Podcast Summary: Holmberg's Morning Sickness – Arizona

Episode: 11-25-25 – Recapping Playdio To This Point and Listing the Finalists (and Possibly Changing the Finals to Next Week)
Date: November 25, 2025
Hosts: John Holmberg, Brady Bogen, Brett Vesely, Dick Toledo
Theme: Recap of the Playdio band contest, challenges with finalists' attendance, Playdio’s evolving logistics, and plenty of playful banter

Main Theme and Episode Purpose

This episode focuses on reviewing the progress of the Playdio band competition—a signature event where local bands compete for a coveted winner’s spot. With Thanksgiving week complicating logistics and several top bands unavailable for the finals, the hosts navigate which groups are moving forward, recount memorable auditions, and riff about the contest’s spirit with their trademark irreverent humor.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Finalist Chaos: Bands Dropping Out

• The hosts lament how many top Playdio contenders can’t even make it to the finals. The reason is mostly attributed to Thanksgiving travel and scheduling.
  • “Everybody's canceling. We might not have a show tonight at all.” (John, 01:13)
• This leads to joking speculation about the fairness and integrity of the contest:
  • “You realize how loaded this contest really sounds? Now, John, you've got four that won't be there tonight that actually won. And you already had two of the top vote getters that were immediately out. What the f, man?” (Co-host, 04:39)

2. DJ Bathsheba: The Enigmatic Truck-Driving Finalist

• DJ Bathsheba emerges as 2025’s most discussion-worthy contestant—a talented vocalist who’s also a truck driver and uses AI tools for music production.
  • “Thank you so much for playing my song. I'm actually a truck driver…so I can't make it to the competition tonight.” (Reading listener message, John, 01:13)
  • “What are you—what kind of flash dance movie am I watching that you're a truck driver with an angelic voice like that?” (John, 01:47)
  • “I'm not AI but I do use AI tools to help with things like mixing and mastering.” (DJ Bathsheba, quoted by John, 01:47)
• There’s skepticism and playful ribbing about her identity, whether she’s AI or “catfishing” the contest:
  • “She's AI until she proves otherwise.” (Brett, 03:52)
  • “A truck driving, beautiful black lady with the voice of an angel. The semen truck. When she's driving a semen truck. This is from the simulation.” (John, 17:42)
• A listener emails to confirm she is real and drives a Siemens (not “semen”) truck, adding to the running gag. (16:00)

3. Listing and Reviewing the Finalists

• The group runs through a list of top Playdio bands, grading their music, with special mention for those whose attendance is in doubt:
  • DDMNRS – “Casual Friday” – “This world will eat you alive. Yes. Sexual apartheid.” (Caller, 07:12)
  • The Thomas James Band – “Black Crows, Stone Temple Pilots, kind of their own thing. I like them.” (John, 07:53)
  • Grave of the Monuments – “Suffocate” – “Like it. That’s going to be loud tonight. If they can make it. I don’t know if they are.” (John, 08:18)
  • The Mess I Made – “Bleed Out” – “Really good production on this. That sounds way more than local.” (John, 08:35)
  • One Star Night – Can't make it – Leads to a tangent about band drama and member communication.
  • Without Fear – John Gordon’s band, also in question.
  • Blood Eagle Army – “Didn’t this just go haywire? …This goes crazy.” (John, 09:31)
• Other favorites:
  • DJ Bathsheba – “It’s one of those things…she starts singing and everybody just goes, holy—” (John, 13:17)
  • Breath of Poison – “This is such a good song. Brent Crandall nailed it. This is an opener for a live show and a closer for a live show.” (John, 14:35)
  • Reckless Eden – “Skeletons” – “Man, we got some good ones this year.” (John, 15:06)

4. Playdio's Purpose and the Spirit of the Contest

• There’s nostalgia about Playdio’s original intent: finding the so-bad-they’re-good acts.
  • “Everybody seems to have forgotten the point of this contest. It was to help us feel better about ourselves when we hear the essiest bands ever…All these good bands. Where am I gonna go here? I'm gonna go home and slip my wrist. Cause I can't compete with that.” (Show Producer/Co-host, 17:19)
• As great bands show up, hosts joke that the rest of the audience is left feeling untalented.

5. Banter, Listener Jokes, and Internal Drama

• Playful accusations and recurring jokes abound—especially about identity, diversity, “AI” band entries, and frequently referencing classic trucker/radio lingo.
• Listener emails and calls keep the mood loose:
  • “Let me tell you a story. A man named Piss Ball Pete, his dick so small he pissed on his ball.” (Listener, 09:11, 19:23) (a running in-joke)
• Ongoing drama with One Star Night, who haven’t been a real band in 20 years, and a message from a former member adds to the soap-opera energy:
  • “Hey, Dick…apologize for Jacob never mentioning that the band wasn't even a band anymore. And Piss ball Pete is 20 years old.” (Email via co-host, 20:44)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

The hosts’ tone remains tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic, and irreverent throughout:

• On Playdio logistics:
  “We got Indians, we got ladies. Yeah, black people. Got John Gore Band... That's like an Aryan race over there. It's gonna look like the proud boys on stage. All right, so he gets a free win. And it's all white up there. Okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, that's how it works, man. All white. We got rid of the Negro, the Indian and the girl. Congratulations, John Gordon. The proud boys of this year's winner.” (John, 06:20)
• On DJ Bathsheba:
  “Turn around and get back here. Besides, what's a woman driving a truck for?” (John, 02:55)
  “I want to be a passenger on your road trips. The songs. I've got to be beautiful listening to you sing the whole way.” (John, 03:30)
• On Playdio’s purpose:
  “It was to help us feel better about ourselves when we hear the essiest bands ever. And we, as the listeners, get to go home thinking, hell, I could pick up an instrument and be better than that. All these good bands. Where am I gonna go here? I'm gonna go home and slip my wrist. Cause I can't compete with that.” (Show Producer/Co-host, 17:19)

Important Segments with Timestamps

• DJ Bathsheba’s Email & Mystic: 01:13 – 03:41
• Bands Dropping Out / Contest Integrity Jokes: 03:46 – 04:51
• Finalists Run-Down Begins: 07:12
• Major Playdio Song Showcases (Breath of Poison, Reckless Eden, etc.): 14:32 – 15:28
• Playdio’s Original Purpose Reminisced: 17:19
• Band Drama & Listener Calls (Piss Ball Pete): 19:23 – 21:11

Conclusion

Despite the chaos and absences, the spirit of Playdio lives on with the hosts’ trademark mixture of sincere music appreciation and sarcastic, irreverent wit. Whether or not the finals happen as planned, they celebrate the good, roast the absent, and remind listeners that sometimes, the magic of local radio band contests is as much about the personalities and the chaos as about the music itself.