The impact of midterm elections in NJ and NY and we'll meet former Knicks athletic trainer Mike Saunders

Welcome to the WBGO Journal. I'm Doug Doyle. Today, we'll recap the midterm elections in both New Jersey and New York.

An urgency and accomplish even more for the next four years.

WBGO's John Kalish takes us to a campground operated by a Korean War veteran.

90-year-old Andre Rambo is rail-thin, has a long white beard, and he moved to Hancock, Massachusetts to get away from the suburban sprawl of Long Island.

We'll meet the mastermind behind the multi-genre band Ghost Funk Orchestra.

Without exaggeration, WBGO is absolutely crucial to not just my music taste, but also just me.

And I'll chat with legendary New York Knicks trainer Mike Saunders,

who's out with the Bulls.

And a book of inspirational quotes titled Life Sentence.

Patrick would get there early and we'd do treatments, but talk a lot.

All this coming up today on the WBGO Journal.

The race for New York governor turned out to be a much closer one than analysts thought.

In the end, Democrat Kathy Hochul became the first woman to ever be elected governor of New York.

A fired-up Governor Hochul thanked her numerous supporters and family as she declared victory Tuesday night.

She then said,

and turned her attention to the next four years, promising good-paying jobs and safe streets.

I ask all of New Yorkers to join me as we act with boldness and urgency

and accomplish even more for the next four years.

Together, we'll put our values to work, to lift up all and leave no one behind.

We'll build a state where families can afford to raise their children.

The Democrat took over for Andrew Cuomo,

who resigned from the Democratic Party in 2014.

He's now a member of the Democratic Party.

In August of last year, she says the glass ceiling has been finally shattered.

We've had to bang up against glass ceilings everywhere they turn

to know that a woman can be elected in her own right

and successfully govern a state as rough and tumble as New York.

Hochul's opponent was Long Island Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin,

who may have lost the race, but his strong showing enabled some of his other New York Republicans to win seats.

Zeldin addressed,

his supporters on election night. We had support coming in from Republicans and Democrats

and independents. We all united as New Yorkers because we were committed to saving our state.

We want New Yorkers to have safe streets and safe subways. We shouldn't be passing pro-criminal

laws like cashless bail. There are rogue district attorneys like Alvin Bragg who should be removed.

Like many states across the nation, some local election races in New Jersey have yet to be

determined. But we do know that in the hotly contested 7th district congressional race,

Republican Tom Kaine Jr. did oust incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski. Before all the results

were in, Kaine Jr., the son of the former New Jersey governor, told his supporters he was the winner.

Throughout this district, throughout this nation, we've been given an opportunity

to do something that we've never done before. We've been given an opportunity to do something

that we've never done before. We've been given an opportunity to do something that we've never done before.

And we've done it this way, to change the course of history.

And I will tell you tonight, my solemn pledge to you will always be to serve with dignity,

to listen, to learn, and to earn this responsibility that you've earned me with, to steer this

nation towards greater prosperity, greater security, and greater prosperity.

affordability. Thank you. Thank you. Democratic incumbent Tom Malinowski conceded the following

morning. Tom Cain Jr. then issued a statement saying he was honored to be elected to the

district seat. We get more now on New Jersey's elections from WBGO's Kenneth Burns.

Districts in South Jersey will keep their congressional representatives. Democratic

incumbent Donald Norcross and Republican incumbent Jeff Van Drew handily defeated their challengers

as did Democratic incumbent Andy Kim whose redrawn district leans more Democratic.

Still, Congressman Kim wasn't sure it was going to come together. There's always the demographic

issues but then we also recognize that you know nearly half the district is brand new and I wasn't

sure how that kind of engagement was going to happen. Democratic incumbent Bonnie Watson Coleman

also won re-election easily defeating Republican challenger Darius Mayfield in the 12th district.

In Burlington County,

Kenneth Burns, WBGO News. Yesterday was Veterans Day and now we have a story about a Korean War

veteran who operates a unique campground in Massachusetts where veterans camp for free.

The privacy campground is said to be the first green camping facility in the nation.

It's powered entirely by a unique hydroelectric system. There are also a couple of bomb shelters

on the premises. WBGO's John Kalish went for a visit before the campground was closed.

Camping season ended in late October. 90-year-old Andre Rambo is rail thin, has a long white beard

and is slightly bent over. He moved to Hancock, Massachusetts to get away from the suburban

sprawl of Long Island. Rambo says the campground has not been a big money maker but he has no

regrets because to him this part of the northern Berkshires is paradise. It's not profitable but

it's a wonderful life. It's very healthy because you're doing outside the campground and you're

doing outside work all the time. You meet a lot of nice people. The tenters are nice people. It's

a little family because they've been coming back every year for 30-40 years now. When you drive

into the campground you notice an odd sight. A working traffic light on the dirt road leading

up to the office. The nearly 500 acres of wooded hills have another amenity most campgrounds lack,

a couple of bomb shelters. For 40 years Rambo served as Hancock's civil defense director.

He built a personal bunker in his garage. The room is equipped with a periscope

and the door which weighs nearly a ton is secured with a combination lock.

Inside he has guns and ammo, an 80-year-old shortwave radio and a system that enables him

to release smoke bombs in his house in the event of a home invasion. You feel safe when you have

a room like this. It's just nice. Rambo has an 80-foot tunnel from his personal bunker

to a public shelter which can have a lot of people. Rambo has a lot of people. He has a lot of

100 people. I was wondering if Andre Rambo is a little obsessed with security, but then he told

me about being 8 years old and fleeing Nazi-occupied France with his family. He served in the Air Force

during the Korean War and was trained in a military electronics program.

I rode with Rambo in a four-wheel drive vehicle up a mountain on his property,

holding on for dear life to see the reservoirs,

he created for his hydroelectric power plant.

Rambo cleared the leaves covering a two-foot square steel door leading to the reservoir.

Okay, so I'm going to take the lock off.

He used cement to create the 12-foot by 6-foot reservoir that is fed by water

bubbling up from the air. He used cement to create the 12-foot by 6-foot reservoir that is fed by

water bubbling up from the aquifer on the mountain. A mile of underground pipe brings

the water down the mountain to a turbine housed inside the public bomb shelter.

The turbine was shut down this fall because of a lack of rain,

but Rambo started it up for a few minutes so I could see it in operation.

And you see it started to turn.

There's nothing like hell.

having your own power. And up to now, it's worked good. It's just that right now we're having a

drought, so the aquifer doesn't get refilled. And if the aquifer doesn't get refilled,

I have no water. All the big power plants have the same problem now. Rambo says Snow will replenish

the aquifer and then he'll restart his little hydroelectric power plant this winter. It's

provided all the electricity the campground uses for the last 30 years.

There are 35 camping sites and 10 miles of hiking trails traversing the property.

Before the campground closed for the season, I met two of the last campers on the premises.

30-year-old Sven and his 29-year-old companion Maeve were camping in their van. They both

declined to give their last names. Sven thought it was a hoot that although the campground has

a website, there's no way to book a stay over the web.

There's no online reservations. There was no anything. He's like, even the sense of

what do you got? It was just a conversation with Andre.

Over the phone?

Yeah, over the phone.

Sven's girlfriend Maeve was impressed with the natural beauty of the place.

It's absolutely stunning. I don't think I've been somewhere that's been cultivated so well to

preserve nature and have that be the main focus.

Rambo says that at the age of 90, the work of maintaining the campground is too much for him.

So he's planning to sell it. A neighbor who has vowed to continue operating the property as a

campground is hoping to buy it. Rambo is insisting that any sale will have to include a legal

provision that the land will never be developed. I worked my whole life building this campground

and I want to be sure it can stay just the way it is. The neighbor who hopes to buy Privacy

Campground has agreed to allow Andre Rambo to live in his house for as long as he likes.

For more information, visit www.fema.gov.

For the WBGO Journal, I'm John Kalish.

Ghost Funk Orchestra is a group you can't quite put a label on. And why would you? The 10-piece

collective has been making waves, brewing their own blend of cinematic, psychedelic soul with

touches of jazz and notes of nostalgic tape-bound beats for a couple of years now. The group has

just released their third LP, A New Kind of Love, that is all the above and so much more.

New Jersey native Seth Applebaum, the guitarist,

composer, arranger, and mastermind behind Ghost Funk Orchestra, is fully aware of

its multi-genre bent. He spoke recently with WBGO producer Trevor Smith.

How would you describe

your band? Because I've seen some pretty wild descriptions. I can wax about what

the band sounds like, but I need to hear it from the brainchild itself.

Honestly,

that's it's the hardest question that i ever get is trying to put a genre label on the band

sometimes i could say it's psychedelic soul sometimes it's more on the like jazz funk side

of things uh really it's just it's a shape-shifting project that is me exploring a lot of different

influences i've taken in over the course of my life and my musical career whether it be from the

world of jazz or soul or funk or even psychedelic rock it's just this big blob of influence that i'm

trying to whittle down and make sense of and write songs that are touching on all these things all

these interests that i've gained over time so but you know psychedelic soul i think

is a good catch-all because it could that could sort of mean anything absolutely i mean you guys

have been touring around a lot lately since um uh the release of your your second album an ode to

escapism and that came out in 2020 you know when the pandemic was going on but you guys recently

did the telluride jazz festival uh sharing the stage with uh chief adjua and cory wong and benny

benack and the

you guys have been touring around a lot lately since the release of your your second album an ode to

that WBGO play all the time and so even that list of musicians paired with you

guys it's just sort of runs the gamut in terms of the possibilities of this

genre. I do want to back up a second just because you know I'm sure not a lot of

our listeners are familiar with your music but you are sort of a local of New

Jersey and a listener of BGO tell us you know where does WBGO and New Jersey

and the music scene around here fit into your journey? Yeah so I grew up in New

Jersey and without exaggeration WBGO is absolutely crucial to not just my music

taste but also just me because when I was growing up taking piano lessons in

something like New Jersey I was in New Jersey and I was in New Jersey and I

was in New Jersey and I was in New Jersey and I was in New Jersey and I was in

Sometime in elementary school, I had a teacher who picked up on the fact that some of the jazzier songs he was trying to teach me were the ones that I actually cared to rehearse.

So when he would come back each week, he would notice those are the ones that, you know, have gotten a tune up.

And then the other ones that maybe are more in the classical side still are pretty rough.

So he picked up on that interest in me.

And at the end of one of our one of our sessions, he just took a blank piece of manuscript paper and wrote down 88.3 WBGO.

And after that, I took my clock radio, I tuned it to that station, and it just stayed that way for years until that clock radio broke.

And it just became a daily part of my life.

And it really, you know, I didn't know what jazz was when he first introduced it to me.

But.

Just through listening to the station all the time, it became so ingrained.

And it took so many years before I actually could connect with friends on it, because I feel like I picked up on jazz early on at a point where none of my friends, as far as I could tell, were interested in it.

You know, I had that outside influence who said, this seems like something you're interested in.

Check this station out, give it a shot.

And it's been with me the whole time.

But when I was living in.

Queens, when the pandemic hit, we turned it on the radio and we just left it on all day, you know, for the music and then for the news updates and everything.

We just had BGO on all day.

So it really is like it's part of me.

And I feel very fortunate that I grew up in New Jersey and I had access to it because it really, you know, not even just the jazz side, but also like the blues shows and the soul and funk shows.

It really fed me so much of the music that became part of my identity.

So back to.

To Ghost Funk Orchestra.

So you have a pretty interesting background.

You and I actually met back in the day in college.

You were in film school.

I was in music school.

And you've been doing some music for a while.

But this band is big.

And it's not like a jazz big band, but it's like a very hefty combo.

Like what's the instrumentation?

What's the musical focal point?

Like when you're at a show, what is someone to expect?

From a GFO performance?

For sure.

I will say, first of all, the the focal points kind of shift around when you're listening to a record that we make.

One song could be vocals.

One song could be strings, horns, whatever.

It kind of changes up on the recordings.

But live, the way that we represent it is we have two guitars.

We have a bass drummer.

We have two vocalists currently and anywhere between three.

And four horn players.

So we've taken songs that, you know, in the beginning of the project, the recordings weren't that expansive.

It was really just me making almost like a garage rock version of soul, you know, whatever I could pull off.

But as I brought in these horn players and singers, we turned the live band versions of these songs into a much bigger experience.

So it's actually become very horn heavy.

Like the horns have become a big focal point.

Yeah.

And then the vocalists, they're harmonizing like we're trying to do a little bit of a 60s style girl group vibe.

And it's really we're just trying to put on an almost overwhelming show.

You know, just there's a lot of things you can listen to.

There's a lot of little bits and pieces you can pick up on.

But overall, we're just trying to be like this big unit that, you know, when I was in high school, I also was getting into dap tone.

And, you know, Sharon.

I was doing some dap.

Antibalus, all these giant bands that, you know, it was the first time I had seen that kind of music and that kind of band in a live setting.

And it definitely informed my interest in having my own giant band.

So, and, you know, it took time for me to feel confident enough to know how to lead that many people.

And especially on instruments that I don't personally play.

So I had to learn the lingo and know how to communicate what was in my head to somebody whose craft is.

one that I don't have a mastery of, but, you know,

thankfully I'm working with people that are,

they understand the genre and they also now understand me and they can sort of

fill in those gaps, you know,

and figure out what it is that I'm trying to achieve. So it's become a,

and especially through all the, all the touring we've been able to do recently,

it's become a very well-oiled machine.

You can see Trevor's entire conversation with Seth Applebaum at

wbgo.org.

My next guest on the WBGO Journal is an NBA legend who never played a game in

the league. Mike Saunders is the respected athletic trainer.

He joined me on my podcast Sports Jam to talk about his career that impacted

many stars.

Make every day your masterpiece.

The words of legendary UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden.

Also happens to be the mantra of my guest today,

former,

former Knicks athletic trainer, Mike Saunders,

who had that role for 27 years from 1978 to 2005.

Mike was named trainer of the year in 1994 and in 2005,

and he was the NBA all-star trainer in 1986 and 1998.

He's a legend,

but now he's also an author and his book is titled Life Sentence,

a collection of quotes and stories to inspire, motivate, and empower.

Mike Saunders, welcome to Sports Jam.

Oh, thank you, Doug. Pleasure to be with you.

John Wooden's quote is one of 680 quotes that you have in Life Sentence,

and it's about one sentence that can change your life.

Is this book your masterpiece?

You know, it's,

it's the masterpiece of all the people who contributed to the book.

I have a few personal recollections in the book,

a few personal stories,

but it's mostly the quotes of great people who've inspired generations and

millennia, to be honest with you.

I go way back to Confucius, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King,

Coach K, Mike Krzyzewski.

So many people are, have contributed to the book.

So I really can't claim too much of it as being original of mine.

But how you collected these, I mean,

a lot of it was from reading because you're an avid reader,

but we're from hearing these quotes and writing them on the back of a card,

right? Of somebody's card.

And so you have saved many of these quotes and you also have stories mixed in,

in Life Sentence.

And I happen to love the story about Larry Bird and the three-point shot.

Can you share that with our audience?

Certainly. That's an oft-told story.

And the minor facts keep changing.

But I think I have the, the definitive story behind it.

I was the athletic trainer for the 1986 All-Star game in Dallas.

And that was when the three-point shooting contest was initiated.

That was the first one where Larry legendarily came into the room and looked

around and said,

who's finishing second because he was that confident that he would finish

first. And sure enough,

he was leading,

the contest and he banked in a three-point shot,

which is very difficult to do bank in a shot from that distance.

So about two weeks later,

the Knicks are playing Boston up in the Boston garden.

And during warmups,

I said to Larry,

and we had a relationship and a dialogue well before that.

And I said,

Hey,

big shot,

let's see a bank in a three today.

And he said,

let's bet $5.

So we shook on it and the bet was on and the game,

which proceeding and Boston's ahead.

And Larry's not playing at that point because Boston has a big lead.

And somebody on the bench said,

Larry,

how about that bet you had with Mike?

He said,

Oh yeah.

So he tells the coach,

put me back in.

He's back in the game and he's dribbling right by a bench.

I remember he looked down at me,

a step behind the three point line,

banked in a three.

He runs back down on defense,

raising his hand,

his hand and his five fingers saying $5 and the entire Boston bench is doing the same at me $5.

So I did pay him the five.

I promise I did pay him the five after the game.

And for probably two years,

every time he saw me,

Larry said,

Hey,

Mike,

did you give me the $5 then fast forward about 15 years.

We're in Springfield for a,

for the hall of fame induction.

And Larry,

he's holding court in a giant ballroom.

And I come in and Larry sees me.

And the first things out of his mouth was,

Hey,

Mike,

did you give me the $5?

So,

so that's,

uh,

that's,

that's for $5 more that I think that's what is entitled.

One of the reasons I love that story,

Mike,

is because it shows first of all,

the respect and rapport that you have with not only the greats of the game,

but everybody that you had dealt with along the way,

because of your fabulous career as a Knicks athletics trainer,

and you're also a physical therapist.

And you've been in this field for,

for many years and have helped so many people.

So now it's an opportunity for you to share your knowledge through quotes and

stories that really kind of sum up to me,

sum up what's important to you.

So we get to know Mike Saunders a lot more from reading life sentence.

And when you think about all the coaching,

you know,

I did a little research and found out that you have been,

you were the next trainer for about half of the next coaches ever.

There have been several next coaches,

but you're almost half of them worked while you were there.

And I know that Pat Riley was extremely successful.

You have many quotes from him in the book and your

relationship with Pat Riley.

He,

you know,

he was a wizard,

you know,

of course he had his career with,

with the Lakers and whatnot as a player.

But when he came to New York,

he became a rock star.

How was it being the athletic trainer under Pat Riley?

Now it was a wonderful,

wonderful experience.

Pat is one of my favorite coaches and one of my favorite people.

Pat has so many great characteristics,

but two of them that stand out are loyalty and competitiveness.

Pat and I've been around a lot of competitive people,

you know,

in my lifetime,

especially,

you know,

in the NBA,

but Pat,

I think is the most competitive person I know,

but also probably the most loyal as well.

Pat's always looking out for the people who work with him.

And he is really a wonderful leader.

And there's no question in my mind that he is,

he runs the best team in the NBA.

And many,

and perhaps in all of sports.

Without you guys,

there is no New York Knicks.

There's no Patrick Ewing.

I'd also like to thank the staff,

Mike Saunders,

Tim Walsh,

Greg Brittenham,

Dr.

Norman Scott,

all the doctors who helped to put me back together.

People don't recognize,

realize that the toll that it takes on the body to play in the NBA.

I mean,

and if you see a lot of interviews that I did after the games,

I would,

I was always in case in ice.

Speaking of Patrick Ewing,

who had such a great run.

And now as the head coach at Georgetown university basketball team,

where he,

he had a great run as,

as a collegiate player.

He mentioned you in his hall of fame speech.

Now I've heard a lot of hall of fame speeches and I have heard a few

trainers mentioned,

but not many like,

so that had to be quite special for me.

It was very special for you to know that they only have so many minutes to

talk.

Right.

And they're only going to bring up people who were very instrumental in

their life.

You were one of them for Patrick.

Can you talk about what you did for him physically,

mentally,

and the relationship?

Well,

we,

we had a very special relationship.

I was with Patrick for his entire Knicks career,

unfortunately.

And,

and I think he regrets it as well.

Uh,

was traded,

was traded to Seattle and,

and played with Orlando as well.

Um,

but,

you know,

again,

looking back,

I wouldn't change anything,

but we spent a lot of time together,

uh,

not just doing physical therapy and athletic training,

but talking at man to man and father to father.

Patrick's a,

uh,

a,

a wonderful father.

And we talked a lot about that,

about education and what to stress in the home and all.

So,

uh,

that's what a lot,

a lot of the conversations revolved around.

Um,

I guess he needs,

he would come early.

I'm an early guy and I'm an early riser.

Uh,

I was always the first one to practice until Jeff Van Gundy got there.

And Jeff always beat me.

And sometimes I would drive into the parking lot and not see Jeff's car there.

And I'd get all excited,

but that on those mornings,

Jeff's wife dropped them off.

So he still picked me to practice.

Um,

but you know,

we,

Patrick would get there early and we,

we do treatments,

but talk a lot.

So,

um,

you know,

it was beneficial for both of us.

I have a good ear.

I listened well.

Um,

and if I think I have something to offer,

I'll give some advice also.

Um,

but,

but Patrick and I had a very special relationship,

which continues.

I know,

uh,

he calls me on my birthday every year.

He never forgets.

And,

uh,

and we always have a good chuckle and a good laugh about something.

That's special.

All these players and coaches that you have worked with and you've gained

knowledge yourself from them.

And you've written down quotes on the back of business cards and now sharing

them with us in life sentence,

uh,

your new book.

So let's play a little game here.

I like to ask these types of questions and I want you to select three sports

figures and you're going to a concert.

But these sports figures and the performer don't have to still be with us.

Who are the three people you're taking in the car to drive,

to see who and why?

Oh,

wow.

That's,

that's great.

Whoa.

You,

you,

you caught me off guard.

And,

and this question is,

is,

is a great question and an important question.

And I'll,

I will answer it.

Um,

the three sports people who I would take is,

is Jackie Robinson,

Ted Williams.

And I'm going to take Earl Monroe because he does love music and love jazz.

And we're going to go to an Ella Fitzgerald concert.

Uh,

I,

and I happen to know that Ted Williams was a big fan of Ella Fitzgerald,

big fan.

So I think all three would appreciate it.

Ella or all four of us.

Cause I would too.

And I think that that's who,

who I would take.

You can hear my entire interview with Mike Saunders and all the sports jam

podcast episodes at wbgo.org slash studios.

Thanks for listening to the WBGO journal.

I'm Doug Doyle.

Join us next Saturday morning at five 30 for another edition of the award

winning WBGO journal.

In the meantime,

stay tuned to the world's greatest jazz station,

WBGO and wbgo.org.