Inside Monster Jam
This official Monster Jam podcast offers exclusive inside access to Monster Jam Operations, including drivers, safety, track design and the Monster Jam Garage.
Inside Monster Jam
Season 5 Episode 18 | Christmas Chaos
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Team Green Captain Bari Musawwir looks ahead to the exciting Christmas Chaos event taking place from Anaheim in December.
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to Inside Monster Jam, the official Monster Jam podcast. I'm Scott Jordan. My guest this week is Bari Musauer. Bari, nice to have you, man. Welcome back to Inside Monster Jam.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for having me, Scott. It's good to be back, man.
SPEAKER_00We are here to talk about Christmas Chaos, which will be December 19th and 20th at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. It is a team format. It is Team Green, which you will be the captain of with Zombie against Team Red, which Armando will captain with El Toro Loco. We're going to get to those lineups here in a little bit, but I want to talk about when uh when this was first discussed with you and your initial thoughts on the Christmas Chaos concept.
SPEAKER_01You know, anytime we can kind of break away from the norm, and even though normal Monster Jam is great, you know, it's always cool to be able to uh give the fans something different. So, of course, that team aspect, uh Christmas Chaos event right before the holidays. Uh, it's gonna be sweet, man. I mean, I can't wait to get started. I don't really know too much about the format yet, which is I like I like the you know the element of surprise, and uh I'm excited for my team. My team looks strong. So uh we're gonna see what we can do there, Anaheim.
SPEAKER_00Let's uh let's talk about your team. So we got Adam Anderson Gravedigger, you get Tim Hall Jr., you get Brianna Mahan, you get Tyler Meniga, and you get Court.
SPEAKER_01I'm excited to have two Gravedigger drivers on the team. I think they're gonna gel well. It's not like they get to compete uh with each other very often. So I think this will be special. It's just gonna be one of those fun events. Uh, it's not for points or anything like that as far as the season championship. So it's really just a fun event, something special for the Anaheim fans, which is already a great venue. You know, the atmosphere there is so electric when we go there every year.
SPEAKER_00Let's talk about Tim Hall Jr. because he's uh generally made a name for himself in the arena series. Um, he did compete at World Finals in skills uh and LCQ, so he does have some experience. But what are your thoughts on Tim Hall Jr. uh in Jurassic Attack, you know, possibly getting that call for Angel Stadium? What do you think uh your expectations are for Tim?
SPEAKER_01I love it. I mean, I think it's his chance to uh perform well on a big stage. He had a good showing at World Finals uh with Jurassic Attack, so I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do. He didn't earn that nickname Two-Wheel Timmy for nothing. So I'm pretty sure he's looking to prove that he is worthy of being there, and this is a great uh opportunity for him to showcase his skills. And uh he's a great driver, you know, and he's got great equipment. So I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can do and bring to the table.
SPEAKER_00Now, can we be sure that he did not give himself the nickname Two Wheel Timmy? Or are we sure about anybody actually calling him that?
SPEAKER_01In this day and age of social media, anything is possible. Anything is possible, and uh I'll just leave it at that, you know. So I've seen him in action. I I think he's worthy of that. He's definitely good in two little skills as well as every other aspect of driving these monster jam trucks at a high level.
SPEAKER_00100. Let's talk about your opponents Armando Castro, Mike Christensen, Tristan England, Camden Murphy, Jamie Sullivan, and good old Colt Stevens. So Armando is the uh other side, the captain of the red Christmas Chaos team. So looking at your opponents, uh, who gives you the biggest uh worry as far as maybe taking the little uh oomph away from Team Green?
SPEAKER_01Oh man, they got a stacked team. Uh, of course, you know, all those people that you just named are capable at any given moment. I think Camden, though, Camden, if he's on his game, Camden is probably one of the toughest guys to beat on the track. He's one of my closest friends, and I always give him you know flack every time we're on tour together. You know, last time I think we were on tour, I beat him. So uh I feel like Camden is one of the strongest competitors out there. If he can, you know, stay out of his own head, I like to say, then he he's pretty much impossible to beat.
SPEAKER_00You mentioned Angel Stadium and how much you love going out there. It's uh basically, I look at Angel Stadium as Monster Jam's home away from home. I mean, we are there multiple times uh per year. Usually that Stadium West series uh goes Anaheim, Anaheim, San Diego, San Diego back to Anaheim. But the thing that not only do I love Angel Stadium, it's for for me, it was my first ever Monster Jam event was there, but just the fact that we could go there seven times and we get close to 40,000 people there every single time. It doesn't matter if it's the same lineup, a different lineup, they come out every single time. So talk about your uh appreciation for Anaheim and Angel Stadium and why you think it's the perfect host for Christmas Chaos.
SPEAKER_01You know, it's just one of those historic venues. There's a lot of history in that area. You know, Disneyland is right around the down the street, you know. So it's got a lot of appeal to having people come out. And of course, Monster Jam is one of those driving forces where the atmosphere that it creates at Angel Stadium is just second to none. I mean, we've been there so many times. I think I've this will be my seventh time going there this season alone. So uh just to be able to be back in that area and you know, meet the friends and meet new fans that are really there for the first time. That's really when you get to see their faces light up at the pit party. And I think it's something special that we're gonna be able to showcase with Christmas chaos uh that you wouldn't normally get at a normal season, regular season event.
SPEAKER_00Have you ever had the chance to go to, I know I'm sure you've been to Disney World uh here in Florida during Christmas, but have you ever had a chance to go to Disneyland during the holidays?
SPEAKER_01I have not. So this might be our chance to check it out. You know, maybe maybe we can get to town a little early before the business at hand and uh check it out and maybe do some comparisons of Disneyland versus Disney World here in Orlando. So that should be fun and exciting. The football season is gonna be going on there. So who knows? Maybe we'll catch a football game and just take in everything that there is to take in there in in California.
SPEAKER_00Well, and uh I I love um obviously I I worked at Disney years ago during the Christmas parades, how festive it is it gets out there. I've I've never actually been to Anaheim during the holiday, so I would be very curious to see if they do the same thing that Orlando does when it's just like wall-to-wall Christmas decorations. And um, I I just love theme parks during the holidays. So I I hope to get out there to be a part of Christmas Chaos, and maybe uh you and I can uh go and do what you did at uh the other theme park in uh in Buena Buena Lakes or Buena Park, um, and where we got to close it down to ride the roller coasters. That was pretty fun.
SPEAKER_01That was fun, you know. Probably it would be something that is not on my bucket list, but I would add it if you came to Disneyland with a your Santa suit on, like you did during the um opening of the I don't think we have the pool to shut down Disneyland.
SPEAKER_00I'm not saying that at all, I'm just saying we can go ride the roller coasters. Uh let's talk about the Santa suit, man, because we had some fun uh in Salt Lake City at World Finals, which you know it besides just the the massive undertaking that the event is, we do a lot of content capture that week. Everybody comes in on Monday, we don't leave till Sunday, and then like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we're we're filming a lot of stuff. And part of the filming process was we did that commercial, which now I think is is an all-time Monster Jam classic, where I dressed up as Santa, you and Armando were in the elves, uh, elf costumes or elf hats, and you handed out the presents. What was your experience like filming that?
SPEAKER_01You know, I had a blast doing that, and it was something that I didn't even really plan on. I didn't know how it was gonna go. We just kind of improved. That was probably some of the best improv and bloopers we had off camera that you know the fans haven't even seen, but it's pretty special that we get to come together once a year and you know, do content capture like that and and promote Monster Jam in a special way for this event that uh it's like it's gonna be like no other. So it was a fun week for sure. Monster Jam World Finals is something that is uh special for sure, and that just adds to it, you know. So we had a blast doing that.
SPEAKER_00I love things like this because it gives us an opportunity uh to be a little silly, you know. Uh we always have to be very serious at our jobs and uh, you know, very competitive, even with the broadcast, it's it's very serious. But you and I have a history of of doing some fun things. We did the Coach Bari in Syracuse, which uh is one of my favorites. We did the uh the the roller coasters uh at um at what the theme park out in uh what was that what was that theme park out again? Notchberry farm notchberry farm. That's it. We did not ferry farm uh with the roller coasters. That was for our MBC broadcast, and now we we get the Christmas chaos here. Um my only qualm with that filming was the suit was very hot, which was fine. It was the shoes. I don't know. Um I'm I'm a size 12 to 13, and those things look like they were made for a size seven feet. So everyone kept making fun of my feet and looking uh at it. But man, what a what a great time that was! And I hope everybody enjoyed that commercial. It's still up on our Instagram page. Let's talk about celebrities in LA because not only do fans come out in droves, but we always seem to get a who's who of amazing stars that come. We've had anyone from the Kardashians to Chris Pratt um, you know, coming to Monster Jam. So would you expect now that the holidays are coming, it's Monster Jam, it's Christmas. Do you think that we're still going to get a slew of celebrities out there to celebrate the holidays with us?
SPEAKER_01I think so, you know, because I mean, what a great way to celebrate the holiday season if you have uh a family that loves Monster Jam. I mean, it's just one more thing that you can look forward to doing during the holiday season that you normally wouldn't get to do. Normally during this time of year, everybody is like thrashing to get trucks ready for the opening season, which is only a couple weeks away, you know, after uh that event. So it's really pretty cool to be able to fit this in the schedule and you know just enjoy the holiday season with our Monster Jam fans.
SPEAKER_00This will be the third team format challenge like this that we have done. We had the superstar challenge um in 2019. We had the All-Star Challenge that came up uh as well after that. You you were a part of all of these different formats. So, what are you what do you think are your favorite parts of being a part of this team concept?
SPEAKER_01Uh, I just like the fact that you have to work as a team and uh being the team captain, I get to kind of coach uh people to their strengths as far as what I can see they can shine, you know, where they can shine as far as the competition goes. Because we want to win. I mean, everybody's here for a good time, but it's still a competition. So we want to win, we want to have a good showing and build that momentum towards you know, opening the season. So I think it's definitely something that is needed. You know, it's it's a cool aspect that the fans can look at. You know, all eyes are gonna be on Monster Jam December 19th and 20th. So that's your time to you know put yourself on the map and and gain some confidence towards the season coming up.
SPEAKER_00And I'm sure uh I want to correct myself. I'm sure the fans are having fun in the comments, but it was in fact the All-Star Challenge in 2019, then the superstar challenge. But the superstar challenge, which was uh Team Nitro versus Team Neon, that was also a Southern California show. Uh different time of year, of course. Um, what what I mean, Southern California is such a huge draw, and I think also because we have to factor in the weather, like it doesn't get more perfect than that crisp LA Orange County weather in the wintertime, and I'm sure that's gonna be a huge factor in getting 35 to 40,000 people to come out and watch Christmas Chaos. So let's talk about the trucks, let's talk about Green Zombie. Have you had a chance to get up close and personal to this green zombie? I know that they're keeping all these painthouse under wraps. I am excited to see them, but what are your thoughts?
SPEAKER_01I have not seen it yet, and I kind of like it that way. I kind of like to be surprised. That element of surprise is pretty cool. Uh, I have been getting my my uh Pit Party shoe game in order, though. So I'll have something different there. Uh, but I won't I won't release that just yet. You'll have to come to the Pit Party and check them out for yourself. Uh, but yeah, as far as all the different looks of the trucks, that's always something that the fans look forward to seeing, and especially when you can get there and see it in person. Uh, that's really cool because that's probably the only time you're gonna get to see the truck look like that. I guarantee you, uh, for 2027, zombie will probably look just like it always has. But so for Christmas Chaos Team Green, I can only hope to see what it's gonna look like. And hopefully, my team keeps it under wraps long enough for me to see it. Uh, maybe they'll unveil it at the at the pit party.
SPEAKER_00So, or are you not even gonna hint at the brand of shoes that you're gonna wear? Uh, just you know, give me a little something, man. Uh, you know, I like to break news here on Inside Monster Jam. Just a small little morsel of of maybe which direction you're going. Former basketball player, current basketball player, not basketball related at all. Give me something.
SPEAKER_01Uh let's just say there they'll be green. They'll have some green, team green. Let's go.
SPEAKER_00That's terrible news. I we could have we could have already guessed it. That's fine, no problem. We did get a chance to see the El Toro Loco Christmas Chaos. What were your initial thoughts on that?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's cool. You know, it's kind of close to what it already looks like. So uh I think a lot of the um revealings of the the future trucks will be exciting too. But you know, El Toro Loco is a huge fan favorite there in Anaheim, California. I mean, when we go out for intros and we stand on the tire, which is something I love, and we get to uh acknowledge the crowd and they acknowledge us, and El Toro Loco is always one of the top cheer getters. So I'm I'm sure during that holiday season, December 19th and 20th, that'll be no different, you know. And people are gonna come out to see El Toro Loco on Team Red for sure, and hopefully we got some team green zombie fans as well.
SPEAKER_00Well, last question for you, and we're gonna go back to the apparel because you were passing out Christmas sweaters with the drivers' faces on them at the during the commercial. But do you have uh any type of zombie ugly Christmas sweater in store for the fans that come to Anaheim to see you in person?
SPEAKER_01Oh, that's a good idea, man. I like that idea. I hadn't thought about that yet, but I might have to put that in my wheelhouse, you know. So I might have to be on the lookout for some cool zombie holiday apparel uh to go along with my surprise.
SPEAKER_00Always see, always always, always thinking a step ahead of the game. Even though you won't give me the shoes, I'm gonna help you out and give you a little something there. Uh well, Bari, thanks so much. Uh, you folks can see Bari Musower and the entire green Christmas Chaos. Are you calling it Team Green? Is that what Team Green is that we're calling it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, let's go. Team Green.
SPEAKER_00Team Green. I love that. Christmas Chaos, December 19th and December 20th. Angel Stadium and Anaheim tickets are available right now at monsterjam.com. Anything you want to say to the people before I let you go?
SPEAKER_01Man, I I can't wait to see you guys out of Christmas Chaos. And uh, it's gonna be an epic event. I can't wait for it myself. The countdown is on. We'll see you there.
SPEAKER_00Baruch Sour, captain of Team Green. You're gonna see the zombie, the green zombie just marching out, uh, hopefully in front of Eddie about 35, 40,000 fans at Angel Stadium. That is all the time we have. I will see you right here next week with a brand new episode of Inside Monster Jam, the official Monster Jam podcast.