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Interviewing celebrities, breaking national stories, blogging daily, and offering candid commentary on pop culture is just a small sample of what he does. Ralphie Aversa is the relentless, tireless, non-stop-always-go host and executive producer of “The Ralphie Radio Show.” Check out his links above, and his blog below - and thanks for swinging through!

7.29.2010

EXCLUSIVE: Jessica Jarrell Reveals 'My World' Tour Backstage Shenanigans

Sure, they may be a group of talented and popular artists who comprise the lineup of one of the hottest tickets this summer. But don’t think for one second that the performers on Justin Bieber’s “My World” tour aren’t having the time of their lives.

“We do a lot of fun things before the show, like today we’re thinking about playing ‘Hide and Seek’ around the venue,” said 15 year-old Jessica Jarrell in an interview Wednesday on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” Jarrell met Bieber about a year and a half ago, and now calls him a tour mate in addition to a friend. “(We have) like water fights and stuff, it’s been awesome.”

Bieber and Jarrell aren’t the only ones in on the shenanigans – fellow artists Sean Kingston and Iyaz also partake in the fun.

“We got them in the water fight just a few weeks ago,” Jarrell excitedly revealed. “Me and Justin teamed up and attacked Sean and Iyaz and all of them. We won!”
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Jessica's single "Up and Running" featuring Travie McCoy was the night's Daily Download.
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Of course, touring with one of the biggest pop acts in the world at a young age can have its downside, but Jarrell seems to be acclimating herself just fine.

“Me and Justin went to Mall of America and we started running – and hid in the Macy’s beds and then they ran right past us,” the singer recalled, as her and Bieber avoided a group of fans who spotted the two at the biggest mall in the country. “It was so funny, it was so cool. We just started cracking up.”

Jarrell is unaware if she’ll continue on the second leg of the “My World” tour this fall, but said it’s “highly possible.” Her duet with Bieber, “Overboard”, appears on My World 2.0 and will also land on Jarrell’s debut LP. The lead singer from her album, “Up and Running”, features Gym Class Heroes front man and “Billionaire” emcee Travie McCoy.

DAILY DOWNLOAD: Jessica Jarrell f. Travie McCoy - 'Up and Running'

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Jessica called in to "The Ralphie Radio Show" and revealed that it was record exec L.A. Reid that sent her the track "Up and Running", which also features a cameo from Gym Class Heroes front man Travie McCoy.

7.27.2010

RRS AUDIO: Meeting John Mayer

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So John Mayer didn't go back on his initial response to an interview request from "The Ralphie Radio Show", but despite no photographic or audio evidence, did chat with yours truly for a few minutes. I explain the series of events to recent Syracuse University grad/current job-seeking radio host Mark Zito, who has the biggest man crush of anyone you know on Mayer.

Check out more about our buddy Mark here.

EXCLUSIVE: Train's Pat Monahan Talks Big Hits, Baseball, and Big Ben

You would think by now, after five albums, four top twenty hits, and a three year hiatus, not much would surprise Train lead singer Pat Monahan. You’d think incorrectly.

“The biggest shock of my life, so far, was that about two months ago, we were nominated for three Teen Choice Awards,” admitted Monahan on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “That was like, ‘c’mon!’ That was really great.”

Personally, I was a little shocked to see Train performing before this year’s MLB Home Run Derby in Anaheim. I didn’t even know they booked live music before such events.

“I was psyched to be there,” the lead singer said. “Major League Baseball has been super great to us, for many, many years,” Monahan continued, before revealing that his allegiance lies with a number of teams, including the Mariners (he lives in Seattle), the Athletics and Giants (the band is rooted in the Bay area), and the Pirates (Pat is from Erie, PA – near Pittsburgh).

Due to that last fact – Monahan also counts himself as a Steelers fan. The singer says he feels a little guilty rooting for Pittsburgh because of how often they win (likening them to the New York Yankees in the process), but doesn’t know what this new season will entail with the off-field troubles of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“I don’t know what that dude’s doing,” he said. “He should go to like speed dating school or something, I dunno.”
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Save Me, San Francisco is in stores now.

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Hey – although Monahan downplays the media’s storyline of Train’s “comeback”, noting that other bands have taken much longer hiatuses to write, travel, and spend time with family - the man knows a thing or two about returning to prominence. Perhaps someone should link “Big Ben” up with him?

Anyways, Monahan and his band are currently linked up with John Mayer on an outdoor amphitheater trek, veering off the path periodically for some headlining dates as well. The front man is having fun on the road with Mayer.

“I think we’re going to write a little bit, and I love to write with dudes like that,” said Monahan, praising Mayer’s writing and guitarist skills. “Maybe there’ll be something on the next Train record or maybe we’ll write something for somebody cool – whatever. Just to get in a room with someone as talented as John is going to be cool for me.”

A pretty big compliment, especially considering Mayer was 21 when Train dropped their debut, self-titled LP in 1998. But the band is quite welcoming to the new breed of artists – Monahan once again complimented the work of Taio Cruz before our interview, and enlisted the help of Pete Wentz to direct the band’s video for “If It’s Love”, the next single from Save Me, San Francisco.

“I think the band has a really good sense of humor, and we’ve never really been able to show that,” said Monahan. “There’s nobody better at that than Pete… he was great at that.”

In addition to the band’s touring commitments, Train will make a second appearance in less than a year on NBC’s “The Today Show” August 6.

TMZ'S NICKI FERTILE: LiLo Jail Update

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TMZ's Nicki Fertile updated "RRS" listeners on how Lindsay Lohan was doing behind bars, as well as what her father was up to that could land him back behind them as well.

Catch Nicki on TMZ TV, local listings here.

WINGMAN WEDNESDAY: Too Much SMS

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Visit The Wingman on MySpace, Facebook, & Twitter.