Hello friends, it’s been a while since my last update, so I figured I’d give you a quick rundown of my goings-on out here in The Big D.

Things are great! It has been a bit of an adjustment moving 2,000 miles away from family, friends, and a great situation to come to a big new town where I only know a handful of people. I have gotten settled in for the most part and I’ve met a bunch of great people out here so far.

The full-time gig (sales for 105.3 The Fan) is going well, all things considered. I am essentially a rookie again in this business, which has created a bit of a challenge in terms of going out and having to drum up new business while learning all the nuances of a major radio market.

But I have had some decent successes thus far, and some other things are in the hopper that make me feel confident that things will pick up.

As for the Cowboys, I feel that things are going pretty well with them too. There are ten total scheduled Cowboys games at Cowboys Stadium this season (before playoffs – which, mark my words, they WILL make) and we just had game five yesterday, a 34-7 romp over the St. Louis Rams.

Each time I DJ a professional sporting event, I strive for what I call a perfect game. No missed cues, play the right song at the right moment, keep the crowd entertained and loud to help the team on to victory. It’s a very tough task to undertake.

I've received some great feedback so far, but I've also messed up a couple times. It's been an adjustment from my time as the UFL's Sacramento Mountain Lions' DJ to learn the rules of the NFL production - like the rule that I can't play anything while either team's play clock is running.

The consequences of that rule are harsh - substantial fines to the team. Like "well-into-five-figures" substantial. For each offense. It does create a lot of dead air, but I would much rather be safe than sorry and not be on the radar for costing the team a lot of unnecessary money. It's a big difference from the UFL mantra of constant energy and noise.

I feel that I'm getting better each game at Cowboys Stadium.

But no perfect games yet. It will come.

I also have some other great news I'm really excited about! I have recently been afforded another amazing opportunity. I received a call from a friend of a friend named Jon who had also relocated to Dallas to become the in-game entertainment producer for the NHL’s Dallas Stars.

They were looking for a new DJ because they wanted their previous DJ (a great guy named Jeff K, who has taken me under his wing) to focus on being their in-game host, and Jon had received my name through the grapevine.

I met with Jon and we discussed his goals (no pun intended), and he is striving to take the entertainment production at the American Airlines Center to the next level and wanted to build his staff of people who would help him do so.

He did a great job of managing my expectations, noting that there was a new goal song this year, that we would be making changes throughout the season, and that the in-game presentation is going to have a whole new feel to it.

Considering hockey is a very traditional audience, change isn’t always welcomed with open arms and it could foster some not-too-positive energy. One main point he emphasized is that I would be the recipient of a lot of that energy.

It was going to be a challenge. But also a great opportunity.

As you know, I do like to challenge myself.

I am also a fan of taking advantage of opportunities.

I hadn’t DJ’d hockey since the early 2000s back in southern California with the WCHL’s San Diego Gulls, so considering that the Stars' preseason had already begun and opening night was less than a week away, I had to quickly realign myself with the flow and nuances of a hockey game.

Fast forward to today. I’ve worked four Stars games on my own (after partnering with LA Kings DJ/organist Dieter Ruehle for opening night), and things are trending upward. I still have lots of room for improvement, and I will get there.

But it’s been two weeks of non-stop work soaking myself back into hockey, learning the system and building the music library at the stadium, learning what we are keeping and what we are changing, and implementing it all into a live show. It’s been somewhat stressful and a lot of work, but again, there’s that whole “challenge-opportunity” thing.

Totally worth it.

The Stars are playing well (knock on wood) and I’m getting much more comfortable every game. I’ve heard the naysayers and I’ve heard the positive feedback, but I continue to forge ahead helping Jon reach his vision and work hard to become one of the best in the business.

I’m looking forward to it and I’m grateful for the opportunity. It’s going to be a great winter. Let’s GO STARS!

I apologize for the lack of updates; hopefully this will get you caught up to speed. I miss everyone back home and I look forward to hearing how you are.

Erik