Mike Smith (Host):
The Trail 1033 KDTR FM Florence Missoula, locally owned and operated by the Missoula Broadcasting Company. I’m Mike Smith on The Trail and I welcome in… Mike Smith!

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
All right. It’s a battle of the Mike Smiths this time around.

Mike Smith (Host):
Yeah, definitely. We’ve talked about this before, so at one point years ago—and I don’t want to bring up anything kind of dark—but somebody read an article that said, “Your favorite Missoula DJ Mike Smith got into a little bit of a dust-up in downtown Missoula.”

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Oh man, starting right there. Yeah. Of course I was the Mike Smith on a different radio station in Missoula a couple years ago. That was when I punched on the bridge—on the Higgins Bridge—and wrote an article about that.

Mike Smith (Host):
Yeah, people going, “Oh man…”

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Then people were like, “Did you punch the other Mike Smith?”

Yeah, I will say when I first moved to Missoula and started being on the radio, I had no idea there was another Mike Smith. Nobody did. So I was just going by Mike Smith for a little bit. Somebody told me. If I had known, I might have… maybe I wouldn’t have changed my name, but I would have put a middle initial in or something.

Mike Smith (Host):
Okay.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Yeah, we just know how malicious it was, but I’m glad you’ve recouped from that kind of dark side of things. But you’ve been doing some really cool stuff. I’ve been following you. We’ve met a few times, but this is the first sort of tête-à-tête.

Mike Smith (Host):
Yes, the first time we’ve been on the air together.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Yes. And maybe the beginning of something special.

Mike Smith (Host):
Something beautiful.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
The Mike Smith Squared Show.

Mike Smith (Host):
So Mike, you came from New York originally?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Yes. Not New York City though. I was just outside the city. I was near Poughkeepsie—about an hour outside the city. I used to produce a morning show out there.

Mike Smith (Host):
But still a big market.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Huge market. For real.

Mike Smith (Host):
Absolutely.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
And you kind of have that feel. And now I’ve got sort of this Missoula patina. I’ve been here eight years now. I came out here for a radio job. I had never been to Missoula. I was just like, “I’ll go there, see how it goes. I’ll be here for a year and then I’ll make my way to California or something.”

And it’s eight years later. I fell in love with Missoula. It’s such a great town.

Mike Smith (Host):
We’re better for having you here.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
I appreciate that.

Mike Smith (Host):
You’re over with the PaddleHeads now.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Yes. Marketing manager and promotions manager for the Missoula PaddleHeads. I’ve been doing that for the last few months and it’s been pretty incredible.

Mike Smith (Host):
That’s cool.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
It’s a lot of live performance, a lot of live event work. It’s also a lot of community work—giving back, working with nonprofits, and trying to make the best possible experience for the Missoula community.

That’s kind of the whole thing about the PaddleHeads.

I mean, first of all, it’s baseball—and that’s a lot of fun. And it’s a little slice of Americana. Put down the screen and head out to the ballpark.

Mike Smith (Host):
And a beautiful ballpark.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Absolutely. Ogren Park is an incredible place to be. I’ve never been a huge sports guy, but baseball has always been my favorite sport because there’s enough action to stay excited, but also enough downtime to just chill, have a beer, get concessions. It’s the perfect balance.

Mike Smith (Host):
You just got off Star Wars Night?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
That was huge. Our biggest night of the year so far. First fireworks game of the season. We were battling some tough weather early in June—wetter than recent memory—but Star Wars Night was beautiful. Everybody came out and had a great time.

Mike Smith (Host):
And tonight is another big one?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Yes—Super Hero Night, in association with the Brain Injury Alliance. A nonprofit here in Missoula that we’ve worked with for years.

Players will be wearing specialty superhero-themed jerseys designed with a brain superhero concept. Those jerseys will be auctioned off live during the game.

The auction is live right now on Hamilton & Sons’ website. After the game, winners take home the jerseys right off the players’ backs.

It’s also superhero themed—games, video board stuff, and appearances from Batman, Supergirl, and Ghost Spider. It’s going to be a ton of fun. Kids of all ages—costumes are encouraged.

Mike Smith (Host):
Do you have a superhero costume?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Not really. I’ve got a cape from the Brain Injury Alliance I might wear.

Mike Smith (Host):
Let’s talk food.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Classic ballpark staples—hot dogs, burgers, chicken tenders. Our food and beverage manager John has also been doing themed specials.

For Star Wars Night we had Grogu green lemonade and Sith strawberry lemonade. For K-pop Night we’re doing something similar.

We also have beer bats—giant bats you can fill with beer, lemonade, or themed drinks.

Mike Smith (Host):
How’s the team doing?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Pretty good. We’ve been playing Billings Mustangs this week. We had a great win Wednesday night on Girls and Women in Sports Night.

We had Donna Roberts there—she played in the women’s league the team is based on. She’s a 100-year-old Montana woman who threw out the first pitch with help from her grandson. She had an amazing night.

Mike Smith (Host):
That’s incredible.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
And she’s actually going to be at the Roxy Theatre next week signing autographs.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
We try to be inclusive—Pride Night, Military Appreciation Night, lots of different community events.

We’re about 15 games into a 54-game home schedule. There are games almost every week through mid-August.

We work with a lot of sponsors and community partners to make it happen.

Mike Smith (Host):
If people miss games?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
You can hear them on 102.9 ESPN with Jeff Safford doing play-by-play. He’s incredible.

We also give away tickets throughout the season.

Tickets are very affordable—starting around $10 for general admission. It’s a great family night out.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
We’ve got K-pop Night coming with fireworks. Launch-a-ball will be played before fireworks, with prizes like a skydive from Skydive Missoula and a knife from Montana Knife Company.

Then next week:

July 3rd: Patriotic drone show and community event with live music, beer garden, and activities
July 4th: Traditional fireworks show at the ballpark

There’s also a community event at Silver Park happening alongside it.

Mike Smith (Host):
Website for tickets?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
gopaddleheads.com—that’s where you’ll find tickets and the jersey auction link.

Mike Smith (Host):
Final thoughts?

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Paddle up, enjoy the ballgames. Hope to see you out at the ballpark.

Mike Smith (Host):
Perfect. Thanks, Mike Smith.

Mike Smith (Missoula Paddleheads):
Thank you, Mike Smith.

Mike Smith (Host):
Take me out to the ballgame.