Great Radio is about telling stories. Here's old Radio-dude Jay Thomas, who is also a comic and a long time buddy of Letterman, telling Dave the Lone Ranger story.
Yes it's on a TV show but it's great Radio.
Kneale Mann and I have had an interesting 18 year relationship. He was doing all nights when I started at CFNY in August of 89. He was not a big fan of the H+F show and one night sort of freaked out at our producer Dan Duran.
Well I freaked out in return and kicked the crap out of the studio door. I'm sure my boot print is still there.
Fast forward to many years of working together later and all is well. Kneale was MD for years at the Edge and then PD in Ottawa.
We've been keeping in touch since neither of us is working (Unemployment loves company.) and he sent me this article he wrote recently for an industry paper call the Friday Morning Quarterback.
I think you'll find it quite interesting.
ContentContextCommunity
Whenever I am on a flight over mountains, I like to search for those little pockets of life. I often wonder how a town of a few dozen people can sustain in the midst of such grand expansion. Someone had to put up the first hut, make the first fire, clear the first path and suddenly there was a settlement, a village, a town, and one day in some cases – a city of nine million on the banks of Lake Michigan.
There are hundreds of stories like this, stories of how your market grew from the first few settlers into a CMA that is now home to thousands if not millions.
At one time, it was viewed as great progress when you could dip the end of a feather into a well of ink and scratch a note on a piece of dried wood pulp. In order to get the message to the recipient, you would need to then hire a messenger who would deliver your note on horseback. Today, we send messages thumbed on handheld wireless devices to the other side of the planet in an instant.
In 1943, Abraham Maslow wrote an article entitled "The Hierarchy of Needs". In it, he described what humans require to enjoy an enriched life. Those needs run the gambit from the most basic such as food, water, and sleep and continue all the way to self-actualization.
Nestled right above the need to keep our bodies alive, is the need to belong, to be a part of something, to feel needed by others. That’s the reason for communities, clubs, associations, sports teams, email. Humans need human interaction.
The MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, iPod phenomenon is by no means a new concept; it's just a new delivery system.
As I have said numerous times, Microsoft Word does not make you Hemmingway. Whether it’s an ink dipped feather or a blackberry, if the message is of no interest to its recipient, the instrument is irrelevant. Think about that the next time you put something on your radio station. Is your message interesting? Does your content have context?
In Radio, we have an opportunity to create a community, a connection to content and context. We cannot simply dumb down this gorgeous medium by playing 10-in-a-row and giving away concert tickets. Listeners want more than sound coming out of speakers and the latest Carrie Underwood or Linkin Park. We can do better than that. And in a world of user-made content, it’s a matter of our survival!
How many times have you been at a dinner when someone talks about how radio could be better? Are we the enlightened ones who don’t feel that the great unwashed could handle more than time, temp, shut up and play the hits?
We spend a great amount of our waking hours wondering what’s next. PPMs are a reality, younger demos aren’t consuming radio as much as they did in the past, the industry has done a pretty underwhelming job embracing interactive possibilities but I’m referring to something much more human.
Posted by Humble on June 13, 2007 @ 09:07|Permalink
Kneale Mann's Article part Two
You can build a MySpace page in two minutes and scour for “friends”. MySpacers want control over their environment then share it, belong to others, and build that community.
I was on a train recently and I was fascinated by a group of high school students on a school trip. I watched how they interacted with each other. They shared snacks, checked out each others’ iPods, talked, laughed, and read aloud. They were creating content in the context of their own space.
My eye suddenly caught a couple in their 60s on the other side of the train who were sharing a sandwich. In this noisy train car, they created their own community – a community of two – and it seemed that the rest of the world didn’t matter.
Then there was me, with my laptop open and tunes cranked in the headphones – creating my own environment. It was a cocaphany of sounds by people co-creating …on a train! Was this an isolated event? Is life like that in people’s every day lives?
When I go to Starbucks – anywhere on the continent – the same thing happens. I get greeted cheerfully and receive my order promptly. Starbucks is a brand and a community, it is not coffee. Coffee is simply the conduit, the delivery service, the gadget.
Apple does not sell portable digital music devices – they sell a community and a lifestyle. Why do we honk or wave at someone who has made the same car purchase as us?
Content, context and community are powerful forces we cannot ignore.
What’s also important to note, is the content, context and community we are building inside our own environments – our radio stations. We have all used the phrase “customer service” ad nausea but do we follow through? I view ‘customers’ as three groups – our listeners, our clients, and our selves. Are their needs different? No. They each have the need to flourish and yes …belong!
What kind of community exists inside your radio station? Is it co-creating with your listeners and your clients? What are the needs of your employees and co-workers? Is your sales department asking your clients what they need to be successful? Are you asking your listeners and potential listeners what they want?
Think beyond the announcers, music, sales, imaging, creative, promotions, interactive, and marketing – those are paramount to your success – but turn the focus back on your community and give them the content they crave.
In my 15 years at the Edge in Toronto, one of my annual favorites was our EdgeFest concert. During this daylong event which featured a dozen or so bands, there was a sea of 35,000 people sharing, enjoying, and co-creating.
Make it about them, and they will make it about you. Your competition is not gadgets or other radio stations – it is people’s time. It’s your challenge to create that desire for others to want to belong to your space.
Are you creating an atmosphere that will satisfy people's inherent need to belong?
MIke Boon thinks this is Heinous. He might be right.
Back in 1991 I did a parody song for a Blue Jays CD. I can't remember why we thought this was any good but we did. We were young and may have been high.
Originally I did this in Montreal and called it Habs to the Top. It was okay but again, kinda sucky.
Well, Boon gets a hold of it and delighting in it's crappy-ness threatens to hold the song for ransom and put it on his site if I don't pay up.
Go ahead says I. I'm not paying and thats that.
Read about the back and forth here and then tell me if I should have come up with something.
Roger Rick and Marilyn. Wow. That's the big time baby and yesterday I got a chance to hang with the legends.
Cept Rick who I believe works in another building for security purposes.
They couldn't have been nicer, more accommodating and hospitable. Why not. They're the Morning Dominators in Toronto and I'm a guy sitting on his ass in Oakville that used to talk on the Radio.
I've known Marilyn for a long time and Roger and I have always gotten along, but I was wondering if it was going to be weird.
It wasn't.
Marilyn hugged and kissed me a lot and Roger was really funny.
It's been a while since I stuck some Old Me on the Radio up here and I thought you might have forgotten what I sounded like. I know I have.
Here is a little of Me, Judy and Bob talking about a guy who stole a fake leg.
Enjoy,
Polyp Man Sing and Dances on Ice...No I'm not Kidding.
My last year in Radio I worked with a great group of people. Andy Wilson, Bingo Bob, Judy Croon, Curits, Leslie Kaz, Various Bizarrely Named Interns and Elliot Gordon.
When I'm asked if I miss being on the air I invariably answer, "No, I miss the people I was on the air with."
Elliot Gordon was a late addition to our band of mis-fits. He started with us as a contest winner and ended up being a big part of the show. Very funny dude, great singer/voice guy and an all around nice person.
He's also very bright. He got his Real Estate license while working with me just in case the whole "Show Bidness" thing didn't work out. Good move.
After I was fired he went on to work with Judy Croon and Mike Bullard.
Now that they've been fired he's selling condo's and touring as Polyp Man. Yes he dresses up like a giant polyp and performs for Internists and other Dr's at their conventions.
No joke.
He recently performed his Polyp Man thing on ice.
Enjoy.
(This is definitely the guy I want selling my house!)
This past weekend I met a lot of people who had some very nice things to say about my days on the Radio.
"I miss you in the mornings!"
"I haven't laughed at the Radio since you left."
"Can you tell me where the facial peel booth is?"
The last person aside, it was interesting and gratifying to hear that there are still a few people who remember me as a Morning Man.
Of all the things I've done since the day I was fired though, writing about "Getting Fired" seems to have had a lot of impact.
Let me explain.
I am constantly running into people who have been downsized, gassed, punted, let-go, axed, laid-off or FIRED that read my National Post article and related to it.
This past weekend was no exception.
Coincidentally, this week I heard from an old Edge 102/CFNY friend of mine that was turfed from the biz about 4 months ago and just recently read my piece. I won't mention who it is, but I was flattered by his note thanking me for writing the article.
I was glad it resonated and made him feel he wasn't unique in his situation.
Strange how things work out. I wrote the story 7 days after I got The Call and I never imagined I'd still be hearing about it more than 7 months later.
I went back and re-read it yesterday. Parts of it made me laugh, other parts, not so much.(You'll figure them out!)
If you'd like to read it click here.
If you've never been fired you might find it slightly amusing and as a lot of us have found out, you never know when it could apply to you!
Yesterday I received this message from Carmen Melville. hey Howa.
you ain't played the OSCARS review yet. with the peeing and the feces balls
He apparently is keeping close tabs of the "spins" his very funny bits have been getting here on HH.com and dagnabitt if the little critter hasn't got a point. Or has a point.
Anyhow, I did some research and found that I hadn't played the Oscar bit with the peeing and feces balls. I mean that's the type of entertaining we were famous for so, I say let's do it.
Posted by Humble on March 7, 2007 @ 08:03|Permalink
Old Radio Junk That's Not Carmen Melville
I think I've plum run out of Carmen Melville bits. I'll have to check but I'm pretty sure. Oh well, how bout some Old Me.
I was going through some Me, Judy Croon and Bobby stuff(Judy just got dusted at XM from the Bullard show, that girl is too good to be off the air long) and I found some goofy little bits we did around Bingo getting married.
Here was a thing about the sacrifices people make for their spouses.There's a strange little clipped part at the beginning but after that its' fine.
Enjoy.
Posted by Humble on March 6, 2007 @ 08:36|Permalink
Carmen Melville yet again.
Yes more Carmen.
People like the Carmen Melville "bits" so why shouldn't I give them what they want.
I am getting down to the stems and seeds of my Carmen supply so enjoy them while they last.
And no bogarting. (For those of you not savvy with the Blunt references, "bogarting" a joint means to "hog" or "selfishly" retain joint-possession, when it is clearly time to pass it on. If my kids see this I learned that from your mother!)
So here once again...Fake English Accent Movie Reviewer Carmen Melville.
Enjoy.
Yesterday I was having trouble with my audio hosting service Odeo. I heartily recommend them but alas, the new version won't let you upload from your computer.
Yes I said "alas" in that last sentence because it's my site and if I utter the odd "alas" well you'll just have to deal with it.
Also it's in keeping with today's Fake English Accent Movie Review from Carmen Melville.
Enjoy.
Yes it's time for More Carmen. Now just calm down and set a spell.
Aww yes. Old Radio Junk. I love putting this stuff up here for any number of reasons. That number is precisely 3.
1) You peeps seem to enjoy these self-indulgent trips down memory lane-HH.com styles.
2) I like to do what the people like. Yeah.
3) It's incredibly easy and doesn't involve me writing anything too original but at the same time I appear to be doing something. Hmmm. Am describing everyone in Radio or just me?
Carmen is one of my fav's in the ORJ category and several of you agree.
Enjoy.
BTW. (for reasons I can't explain right now...okay I forgot my password to the old Odeo and the new one won't allow uploads from my computer...yes I know I just explained it.....this is one I've already run...I'll have fresh carmen later. Don't yell.)
Posted by Humble on February 28, 2007 @ 09:08|Permalink
Carmen Melville reviews Yet again.
Carmen Melville is a very clever little fellow who used to write Adverts at the old 102.
Once in a while he would bully his way on to the show and force us to listen to his demented ramblings.
These were always amusing and sometimes downright funny. Very often they made me itchy.
Enjoy another episode of Carmen Melville Fake English Accent Movie Reviewer.
One of the guys from the old show Carmen Melville sent me a bunch of old "Him" recently. I always loved this character and I'm happy he did. The Fake English Accent Movie Reviewer.
Carmen is an extremely talented writer and voice-over guy which of course explains why he's no longer in Radio.
Interesting Carmen Trivia?
He was part of the Dean Blundell Show on the Edge when it first debuted in the spring of 2001.
He came in a few times and things didn't work out. Not everyone wants to get up in the middle of the night and go to work. Okay no one really does but sometimes that's all your qualified for.
Anyway. Here's some more Carmen.
Enjoy.
I used to love this character. Carmen Melville.
He's a real guy who happened to write commercials at The Edge during Humble and Fred's halcyon days. Oh yes my friendlies, we had some good days.
Carmen used to come appear with a fake English accent and review movies, so of course we called his character...
Carmen Melville Fake English Accented Movie Reviewer. Clever huh?
One of the best things about working on The Humble and Fred show all those years was the amazing array of talented people we managed to coerce into doing stuff for us for nothing.
Jamie Watson, Pete Cugno and Carman Melville. Carm used to come in every so often and do a bit called Carman Melville Fake English-accented movie reviewer. Sort of the Stewie voice before there was Family Guy.
Carman was a copy writer at the station and a very funny dude. He recently sent me some old reviews for you to listen to and then forget.
Today his review of Hannibal.
Enjoy.
Summer 2005 Fred get's fired and then the Big Hurricane!
I went to New Orleans for the first and only time in the early August 2005 for a morning man convention. Wow. The shear tonnage of ego's was staggering. But I had a great time, ate some awesome food and met some really fine people. My buddy Paul Brown from Edmonton's Bear Radio is a dude that I've become pals with from that time.
Anyway. I come back to Toronto, Fred gets gassed and now I'm doing the little radio show solo.
We kept on the best we could and we never stopped trying to do some good shows.
Judy, Bingo and I certainly weren't mailing it in.
About Mid-August New Orleans is hit by Katrina and we tracked down this guy that chases storms.
Enjoy.
I've lost track of the number of DJ's I've heard (myself included) that did a Joke of the Day feature.
Wasn' a JotD Don Daynards main feature? I can't remember. I know I always like DD.
Anyway. I'm forever being sent these little ha ha's and once in a while they're sort of funny.
HumbleHoward.com's Joke of the Day!
A business man met a beautiful girl and asked her to spend the night
with him for $500. And she did. Before he left in the morning,he told
her that he did not have any cash with him, but that he would have
his secretary write a check and mail it to her, calling the
payment "RENT FOR APARTMENT." On the way to the office, he regretted
what he had done, realizing that the whole event was not worth the
price. So he had his secretary send a check for $250 and
enclosed a note:
Dear Madam:
Enclosed find a check in the amount of $250 for rent of your
apartment. I am not sending the amount agreed upon because when I
rented the apartment I was under the impression that:
(1) it had never been occupied;
(2) that there was plenty of heat;
(3) that it was small enough to make me cozy and at home.
Last night, however, I found out that it had been previously
occupied, that there wasn't any heat, and that it was entirely
too large.
Upon receipt of the note, the girl immediately
returned the check for $250 with the following note:
Dear Sir,
First of all, I cannot understand how you expect a beautiful
apartment to remain unoccupied indefinitely. As for the heat, there
is plenty of it if you know how to turn it on. Regarding the space,
the apartment is indeed of regular size, but if you don't have enough
furniture to fill it, please don't blame the landlord.
If you want the full Humble and Fred experience make sure you check out the Podcast of Hope!
I was looking for something else and I came across this H+F interview with the very funny Bob Saget. Enjoy.
Posted by Humble on January 26, 2007 @ 09:32|Permalink
Humble and Fred Xmas Podcast Still On!
Hey have you been to HumbleandFred.com yet to hear the Xmas podcast? I have and I loved it!
You will too.
Gather the kids round the old computer, put on some hot chocolate and let the joy wash over you like only joy can.
Do it now and you won't be disappointed.
The Humble and Fred Gift of Xmas Podcast will only be available till sometime in 2007 so let's get on it.
Listen and see why no Program Director will hire us!
Its seems a few of like the little Xmas Podcast. It's up here at HumbleandFred.com and is a fine way to kick back and relax with a little Baileys and coffee during the Holiday season.
Here's one of my favorite pictures. Notice my pants looked like they were hemmed by me in the dark, when I was drunk!
Hey dude, pants are supposed to go down near your shoes. FlickerFun!
(no Boon, I couldn't figure out how to get the image from your Flickr thing to my page, sue me!)
Fred and I have talked about the response the last few days, and we really appreciate it.
Here are a few of my favorites.
Guys......I have had the good fortune to listen to you for years (as
I've told both of you before).
I just finished listening to the podcast.
All I can say is this: Thank you. Thank you for the years of enjoyment
and for the last hour of enjoyment. Sincerely.
That was awesome!!! Oh man, I so miss hearing you guys on a regular basis.
The Xmas show was always a great show. Yes, more podcasts please!!!
Seriously, you guys need to be on the radio again. I haven't laughed this
much in the morning since you were last on the radio! I miss the noises.
I'll be listening a few times over the holidays for sure.
Merry Christmas everyone!!! Thank you for this gift of love! :)
And Humble & Fred are not on the radio full time. . .why??? Yeesh. They are
so much better than all the other prattle that is out there! I don't get it.
That was such a nice treat this morning, thanks again.
Message: Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukka and Best Wishes to you and your family this holiday season Howard. A great big thanks to you, Fred, Dan and everyone for a great Christmas show too. It was a real treat to be able to hear you guys all together again. Who knows, maybe in the New Year...
I thought I'd throw out some old airchecks of mine. I'm looking for some old H+F but in the meantime maybe you'd like to hear some stuff with me and Judy Croon.
Here's something from August 05-Hurricane Katrina and I was doing the show on my own!
I loved working on the radio in December. We always had lots of goofy Xmas id's and jingles and we would be working towards the long December break and of our Annual Christmas party. That won't happen this year for the first time in nearly 17 years and that's a drag. I'll miss the big broadcast, the Bare Naked Ladies and having all our kids in to hang out during the show. But hey, I can still play you the goofy id's and jingles!
Ho Ho Ho
Ha Ha Ha
Hee Hee Hee
Finally, some of my favorite December stuff from my wife Randee!
I was browsing some old Celeb Id's and I thought you'd find these somewhat interesting.
I haven't labeled them so you have to press all the buttons to find out who they are!
Now the countdown to Xmas begins. I know a nice little book that would be perfect for everyone on your list. Do you have an actual list? I don't. I just go to the mall like all other men on December 24th and just start buying stuff. Yes, I know I'm Jewish but I love Santa and the whole tree/reindeer/fat guy down the chimney mythology.
At our house we also do Chanukah. Why not, it's like a 2 for 1 holiday month!
Last year when I was still doing a radio show we put together a bit for Chanukah I thought you might like to relive the magic.
Talking to Fred today and he told me Pete Cugno, who used to work with us back on The Edge, sent him this song/bit and I thought you like it.
Fred is Goo Head, Pete is the guy singing the high parts and I am The Egg-Man.
Some of you Humble and Fred peeps will recognize some of these old ID's from our show over the years. We always tried to do things a little differently which is why neither of us are working now! Enjoy.
The first 3 are some "sing" things and the last is just weird. I can't remember who the girl singer was but the guy is Pete Cugno one of the most talented people to ever work on our show.
