Stories
Everyone in radio has stories. These are some that are still vivid in my memory - and that I can share:
THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS PRINCE
While programming WKTI in Milwaukee, Prince summoned local radio programmers to a pre-concert meeting before his Summerfest show. We all arrived at the scheduled time and waited for Prince (fierce competitors all in a small room trying to make small talk!). His purpleness arrived with an entourage and invited us all to sit down, grab a Pepsi and relax.
Then he lit into us.
He went up and down radio - ranting about how hard it is to get airplay. "Have any of you played my new single?" he asked. When nobody responded, he started going off on Clear Channel and how even his hometown station (KDWB/Minneapolis) was not playing his new stuff.
The Clear Channel manager took the bait and started going at it with him.
The rest of us just stood there dumbfounded. It was surreal.
I've joked with Brian Kelly (OM of WXSS/WMYX) about this - our first time meeting each other - at the Prince summit.
F-BOMBS AWAY
While PD of Alice @ 96.5 in Reno, I was at a giant car-sale in the Reno Hilton parking lot with the station GM, GSM and a very happy client. Our station was cranking across the lot and business was good. The jock on-air calls me to ask if he can play a cut from the new Alanis Morissette "Unplugged" CD during the lunchtime cafe show.
Sounded good to me.
He chose "You Oughta Know" - Unplugged. And of course - uncensored.
The single version of that song has the F-work "rubbed out."
Not the acoustic - unplugged version.
As I learned at that remote - the work is even more legible without an electric guitar under it.
She also made it a 3 syllable word - or maybe that was just the echo of the song bouncing off cars spread across the Reno Hilton parking lot.
I didn't dare look at anyone.
The GM was cool about it.
"Nice cafe today." - Yup.
"Won't happen again" - Yup.
FIRST SONG AT WABK / August ME
When you get a gig at the dominant station in your hometown - it's a big deal.
I can't remember what I had for breakfast this morning ... but I remember sliding the ID cart into the machine and cuing up Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
Yes - In my first moment of radio greatness: I was Rick-Rolled!
ELIZA
When I was OM and morning show host at Sunny 107 in Tallahassee, the toddler daughter of my partner (Sara Michaels) had to go to Children's Hospital in Boston for serious surgery. Seeing Sara go through the gamit of emotion was tough on us - and the listeners.
The day after she left for Boston, a local business called and said he was putting up "God Bless Eliza" on his marquee. I thanked him - and left it at that. We were all just too close to the situation to use it for PR.
The community did it for us. That week - marquee's were up everywhere supporting that little girl. It was very moving.
→ Of course a fellow PD told me I missed an opportunity to have the station's name in there ... really ....
UNCLE CHUCK
Uncle Chuck was our sports guy on the Sunny 107 morning show. Great guy ... very passionate ... lovin' life.
We had a new competitor that was challenging our #1 position in AMD - and they saw Chuck as the one to get too (he wore his emotions on his sleeve).
They sent a listener over with a big box of Krispy Kreme donuts.
Chuck brings the guy into the CR and puts him on the air.
He thanks us and says - LIVE ON OUR AIR - that it was a gift from Jim and Tammy at 98.9.
The following moment of silence felt like an hour.
At that point - I thought Chuck was going to pop-him. Sara had to hold Chuck down while I took the listener out of the control room.
Uncle Chuck spent the next 12 months planning out elaborate revenge plans.
I knew we wouldn't let him follow through. But it was his therapy.
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