Rehab ep ??? (featuring Don Pryor)

Very excited to welcome to the show.

He is the man behind.

I'm going to say,

Hodgda, agree with me here.

It's the most popular bit

in the history of the Jason and Dev Morning show.

The father-done thing.

Anytime we would go on vacation,

which I know people would say was often,

you know, we'd be like,

hey, what do you guys want to hear?

And always people would just say,

replay the father-done thing when he said this,

when he said that.

I think it was at least the most memorable thing

that we did.

And the man behind the character,

I don't want to blow anybody's mind.

That's a character.

Is the great Don Pryor,

who's given us some time today.

Don, how are you, buddy?

Good to see you.

How are you guys doing?

Good, I feel like.

I feel like you might still be in character.

Unfortunately, it's not that far from father-done.

I'm really not.

That's what I tell Jason.

I'm always half in character.

Half out, and that's just how we roll.

That's how the true artists live their lives.

Yeah, I have.

I have a specific answer for this question,

but I'll let you go first Don.

Do you remember the origin of father-done

or when I came to you and said,

hey, I want you to do this thing where...

You were very gracious.

It's like, yeah, sure, whatever you need.

How long ago do you think that was?

Should 2000, at least eight,

I just used that seven or eight, something like that.

So, as I recall it, I was either doing traffic at 590,

or I was prepping for the Todd and Don Chia, one of the two.

But it definitely predates Todd and Don.

I would have to...

I think Nick came in.

I think Nick came in.

Am I right in...

No, because this is all Jason did.

It predates me.

I was 2009.

But I just assumed that...

And maybe this is more for father-done than Don prior,

but I just assumed that I was like,

oh, go down to the Rock and Roll station

and hit on their hot producer, okay.

Sure Jason, whatever you need, man.

Well, let's do it.

I'll tell you the...

Tell him I wanted it.

Sure, no repercussions, okay.

Yeah, yeah.

The thing that I wanted to tell you, Don,

and I don't want this to be too sentimental, if you will,

but I was very brand new to the radio station.

It's November of the year 2000.

I was hired on November the second.

That's before me.

Well, it was the Aggie Longhorn Breakfast Bash.

A K L VJ AM used to do this big thing

where they'd meet up at some almost fancy hotel downtown.

It was the day before the Aggie game

or sometime around then.

And Aggies would come and Longhorn would come and the bands

and it was a big what to do.

It really was, it was great.

Rick Perry was there.

That same day I saw Rick Perry and he wanted a photo

and I took it, took the picture of Rick Perry and some fan

and Rick Perry looked at me and was like, do you want one?

And I was like, no, I'm good.

Yeah.

But I remember you were there.

You were there, thank you.

Yeah, you were there, Don, and you used to do this bit.

I guess you were available for hire for corporate parties

or Aggie Longhorn Breakfast Bash's called

and I'll let you explain it.

But it was basically just like the bad waiter

or the worst waiter.

The worst waiter.

I watch and yeah, the idea is Don is the world's worst waiter

and he comes to your fancy Christmas party

and he just fills food and fucks up everything.

And people don't know that he's an actor, that he's just there.

He's there.

And I did it for them that year and that thing was so much fun.

And I remember it was in a very tight, tightly packed little banquet

room down at the Marriott.

But that's a thing that I did and still do occasionally

for corporate things all over the country

and association things.

But mostly corporate, you know, imagine your typical hotel banquet,

you know, we've all been to those

and they're pretty much all the same, corporate kind of thing.

And I post this one of the waiters,

but I'm on the first day of, first day on the job

and the only people that know about it

is who hired me and the other wait members of the wait staff.

And otherwise everybody is in the dark.

And I come in and just F everything up.

And people are trying to figure out good,

Lord, is this got for real or not?

And you get this thing going on in the crowd of just people

trying to figure this out because it's not real obvious.

I'm not out there doing, you know,

it's not necessarily slapstick where, you know,

I'm not pulling a bra out of my hat or something.

There's definitely a question as to whether this guy,

you know, I'm eating rolls while I'm serving rolls

and dropping stuff.

I filled filled people's waters glasses to the point

where they can't even pick them up.

They're so full or I'll put my thumb in the glasses.

I'm pouring it stuff on and on and on.

Yeah.

And then the hoax is revealed at the end.

And then I get up and do a talk.

And so yeah, I've been doing that for years,

many, many of 35 years.

Well, yeah, what I remember about that day was Ed

and the morning show crew there were interviewing you,

I guess, after it was going on or an Ed kept talking to you

like he was talking to the world's worst waiter.

And unlike his fourth follow-up question,

you just said to him, you're like, yeah, I guess,

but Ed, how far are we gonna go with this bit, man?

And I was like, I was just barely into film school enough

to know like I was like, oh, shit, he broke the fourth wall.

That's hilarious.

And I remember that moment forever.

It was so funny to me.

And so then years later, I'm doing the morning show

and we had this idea to have a, it was honestly shout out

to Steve Reynolds, a bad consultant idea.

He wanted to get a real preacher to come on

and bless the team before a football game.

And I was like, I like that idea,

but I'm gonna do it differently.

And I was like, I'm gonna get a preacher

who's kind of horny and is a troublemaker.

And I was like, I know exactly the guy to play this.

And so I remember walking into the newsroom

and asking you, hey, would you possibly be into this?

And I showed you the script and I was like, please don't.

And I'm sure it was pretty tame back then too.

We really jumped the shark with this shit.

But I remember thinking don't just don't be offended

or matter it, because I didn't know you at the time.

And you were like, yeah, no problem.

And came on, and people find out

that I was writing scripts for those things.

And they're like, oh, what's your, you,

and I was like, yeah, but it's a hundred percent.

Like Dawn is the magic secret sauce in it.

It's just all of the, the spirit of the character is all him.

Like honestly, it only hindered the bit

by you giving him a script.

Like whatever I didn't have voice work by Dawn,

I just like, hey, man, just, here's the name of the thing I want

and just, just to go have fun with it and play with it.

I was like, I'm not going to try to constrain you by a script.

I would not dare.

Right. Yeah, you used to bring me stuff, Nick.

I remember, yeah, unfortunately it's a part

that I fell into way too easily, but I immediately got the joke.

And just immediately started having, you know,

look, ideas about ad-libs that I could throw in as well.

And of course, the fact that Deb was in there

and me asking her every single time to take her shirt off,

what she never did, certainly added to it, I guess.

But yeah, but I had no idea it was that popular.

Oh, yeah, the people loved it.

Well, now I may have ruined it because in the later years

when we were just half a replay show,

I would play Father Dawn every single day.

So I may have just ruined the bit

where people hear these things over and over again.

Like, who came up with the, my question was always Father Dawn,

DAWN, which I just love the Father Dawn, DWN.

That's a brilliant way.

That is screams come back, priest to me.

And obviously, I'm like, well, I get it because it's Dawn.

Dawn, Dawn priority is like, well,

let's not make him remember this whole fake persona.

It's just Father Dawn.

But like, what is the Father Dawn?

Like, what does that mean?

I think that was mine.

Yeah, I would have never thought of that.

And I think it was just like a riff, just an ad-lib riff.

Like I introduced him and he said, he says,

Dawn, DAWN, and I was like, yeah, and yeah, just stuck after that.

But it just, it sounds like a guy who would sit there and tell you

that, yeah, I'm now born again, again.

Well, that was Jason's one.

Just, yeah, so it was always a combination of some great writing

from Jason and then me throwing in ad-libs in between.

But I was always amazed at how quickly you could write that stuff.

I mean, you would write it literally like the morning of.

Yeah, I suppose like you fell quickly or you're close to the character.

I am naturally depraved as well.

And so, yeah, those things go there too quickly.

Jason, where did you come up with all these inappropriate things

to ask your female co-host and producer?

How did you tap in to that mindset?

I do, there's a whole writers room

who is working on all of that.

Now, I'm not sure what the exact lore is on this, Dawn.

But we always believe that there was a period of time and it may or may not

have been related to some shows being taken off the air

for a discussion of immigration policies and the like.

Where you were in trouble for you were not allowed by the powers that be,

hey guy, to appear on our morning show.

Is that true?

Did I make that up?

What happened?

Were you ever told, hey, don't go party with those rock and roll kids.

Nobody liked that.

Yeah, well, Mark Caesar with all respect.

And I owe him a lot, believe me.

But yeah, he was not happy with me running down there to,

you know, what, I'd be down there like five minutes and do the bit

that I'd be back at 590 down the hall.

But he did get wind of it and he was not pleased.

He was not pleased at all.

And I guess things were a little bit more competitive back then.

And I'm not sure I wasn't quite sure what the problem was.

But yeah, I guess I found a work around.

I don't remember how I did it, but I was still coming down there.

But was it just the fact that you were going down to the one to the rock

and roll station that was technically a competitor?

Was it about other things that happened or was it just like, he was like,

I don't specifically want my traffic guy or the host of one of my shows

to be playing this horny priest who talks about cocaine all the time.

Like was it a subject matter?

All of that.

I think combination of all of that, yeah.

I think the father don had gone clean and quit the blow.

It would have been totally fine.

I didn't really think about it until you just mentioned this done.

But yeah, at the time, Mark Caesar was hosting the morning show.

So perhaps he was intimidated by this up and coming rock and roll DJ Jason Nick.

I was, I was stealing away the 38 year old white conservative man from.

Yeah.

I mean, I get that.

He didn't want me contributing to the success of another station at that point.

Yeah.

I don't think he had any idea what the bit was, but let me just say of Mark Caesar that I,

he eventually was my boss when I was doing afternoons there for a little while.

And he's the program director of ESPN Radio as well.

And I, I can tell you firsthand, he did not want to contribute to the success of his own

radio station.

I got no support, no support for management when it came to those shows.

But that was, yeah, I remember that period that was, you know, between you and Dale, when

Dale had his run on 5.90 AM, which I still can't believe that happened.

And that did not go well at home.

Well, I'm sure Mark, who is, you know, a true blue conservative radio, bro, was like,

what the fuck are we doing?

Yeah, exactly.

But he's like, look, man, I'm just trying to ride this out.

I'm just trying to ride this out into the tires in here.

I'm not going to rock the boat, but what the fuck are we doing?

Yeah, what are we doing?

But there was one time when when I was doing the sports show where he came up to me,

he was just like, well, you know, like Bob, who's the owner, he's like, Bob wants you guys

to be a little blue.

So that's okay.

And I think we responded by, there was a clip of Steve Sarkiesian talking about how they

had their running backs, their young running back course, like, we got three guys on the

come.

And I was like, well, that's going to be something that I play every five seconds.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Just go to the lawnmower and say, on the come, it's safe on that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Speaking of Mark Caesar in retirement, and you're retired, right?

Don, how's life going on, man?

Well, retirement has been great.

Now, I still am fortunate enough to, they'll call on me to come in and fill in.

In fact, I've got some shows.

In fact, I'm going to do a whole week with Todd coming already, doing a little fill in

here.

And so, you know, I get to scratch that itch a little bit, the slight itch that there

is.

But, man, I've got to tell you, I've got, I'm really good at retirement.

I'm just, I'm just lazy enough that I took to it, maybe a little bit too well.

But, you know, I just, after, let's see, Todd and Don, we were together 15 years.

And you know what it's like to be in a small confined room with the same person, every

single day, it'll make a drink.

It'll make a drink.

And plus, you know, just the subject matter, it was intense, especially during the Trump

years.

It just got crazy.

Of course, we're in the Trump years again, but it was just, I got tired of hearing myself

talk.

I literally got tired of my own voice, you know, it was time to stop.

I'll let you, that might be enough for you, but comment on this as much as you want, because

we always knew, excuse me, you and Todd behind the scenes.

And then I would listen to the Todd and Don show, and I'd be like, this can't be for real,

this can.

And at least, the problem for me, Don is like, Todd is way too good at just being a fake

maggot, bro.

I'm like, maybe he's not defaking it.

Okay, I was like, he is just so, so on it, was there ever like pressure to do that?

I mean, I remember when they were talking about, you know, KOBJ, they were going to center

it up a little bit, and then Trump got elected, and they're like, fuck that plan, we're

not doing that.

Yeah, we're going.

No, I have to honestly say that my like it or not, but me on the air, I was always true

to myself.

Yeah, I really, I tried to be, I tried to be, so Todd can get passionate, there's no

doubt about it.

Boy, can he get passionate, but no, I tried to stay pretty true to myself.

And, and I, I guess I learned that from my dad, who was always that way on the air as

well.

Cactus prior is brilliant, broadcasting legend, cactus prior.

Yeah.

I wrote it down, and then I was like, what a cheesy-ass question.

But was that it like growing up the son of a broadcasting legend, and then you wind up

on the, on the air?

Was that ever like big shoes to fill, pressure or anything like that?

Oh, of course, but, but it wasn't like I, I wasn't pressured into it.

In fact, I didn't get into radio, unlike you, you two, both of you, who started young.

I didn't go to work for the station until I was 41, and it, you know, I had done a lot

of other things.

I was, I was a musician and I was doing comedy around the country and what not.

And I, I had just kind of told myself for years that, you know, why would you get into

radio?

Just do your own thing, do your own thing.

Who wants to hear another prior on the radio?

Because my dad did it for years.

My brother Paul was also on KLBJ and many other stations as well.

And was a really successful talk show host.

But I kind of told myself for years, it's like, why would anybody want another prior?

But then I realized that I just kind of, I did want to do it.

I really did.

Um, and to be honest with you, even though I got hired at KLBJ, I loved my dad, but, but

I have to tell you, I wasn't crazy about being at the same station as my dad, uh, because

I worried and, and it was true.

A lot of people thought it was just 100% pure nepotism.

And I didn't, listen, I didn't start right on the air.

I started out as a producer, uh, to do what I could to get in there and get in, be in

front of people and then I quickly started doing traffic and then Todd and I, uh, sat next

to each other, you know, we were next to each other in the, the newsroom every single day.

And, uh, we just kind of developed this, this, uh, rapport in this back and forth and

that we realized was, had potential and it just kind of went from there.

And, uh, but, um, yeah, I guess I always felt some pressure, but, but I tried not to let

that control, uh, what came out of my mouth and what I did.

So I worked really hard at, uh, just trying to stay true to myself.

Maybe you shouldn't have to work hard at that, but, uh, I, I, I would check myself.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, go ahead.

Nick.

Well, I was going to ask is a season to traffic veteran, uh, yes, Ed climates with his

fake crash, uh, traffic reports.

Does that have interest sensibilities?

A little bit, a little bit because, uh, I, I took the field, uh, quite seriously, uh, you

know.

People depend on those traffic reports.

I remember one time when I was, I was covering KLBJ as a board op over Christmas and some guy

called in because, uh, a bowling ball had fallen out of the back of somebody's truck

along I 35 and he was very concerned that we and that let the listeners know and that

if you lost a bowling ball, he had it for you, which I think was traffic related.

And so I know they care about that traffic and for Ed climates, like just people that aren't

familiar with this bit, they must think that there's a loose steer every day.

I'm 32 32 outside of Sioux Patrick on Brent Road.

I'm like, come on, Ed, if you're going to do this, you at least got to vary it up, okay?

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I do resent the fact he doesn't take it seriously enough and, uh, because it's, it's,

it's in me.

It's in you, you can't lose that, uh, that traffic bug, uh, I was very glad to traffic just

to it, it was able to put me in front of a microphone, you know, and, um, but, but I

have to, I don't know if it was you, Nick.

I, but there was, and we can, we can cut here, correct?

Yes.

Uh, so I used to, if y'all remember, I would, uh, cut traffic reports and send them off

to you guys that, that y'all would play as well.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I, I would do the live traffic report and then I would cut one and, and, uh, send

it off to the other stations in the building.

So I sent off a bad edit.

I had a north band on 35 coming up on an old tour.

If you got it, you fuck, uh, north down 35 on, you got a wreck coming up, fuck north

band 35.

Well, I sit that off nice and I, maybe it was Nick.

I said, but someone came up from one of the FM's, just eyes, biggest saucers, don't

person, fuck, yeah.

And so, but I don't think that you've been in radio until you have done something like

that, correct?

Yeah.

For sure.

I don't, I don't think that was us just if only because if it was, Jason would have

been the one that, that had loaded that and heard it and actually listened to it and

would have heard you say, fuck, and he would have replayed that a billion times.

I haven't heard the Lynn Lawless little bit, little bit, little bit.

Yeah.

Drop that he had.

I'm envious of Brian back or whoever it was who ended up playing that on the air because

I would have absolutely loved that.

I thought it must have, it must have been, uh, K LBJ FM, uh, but I just remember a, a producer

or somebody coming in just like, sounds like a Daniel move.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But we, we probably always, all of us have had that moment, um, Don prior ladies and gentlemen,

so glad to get to do this with you.

And thanks for doing the prayer for us on the, uh, the show a couple days ago.

Um,

I mean, close it, close it to Jesus lean on you again, maybe in the, in the future.

Um, I mean, you're, uh, really good at retirement.

Is there anything you want to, uh, plug is the three chord rodeo still happening?

What?

You know, now, uh, well, yes, they're still out there, but, but I'm not playing with

them.

Uh, the only thing I can really plug is that I have a, uh, a cocktail every day at five

o'clock.

And, and, oh, yes, pretty much the most interesting thing I'm doing right now.

So.

Do it well.

That is tremendous.

You know, all the people that sit there and say, like, I could never be retired.

I tell you that you won't, you won't like it.

You'll get bored.

They never had to wake up at like four in the morning in the entire career.

And that was the retirement super easy, uh, and that was that, that was one of the reasons

as well.

345 every morning had, had to stop that.

Yeah.

Uh, Don, thank you, uh, very much for doing this, buddy.

And, uh, let's catch up again soon.

Great seeing you guys.