*Warning* This post along with all of my (Derek) posts on Billymadisonshow.com is poorly written. I have no clue how grammar works. Therefore you will see lots of commas and periods that I have sporadically placed throughout the post. I have a lot of respect for actual writers. I mean no disrespect.

There have been so many questions about The Nard. Rightfully so, He was the star of our show without question and now out of nowhere, he’s no longer a part of our show. The choice for him to step away from The BMS was done by Nard. We were on the opposite end and very much wanted him to stay. I won’t go into details about everything that went on privately and only because we just want to give Nard his privacy, He stepped away from the show and out of respect we didn’t want to make a huge ordeal and seem like we were turning this into an attention/ratings grab. Nard is more than a co-worker to me. Always has – Always will be. I know Billy feels the same way.

For the first few weeks of Nard’s absence, We elected to briefly touch on it but then wanted to move on with the show just because we wanted to give him a break. We also didn’t know if he was going to return or not and we were holding onto hope that he would return. In my heart, I knew he was done. The only reason I felt that way was because back in January, Nard had something drastically change in his life and I knew he was going to have trouble recovering from it.

I’m sorry for the lack of detail on why Nard left but It wasn’t just one thing and I don’t want to bring any unfair criticism or finger-pointing as to why this happened to anyone. Nard wanted to step away, It was almost unbelievable to me but these things happen. There are very few shows on radio that keep it’s core members together as long as we have. Sometimes you see two members stay together for 10+ years but you rarely see three members stay together for 13 years!!

Radio can be a stressful way to earn a living, especially when you no longer work in the same city as your friends and family. We respect Nard’s decision and don’t want to make content out of it. This post is the last you will hear from me about it. Of course, this story is a content goldmine but Nard’s not here and it wouldn’t be fair to him.

The BMS has been together with the Three of us (Billy -Derek -Nard) since 2006. We went under a different show name back in the early years but that’s irrelevant. What is relevant is the fact that we were doing radio together and it was really good. The chemistry between the three of us was instant. From day one we absolutely clicked. It helped that we all generally had the same sense of humor and we spent a lot of time bonding outside of the show. We watched UFC fights together, Celebrated birthday’s, played basketball, went to dinners and blah blah blah.

Most importantly we were there for one another when something went wrong with a girlfriend or a family fight. I drove Nard to the hospital after he participated in an amateur MMA match and got knocked out in 15 seconds so that he could get treated for a concussion. The nurse kept asking Nard things he didn’t know like who was the Vice President, It truly felt like the scene from Varsity Blues. Nard was there for me when I didn’t have a car. We were all at the hospitals for the birth of our kids, we would share U-hauls when we would move to another job, we made car payments for each other when someone was low on funds, we were there when someone drank too much, we were there for breakups etc. We grew to rely on one another. The point I’m attempting to make is that we were close, on and off the radio. Which was a huge reason why we are successful.

Over the past few years we haven’t hung out as much off air. Several things are the reason for that. One of them was that our kids were all getting older. The activities and responsibility’s that come with parenting took over. We also all lived far from one another and traffic in San Antonio is absolute shit. But even with the lack of bonding outside the studio, we all were still very close. We did a 4-hour radio show together that fortunately turned into a syndicated radio show and as a result, we did quite a bit of traveling over the past five years and those trips were always great opportunities to hang out. I’m honestly going overboard with this shit but I’m very much in my feelings.

As far as the show goes, Nothing/Everything changes. We will never replace Nard, We can’t and in fact, we won’t even try. You can’t replace a guy like Nard. The dude is an absolute goldmine. The Show is just going to have to evolve and it will. I think the world of Nard and what he meant to the BMS. I also think just as highly of Billy and Myself. I’m not being cocky, just confident. The BMS want nothing more than to put on a great show every day. With that said it is a live radio show so some days will be better than others, same as it’s always been.

People will more than likely read this post and think to themselves “Derek is having a hard time with this” or “Is Derek going to cry” and the answer to both is…. Yes.

Nobody misses Nard or will appreciate all the great things he did for the show more than us but The Nard ERA has ended on The BMS. Nard is the man and will be missed but this is nowhere close to the end for The BMS. Live Show tomorrow and every weekday after for the foreseeable future. Take care and Nard Bless.

Love,

Derek.

P.S. This really feels like a breakup and I’m starting to feel like I’m going to get even fatter. Please send workout/dieting tips as well as break up songs to derek@coxinc.com or tweet them to me @BMS_Derek I would greatly appreciate it.