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.

My Myspace…

{ June 22, 2006 @ 10:07 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Just in Case ya didn’t Know..: I’ve been an official internerd for around a year now. Well, much more than that, but I just started to call me one this past year. I hopped on the latest nerd fashion horse called Myspace a few years ago. Then last summer, it all started to come out of the woodwork.

Everyone was a member!!

And I mean EVERYONE!!

Tom must’ve taken Internet marketing lessons with the porn industry.

I reconnected with old industry pals, met up with some former flames and checked out what ex-classmates were up to.

‘Twas cool.

So just in case your part of the budding society known as Myspace, check out my page here and add me.

 Thanks.

Dark Clouds come over the CITY

{ June 22, 2006 @ 8:23 pm } · { blogs, radio sites }
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Dark Clouds: Clear sunny days. Dark dim stormy overnights. He forecasted the Indian summers, the deep freezes and the Hurricanes. He spoke of sizzling summer Sunday sundowns while grabbing protection when pouring rain was on the horizon. He brought out the boots when teen feet of the white stuff covered the city streets.

Now, he’s out in the cold.

With one phone call on Sunday from CITY head brass saying he’s not to report to work on Monday, Meteorologist Harold Hosein was trying to fathom how his unique and long loved local forecasts are no longer needed. The first time in 17 years.

“I was pushed out,” Hosein told the Toronto Sun. Meanwhile CITY-boss Stephen Hurlbut relayed a different story. Hosein “was at that stage in his life when he was looking for a new challenge” Hurlbut said of little hints Hossein made of becoming a financial planner. “We wish him nothing but the best of luck”.

Hosein said that the planner line was just a “front”. “I am not a financial planner. I do not know what I am going to do”.

The 66-year old Trinidadian worked at Environment Canada for 21-years before entering the 299 Queen West offices. He still can be heard on 680 News where he has been delivering weather on the tens for years. “I’m happy that they’re still glad to have me”.

Hosein is the second victim of the firing bug going around the CHUM Empire. A month back, another meteorologist, Nadine Hinds-Powell was suddenly axed from the Queen West weather-roof. She soon reappeared over at Global.

Starting Monday, CITY brings in weather-guy, Michael Kuss to replace Hosein.  Kuss worked in the local market at Global and also at Edmonton’s A-Channel. The BC-born is “a perfect fit,” remarked Hurlbut. “He’s a full, blue-blooded meteorologist”.

While there isn’t any formal goodbye planned for the friendly weather guy on the roof at CITY, Hosein stated that his co-workers were in “utter-surprise, dismay, disbelief” upon hearing the news on the release of the vet.

CITY scored poorly in the last ratings book while finishing third for their six o’clock newscasts. With just 100,000 eyes tuned in, they were behind first place CTV and runner-up, Global.

Drumming to Another Band

{ June 20, 2006 @ 10:16 pm } · { blogs, music industry related stuff, my sites }
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Beating to the beat of another Drum: Sometimes I feel like I have some kind of sickness. A.D.D, O.C.D are the ones that usually come to mind. Don’t know. Just that I tend to do things in such a way that makes me think that something must be wrong with me. I don’t see anyone else doing it. Maybe we all do it and we all think something is wrong with us but we never tell anyone about it.

Kinda like masturbation.

Am I mentally masturbating through life, keeping this unknown sickness a deep dark secret to only find out that most of the world is doing the same thing behind the close doors of their mind?

My little quirks make me, me. I know that. But is there really a reason behind the insanity? Is there a diagnosis that’s been inked just for my condition? Are there more people out there like me?

Indescribable insanities could include me into a fellowship that would make me feel more at home with whatever I have.

Or in the end, this all could be just some personality traits that everyone has but too afraid to mention to others.

Heck, I could be a pioneer or something.

Cool..

   

More Dreamin’: More bizarre dreams this past week. This has become more of a daily thing rather than an obscure once-in-a-while thing. In one dream, I was swimming with various Sesame Street characters and with my family. The whole pool was shallow so I could move around quite easily. However, I wasn’t walking around.

I was Swimming!!

I was actually Swimming!

I don’t really know how to swim. Learning the dog paddle was as far as I went.

Swimming with Cookie Monster and Elmo and playing tag with my sisters. It was an enjoyable dream, for sure.

Maybe it had to do with reconnecting with my family. My childhood. Something from that time that needs to be re-visited? Something from that time needs closure? Not sure what it meant. All I know is that it was a fun dream. One of the better dreams I’ve had in a while.

Pluggin’: Whatever happened to Whistleradio – the very first York Region based community radio station that I’ll be part of? It’s still in the works and the date has been pushed back. The CRTC are taking care of business. Hopefully, by October, they’re saying now. There’s something in the works in terms of fundraising that I’ll be heading up. If you are in the Richmond Hill area, you’ll really like it. Stay tuned.

My man Erin Zimerman is doing up an art show. Erin has been doing up some of the most original art pieces around the Toronto area for sometime now and has been recognized for his creative trucker hat concept that can be checked out over at his official page. The art show runs from June 22nd to July 8th at LE, which is located on Dundas Street West in downtown Toronto. For more information check out Erin’s myspace page.

 Old promoter pal Ryan Somers is also doing up things large. A CD with his band OK Cobra, a book and a tour. I’ll be doing up an interview with him for TheCyberKrib.com news section in coming weeks. I’ll keep you informed. But in the meantime, check out Ryan’s blog page for more up-to-date info on his moves or his OK Cobra page here or here.

Dreaming about a Relay for Money Makin in the Northern Land.

{ May 25, 2006 @ 7:03 pm } · { blogs, music industry related stuff, radio sites }
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Knowing the News: A while back I taught eager readers how to write. Forget all format, rules and write like you speak, I yelled through the pages. Yes, Correct. Keep that in mind. Now let’s continue.

News.

What is News? Why are some News stories bigger on Friday and not on a Monday?

Here ya go.

Take notes.

News is something worthwhile to talk about on the top of each hour to inform the listener of what’s really happening in the world while they’re busy driving the kids to school, picking up groceries, running other errands or heading to work. It’s blabber glue to keep the head together throughout the day. Some stations give an in-depth look at the happenings while others just play with the headlines. These stations are usually music driven, female focused outlets that make you think everything in the world centres around your three year old tot and how much tissue is today at Loblaws.

When writing the news, you have to know your audience. Even if you’re a top rated hard – hitting news radio station, sometimes your listener needs a break from the doom-and-gloom of today’s world.

Rule of thumb. News is usually the hardest on Monday’s. That’s when everything that happened during the weekend is given airtime. How many shootings in the local bad part of town, the local solder shot on Sunday, and tax hikes that are planned to be talked about in this weeks meeting. That’s what I mean by Hard Hitting. Stuff that makes you want to stay in bed for five more days.

Tuesday is the leftover from the weekend news stories and what ever happened during the wild Monday drive. If you notice, Mondays’ always have some kind of car crash somewhere. Monday is the worst day to be on the road. People aren’t always at their best.

Wednesday is hump day. Talks of the upcoming long weekend could be the forth story in.  Words from the Entertainment world like the latest Cowell comment from the previous nights American Idol, or new information on who got married on a private beach would be top fluff stories.

Thursday is the beginning of the fluff stories taking priority. The news desk is gearing up for the weekend and don’t want to bother their listener with sad stories on the latest shooting in the city.

Friday is when weekend events like the food festival, the opening of an amusement park is more important than tax cuts or the latest on the war.

All in all, writing news is hard. You have to “feel the room”, you have to write something in two lines or less but still inform your demographic in a way that they can have a valid understanding of what’s going on. They use you to see their own newscast inside their mind. Listen to news people and see how they do it. EZ Rock’s Evelyn Macko and FAN’s Larry Silver are two of note in this market that do it best.

  

Money Makers: Last month’s Toronto Life magazine gossiped about the major money earners in the Canadian media market. One of my local favourites, George Strombo is pegged in at $150k a year even though on his CFRB radio show, he confirmed that the amount wasn’t right but not outside of the ballpark. Strombo’s former Much Music mate, Steve “Ed the Sock” Kerzner blabbers for a listed $120k and a writer for the latest chapter of the Degrassi drama scribes for a minimal 49k a year. However, the cover boy for all media moneymakers in Canada comes from northern government royalty. The host for Canadian Idol and once touted as the Most Annoying Canuk, is a million dollar baby. Ben Mulroney shows off regularly for 400k. What do his bosses make? The big boys who run the TV stations and radio companies? CHUM exec Jay Switzer does a staggering $2,211,140 a year while CORUS Entertainment hot shot; John Cassidy scores just about Five million a year.

Relay for Life: Last fall I did the Terry Fox run in memory of my late pal, Tom Rivers. The walk killed me. I was home on the couch rubbing my legs for three days after that. It didn’t help that the night before the run, I was at a club celebrating my sisters’ birthday. This year I still want to do something. I decided to volunteer at the Relay for Life. It’s an overnight run, walk or roller blade thing where people go around a track for hours on end to raise money for cancer research. I signed up for entertainment department. Doing what? I have no idea. Just sent in the application yesterday. Hopefully I’ll get the word soon. If you would like to help out send me a note and I’ll pass on the info. Otherwise, you can always check out the website.

And yeah. I’m doing this for Tom. I think of everyday. I miss him.

  

  Dreamin’: Had another weird dream of sorts last night. See, for as long as I can remember, I’ve had this recurring dream where at the end, I would wake up wondering where I was and If I should wake up, get ready and leave to head home. Last night I woke up and sat in my bed for half hour awake wondering what to do. I stared at my television and computer wondering why it looked so familiar. I guess I was still in half dream state, but I totally knew what I was doing. It wasn’t like I was awake and made a conscience attempt to do something. Go downstairs and get a drink of water. Go on the computer. Watch TV. Just something. But I just sat there and wondered. I don’t remember how I fell back asleep but when I woke up this morning, I realized how weird that was. Still don’t know what I was waking up from. Just know that I was up doing nothing

Hittin’ Dreams

{ May 18, 2006 @ 2:34 am } · { radio sites }
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 Back with the Hits:It’s this time of year when the radio industry brings up whispers of different ideas, thoughts and rumours of what’ll be the next big thing for the ever so important fall ratings period. For the non-educated, late spring and early summer is when stations tweak their format or flop formats to gear up to the most important time in listenership – September to December. This year, the industry ears are all focussed on Jack92.5. Due to lack of ratings for the past few rating periods, the rumour mill says that the Rogers owned station is going to flip formats come summer. To what? Company line Is tight lipped. No one is saying anything. Talk of going back to Contemporary Hit Radio is one possibility while others say they’ll compete with the ever so popular rock format that’s dominating the Toronto radio airwaves with Q107,  and well..Let’s put Edge102.1 and MIX99 in that demo, too.

If you remember way back when, it was the Rogers owned station CFTR that ruled local ears in the 80’s and early part of the 90’s before the station became the first All-news outlet in the market and the country. Could Rogers pull off another legendary CHR following as they did way back when? Should they focus on another side of the demographic? Or should they just go all talk and again, be the first in the country to have an all talk format on the FM band? All we know is that we have a few great talents wanting jobs with Rogers needing big names to boast up ratings for the re-formatted 92.5. Jay ”MadDog” Michaels  is a name being circled around the industry watering holes being the one fronting the new station.

Will the head brass over at Rogers let Mad Dog return to his dog pound to boost up ratings like how they did when they had Erin Davis come back home to CHFI last fall?

Or will Rogers bring in new pipes into the sound system that’ll just surprise all ears with a full out fall ad campagne?

Wasn’t Fred Patterson looking for work?

  

Contemporary Hit Radio hasn’t been done properly in this market since CFTR. If anyone could do that kind of format well, is Rogers. They have the dough. They can bring in the talent and the suites to make it sound good.

Hollar back girl, Jay-Z, Puffy and Beyonce might be hitting your speakers come fall. And finally…

  

Jack will Jack-Off.

  On To the Dream: Ever so often I have dreams that I add to my journal. Someday I would like to go back to them and make this new concept for a movie. I think it would sell large at the film festival if done properly.

Anyway. On to the dream.

Let me preface this by saying that today I took a nap while going full steam ahead on no sleep for the past twenty-four hours just writing and doing odd stuff around my room and actually drawing. Yeah, Drawing. Weird.

On to the Dream.

The dream took place in a classroom setting. I was around a bunch of Goth type teenagers and skater punks. The Teacher was Canadian rocker, Robin Black. What would he be doing in my dream? I haven’t thought of him since the last episode of Much Music’s VJ Search.

Uh..

I had to go up to his table for some reason. It wasn’t too clear in the dream. For argument sake, I was getting my paper marked or something.

Every time he would talk to me, He would scream at me. His face would come out in a phsycadelic kind of way like one of those early Pink Floyd or Grateful Dead videos.

I knew this dream was freaking me out but I also knew I was dreaming. I was able to withstand it. Every time he talked to me, he continued to break into song and have his head move out of his body and make crazy weird shapes like he was a snake.

Crazy.

When I woke up I was just confused. I know the television was on at the time, but he wasn’t on. It was an episode of Newhart. Yeah, I had Newhart on the tele. Go figure that out.

Weird day.

  

A little Diddy about Shane and Lisa

{ May 13, 2006 @ 5:35 am } · { blogs }
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A Love Story: 

I saw this girl I knew the other day.

Yeah, I still do love her – but in a different way. This time when I saw her, it was like seeing a girl I used to play jump rope with at recess or someone who I used to call on the phone to get the answers to the night’s math problems. I used to do all that with Lisa – and even more.

When my parents were splitting, I used to sneak out some nights and run to this playground near my house. Had a smoke, sat under the stars and just did a bunch of thinking. If I was able to leave early enough I went to the close by Country Style and finished the rest of my homework. I couldn’t stand being at home. One night, Lisa called. My sisters kept screaming for me. I didn’t answer as I was at the playground. 

When my sisters realized I jumped ship, they told Lisa and Lisa said not to worry – she knew exactly where I would be.

As I sat under the night’s blanket, listening to the spring leaves unfold and the sand from the nearby baseball diamond, angel wings came down and smacked the back of my head.

Lisa cracked a joke and said that my sisters called the cops on me. I smiled. She asked me to move-over, as she wanted some space to sit. I moved my backpack, smokes, book and lighter. She put a Leafs jacket over me that she had brought from her house. We too often thought alike and she knew I wouldn’t have brought something to keep me warm. She asked for a smoke and remarked that my sisters knew I was with her and we should go get a coffee. I agreed. Even though Lisa and my sisters never met, I liked how they respected each other. They all knew they wanted the best for me.

  

As we walked to Country Style that night, we talked. I thought of the trials going on in my life. It was more than just my parents. It also had to do with her. Lisa. We had just broken up and I kept on thinking I was making a huge mistake on letting her go. She had just started to deal with what would’ve been a life-long ordeal – but back then, we just thought it was a fad. A bug. An illness that’ll just disappear.  I wanted to be there for her. I tried to.

 Not long after that night we started to drift apart. The weekly visits in the playground became monthly. Then three times a year to never again. We would see each other on the road or at the bar or at the coffee shop. She was too involved with her life. Like how I was mine years back and she was there for me. I wanted her to let me in, but it never happened. She never let anyone in, as far as I know. It took a couple of years to get over her. And in a way, I’ll never get over her – like most people can’t get over their first love. If she’s The One, it’ll happen. However, till then I will enjoy what I had with her and hopefully the times to come if she lets me get a jacket for her when I go visit her in the playground by that old street we lived on.

The Takeover

{ May 13, 2006 @ 4:29 am } · { blogs }
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The Redo Question: We were having a few beers the other night watching Buffalo ruin The Sens. The question came up if we would do it all over. Everything The whole book. Right from the beginning. We all answered “yes”. We thought about it and realized, we’ve all had a pretty good life. Things did happen, but yeah. If those things didn’t happen, we wouldn’t be where we were today. For the better? I don’t know.

“We could’ve been dead if we did do something different”, one quipped. While I replied, “That’s destiny”. 

You just have to trust it. Like Yorke said, hold its hand and protect you from the world.

The last few days I kept thinking about the question more in-depth. Would I REALLY want to change anything? What would’ve happened if I stayed in Michigan? How about if I hung out with other types of people in high school? What If I went to a totally different school all together – like a Public School? Would’ve I been taller if I didn’t have that surgery back in 1992?

Questions. No answers. Just thoughts, false images of could’ve been’s and what-if’s.

The more I thought of it, I realized I would’ve changed the smaller things. I wouldn’t have said that to my parents. I wouldn’t have acted that way towards my sisters. I would’ve called that girl and told her Sorry. I would’ve stayed home that night and I would’ve never lent out the favourite CD of mine. I would’ve called him back so he could tell me he didn’t have much time left. Little altercations in my life I think would’ve made me just a bit less stress free and just a bit happier. Content.

It’s been a tough life. That’s for sure. I’ve realized a long time ago, that regrets are just a pile of experiences that help make you into the person you’re today. Don’t regret regrets. Cherish them, in a way. Welcome them. It’s those that make you the stronger individual.

{ May 12, 2006 @ 10:48 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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Hot Damn! (It’s a New Day): Welcome to the new site. I’ve been thinking of making the move for some time, now. Didn’t really think of doing anything about it until I came across this server last night. I liked the templates. I liked how it’s so much easier to do things. Create link pages. Create a new post. That kinda stuff. The new page also signifies a bit of a change of format to this page and how Fameone Unleashed will be like. More variety. Less talk. I’ll be hitting Pop culture. I’ll be using more mediums to get my point across. Think of an online version of your favourite `page six’ scriber. Funny, witty, sarcastic, realistic comments followed by fast paced news stories and insights of my life. And sometimes…we’ll even have videos and pictures for a good laugh. Of course, I’ll always be here for feedback or coffee dates. Hope you like it.

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