give up. Our founding fathers could have had a guaranteed life of mediocrity, but they had balls. They wanted more, and imagined they could find it, develop and refine it – and went fucking broke getting there; but the end result was priceless.
Professor, you just sailed the first radio ship over the ocean to a new frontier, and we took the ride with you. You told us we’d land and be happy, and more than 150,000 of us listen. We are legion. You dreamed us all up, and made it happen. We know you will finish what you started, or we wouldn’t have boarded the ship.
You have built the backbone of a new frontier, and you are exhausted, but we intend to carry you, sir. You invented the internet radio Frankenstein, and ITS ALIVE! Take a break if you need to, but no innovator in the history of mankind has ever given up; or we’d all just be a bunch of pussies living in trees, swinging from branches without balls or glory.
So many lives have been changed, and society is different because of the Professor. Our Professor. We’re all so fuckin pround of you, father.
Great post!
Not only has Tom laid down the foundation of this new frontier, but he’s also on the forefront of men’s rights, which has grown exponentially (especially on the internet). Tom has spearheaded it so far up America’s ass that it has dislodged the pussified tumors from some of the lawmakers and courts. There is still a long way to go, but Tom has awakened to many men to the real truth on this arising vanguard.
Tom is also responsible for leading the way to how we should see and treat dating. So much to where now there are countless shitty imitators ripping off Tom’s stuff and calling it their own. It doesn’t matter though, Tom made it what it is and he will be remembered for it. That “pick up” shit wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for Mr. Tom Leykis
Happy holidays, Tom and everyone at the The New Normal.
I’ve been thinking about what New Normal Network is, and its Global Talk-Radio on the internet. FM & AM Radio is dying, in its final death throws of starvation, and the only ‘talk’ is just warmed over political crap. There is just one opinion, one topic, and now no callers on FCC dial radio. That’s what makes The Tom Leykis show unique; its old school talk radio, and now without a screen or delay. What could be more pioneering than that? Raw, real, live and unruly!
While I think about what we have here and the foundation that Tom has laid down, I wonder; why is it just 3 hours, 5 days a week? This is a fuckin TALK RADIO STATION! Its built to be on 24/7 wide open throttle, just like any radio station that has listeners and contributors. Obviously Tom can’t stay on the air 24/7, but we can. There’s always an audience for talk radio because it is interactive.
So, who wants to be an intern and learn the craft of talk radio show biz? I really believe we have a culture, we have talent, we have an audience, and we have the balls to compete with frequency radio.
There are those of you P1’s who know the 101 word for word. You’ve memorized it, put it into action and built your successful lives around the 101 philosophy. Could a 2nd shift, another 3 hours daily to start, create more revenue, more interraction, more social media buzz, more listeners, more outraged female callers, and bigger balls for all of us? What about a 3rd and 4th shift, which of you aspiring talk radio hosts would volunteer your time to have your own internet radio talk show? You’d be getting more ass than a toilet seat just from the fame!
I really believe that the New Normal will end up euthanizing traditional radio if we take it to its full potential, and make it a 24/7 talk radio station. The infrastructure is in place, its insured, has a topic, followers, a full tank of fuel, and big hairy balls to bust right into a new era of radio. The interns of today will be the big ball talk radio superstars of tomorrow, all because Tom laid the foundation of a talk radio station. If taken to its full potential, the Professor could eventually take an upper management position, and just show up to pay himself a few hundred grand a week.
I say ‘keep the lights on, and the rent paid’. This thing is bigger than we all realize if we treat it like a radio station, and not just one show. Have a contest for the 2nd shift, and make the pay contigent on new sponsors and revenue. I’m sure there are thousands of volunteers who know the 101 and would work a 3 hour shift for free just to get the skills and exposure.
This isn’t one show that might go away; this is an empire that will swallow traditional media, crush the corporate pirates, and give power to the people who are willing to build it and learn it.
I wouldn’t know what to do with my Wednesdays if the New Normal was to shutdown. I’d be going through withdraws for weeks with no Be Funny hour!
Tom, please don’t say this is the end. If we need to kickstart a campaign to keep you on, by damn we will! I don’t think anyone could have summed it up much better than blue blood. Pioneers have never had it easy, but with patience you will reap the benefits of your investment. With the new crew you have hired to generate more advertising growth, I sincerely hope for more advertisers with products/services that align with the show’s content and the Leykis lifestyle of which many of your fans prescribe to of some degree or another (hey, I may have a gf but I will NEVER marry or have children). Also, please get your sales team to get a micro brewery to advertise on your show. You know there’s no other beer we would drink than the official beer of the Tom Leykis show. Stone? Firestone? Come on!
Dear Tom,
I had no idea the day that I stumbled across your show as I was flipping through the radio channels that I would find this diamond amidst the ever growing pile of crap that continues to be broadcast on the airwaves today. That day changed my life forever and I owe it all to you, Tom.
My heart was broken when those middle management morons decided to “change the format” of the radio station and thrust you out into the oblivion. I was devastated. I had found what I felt was the greatest thing ever and just like that, in the blink of an eye, it was gone. The worst thing about your departure was not knowing how or why the decision had been made. But as time went on I realized that sometimes things just don’t work out the way we’d like them to and I just appreciated being able to listen to your show and feel that indescribable connection to you for the few short months that we had together.
The years that you were off the air was undoubtedly the roughest time for me in my professional and personal life. Not being able to listen to you was even worse. I was completely unsure of where my life was going and that, as you know, is a very scary thing.
I can’t even completely recall how or why I decided to look you up and see what had happened to you but to my surprise it was shortly after you had announced your “little internet project” and I was completely floored!! I can say without a doubt that the first day I heard your voice coming through the Internet was the best day of my life! Like a phoenix rising through the ashes you had returned!! It was amazing and a day that I will not soon forget. I will continue to support you and the show and the guys in any and every way possible. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every precious moment you have given us and will do all I can to make sure you continue on successfully. You have created a following of truly dedicated listeners and I am proud to call myself a P1. I am proud to call you my father. I am proud to have supported your dream. Thank you for everything that you do for us.
And to the entire New Normal crew, happy holidays!!
These reflection kinds of posts always make Dean nervous that Tom is secretly dying. He must be sweating bullets now!
You guys do a great show and I hope you go for a profitable third year.
Hellooooo Tom!
My friend Tom told me one day that I should listen to you, so on a business trip to LA I flipped to your station to see what you had to say. I guess I didn’t listen very well the first time because I just thought you were a guy that said, “I llllllooove that!” over and over. In any case, I gave you another chance and must have listened better because I’ve been hooked ever since! I started listening in earnest only a few months before they changed the format…it was like a bad nightmare hearing crappy music on the station when I should have been hearing your voice! I immediately downloaded everything that I could before they removed the podcasts from the website and boy am I glad. I listened to those podcasts over and over to the point where I know many of them by heart. The podcasts kept me out of trouble during your hiatus, and they even helped me keep my friend Tom out of trouble. He would call me and tell me he wanted to move in with a girl, and I would do my best to tell him what I thought you would say.
Fast forward to today, I have been enjoying listening to your show; especially the new features like Money Monday, Adam Sacks, and Be Funny! I love news for guys as well. Your show has it all; entertainment, advice, and news that is all geared towards men. But not towards all men. The men who spend their weekends going to IKEA with their girlfriends would probably denounce your show as misogyny but secretly wish they could live the life of a Leykis 101 student!
Over these last two years of listening I really feel like I have found a long lost branch of my family. This was confirmed when I was able to attend my first listener party (The Holiday Party from Hell). I felt a connection to everyone in the room. We were all brothers! It was so cool to be around other people with the same values!
I reap many benefits as a result of having the New Normal Network LLC available to me. I hope it never goes away. So in order to keep it alive I WILL TAKE ACTION. Please join me.
Buy the guys a beer. This is money that goes straight to NNN. Nobody else gets a cut.
Buy podcast subscriptions. This money goes straight to NNN, but some money goes to pay for bandwidth, etc.
Buy from the sponsors. These are your fellow brothers. I met many of them at the party. Help them continue to put their money where there mouth is and support the network with advertising revenue.
Buy from Amazon. You get what you want, Tom gets a cut.
Spread the word. Introduce people to the Tunein app and blowmeuptom.com
I look forward to seeing you all at the next listener party!!!!
This will be your break-even & make profit year…Definitely not anything you want to miss!
Dear Mr Tom Leykis !
I want to thank you for everything that you do for us .I know that without your great advices and without the LEYKIS 101 rules that you invented i would be lost .You are a GENIUS sir.A modern Leonardo da Vinci a visionary in dating and human relationship.Please don’t stop what you are doing because you give hope and bring hapiness to our life.
I wish you and your loved ones a Happy new year!!!!
Just come back to radio, Tom.
Radio format is still alive and too many idiots are taking that spot that is so absolutely yours.
You bleed radio, Tom.
The format you have right now is very innovative, but people are very “visual” and radio still translates that better than the internet.
I came back from “retirement” to who I truly was. Can’t be any happier doing what I do. Fuck retirement. Go back to who you are. You are the very best at it!
Good luck