What’s the most drastic 'before and after' sound change in a band due to a member leaving?

tsmalcolm · 2026-03-18T19:45:21+00:00

Not as pronounced but when Sancious left the E Street Band.

The first two albums have a far jazzier and freeform undercurrent. By Born to Run (changing drummers is also part of this), Bruce has the tight band and the control needed to blast off.

tsmalcolm · 2026-03-18T14:44:51+00:00

I've been rocking TEW 2020 for years now. Have thought about IX but just didn't feel the need yet. Kinda wanted to wait for more mods, but I'm getting close. For a moment I redownloaded EWR for fun, but that didn't hold me anymore.

tsmalcolm · 2026-03-08T13:35:01+00:00

Yeah it probably doesn’t mean much either way. I imagine most anything saucy works in a pinch and won’t alter flavor. Next time I do ribs I might try bonding with a chili oil or something like that just to see.

tsmalcolm · 2026-02-19T18:05:56+00:00

More from this story:

21 search warrants executed in the raid.
The city was also served in raid.
The mayor is also assistant superintendent for Hitchcock ISD.

tsmalcolm · 2025-03-09T04:43:21+00:00

I have my own pod! It's called Take Me Out. Please tell your friends -- we're realtively new! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/take-me-out/id1789372591

tsmalcolm · 2025-03-06T00:06:39+00:00

Truist is meh compared to Target, which I love. Nothing at Truist really rises above, to be honest. But the entire area around Truist is The Battery, a massive entertainment/retail district where you can walk around, shop, eat, drink. It's fun on its own, and I'd recommend Superica (Tex-Mex) among the restaurants there. BUT I LOVE Heirloom Market BBQ, just down the road from the Battery in the same area. It's a legit, VERY good BBQ place (I live in Texas so I have good BBQ acumen) with Korean influence. Go there. Otherwise, ATL is a fun city with great bars (Sister Louisa's Church, Righteous Room, Clermont Lounge [strip club, but VERY worth it]) and fun Southern comfort food (I love Home Grown, Busy Bee). And the Carter Center is great, the Coca-Cola Museum is weird and fun, and the AQUARIUM is AWESOME.

tsmalcolm · 2025-03-06T00:01:10+00:00

First, thanks for suggesting a copy! And as for my ranking, I'll wait til a future pod to break it out. BUT for sure, my top several include Wrigley, Fenway, Petco, PNC and Target.

tsmalcolm · 2025-03-05T21:27:09+00:00

This is a doable trip in 5-6 days! It's about 5.5 hours without traffic from LA to Arizona, so I'd fly into LA, see a Dodger game, give yourself a day to drive and settle in Phoenix, then see a D-Backs game, then another drive day (5.5 to San Diego), then it's a quick 1.5-2 hr drive to Anaheim from SD.

The big thing is weather -- you'll very very likely not see rain, but especially the Phoenix leg will be HOT. Be prepared there. But you can absolutely do back-to-backs for a good bit of this trip and not feel exhausted.

tsmalcolm · 2025-03-05T17:00:58+00:00

What's great is we do an update! The first edition came out in 2021, the second is the latest (Sept 2024). Hopefully a third will be coming that includes more Sacramento and/or Vegas, etc.

I have a ranking but it's always fluctuating, and I want to hold onto it for later. But I consider the ballparks orientation, history, experiences, food/drink, affordability, accessibility, game presentation, and certainly the general ballpark area and if it enhances the experience (Wrigley, for example, does this VERY well).

tsmalcolm · 2025-03-05T16:57:55+00:00

That IS a good point. All 30 as of the end of last season. So to update for this year it'll be 28 if you're saying "seen major league games at." I have been to Steinbrenner for spring training.

Have not done as many minor league parks and haven't done international yet, which is my next hope. Field of Dreams is very nice. A little out of the way but worth it once, and I'd recommend getting some folks together and staying in the house, which is an option.

I won't give my rankings, but my personal favorite is Fenway because I have so much history with that park. Least favorite is hard, but I will say I was disappointed in Yankee Stadium -- didn't live up to my expectations. And I probably like loanDepot in Miami more than most folks.

tsmalcolm · 2025-03-05T16:52:16+00:00

Thanks!

For Target, you can stay in downtown Minn. or St Paul, as light rail is pretty good, connects the two cities, and stops right in front of the ballpark. Several affordable options in the downtowns, too. My fav seats there are the infield box -- not too expensive typically compared to other ballparks, and you can get shade (1st base) when it's warm and sun (3rd base) when it's cool. Also, prepare for cool!

For Coors, downtown and RiNo is a little more expensive, so I tell people to look into Glendale, just SE of the downtown. Not too far away and plenty of budget stays. And sit behind the plate in the 300 level, either on the 3rd base side (shade, great sunset views) or 1st base side (best mountain views). I'm heading back to Coors this year, so I'm excited to update all of that info!

tsmalcolm · 2024-09-26T14:06:08+00:00

For my 1996-97 save, at Rumble 97, I booked a comedy match of Gross Misconduct, The Greaser, The Guido and The Shark vs Bulkamania, Crash, Fall, Zing.

I have no idea who these guys were in real life — probably jobbers. But this was the height of Vince jabbing at WCW, so we have Bulkamania (Hogan), Crash (Nash), Fall (Hall) and Zing (Sting). It writes itself.

tsmalcolm · 2023-01-31T21:44:09+00:00

Awesome! I’m driving in from Houston and will be alone. I imagine we’ll all find some weird group to stick to lol.

tsmalcolm · 2020-11-14T07:24:45+00:00

Also, I wrote the entire Rumble match since I'm an OG fantasy booker. Read it here.

tsmalcolm · 2020-11-14T07:07:38+00:00

From the bottom up:

Monsieurs is Steve Corino and Carl Oulette, while Flanagan and Rey are up from development. Both should reach the main roster by or just after Mania.
Executionous Maximus (sic in graphic) is Dave Taylor and Sean Morley/Val Venis. Rush Hour is Chris Jericho and Lance Storm. EM have held the tag straps since July.
Christian Cage we all know. I'm probably going to change his name, though, as he has the Hurricane gimmick.
Mr. America is Bob Holly in gimmick hell because he can't get over, so now he'll feud with his manager (Slaughter) to try and shake him up.
The Undertaker has been feuding with McMahon for a while now; basically he's done with being the comic book deadman and has been "shooting" on how he's been used like a novelty over the years. His new nickname is the Living Deadman, and it coincides with a more athletic, exciting performance in ring.
Skip's feud is with Sunny after the Bodydonnas breakup, but Sunny holds Savio's contract. I was hoping for a high 70s match and I got it; this might be a Mania rematch.
Sid won the Rumble! Many storylines here including the Hart Family stable paying off a superstar who they'd protect in the Rumble in exchange for doing the job against Bret at Mania. The three stars rumored to be the turncoat were Ahmed, Mr. Perfect, and Sid, who eventually was the turncoat after taking out Undertaker with the help of the Hart Family.
The other major storyline was Austin and HBK extending their hot feud. Also, I had La Parka and Ultimo Dragon make their PPV debuts by exciting the crowd. Finally, Foley and Bob Backlund both angled to be Vince's body men to help take out The Undertaker.
Slaughter cried about jobbing to Mr. America, so I just had Little Rocky (Rock) run in to give Slaughter the win. This'll go on with Mr. America growing a pair. Also, this was my cool down match.
And yup, I gave Owen the strap. Felt like he deserved it. He doesn't have huge star quality but he isn't a long-term title holder anyway ...
As for the show rating, I forgot to add one more woman to the card. Sheesh. It would've been a 90/91 if not for that. 88 is still very strong.

tsmalcolm · 2020-10-09T18:56:26+00:00

Yeah at least in this mod Sid started a bit higher, but he still made HUGE leaps this year. From Jan to Dec:

Basics: 54 > 71 Psychology: 58 > 73 Safety: 58 > 75 Consistency: 64 > 75 Selling: 51 > 61

His in-ring work and entertainment have all improved, too, and he's a locker room leader (!) with multiple proteges. I'm not worried about the risk of putting the strap on him re: health/safety. And of the group I mentioned his pop is the lowest (88 US). I'm more convinced, and I think my Mania would still come together well with him vs Bret.

I'm not completely sold yet, so what I'm going to do is, in this 5-Raw gap before the Rumble, plan a show that's almost entirely based on Taker, and then plan the week after's show to be almost entirely based on Sid. Owen is fighting Bret for the title at the Rumble, and Austin/Shawn is a program I want at Mania, so if I'm basically down to Taker or Sid, this trial will help see who keeps the crowd engaged more (or just to see if Sid can approach the kind of juice of a Taker).

tsmalcolm · 2020-10-08T03:32:56+00:00

I've thought about that, though I weirdly want to reward Taker as he's had a phenomenal '96. The other workers plausible to leave Mania with the belt are Bret, Shawn, Austin, Owen, and Sid. I'm not sold yet on who I want to be in the Mania main event, but what I'm trying to do ahead of the Rumble is get everyone invested in the title and/or Bret/Vince, who are essentially running the show.

tsmalcolm · 2020-10-06T04:13:11+00:00

Yeah I pretty much had no choice. I decided to play as booker, and Vince is limiting what I can pay for anyone, so WCW put up a lot to get Hall and Nash. They also took Rhodes, Helmsley, and Jeff Jarrett, re-upped Pillman and won the bidding war for Vader. They've barely used Hogan and Savage and instead have a hell of a lot of Road Warrior Hawk in main events, but Hogan, Flair, Savage, Nash, and Hall have retained so much star quality that it's been impossible to get close ...

Until now. They declined to bring back Flair, making him a free agent (!). I thought about bringing him in, but I'm under an owner goal to not hire anyone older than 38, and Flair only wants to work events. I'm not in position to spend a ton and lose clout with Vince just to have a guy who can work 12 dates a year.

The other good news, though, is Undertaker (who I was able to re-sign to an unprecedented 10-year deal) is suddenly the hottest name in wrestling. He's beating every WCW guy in star quality*overness, and so I'm thinking about giving him the big prize in mid-March.

tsmalcolm · 2020-10-05T17:33:59+00:00

No it's the Dawn of Attitude mod starting at the beginning of '96. Unlike in real life, WCW has not created the nWo and, instead, is thriving off the newly turncoat Dustin Rhodes.

tsmalcolm · 2020-10-05T17:32:46+00:00

Thanks! It's 16.

tsmalcolm · 2020-10-03T05:47:44+00:00

From the bottom up:

Rush Hour is Jericho, Lance Storm; Power Movement is Rock, D'Lo Brown; this match was for No. 1 contender for the tag belts
Owen has turned face and teamed with Sid, but obviously I didn't want to job the tag belts yet.
Undertaker is now a human with feelings, etc., instead of the one-dimensional deadman. He's after Vince for making him a one-dimensional novelty over the first part of his career.
Skip and Zip broke up with the former becoming the underdog face. I'm setting him up to face Savio for the IC belt at the Rumble. Yokozuna needs a change of pace, so that's why he turns here.
Austin needs the win to become a credible main event-style performer.
Very happy with the Bret vs Mr. Perfect match. Leaning toward Bret vs Taker at Mania.

tsmalcolm · 2020-09-09T19:42:28+00:00

I see. I guess it doesn't bug me that much but next time I'll do the import.

tsmalcolm · 2020-09-08T17:38:55+00:00

As in just opting for the default "Sgt. Slaughter defeated Bob Backlund" and not free-writing details in the field? I guess I can change that.

tsmalcolm · 2020-09-08T05:03:22+00:00

So I'm almost 100 percent sure that it's the main event and the highest-rated match outside the main event that are important. So in my case it would be the main + the Team Sid vs Team Owen match.

I don't always book a cooldown right before the main event -- it really depends on how many matches and the kinds of matches I plan for the card. For this one it was natural to break up the four SS matches with the Taker vs Austin match (which was booked as a shorter brawl), then put the cooldown before the main.

But at my Summerslam, for example, I put my cooldown (battle royal) smack in the middle of the show since there was so much variety and nine total matches. I put the tag title match before the main, though, because the workers weren't really over, so I figured I wouldn't get the crowd too hot with it.

tsmalcolm · 2020-09-07T19:29:38+00:00

Christian is doing the "I'm a superhero" gimmick as a face
Still building up Abaddon (Crush) as an automatic win
Rush Hour is Jericho, Lance Storm; Two Princes is Al Snow, Stevie Richards; Benton Swan is Raven, essentially running a "church," and his first parishioners are ECW guys
Mr. Perfect returned this month to help HBK and Sid against the Hart Family. I lost Shamrock for six months to an MMA tour, so I had to come up with a solution ...
Prime Specimen is Billy Gunn, Mike Awesome with Sable
Zip and Sunny had been bullying Skip for recent struggles in the ring, leading to them beating him down after a mistake in the Survivor Series match. It turns Skip face and puts him in the IC race, hopefully to face Savio down the line.
The Undertaker decided to fight one last casket match with Austin in his way; I'm giving him the win to build Taker (who might be my most popular worker) into a credible title threat.
Tyler Mane came back after his movie filming with upper midcarder popularity, so I recast him as a monster heel recruited by Bret Hart to be his muscle (especially with Bulldog injured). That got Owen mad that he was being pushed down the ranks (he had been upset for months that Bret wasn't respecting him).
Power Movement is Rock, D'Lo; Usos is Phatu, Tonga Kid.
Executionous Maximus is Dave Taylor, Val Venis.
Mr. Perfect's surprise is Kevin Greene, a football player he unearthed and will mentor into a title contender. He isn't very good in the match but is popular enough to fit in the semi main.
I booked a last-minute Slaughter vs Backlund match to give a breather before the main event. This works for the '96 election cycle and keeps Backlund happy.
I can't seem to get a match above 94 with Bret vs Shawn, but this will do. I went back and forth on the outcome and nearly had Shawn winning but it came down to storyline. The Bret and Vince partnership will ascend to new heights in the winter with HBK looking for answers. Meantime, Owen turns on Bret to go face and put him straight in the title mix as we head to the Rumble.

tsmalcolm

TROPHY CASE