Archive for July, 2006

The Cool Uncle…

{ July 27, 2006 @ 6:40 pm } · { blogs }
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I’m going to be an uncle. Weird. Uncle. The word just makes me feel old. Well, not old, but one step closer of being called Dad.

Weird.

By definition, the word is used to “address an older man, especially by children.”

I’m not THAT old – Am I?

Advisor. Aide. Attorney. Backseat Driver. Clubhouse Lawyer. Coach. Confident. Friend. Some other words you can define the word uncle by. Guide. Helper. Mentor. Right-hand-man. These are the words I can get with.

Friend Shane. Or get this one – My Right-Hand-Man Shane. My man Shane for short.

Yeah.

I like these. 

I recently told my parents that I’m going to have the new kid in town call me anything. Just Shane is fine enough for me, Thank you very much.

For my kids, I think I’ll have them choose if they want to call me Dad later on in life. It’ll be their choice.

 Back to my point.

Uncle.

What’s a cooler way to address someone older, preferably male and the brother of the proud parent?

I was thinking Roketman (and No, that has nothing to do with the fact I’m listening to Elton right at this second) or Superman or something like He-Man.

Yeah.

He-Man Shane.

 I have a few months to think about it. Well, 6 to be exact to come up with the almighty name or alias that my future niece or nephew will know me by.

I know with my family, throughout the years, the kids were the ones who made the nicknames for the uncles and aunts. Just things they would call the elders when they were younger because they couldn’t pronounce their proper name correctly. The names just stuck, since they sounded better. Younger. Hipper. Cooler.

Kids make up the best names.

Maybe I’ll leave it up to them to name me.

With my luck I’d be crowed Prince Pink Shane by the forth year. Or Shawn-John Man by the sixth.

 Can’t wait to find out, though.

Blockage, Radio dildos and one for Lance, Too…

{ July 27, 2006 @ 12:53 am } · { blogs, music industry related stuff, radio sites }
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My weekly dose of random thoughts, verbal barfs, intoxicating written farts and mental drunken dots on the great big white paper that we call the Internet blog.

  

Writers block sucks: Here’s a little secret: When I have writers block, I tend to refrain from picking up one subject and running with it, but I instead pick various subjects and make little snappy quirks about them. It works, most of the time. Sometimes, I can’t even make a sentence about anything and decide to just stop for the day and come back to it tomorrow. What inspires me to write? Other people, mostly. When I know I’m going to write a blog (usually on Tuesdays) I frequent some other blogers and see what they’re writing about. My favourites are usually from the same kind of mind-frame as I. Music, Media, Television, and Sociological issues. Life. Anything that sparks my imagination and creativity. Lately, I’ve been hooked on the latest trend of Hollywood gossip pages like Parez Hilton and Socialites Life. They make me feel like I’m a ten year old again, reading the latest happenings of Cory Haim and Alyssa Milano in Tiger Beat Magazine. I do it for shit and giggles for the most part. And yes. Maybe there’s this tiny part of me that really wants to know which guy Tara Reid was walking around with last night at some tiny LA café/bar/nightclub/drug dealer hangout.  Just a tiny bit. Okay. Maybe this much. But that’s the most. I swear.

A Mixed Feeling: Someone asked me how do I know that MIX will be changing formats come fall. Or maybe even sooner? You don’t really have to be a media expert or anything but when a station fires the whole morning team, asks the listeners what that want the station to sound like and even remove all on-air talent from the stations web-page, you know SOMETHING is up. Top40 Gabber? Smooth Jazz? Country? We don’t know. Some media nerds did some research, though. Standard seems to own a wack-load of Top 40 stations out west and are bringing in decent numbers. Maybe that’s what they’ve been looking for since the MIX format has slowly fallen to the heap of demolished formats and lost listeners. Could this also confirm that Madd Dog and Billie could be fronting the morning rush? Reunite the same due that took TOP40 jukebox KISS92 into glory and then for a quick fast fall into the ground?  I think we might have a new station, Mr. Slaight. Oh by the way. Breaking news. Z103’s own gossip queen, Pina will be running across the street come fall to the MIX. She joins EZ Rock’s Ron Young who have been both hired by the Standard station.

Lance likes it in the A^%: Who knew? I did. The ex-boy band play-toy Lance Bass has come out of the closet. I sure did get the hints way back when his former Nsync band mate Justin Timberlake broke up with Britney Spears. I mean, you’d think Justin would get a hint when Bass was the first one to ask out for dinner.

Seriously, though. I can see this being the beginning of a new road for the old pop star. A new solo album. Doing a cover with Elton John. Interviews galore. A candid talk with Oprah. This really does smell familiar. Oh wait. We’re missing one thing to make it sound exactly like George Michael’s career. Yeah. That whole washroom thing.

Nevermind. Maybe he could do something risqué in an adult cinema and then push for a top rated Saturday morning kids show talking to furniture and wear a red bowtie with a grey suit.

Mom, Pop and Howard, Too…

{ July 17, 2006 @ 10:43 pm } · { blogs, radio sites }
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Home Cooked Meals: There’s this mom-and-pop store down the block. For years the little variety store has become the fabric of the community. Over the years they’ve become a bit bigger and owned a few other stores in the city. But they remained local. Intimate. It’s at the store where we picked up the newspaper to read about 9-11, The Jays World Series win. Kept up-to-date with OJ’s trial. We always picked up our birthday cards for family and friends from there. We even invite the owners into our house once in a while – just to say thank you. Thanks for being them – Small, personal. Family oriented. Home grown. In a world of high sky rises, folks trying to race to be The Apprentice and big corporate chains where your only a number to the Big Guy, it’s always nice to have a family owned business that you can support.

Always support the Little Guy.

Just got word that the mom-and-pop store is being bought by one of the biggest competitors in the city. This same company owns many other variety stores not only in the city but also in the whole of Canada. The word is that they’ll be cutting jobs to “increase focus on service” to local customers.

Cutting jobs to increase focus? Huh?

What will happen to the 191 full time employees and 90 part timers who’ve made this family owned company their home for so many years? Some of them too old to find another job and some are too young to find a gig as good as the one they once had.

Okay. You get it. I’m not really talking about a variety store.

Nah.

I’m talking about the CHUM/Bell Globemedia merger.

CHUM being the little guys. Bell Globemedia being the big dudes.

Some say that CITY-TV won’t be here in a year. Some others say that CHUM radio will be going through major facelifts throughout the next six months.

What will happen to our TV station that’s promised us to be “everywhere?”

Will they still be everywhere?

Who will be the voices and faces of the CHUM outlets in a year?

Questions. Too many. Change. For the better?

This is the media world, after all.

This is the biggest merger in northern media history, they say. It’ll take some getting used to. Change is good, sometimes. Sometimes it’s for the best. But not when the people you’re kicking out of the door is all part of one family. Your family.

I Saw this Coming: I’ve been covering radio for so long, there’s usually a bad aroma that goes around in my mind when I feel like something huge is going to happen. Not a merge or anything, but a firing. A MIX-up. A time when a loved morning man will be shown the door to be replaced by a new crew come fall. I saw this one coming. Humble Howard – local morning man in the Toronto market for two decades was given the pink slip this week at Mix99.9.

He’s still going to get a Standard cheque until the Summer of 2008.

Where does this leave Howard? Getting back with Freddie P – his long time partner who together made classic radio at CFNY, MOJO Radio and lastly at MIX? Speculations are that an old but familiar morning team will be filling the shoes of the morning stint at the MIX come fall.

Madd Dog and Billie who haven’t been heard in this market since their CHFI downfall two years ago, is said to be pairing back up to try to save MIX’s low numbers.

Will it work?

Does this whole CHUM deal with BGM have anything to do with it?

Where does this leave our listeners? Loyal ears that will miss the morning mix-up with Howard and company?

Will we ever hear how respected jock, again?

Come fall, hopefully some answers will be given. But this is radio’s favourite time to play tricks on us. Just like that guy who went away for the summer only to return to realize his number one morning team has been shown the door, Howard is basking in the sun down south – trying to fathom what will he be doing in the fall.

Dust of the resume, Howard. Clean your demo, Bud. You’ll need those.

Random Radio Rants and Birthday Wishes…

{ July 11, 2006 @ 7:47 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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The Great will always sore, above, the mediocre. They create while the others destroy. -Unknown

 

“Today I’m prepared to bring specific charges against certain members working in an industry that reaches into every household in the country” – Unknown

  

 Some random thoughts on life. No real order to the madness, just jotted down as I ponder it. Might not make any sense. Might not have any order or consistency. It’ll just fall where it does and because of that, it’ll make sense. To someone.

 

Outer Radio Space: I’ve been bragging about my views of where the radio industry has been going in the past few years or so. It’s very rarely these days to find great talent on the radio that come from the era of creative radio. The young people who just graduated Humber or Ryerson went to school and were taught about automation and the satellite rather than creating a radio play using sound effects and how to top the cities newspapers at least once a week by pulling pranks and using “out there” promotions. That’s why the good guys should get the recognition they deserve. The ones who still make radio enjoyable. I was touring around the net world named Myspace.com the other day when I came across a couple of my favourite media people.

 

I just had to give them a plug.

 

Jim Richards, I think could easily be the future of this market. A Humble Howard or Mike Cooper in the making. He has the right ingredients to make one great morning guy and just a good jock. He already has a Medium Market Morning Show trophy under his belt. Currently on CFRB, where he has been for almost a decade, Richards has a quirky, offbeat sense of humour – which is one of the most important qualities to have to be a successful radio person.  You can check out his Myspace page over here or his official home via the ‘RB site, here.

  I’m lucky. I’ve met most of my radio hero’s. But George Stroumboulopoulos is one I’d still like to grab a beer with. Mainly known for his long lasting stint on Much Music as the edgy music dictionary, Stroumbo has evolved with the times and has progressed along with his talent. Off to CBC where he fronts The Hour, he headed back to radio last year on CFRB to host his own two-hour Sunday night radio show. And as news leaked this week, Stroumbo will play host on the new American Idol type program, ABC’s The One: Making a Music Star. Following the steps of Toronto talent going national like, JD Roberts, local boy George will be seen inside the homes of the Yankees. His website will be up by mid-summer, promised the main page of the Stroumbo site. However, in the meantime, add George over here.  Let’s change formats a bit, said the execs over at Rogers Broadcasting. Did ya see how I made that quick and witty segue, there? My mind’s always working.  I Wear Sunglasses at Night: I’m 28. On Friday, that is. Every year seems like I’m progressing. Obviously. However, I feel like I’m progressing at an extra fast pace where I’m turning 28 but really, I’m turning 48ish. It’s not like I feel like I’m 48 in that overworked, stressed out kind a way, but in that I’m enjoying life because I’ve learned a bunch of stuff already that has made me go through life, knowing a bit more everyday which in the end of it all, has made life easier to deal with. I’ve cut out all the negative things in life – be it food, people, music and everything else that were holding me down. Some things were hard to cut out. Some things I’m still doing but it’s just a matter of time until I quit smoking that cigarette and cut out that fifth pint. One thing I’ve learned in this 27th year of life is that Life looked much clearer. Everything. It seems the clouds opened up finally and I was able to see the sun.  No more rain days, kids. Every day we’ll have recess.  That’s a good thing, I think.