Off the Clock w/Jon Eks

Jon Eks

My name is Jon Eks and I spent more than a decade talking to people about work on the award-winning Jon of All Trades Podcast. I’m sick of talking about work. I want to talk about everything else in our lives. Men are traditionally not good at this. So, I’m talking to people I love, respect, and admire. I’m trying to embody the axiom “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Expect candor, vulnerability, profanity, and a wide range of topics.

  1. In the Punk Rock Clubhouse with Tor

    Jun 11

    In the Punk Rock Clubhouse with Tor

    On this episode of Off the Clock, I’m joined by my pal Tor who I know because he bought the Hangar Bar and turned it into venerable punk rock clubhouse East Fax Tap. Here’s some of what we talk about: First Question: Who is your least favorite Dallas Cowboy of all-time? for some reason we end up talking about Duke basketball and remember some guysSwedish vs NorwegianTor tells me the whole story of how he came to buy the Hangar Bar – this is WILD as he deals with fixing this sh*thole’s reputation, meeting with cops and elected officials who practically begged him to buy other public nuisance properties, navigating COVID and moreI tell a story about the first and only time I’ve ever seen someone smoke methRob Rover Rushing of Punk Rock Saves Lives enters the story and completely changes the trajectory of East Fax foreverwe take a small detour into talking about country music and how much Kris Kristofferson hated Toby Keith and how old country artists hated copsTor talks about getting acquainted with the punk scene and how it both fundamentally changed him, and ultimately gave East Fax new lifewe got a shot of Malort delivered to us mid-interview which leads to a lot of talk about how East Fax put Denver on the Malort maphow to build the scene you want to be a part of – his booking practices are INSANE compared to the predatory d*cks who populate other parts of a scenewe end with gratitude as we wish Tor a safe and prosperous journey on his new adventureTheme song by Sorry Sweetheart. Logo by Nebulus Visions. Produced by Deft Communications. Engage with the show on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.  Recorded at East Fax Tap.

    51 min
  2. The Cloud King Cody Devine

    Jun 2

    The Cloud King Cody Devine

    On this episode of Off the Clock, I’m joined by my least favorite (kayfabe) professional wrestler, former Champion of Lucha Libre & Laughs, and your friendly neighborhood REALTOR Cody Devine. He’s on the card at the 13th Anniversary of Luch Libre & Laughs this Friday and Saturday at the Oriental Theater, which is SOLD OUT. Here’s some of what we talk about: First Question: When I tell you you’re my least favorite professional wrestler, how does that land? we dig into why Cody got inspiration from Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship run, of all placeshow an off-the-cuff character beat led to him having a crippling nicotine addictionhow Cody is trying to rid his life of microplasticswe talk about Cody’s obsession with The Whitest Kids U’Know and the time he got to meet Timmy Williamswe talk parenting from a lot of different angleswe share our wrestling fandom origin stories and how it evolved and grew, and why wrestling fans are the worst, and how Cody sucks at wrestling triviawe take a detour talking about Chris Jericho and how I accidentally ended up a Christian heavy metal showCody talks about the tension between being a total d-bag in character and a real sweetheart in real lifeone of my favorite stories in the history of this show features Cody Devine antagonizing a child and that child’s mother taking a swing at him – this dovetails into a conversation about wrestling being a workwhich moves actually hurt? and which ones are a total picnic to take?and then just wait for the last few minutes of this chat to understand the depths of what a sweetheart Cody Devine actually is, notably through his work with Project I See YouFollow Cody Devine on Instagram. Theme song by Sorry Sweetheart. Logo by Nebulus Visions. Produced by Deft Communications. Engage with the show on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.  Recorded at The Farm House at Breckenridge Brewing.

    1h 5m
  3. Touching Grass with Sorry Sweetheart

    May 14

    Touching Grass with Sorry Sweetheart

    On this episode of Off the Clock, I’m joined by my friends Henry and Brian of Sorry Sweetheart, who recently signed to Bad Time Records, created the theme song for this show, and are one of my favorite bands. Here’s some of what we talk about: First Question: How did the signing to Bad Time Records come to pass? I make a bunch of guesses about what the song “IK4ND” stands for and they tell me the real meaningHenry tastes some new coffee and I ask them about “getting into character” before they play a show because their stage presence is so different than them in real lifethe metalcore vocals, how to do them, and how I’m never ready for themhow Days of Thunder is actually Top Gun 2 and why Henry is like Cole Tricklehow do Sorry Sweetheart songs actually get composed? we talk about the creation of this show’s theme song and give a special shout out to the band Good Clean Funsome dated NBA playoffs talk as we pontificate about teams that have already been eliminatedsome talk about the song “Touch Grass” and its originsa story of Sorry Sweetheart seeing an All Waffle Trick shirt completely out of context at a festival in Western Massachusetts (this was partially my doing)could Sorry Sweetheart open for Slipknot? we debate. and which times have they been a mismatch on a bill?smart guys that we are, we share all the ways one can use their teethwhat does success look like for Sorry Sweetheart?theme bars “Shot Topic” and “The Squared Circle”Theme song by Sorry Sweetheart. Logo by Nebulus Visions. Produced by Deft Communications. Engage with the show on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.  Recorded at Town Hall Collaborative.

    56 min
  4. Rich and Naked Pictures of Bea Arthur

    May 7

    Rich and Naked Pictures of Bea Arthur

    On this episode of Off the Clock, I’m joined by my new pal Rich who’s written movies like Airheads, all 3 xXx movies, Glory Daze, and a bunch more. He also conned his way onto the Warped Tour and made a documentary called Punk Like Me. Here’s some of what we talk about: First Question: Where did you come up with “The Clydesdale Scale” in Airheads? why comedies aren’t made nearly as much these days as they were in the 90s I give Rich some background on my own personal history with Airheads and why I love it so much I invite my daughter Grace into the interview and she asks Rich two questions herself: why did you choose the same set as Die Hard for Airheads? (my follow-up: which is the more direct inspiration for Airheads: Die Hard or Dog Day Afternoon?)  how did you get so many famous people to be in that movie? how the movie Glory Daze feels like the story of why I ended up going to grad school we run down a whole list of unique insults from Airheads and I gauge Rich’s reaction to them (e.g. “you look like half a buttpuppet” or “listen, you shaved ape.”) how did he come up with the two questions (“Whose side did you take in the big Van Halen/David Lee Roth split?” and “Who’d win in a wrestling match, Lemmy or God?” to discern if Harold Ramis’s character was a cop? we debate punk orthodoxy, gatekeeping, the fallow period of the late 80s and how we both still go to local shows how Rich ended up in the Punk Rock Museum twice (the story of how he stole the Sex Pistols shirt is worth the price of admission to this episode alone) the story of the Glory Daze soundtrack is so freaking cool why you should buy a shirt at a local punk show the blessing and curse of “cult movies.” the insane amount of unmade stuff he has in the pipeline some surprising thoughts about A.I. Check out Rich on Instagram. Theme song by Sorry Sweetheart. Logo by Nebulus Visions. Produced by Deft Communications. Engage with the show on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.  Recorded via Google Meet.

    53 min
  5. Shepard Is Efficient with his Time

    Apr 30

    Shepard Is Efficient with his Time

    On this episode of Off the Clock, I’m joined by my friend Shepard, who was a guest on the old show, and who called me out of the blue for the first time in years a few weeks ago. Here’s some of what we talk about: First Question: How did you expect me to react when you called me? the importance of production design in movies the Fight Club concept of “single serving friends” as a metaphor for podcasting and how if we’re not helping each other, then what’s the point? how did Shepard start producing independent films (it involves Cuba!) and how does he make time for whimsy and creative pursuits “interested is interesting” returns to the show as a concept (shoutout Nate Lundy) with talk about Quentin Tarantino, Roger Ebert, Roland Barthes, the Colorado Avalanche & more a shoutout to Band Name Bureau by Kyle Ryan and sharing your compliments with creators we spend some time talking about Governor Jared Polis and how most Colorado politicians are “high in content” which is an interesting way of putting it Shepard turns the tables on me and starts asking me questions how have I intentionally curated my career? we reminisce about These Things Matter and I get into my origin story for the first time in a while why I’m a better entrepreneur than I am a salaried employee (spoiler: I’m a pain in the ass) “are you the type of person who plans 5 or 10 years ahead, or are you the person who focuses on the work and people immediately around you?” I LOVE this question how do I manage my time? weirdly, I don’t have a good answer for this even though I’m pretty effective at it! Theme song by Sorry Sweetheart Logo by Nebulus Visions. Produced by Deft Communications. Engage with the show on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky.  Recorded at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

    1h 8m

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

My name is Jon Eks and I spent more than a decade talking to people about work on the award-winning Jon of All Trades Podcast. I’m sick of talking about work. I want to talk about everything else in our lives. Men are traditionally not good at this. So, I’m talking to people I love, respect, and admire. I’m trying to embody the axiom “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Expect candor, vulnerability, profanity, and a wide range of topics.