The Slacker Morning Show

After almost 20 years of pursuing his dream in the kitchen, Chef John C. Smith opened his own restaurant, EJ’S Urban Eatery, in August of 2017 in Kansas City’s historic West Bottoms. The restaurant is a modern version of the traditional Southern comfort food concept known as a Meat and Three.

A Chicago native, Smith, was instantly exposed to one of America’s greatest food cities, which led him to develop a love of all things food at an early age. He developed his appreciation and experience with southern cooking from his grandmothers, whom he visited every summer and during the holidays, in Mississippi.

John chose to follow his passion for food professionally by enrolling at the Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago in 1998. During that time, he worked at Chicago’s celebrated Park Avenue Café, under award winning Chef David Burke.

Soon after, John wanted exposure to new foods and cooking techniques so he moved to Paris to expand his knowledge and grow as a chef. There, he worked in several restaurants including the Michelin Three Star Restaurant, Taillevent.

He returned to the United States after a year to work for Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chef,” Ted Cizma at Grace Restaurant, and at the famed Pump Room, under Chef Michael Gaspard, in Chicago. His career quickly took him throughout some of the country’s top food cities from Chicago to New York to Des Moines and finally to KC.

During his time in New York City, John had the opportunity work under award-winning Chef Tom Colicchio at Craft Restaurant. John fell in love with Craft because the restaurant focused on how to prepare and present a dish perfectly every time. Today, John continues to teach his cooks that “it doesn’t matter if you have the finest ingredients if you do not have the right technique.” He also had the opportunity to work as the Sous Chef for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, helping to oversee all six restaurants within the museum.

In 2005, he relocated to Des Moines, IA and worked at the award-winning Splash Seafood Restaurant. He later joined 810 Chop House, as Executive Sous Chef, which led to him opening the 801 Chophouse in downtown Kansas City, MO in 2008.

In September 2012, John was asked to open The Jacobson as the Executive Chef in the growing Crossroads District in Kansas City, Mo. The restaurant’s very public opening gained noteworthy attention surrounding his southern influenced American cuisine and generated national media coverage and substantial buzz from foodies.

​

Soon after, he rejoined the 801 Restaurant family as the Executive Chef of Pig and Finch Gastropub in Leawood, Kan. where he continued to use his talent of blending the influences of his childhood and mentors to create exceptional cuisine in a pub-like atmosphere.

With his first chef-owned venture, Smith takes the lead on a national restaurant concept that brings Southern comfort food to the Midwest in the form of a modern styled Meat and Three. EJ’s Urban Eatery is the first of its kind showcasing Smith’s talents and giving customers the choice of several weekly seasonal features of a protein and three sides. The new restaurant, at 1414 West 9th Street, Kansas City, Mo. 64101, takes its place in a remodeled 100-year-old brick building in the old stockyard and warehouse district of Kansas City’s West Bottoms – a section of KC experiencing immense growth and development.

@EjsUrbanEatery

#Eatlocal

#KC

#Meat+3

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile

When Ronnie Montrose passed away on March 3, 2012, he was in the midst of working on an album that would have thrilled fans of his original MONTROSE (1973-1974) and GAMMA (1979-1983) periods. The artistically restless Montrose followed his muse without question, but, in 2003, he called in bassist Ricky Phillips (STYX, BAD ENGLISH) and drummer Eric Singer (KISS, ALICE COOPER) to tackle a power-trio project that would rock harder than anything he had done in years.

The idea was to record ten songs with ten different singers and call the album "10x10". He brought Phillips and Singer to Doug Messenger's studio in North Hollywood, and the three musicians set up to record live — no pre-production rehearsals and no overdubs — and knocked out ten basic tracks in two or three days. Sadly, Montrose was unable to see the album through during his lifetime and it quite possibly may never have been heard beyond a few Montrose-family friends. Montrose did manage to record some of his chosen vocalists — such as Sammy Hagar and Edgar Winter — but finances, schedules, and a frightening illness conspired to slow and eventually stop progress.

We can all thank Phillips, Singer, Leighsa Montrose and Rhino Records now, because the album that appeared destined to be lost to time is now available!

@Rhino_Records

#RonnieMontrose

@Ronnie_Montrose

@EricMartinBand

@GuitarWorld

@LANDSHARKPromo

#10x10

@prophetsofrage

@glenn_hughes

@stevelukather

Mitch Holthus has been with the Chiefs Radio Network since 1994, when he took over for Kevin Harlan, making him the longest-tenured play-by-play announcer in Chiefs history. He is best known perhaps for his drawn-out, exuberant "Touchdown, KAN-SAS CITY!" whenever the Chiefs reach the end zone. In addition to his radio work, Holthus hosts "Minute With Mitch" and "Chiefs Insider" on select stations in the Chiefs television network. In addition to his work with the Kansas City Chiefs, Holthus is an announcer for Big 12 Conference and Missouri Valley Conference basketball games on regional television, as well as calling some college basketball games for ESPN-U. Holthus is a past President of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, and serves on its board of directors.

@mitchholthus

@chiefsPR

@Chiefsinsider

#Chiefskingdom

@Arrowheadaddict

@danisraelkc

@Big_Fish79

@Chiefscheer@KCChiefsRadio

@Chiefs

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile

@KansasCityFans

@SportKC

Seasons 52 is a celebration of what’s good now. Seasonally inspired menus featuring ingredients at their peak of freshness. Rustic cooking techniques like brick oven roasting and open-fire grilling that bring out natural flavors. And an ever-changing selection of global wines. All in a casually sophisticated setting. Discover what’s good now, this and every season.

THREE-COURSE HARVEST DINNER, $29

To truly celebrate the fall harvest, we’re

preparing a special three-course Harvest Dinner

featuring those ingredients and flavors that say

autumn like nothing else.

@Seasons52

@KCRWGoodFood

@RGKC

@ThePlazaKC

@plazakc

#KCFoodie

#KansasCityRestaurant

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile

#CountryClubPlaza

A dog by your side is a loyal companion and a best friend for life. As our military members come home, many return to face a new battle, a life with "invisible wounds." Science and testimony confirm what we already know to be true: Dogs are a warriors' best friend and a lifesaving companion.

We're working to ensure that every soldier who needs the important care of a service dog finds their match. ​That's why two nonprofits are teaming up.

Warriors' Best Friend selects homeless dogs from Great Plains SPCA to train and transform into service dogs that help soldiers battling Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries recover physically and emotionally. Join us to help the men and women who have served and homeless pets in our community.

@GreatPlainsSPCA

@WarriorsBFriend

@Cars4Heroes1

@WarriorsAscent

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile

When Paul O'Neill first conceived Trans-Siberian Orchestra, his goal was as straightforward as it was incredibly ambitious. "The whole idea," he explains, "was to create a progressive rock band that would push the boundaries (of the genre) further than any group before... Way, way further."

With more than 10 million albums sold, TSO has inspired generations of fans to rediscover the multi-dimensional art form of the rock opera. Meanwhile, on the road, they have become one of the world's top acts, with Billboard magazine naming TSO as one of the top touring artists of the past decade -- a $20 million-plus production that has played to over 100 million people in 80+ cities, selling more than $280 million worth of tickets and presenting $11 million to charity.

O'Neill, a New York City native grew up, "with a wide-ranging world of (rock) musical influences." But, O'Neill also soaked up sources such as Broadway musicals, Motown and singer-songwriters such as Jim Croce and Harry Chapin, while authors such as Oscar Wilde and Robert Graves fueled his literary tastes. He began his career playing guitar for touring productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair, then went to work in the late '70s for Leber-Krebs Inc., the Manhattan management company whose clients included Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Def Leppard, the Scorpions, the New York Dolls, and scores of others. In the '80s, O'Neill became a major concert promoter in Japan as well, but returned to the States to start writing and producing full-time.

O'Neill helmed Aerosmith's Classics Live I and Classics Live II albums before beginning a fortuitous relationship with the band Savatage that led to conceptual pieces such as Hall Of The Mountain King, Gutter Ballet, Streets: A Rock Opera and Dead Winter Dead. Producing introduced O'Neill to Jon Oliva, Bob Kinkel and Al Pitrelli, as well as reconnecting him with legendary studio engineer Dave Wittman, who all became key original collaborators in O'Neill's grand vision - Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

"I wanted to take the very best of all the forms of music I grew up on and merge them into a new style," O'Neill says. "Basically I was building on the work of everybody I worshipped: the rock opera parts from bands like the Who; the marriage of classical and rock from bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Queen; the over-the-top light show from bands like Pink Floyd... I always wanted to do a full rock opera with a full progressive band and at least 18 lead singers."

O'Neill took the idea to Atlantic Records which, to his surprise, went for it and financed the creation of Romanov, which was initially to be TSO's first release. "We were very fortunate," he says. "It was one of the only labels left that still did an 'old school' kind of artist development. My original concept was that we were going to do six rock operas, a trilogy about Christmas and maybe one or two regular albums."

However, when Romanov got temporarily put on the back burner, the first installment of the Christmas trilogy, Christmas Eve and Other Stories became TSO's debut album. Fueled by the socially conscious single "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," the album was certified double platinum. More platinum certifications followed with 1998's The Christmas Attic, and the final installment of the Christmas trilogy, The Lost Christmas Eve in 2004. In the midst of completing the trilogy, TSO released their first non-holiday rock opera, the gold certified Beethoven's Last Night.

But TSO really cemented its following in concert. The group hit the road in 1999, beginning an annual November-December extravaganza that O'Neill takes pride in being, "as over the top as we can make it. We have, two stages --with pyro, light and lasers-- on both sides of the arena, as well as in the crowd and the best sound we can find... There's no second-class seats at a Trans-Siberian Orchestra show. I want people to walk out of our shows speechless and still not believing what they have seen was possible."

TSO's latest album, Night Castle, released in October of 2009 debuted at #5 and was certified gold by year's end. A sweeping two-discs of genre-bending epics, Night Castle is an affecting story that takes the listener around the world, through time and to points beyond. O'Neill and company will eventually give Night Castle its due in a live setting just as they have Beethoven's Last Night in spring '10 with a new hybrid form of concert they called "Rock Theatre"-- just one of many multi-media avenues TSO will be exploring in the near future...

"We spend a lot of time planning," O'Neill confesses with a laugh, "and people are always telling me, 'Paul, stop writing and start recording!' It's working out great, though. I feel lucky that it's gone this long and that we get to do what we love for a living. The arts have incredible power, and with that comes incredible responsibility. Someone once said that if you want to change the world, don't become a politician -- write a book, write a great song. I believe in that, and that's what Trans-Siberian Orchestra is about."

"I've always believed that music has the power to transport and transform," O'Neill explained. "The original concept of Trans-Siberian Orchestra was how to make music have the most emotional impact. We always try to write melodies that are so infectious they don't need lyrics and lyrics so poetic that they don't need a melody, but when you combine the two together they create an alloy where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Once those songs are woven together into a tapestry they create a story which gives each song a third dimension."

"That was so much in the spirit of Trans-Siberian Orchestra," O'Neill explains. "This is a group --a constantly morphing group-- of extremely creative and talented individuals who are always trying to raise the bar of where a band can take its audience sonically, visually and emotionally. With that as our core ideal, the possibilities are endless."

@trans_siberian

@TSO

#TSO

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#@SprintCenter

#TMobile

On November 22, 1978, Danny O’Neill picked his first batch of coffee beans in the mountainous coffee-growing region around the Poás volcano while studying abroad in Costa Rica. Right then and there, he fell in love with the country, the people and the coffee — especially the coffee. Fifteen years later, when Danny founded The Roasterie in his basement in one of Kansas City's great neighborhoods, Brookside, it just made sense that he would partner directly with farmers and pay above-market values to get the best of the best coffee beans.

Today, direct trade makes more sense than ever. The Roasterie still believes in partnering with farmers at origin, in mutually beneficial direct trade relationships — removing the middleman from the equation. By doing this, our farmers get much higher prices for their coffees than they would with other trade systems.

One of the most renowned specialty coffee roasters in the nation, The Roasterie stands apart from other specialty and direct trade coffee companies. Nobody else does it like we do. We are committed to finding the best green coffee beans from around the world, for a fair price. Those beans are then roasted using a convection air-roasting method instead of the more traditional drum-roasting method, to ensure superior consistency and a tastier, smoother cup of coffee.

Quality, freshness, education. That's what The Roasterie story is about. Try any of our coffees and you'll be able to taste and smell the difference our commitment makes.

@TheRoastrie

@SportingKC

@RockhurstAlumni

@BeanBaron

@ithinkKC

@BrooksideSC

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile

@ChildrensMercy

At an age when many artists are slowing down, David Crosby is speeding up!

When Crosby released Croz in 2014, it had been two decades since his last solo album. But in 2016, only two years after that robust, full-band effort, the 75-year old returned with Lighthouse, an intimate, stripped-down set that highlights Crosby’s instantly recognizable voice, incisive songwriting, and incomparable guitar work.

“Lights twinkle, flicker, blaze and sparkle throughout David Crosby’s finest solo album since his melancholy 1971 masterpiece ‘If I Could Only Remember My name’ “ – Rolling Stone

Now on Sept 29th 2017 comes the new masterpiece Sky Trails. Produced by James Raymond, the album features a new collection of original songs including writing collaborations with Michael McDonald, Becca Stevens & James Raymond as well as a re-imagining of a Joni Mitchell classic.

Two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and co-founder of the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash, David Crosby, is heading out on tour in Nov/Dec 2017. Joining him will be five exceptionally talented musical friends, James Raymond on keys, Mai Agan on bass, Steve DiStanislao on drums, Jeff Pevar on guitar and Michelle Willis on keys and vocals.

Crosby is in the midst of an incredibly creative and powerful period and on this tour, he will be performing music from the soon to be released new album Sky Trails alongside some of his best loved songs and greatest hits.

"David Crosby and his friends put on an awesome show. It was not full of glitz and glam, no fancy laser light show or costume changes, but it was packed with spot on quality, superb harmonies and awesome musicianship. Crosby’s voice was as smooth as it has ever been and he was warm and charismatic."

@thedavidcrosby

@OfficalDavidCrosby

#DavidCrosbySkyTrails

#CSN

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile

Family and friends of longtime guitarist Van McLain are coming together to aid in his recovery from complications after contacting the WEST NILE VIRUS in 2015. The goal of the fundraiser and silent auction benefitting Van McLain is to step in where his insurance is no longer covering the costs to continue rehabilitating him with occupational and physical therapy to a point where he can walk again.

In August of 2015 – Van experienced “flu-like” symptoms that got increasingly worse throughout the week After experiencing slurred speech and a rash, Onnie drove Van to the emergency room where he began to show severe symptoms. They did a lumbar puncture and the results were meningitis. He was taken to ICU and it was discovered he also had encephalitis. They kept him comfortable. Then his blood work finally came back after 7 days from being tested at several labs confirming a bizarre diagnosis- WEST NILE VIRUS. He was having trouble breathing so they intubated him, but after 10 days a decision was made to place a trachea tube and then a feeding tube. At this point he was in and out consciousness. He remained in ICU until the end of September then went to a long term acute hospital. Van remained in several hospitals with pneumonia more times that can be remembered, pulmonary problems, difficulty breathing, many tests and procedures.

After a year of treatments for the West Nile Virus, Van began to move past the initial virus stage, BUT – the virus had weakened him. He had his trachea tube removed March 2017 but continues to have respiratory problems and pulmonary issues that resulted from his condition. Van is now at a point where he needs intense therapy, transportation and high-tech equipment so he can get stronger like we have been told he can! Now his family and friends are working together to help raise funds so he can rehabilitate his motor skills and strengthening issues. After over two years of trying to recover, he is now at a point where rehab can help him walk again.

Who: Guitarist Van McLain

What: Join Van’s family and friends for a fundraiser and silent auction benefitting Van McLain. Silent auction items from the sports and entertainment world include autographed items from Journey, Styx, Kansas, Sammy Hagar, George Strait, Kelsea Ballerini, Tracy Lawrence and more!

There will be a $15 charge at the door. All proceeds go to Van’s relief Fund (Shooting Star Relief Fund ) We will have food, drinks, a live auction at the benefit, and an online auction.

Bands that will be playin for Vans Benefit:

Barnyard Playboy

BluzBenderz

Blue Plate Special

Perpetual Change

South Side Souls

The Crayons

Bob Walkenhorst w/ Norm

The Elders

Shooting Star/ past and present

The All Star Jam

When: September, 24th 2017 from Noon to 5:00 pm

Doors are at 12:00 bands start at 1:00

Where: Kanza Hall (Address: 7316 W 119th Overland Park, KS. 66213)

How: If you can not make the event and still want to help, we will accept online bids for the silent auction items.

You can also donate directly by mail:

Shooting Star Relief Fund

9173 W. 102 Terrace

Overland Park, KS 66212

#shootingstarrelieffund.com

@BlackRiverENT

@TheEldersBand

@fueloffical

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile

#ShootingStarBand

“The Best Burger in Kansas City is at the Westport Flea Market,” according to The Food Network’s “Meat and Potatoes.” And The Pitch. And Zomato. And…well, you get the picture. But we’re more than a just a great burger. Try us on Monday steak nights, we guarantee you’ll be back. We’re Westport’s favorite, quirky, funky 30+ year old local-dining institution. Boasting some of the country’s best made-to-order eats served up with a healthy side of atmosphere, nostalgia, local history, and a stubborn resistance to change.

flea_handLike karaoke? Got it. Trivia contests? Check. Pool, shuffleboard, video games? Yes, yes, and yes. Need a private room for 10 to 210? We’ve got you covered. Like your brew cold and in various flavors? We have 44 cold and delicious beers tapped and waiting. Live music? Of course. Great burger? Are you even paying attention?

North of the Country Club Plaza, south of downtown Kansas City and the Power & Light District. On the west-side of Westport. Open for lunch and dinner, 7-days a week.

@bestburgerkc

#WestportKansasCity

#BestBurgers

#KansasCityIcons

#SlackerMorningShow101theFox

#TMobile