RALPHIE REPORT: The Cab/Demi Lovato; Obama


The following will appear Wednesday in The Weekender.

Surely it was uncomfortable enough in the back of that Posten Taxi, even before I asked the question about his alleged girlfriend…

Don’t get the wrong idea, nothing shady going on. Just another genius (read: cliché) idea conjured up by the 97 BHT staff (shout out Adam!): Let’s interview Alex DeLeon and Ian Crawford of The Cab… in a cab.

So Alex, Ian, and I piled in to the backseat of the yellow taxi waiting outside T.G.I. Friday’s, where we just ate lunch with a lucky 97 BHT listener and two members of The Academy Is… . We chatted about the band’s relationship with label-head and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz (Alex says they go back and forth over text messaging, with light-hearted jabs like “asshole”), and the shows planned for this spring (We The Kings, Forever The Sickest Kids among the tour-mates). 

Then, with a bit of guilt looming (and I NEVER feel guilty about this kind of stuff), I asked the singer of “Bounce” about his personal relationship with Disney star Demi Lovato. On-line forums and Wikipedia pages were filled with rumors about the couple – from dating to not dating, joint statements, and more.

“Me and Demi are really, really close. I mean, we’re great…” DeLeon said before catching himself, presumably trying not to out themselves but also not tell a straight-up lie on camera (the segment can be viewed at 97bht.com).

“We like to hang out, we’re really, really close,” he reiterated. “I actually just got off the phone with her.”

I quickly asked him to send our regards to Lovato, as well as to rag on her a bit… she almost missed her show this summer with the Jonas Brothers at Montage Mountain due to not catching a flight.

BARACK-BERRY TO STAY IN OVAL OFFICE?

While the country is swept up in the inauguration of our 44th President and first black Commander-In Chief, Barack Obama, the new leader of the free world, attempts to keep a freedom of his own: the use of his BlackBerry.

CNBC quoted Mr. Obama as saying the Secret Service would have to “pry (the BlackBerry) out of his hands.” The financial network estimates that a figure of $10-15 million could be placed on our new president’s endorsement of the device.

Both sides of the argument seem to hold some validity: Obama contends that a president should not have to rely solely on others to receive information and contact others on the outside. However, The Secret Service worries about security breaches, especially with the e-mails the President could be sending and receiving.

The President is aware of such issues, noting that he realizes anything in these e-mails could end up in a newspaper, and would compose the messages with this in mind.

And if you’re wondering, CNBC also reports that President Obama enjoys Planters Trail Mix, Honest Tea, Ray-Ban sunglasses, Nike training clothes, and Asics running shoes. He may be attempting to cut government spending, but don’t call the man “cheap.”

Listen to Ralphie Aversa weekdays from 5-10p on 97 BHT.

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