A home for those who love almost everything about The Ticket (1310 AM, 96.7 FM, Dallas-Fort Worth), and who would like to discuss -- respectfully and fondly -- their thoughts on how (and whether) to eliminate the "almost."
I don’t have a feel for whether The Freak will succeed or not. But a couple of decades of listening suggest a few thoughts. Not in order of importance or confidence. I’ll number them for your ease in firing back.
COMMENT 1: I like these people and wish them the best of luck. Sure, I’ll be tuning in.
COMMENT 2: Ben and Skin have failed to ignite any time slot they’ve been a part of. Not a thing wrong with them, listened to them with pleasure. But they need to decide if they’re the cool snotty guys of their old weekend Ticket show, or the ‟let’s have another contest with the staff‟ homers of some of their later incarnations.
COMMENT 3: Mike Rhyner’s post-Ticket projects have failed to engage him enough to make him prepare for them any more than he prepared for the last half-decade or two of The Hardline. Will The Freak be different? Why exactly is he doing this?
He seems like a bitter man; I don’t know why he left The Ticket, but it seems unlikely that it was because he had a burning desire to embark on projects to which he eventually devoted little attention. Just guessing, but I’m thinking that Cat or some uber-Cat told him to get interested in The Hardline again, and he didn’t like it. But he’s seen how the very popular Greg Williams flamed out when he and Richie Whitt raged into PM drive, and (with a couple of oddball ratings periods excepted) didn’t make much of a dent against HeeHoo’s old Ticket show even when HeeHoo was present and lucid. What makes him think he’ll do any better at 72 (or however old he is)?
One of two things will happen: We’ll see laissez-faire Mike that has characterized his last decade, his thinking being that his broadcast gifts (huge) and radio personality (very appealing) will draw listeners with him not doing much more than showing up; or we will see fully-engaged, creative Mike who will put together some must-listen radio, which will cause listeners to wonder why he couldn’t have devoted – or why he chose not to devote – that energy to The Hardline.
Sometime, someone is going to tell us the real reason Mike R left The Ticket. And it won’t reflect well on him.
COMMENT 4: Mike Rhyner and Mike Sirois are the alphas of this project. I like them both, always been a Sirois fan in whatever situation The Ticket featured him; Mike R, man, goes without saying – the master, the Jeff Beck of Dallas radio in any format. But: Both are thin-skinned; both are bossy and undiplomatic; both, by reputation at least, live hard. If The Freak wavers, they’ll butt heads, and it will be audible.
Despite the encomiums heaped on Mike R when he “retired” from The Ticket, I have the feeling that he was not an extremely popular guy at the station itself in the last half-dozen years at least. No evidence for that, just got the feeling that he kept himself remote from what was happening at the station and didn’t always have the greatest respect for the contributions and skills of others (“a chicken could do middays”). When called upon to appear with his colleagues (on Cowboys pre- and post-game, for example, and there are many others), he was never prepared and almost invisible. Is he going to be a generous mother hen of the new crew at The Freak?
And what does his assembly of The Freak say about any affection or respect he might have had for the station – and the many talents – who made his fortune at The Ticket?
COMMENT 5: Julie is nice. I don’t have a recollection of her sportsy talk. She will be massively patronized, as are many female sports broadcasters, and as she herself was at The Ticket, because everyone’s so goddam afraid of being accused of sexism, or worse. She will sound much better on The Freak because she won’t have to be constantly jousting with Dan McDowell’s passive-aggressive baiting. She’ll have a bigger voice on The Freak, she can’t help but be better.
COMMENT 6: The Freak may sound quite a bit like The Ticket from time to time, and it will be slagged for sounding quite a bit like The Ticket. Every new bit will, fairly or unfairly, be accused of sounding like a Ticket bit.
COMMENT 7: The Ticket will almost completely ignore The Freak.
COMMENT 8: We should not overlook the contribution of Jeff “The Western Hemisphere Catman” Catlin in The Ticket’s success over the years. Not sure how much direction he provided on a day to day basis, but I’m reasonably certain that when things got, shall we say, excessive, he would provide some guidance on how to keep from offending regulators and owners, and driving away advertisers and listeners. Who will be doing that with Mike and Mike and Ben and Skin and all the rest? Who will be mediating the jealousies and feuds and Mike v. Mike issues I’m shakily predicting? KEGL program director Don Davis resigned mid-September, I believe.
COMMENT 9: JV and lower-tier Ticket people who either leave The Ticket for The Freak, or who are no longer at The Ticket and drift into The Freak, hoping to advance in the sports-talk radio world, will be disappointed. Not because The Freak won’t succeed, not because The Freak will mistreat them, but because there won’t be any more slots for them there than there were at The Ticket.
COMMENT 10: Interesting to consider whether The Freak, if it makes any noticeable inroads on The Ticket’s ratings, might affect the much-predicted retirements/departures of Ticket hosts over the next couple of years. No one is going to want to blow up any of the Ticket shows if it looks like they were driven to it by The Freak.
Speaking of ratings – just as happened with RaGE, there will be ratings periods where The Freak will appear to ascend, and The Ticket will appear to dip. As with the RaGE period, The Ticket will hang in there for a good long time before management changes anything much.
COMMENT 11: You know what The Freak really needs? T.C. Fleming.
3. I think it's more than boredom, 416, although that probably has something to do with it. Creative people who've left their main gigs find lots of ways not to be bored, and he tried but, as you note, the spotlight was elsewhere.
In fact, the spotlight stayed on The Ticket with continued to thrive and garner the industry's highest honors without the slightest contribution from him.
I know, it's fatuous to analyze people one doesn't know at all, but:
I think he's actually hostile towards The Ticket, although perhaps friendly with some of the folks there, for reasons we can only guess at. If not hostile, at least jealous. It has succeeded utterly without him (and, to my ear, improved in all of the programs that changed as a result of his departure). I think he's doing this in large part to show 'em that he can succeed without all the interference from local management and Cumulus and "consultants" and put to rest all the griping that he'd been dozing through The Hardline for a long time.
More, wants to prove that he's the primary author of its success for all these decades by bringing his original creation, now Mike-less, low. He wants to show that he's Brady to Cumulus's Belichick.
What you say makes sense. Though I'm think it's safe to say iHeart too uses consultants. Especially when a new format is at stake. Unless part of Mike's deal was to have little to no real input by management and its consultants, then I'm not sure he's really made a change of scenery. The Brady/Belichick comparison feels right.
I've no idea what potential or talents lie inside another. This certainly applies to those I don't know. But I really do believe we will in short order see some folks' ability to create compelling, daily content to be exposed. As someone else previously mentioned, this is neither 1994 nor 2004. We'll soon see what flies, what gets grounded, and what goes over like a lead balloon. If "The Fate of Man" is an indicator of original comedic content coming down the pike, then as Rhyner used to say, quoting the great Levi Stubbs: "This one's gonna be short." But if, as you say, Rhyner has found that old magic again, then all bets are off. At least from 3-7.
Looks like the focus is going to be geared more toward the guy talk side of things.
RadioInsight.com @radioinsight iHeartRadio app already displaying new "97.1 The Freak" logo and positioning as “We Talk About What We Want" showing emphasis not just on Sports but general Guy Talk.
It's dangerous to read into too much into a slogan, but I'm going to go ahead and read too much into it anyway.
The suggestion in "We Talk About We Want" is that there are other stations whose guys don't get to talk about what THEY want. Which can only be the Ticket.
Which I choose to read as supporting my thesis that Mike R left The Ticket because he was being instructed to talk about, maybe, what management thought its listeners wanted to hear about.
And it suggests that no one is telling US what to do here at The Freak! Which means this is Mike R's show and management is hands-off, or at least that's what Mike R is anticipating. Tip: Management is never hands-off.
This could be terrific, maybe something new and fresh. Not that light-sports-more-guy talk radio is innovative, but these personalities might be able to pull it off. (But see: Ben & Skin). It could also be a crashing bore because if it IS sports-lite, as Anon 1142 suggests, then the alternative focus is the thinkings of the hosts. Which may or may not be fascinating on an hour-by-hour basis.
This whole Freak show has kind of a slapdash feel to it, like it was put together real fast without a whole lot of planning -- and without a strong program director, if any.
I would expect a press release from the station to lay out everything we're speculating on. All we know is the grey wolf is back, and that's enough to grab the interest of my ears. The little ticket hasn't been the same without him.
I have a theory (that cannot be proven) that Cumulus had concerns about FCC attention to the Ticket and the Cumulus suits decreed that if they didn't want the FCC to pull the rug out from under them they needed to stay away from controversy and triggering bits - so no Snapper John, no Ed Carter, no Mexican Dracula, no Jive Talking Stu, no Women Say the Darnedest Thing About Sports, no Girl on TV Who's So Good Looking, etc. I think Mike saw this coming and wanted no part of it.
Anon 936: I like it, kind of a refinement of my theory. I think it is less likely that it was the FCC than an even more powerful authority: Advertisers fearful of the unwoke and, in some cases, probably put off by some of the attitudes you illustrate. I'm surprised Dr. Carlton Maxwell is still allowed to drop by.
I think there’s something here about tanned copper. He’s got a little Gordon in him. I don’t mean the vocal talent or the comedic timing. I mean the ability to drive co-workers homicidal with rage. I think that can, by itself, create interesting content.
I've been listening since I went to HS in the Metroplex in the early 90's. I've always like Mike and listened to a few of his podcasts/youtube stuff. It will come down to logistics. Don't forget that a big part of their ratings is streaming. In fact, weren't they a leader in this. For some reason, I remember listening to THL 1.0 in the early 2000's and I was living in another state. The dedicated app is also something I haven't seen from other stations. I know I would listen less if it weren't for the ability to FFD and RWD.
The wife has me living in Rosegarden's old stomping grounds so I'm not going to stumble upon the Freak nor is it an easy run up and down a dial. In a nutshell, if it's hard to find, I'll stick with what I know.
Now 97.1 is stunting TP. Why didn't they just name the station Rhyner? It amazes me that iHeart is building an entire station in a top 5 market around a 73 year old (check out his Twitter page, he posted a new pic) who's been out of the game for two years and hasn't even tried for nearly 15. This is going to be an interesting ride. I'm hoping it succeeds because I still have a warm spot in my heart for the Rhyner of old and I'm also a sucker for radio competition. Don't agree with the thought that Mike got out because of the FCC clamping down or anything to do with wokeness. Mike's interested in Mike, not Gordon's characters. As to Gordo's characters, my guess is that's a case of self-censorship. Not some edict.
P.S. Surly, nobody cares. Stop letting others get into your kitchen and then live rent free once there.
One more thing. I wonder if The Freak will have local nighttime and weekend programming? I doubt they'll have NFL games, so Sundays are wide open. That could open up some opportunities for disgruntled, realist Ticket JVers. One hour until the opening salvo is fired.
"Sometime, someone is going to tell us the real reason Mike R left The Ticket. And it won’t reflect well on him." Probably tired of big corp BS...who wouldn't be? Being a Day One'r I know the Musers have been mailing it in for at least ten years. They are completely risk averse, no-rocking the boat, don't say or support anything that does not tow the most middle-of-the-road (for modern wokeian times) and generic line. I don't think George or Gordo say anything close to what is actually on their minds. Jr? Well he's become an East Dallas group think guy through and through. As a group, they are cashing in a check and looking forward to retirement. Norm and Donnie are fine..Norm gets to go out on his on terms..no question. Amazingly the mid-day show (two #2s) is somehow the only show with any real energy and dare we say it? Passion. The Frankenstein afternoon show..man what a train wreck. Maybe the Freak will suck but maybe we'll get to hear some energy and passion..pleasure even coming from the hosts.
Yeah, The Ticket ain't happy. THL, RIP. This Downbeat is gonna crush. Rhynes is back. He also alluded to his leaving as something other than I'm bored. As Pman saidd, that backstory is probably interesting and a bit ugly. Thinking he was told to leave on whatever terms he liked, but nevertheless, leave. Why that was the case, there's where it gets interesting.
All that and several shots already fired over The Ticket bow by the Admiral of the Trinity River Navy.
Corby just announced the Musers on with THL now and the shows will be doing swaps with whole shows going on other shows for a few hours at a time. Basically Ticket roundtables in perpetuity to compete with The Freak.
So Julie is still doing Tickers just on a different frequency? Thought she was a host, earning her Just Wage? Or is it double duties? The Tickers are a news/sports combo, which I don't mind. I hope Sirois is giving her part of his host salary. Ditto Grubes and the rest of the support staff. Somehow I think he's not going to.
Here's the rub. Myaelf and others said this long ago and got crapped on by some here and almost everyone over at reddit. We said we no longer listen to much of the programming because we're tired of being talked down to by Craig, Corby, Dan, Jake, and sometimes Gordon. We're tired of being told what's right and what's not. We're tired of sociopolitical views OF ANY KIND rammed down our throats. We miss OUR Ticket. The Ticket that GENUINELY was inclusive. Offensive at times, you bet. But it was an equal opportunity offender. We just want our local sports and local guy talk done by guys and gals we can relate to. Excepting a couple of hosts (Donnie, George, Bob to some extent) that horse left the barn over a decade ago.
If believed, and we'll see if it bears out, The Freak is going back to those days and that way of operating, that way of relating to the listener. That is to make it fun again. Fun first. Relatable. We'll see how The Ticket responds. They're already going to the tried and true roundtable/cross show interaction a la White Elephant Day. Those don't have the same magic they once did and will never do so again. Will The Ticket weather the storm and remain top dog, who knows. One thing I do know is that things will never be same again around here. I also think that's a good thing.
Right there with you 3:57, brutha. There's so many of us out there. Hoping The Freak makes good on its promise. Have to say the morning show isn't exciting me one bit.
I understand the excitement about the unexpected return of Texas Radio Hall of Famer Mike Rhyner to local airwaves.
But am I the only one conflicted that the beloved “Godfather of The Ticket” — the one-of-a-kind sports talk station that Mike built on listeners’ unswerving devotion — has signed up to conquer the station that has brought us so much joy these last 28 years?
My point of view feels pretty lonely, given that even many Ticket loyalists, intoxicated by this soap opera, are cheering the return of the Old Gray Wolf to the new 97.1 The Freak.
Even worse, in the gladiator ring that is social media, I’ve seen a lot of the sentiment “to hell with The Little Ticket. I hope The Freak takes them down.”
For this Day One P1, it’s awful to watch the longtime leader of The Ticket’s tight-knit band of brothers return from retirement to try a land grab on legacy.
A guy who wasn’t just a founding member of The Ticket bunker but who built that bunker on Monday began shooting down into it.
When I talked with Mike the day before The Freak’s launch, I asked how he squares building a station on listener loyalty and then competing against his former partners for those same listeners.
“I don’t have a real good answer for that right now,” he said. “I realize I’m gonna have to square it in some way.”
As for my analogy that his sights are set on The Ticket, Mike said: “I guess you could look at it that way. But if that’s the case, I’m shooting with a BB gun across the moat into the castle that is The Ticket.” From left, Craig Miller, Corby Davidson, Gordon Keith and Mike Rhyner during a Ticket... From left, Craig Miller, Corby Davidson, Gordon Keith and Mike Rhyner during a Ticket Roundtable at the station's 20th anniversary celebration.(Allison Slomowitz / Special Contributor)
Mike got a hero’s sendoff when he left The Ticket and has regularly been back on its airwaves and at events for P1s, which refers to those of us who listen almost exclusively to the station. If he’s got new ideas, why not return to the place so identified with his best work and where he had lifelong friends?
His response is that no one at the station ever specifically raised that possibility — and he was not about to call them and ask.
Until 97.1 came calling, he said, “I was a very happy retiree.”
Ticket program director Jeff Catlin told me he was as shocked as anyone when he first heard the rumors several weeks ago.
“I didn’t believe it. And now I am really sad about it,” he said. “Mike has a home on The Ticket for life, but he never contacted me about having the itch to get back on air.”
Jeff doesn’t understand why Mike never reached out to anyone at The Ticket about his plans.
“I didn’t think it was their business,” Mike told me when I asked why his longtime Ticket colleagues learned only through the grapevine of his plans to return.
Mike said sticking it to The Ticket or to owner Cumulus Media wasn’t a motivator. But he followed up with the contention that he had been “minimized and marginalized” by almost everyone at the station. Mike Rhyner, right, and Corby Davidson shared a laugh at The Ticket's broadcast table at the... Mike Rhyner, right, and Corby Davidson shared a laugh at The Ticket's broadcast table at the week leading up to the 2008 Super Bowl in Phoenix.(TOM FOX)
Corby Davidson, who still works in the prestigious drive-time hours that he shared with Mike from January 2000 to his retirement 20 years later, said he has no idea what his former Hardline co-host means about being minimized.
“Mike was universally loved at The Ticket,” Corby told me. “We hoisted him on our shoulders in retirement. We invited him to all our events. We had him on all our shows, as recently as August.”
Corby said he and his colleagues believed Mike would always be the face and heartbeat of The Ticket. “He chose otherwise, and destroyed relationships that had been in existence for 30 years. It’s heartbreaking and unconscionable.”
So much for that band of brothers I like so many thought was unbreakable.
And while The Ticket is a formidable powerhouse (and in full disclosure, partners with The Dallas Morning News to produce the SportsDay Talk app), don’t confuse this with any David vs. Goliath fight.
Mike’s new home is owned by iHeartRadio, a huge corporation that ranks well ahead of Cumulus in the number of stations it owns. The Freak broadcasts the Mavericks games, considerably more popular than The Ticket’s Stars franchise.
Bigger than that, The Freak boasts a broadcasting signal that The Ticket can only dream of.
But here’s what The Ticket does have: Listeners for whom its ecosystem — created by those hosts who have been on the air since the station’s earliest days — is entwined into our DNA.
Memories of The Ticket and its place in my day-to-day life in 2022 are ties that don’t break.
In recent years, I’ve come to regard Mike, along with Morning Muser Gordon Keith and a couple of other guys at the station, as a friend. But years before meeting any of them, I was a die-hard P1.
Saturday night dinner conversations in the 1990s meant the retelling of the most absurd Ticket moments of the week. The Musers were the soundtrack of car-pooling my two sons to school each day. Decades later, a surefire way to bond with a new acquaintance is to ask if he or she is a P1.
Shawn Williams, now a vice president with Allyn Media, and I did just that back when I sought him out in 2007 to learn more about southern Dallas.
At the time, he was running the online Dallas South News operation and was not so sure whether to trust an establishment journalist like me. I still recall how talking about The Ticket — he too was a longtime P1 — broke the ice.
“The Ticket is part of my subconscious,” Shawn said when I called him to talk about the Rhyner defection. “Some of these are people I’ve been listening to for more than 20 years. Turning on The Ticket is, like, what I’m supposed to do.”
So, yes, he feels some conflict. But he also knows a lot of people in this market want to do sports talk and need more opportunities.
His car radio may be set on The Ticket, but during commercial breaks, he scans the dial. “I may go over to 97.1, but it’s not something I’m making an appointment for.”
Listening to Mike’s opening segments on The Freak on Monday, just to make sure it went off as advertised, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was that first raw day when an ugly custody agreement is finally signed.
Now father is competing against son.
The Ticket will remain steady by continuing to be the best possible version of itself, and I’m sure the new competition will make it better.
But I remain enormously sad that the next chapter in Dallas radio unfolded this way — and baffled by how unconflicted so many of my fellow Ticket listeners feel about this sorry ending.
I've tried to listen to some this afternoon. (Not that it's hard to listen to, I'm just doing something else while listening.) As I sit here right now, a little after 5 PM, it sounds like a really long cross-talk with Ben & Skin & Krystina that I'm not understanding much of. Can't get much of a flavor form these first few hours, so best to hold off.
But I'll say this: Mike sounds good. He does.
And he said one thing that really surprised me: He said a "sizable portion" of his "personal fortune" (OWTTE) was invested in this thing. Hard to know what that means. iHeart's market capital (the market value of all of its stock) is about $1 billion. Did it sell a portion of the signal to Mike? Did he agree to some kind of iHeart private placement? I'm not finding anything online that 97.1 has been sold to any kind of Mike-led consortium (or anyone else).
If it's really a big chunk of Mike's assets, it certainly suggests that he is not going to answer to much local program management.
Ben just described the station as "lifestyle talk."
This cross-talk, if that's what it is (it may not be -- not sure what the schedule is supposed to be) is 95 percent Ben & Skin.
Current takeaway: Ben, Skin, Krystina, Mike R, Mike S, and everyone else in this thing, really really LOVE each other.
Let's see if the number of Ticket fans going to 97.1 offsets the number of Eagle fans leaving for pastures that play music before we plan the parade. My TSL will be split between the Downbeat and the Hardline. The rest of the 97.1 is a dumpster fire IMHO.
He was joking, Plainsman. It's not a mix but rather a meet n greet of sorts. And of course they really love each other today. They've also engaged in semantics, revisionist history, and some out and out b.s. All of which is to be expected.
Mike R just told Ben & Skin that he couldn't understand why their show never caught on.
Left unclear is how their show will change when out from under the KEGL jackboot.
This first day is not a good sampler, as it's mainly mutual admiration and talking about how they'll all FINALLY be able to do what they want. And maybe what they want will be great.
But today, they're not getting to it. So best to withhold judgment until they do.
Mike R is stressing that this will not be a sports station. OK. That means we really have to like these personalities from a lifestyle standpoint. So they're going to talk about:
Politics? Music? Weird news items? Interpersonal relationships? Ben & Skin Contests? TV Shows? Some sports? Things listeners call in about, Mike R being so very fond of listener input? How free they all are? Amphibious landing craft?
[I'll find some way to give a prize to anyone understanding that final reference.]
I'll be honest with you -- I will be interested to hear what these teams come up with. "Lifestyle talk" has been the mainstay of many popular shows, but most of them are from decades past. (Thinking of stuff like Don & Roma in Chicago, Steve Dahl & Garry Meier (also Chicago).) It can work. But man, your personalities had better be creative on the fly. Not impossible that these guys can pull it off. But they need strong show prep, an allergy to happy talk, and an eye on the winds of the sosh.
Whoa! Grubes just let a little timeline bit slip. Mike contacted him a couple of months ago. When did Sirois leave? How long ago was it since Rhyner had been a guest on The Ticket? I'm thinking you have the deal coming together and your cohost picked out long before you look for a producer.
Between that DMN article (h/t to whoever posted it) and some of the things bandied about this afternoon, I'm not sure what to think about stuff.
So Mike's claiming The Ticket didn't do things right and is unserious? Was he doing all those pop ons in order to keep his name and brand visible because this had been in the works for some time?
Mike has repeatedly says he wants to be somewhere where "people" want to "do things right."
What exactly was not done right with one of the most successful radio properties in the history of the medium, repeatedly honored by the industry, a ratings killer still, at a time when radio's obituary is being written every little once in a while? And he had a lot to do with that and has been duly recognized for it.
There is just something wrong with his story. He's obviously the architect of this new thing, and he thinks that this thing is going to be RIGHT, in contradistinction to other similar things in which he has been involved. Why so vague? He's absolutely implying that this will be BETTER than some other "things" whose content has somehow been strangled in a way that his content won't.
Whoa: Grubes just played a Ticket drop. I would think that Cumulus might have a problem with that.
Can't wait to hear what Mike R's newly-liberated content might comprise. Which means, I guess, he's been successful in getting me to listen.
Possible red flag, especially when you factor in the "doing things right" comments: When a group keeps telling each other that they're "good people." Why say that over and again? Somebody wanna tell B&S and the whole gang that KEGL was an iHeart station. The same company that didn't allow them to be themselves, whatever that means. The same company they now laud.
"The Sunset Lounge" is proof positive that you can't always go home, that getting the band back together isn't always a good idea. That intro alone.
Let's see what this sounds like next Wednesday. Then we'll have a better hold on the scene. Until then, my eyebrow is ever so slightly raised.
I'm going to withold judgment for at least a month. But I must say that I was catching that distinct aroma of the perfumed inner thigh of folks trying hard to convince themselves and everyone around them of something. I'm talking mostly about what Plainsman and another commenter hit upon.
It was supposedly a show name that Sirois came up with. They just ran and ran with it all 4 hours. As I previously wrote, if "The Fate of Man" is creative and funny, yikers. "Glenn" falls right in line.
With Rhyner saying he had been in and out of the building during talks I'm surprised someone in the media didn't catch that. After today, this whole thing sounds rather calculated to me.
Also, it wasn't clear to me but did Grubes give up his Stars and Rangers gig for this? Hope he didn't burn any bridges.
I'm trying to figure out how andvehen were either Mike ever muted, muzzled at The Ticket. Doesn't add up. I also think this was in the makings for many months if not a year before launch. I
Grubed is from a 1%er family, for real. For him it's a question if desire, not future career considerations. Not saying it's a bad ir goid thing, just stating facts. I love Grubes.
He was also working as an audio engineer for Bally Sports Southwest. If I recall correctly, he said as good as his jobs were, the long and irregular hours were wearing on him. He was ready to return to a regular board op gig.
Do yourself a favor and listen to the D-Magazine pod with Rhyner. Doesn't take a genius to read between Mike's lines. When asked if Danny was going to be involved, he dead-panned, "no." Did it in a very halting, telling tone and manner. It's also evident Sirois was in on it from the onset and that onset appears to have occurred prior to his leaving The Ticket. More on that below. Rhyner's reason for retiring waivers from today's revelation of being miscast and marginalized to this pod recorded 10 days ago where he holds the usual "it was just time, I love all those guys" line he's espoused since Jan '20. What does all this mean?
I'm not sure. Listened to the maiden voyage twice plus the aforementioned D-Mag pod before writing this. What struck me most about Day One is how the entire on-air staff gathered and for the better part of 4 hours oddly kept stating, affirming, and reaffirming the timeline of The Freak's coming into being and each individual member's initial conversation with either Mike or B&S about coming aboard. However, humans being human, sometimes "a month ago" was later referred to as "months." As I said, I'm not sure what to think. Though my inner-cynic says something's a bit off, doesn't smell quite right. Same goes with Rhyner's claim of being marginalized, of talking about things being done right (implying rather explicitly they weren't at The Ticket), and the notion of now having the freedom to discuss what he wants. They all made the last claim. What's more, as someone already pointed out, I heard many times how they're doing all this with "good people," which implies the obvious about The Ticket and elsewhere. And then there's all the guest appearances by Mike on The Ticket since leaving, the heaps of praise thrown his way from that station and his former colleagues. All the while, at the very least during his last month or so of appearances, he's working on The Freak and getting so-called disgruntled talent to leave The Ticket for his new endeavor. He admits going to disgruntled Ticketers on the pod, but does not explicitly say when. Again, it all has a funny smell. But honestly, even if it smells off, does it really matter? Isn't that the way of business? I admit I'm conflicted.
Listen to the pod and judge for yourself. Perhaps you don't come to the conclusion that this was in the works long before Sirois departed, perhaps even Julie. I'd love to hear other takes.
As to the show itself, it's difficult to say. After all, one day is one day. I do hope Sirois (and all hosts/supporting crew) leaves the constant ring kissing behind. The whole show was like a loop of Sirois' infamous fawning over Norm moments before Norm discussed Tech's field goal attempt (Normathon). I think the morning show will be reformulated before Valentine's Day '23. B&S are B&S. Their selling of themselves today was convincing only to those already fans. Not that they aren't any good, they're OK. They're just not must-hear. Rhyner's intro was excellent. But that's where the excellence ended. We'll see in the days and weeks ahead. Though in truth, I'm not sure this thing has legs. Oh, and Grubes is Grubes and you can't help but like and root for him. But he's a board-op (and I think) / producer, not a host. As much as we all love the guy, he can't carry a show, much less the anchor p.m. drive, show.
Hey Gordon - I haven’t visited your blog in some years, but wanted to read how you would minimize The Freak and The Old Grey Wolf before it even gets started. Just want to say there are some of us “no longer P1’s” that have seen the tarnish for awhile and we are happy to give The Freak a fair shot.
I tend to agree with a lot that I am seeing here... OGW can do whatever he wants, everyone knows that, but to act like it shouldn't push the buttons of former coworkers is wrong. These aren't guys that work on the same floor in their cubicles. They talked to each other for hours a day, went on trips with each other and 'camped' out together yearly. They were/are friends. The current ticket hosts have only praised Mike since he left, and loved to have him on. Mike seems to be acting like he is trying to help the ones treated wrong at the ticket, but never gave off that vibe while actually working at the ticket (regularly made himself seem better than Tier2). Also, if anyone was going to change treatment of employees at the ticket, or even ownership, i'd imagine Mike would have had the best luck at doing that.
While I like(d) Mike, I can't help but to think this is largely due to him not being the center of attention. Mike left the ticket, his old show and the station continued to do well, and no one really cared about Mike's podcast. He didn't like finding out that the station would still succeed without him. So here we are.
A lot of this makes me sad because while the ticket hasn't been completely without drama, I always enjoyed that it at least seemed that the ticket didn't really have these problems that you do hear about with other similar ventures.
I wonder if it really irked Mike that they kept the Hardline moniker...
I listened a bit this morning to the Speakeasy. It was....a little Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen. They'll no doubt find a comfortable footing for themselves...but i def didnt stay interested for very long
To your point it is hard to stay interested when the innumerable cooks in the kitchen keep talking about the recipe they are planning to make rather than actually preparing anything. Listening in on B&S and they keep talking about what the Freak is going to be. My question: When are you going to be what you say you are going to be without resetting what you think you are going to be ad nauseum? My god get on with it. For those that thought this would be a 3rd sports talk station, I think not...
I've been listening to Mike since I was a teenager going to school in the mornings and he was getting thrown down the stairs by Labella & Rody on the Morning Zoo. I found his intro of his achievements a bit cringe worthy but nothing he said was a lie. He'd done all those things. I think we all feel there was more to his leaving the Ticket than we were privy to but there might be legitimate reasons he's got issues with it beyond his ego etc. The Ticket can't really say "We can do what you do but you can't do what we do." When they guy who pretty much invented "What we do." is the one doing it.
I don't think we can judge the show by day one. It was stage setter and infomercial for the new station. Given that I'm out on THL these days I'm going to give the Downbeat a chance and see where it it goes. I listened to some of the morning show on my commute and it wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. Nothing happened there this morning that I see myself turning there instead of the Ticket in the mornings, but I'll probably pop over during a segment I don't care about or commercials and stick for a segment or two at times. B&S, unless they are changing a lot I don't see myself listening. I've tried to like them at every station they've gone to and it has never clicked for me.
I don't know if the Ticket needs to be worried or not. I don't think there's any way the Freak can have the level of success that the Ticket has enjoyed. I don't think many stations can. The Ticket was / is lightning in the bottle.
As we've said here, you can't judge much after a couple of days. Herewith, a couple of observations about Ben & Skin today:
1. They are talking about their "new boss," Paul Corvino. Yeah, but he's pretty remote. He's the iHeart "Detroit Region President." iHeart recently cleaned out their executive suite, and Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio have been added to his responsibility.
2. Skin said they'd been working on this for "over a year."
3. No #3.
4. There was one really good segment. It was the sports segment. There was some inside baseball about what went on during the Romo-Prescott transition I'd never heard before, and it was quite interesting and efficiently presented.
5. Every single person on the station is the greatest in the world at some particular thing or human characteristic. Corby could learn something about hyperbole from these guys.
6. They continue to convey the message that this is revolutionary radio. Skin just gave a speech where he said that this is a huge moment in the evolution of Dallas radio, nothing like it, we can say or do whatever we want, "iconic signal." Well, with the buildup these guys are giving themselves, you bet I'll be tuning in. But when the only non-self-referential portions of the show today were
(1) the sports segment,
(2) the "This Day in History" bit, and
(3) in what seemed to me to be the only actual "what we want to talk about" part, Skin's concern over scheduling his bowel movements,
I'm skeptical. I'll miss the last hour of the show, so maybe something revolutionary will happen before The Downbeat.
These shows need to get off of talking about themselves, and reading texts of other people talking about them, and the founding of this version of 97.1, ASAP.
They all also need to listen to the ticket again and realize how relatively rare it is for everyone invloved in a show to bust out laughing and guffawing at something one of them said.
It happens maybe once a week across all shows on the ticket. It's happening multiple times PER SEGMENT on the freq
It's going to take a few weeks, minimum, to see exactly what The Freak is, as opposed to what this week's long form (to borrow KDF's term) infomercial claims it is.
Like many Confessors and this site's proprietor, I too like to know the behind the scenes soap opera goings on, grudges, false fronts and all the rest. If The Freak crew snickers or wonders incredulously how people misread, have bad info, and-or are clueless about the how and when it came together and the what it is, they need to understand (a) it's human nature to inquire and speculate and (2) in many ways they have themselves to blame. That's really the case with Rhyner in light of the Dallas Morning News article and what he said during yesterday's first show. Like others I don't see where and how he was constrained. Constrained by those who didn't do things rightly? Is he saying that when he would talk of "fooj's", "hanj's", spending entire segments on L.A. area mountain lions, on bands and musicians that haven't been relevant in over 40 years, and that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, that all of it was an edict? That that sort of subject matter is what the consultants and the CTOs demanded of him, against his will? Of course not. It doesn't add up. Same goes with B&S who said they sat out many non-competes because they did things their own way and would leave a station when told otherwise. So KEGL, an iHeart station, was constricting, cramping your style? So much so that according to your narrative you went to the PD to start a dialogue about a format change. Why would "doin' it our way" guys like you jump aboard a company you think needs such a drastic change in the first place? Yet in nearly the same sentence they would say how different it was when they signed up with KEGL, only then go onto say how the same iHeart corporation/iHeart run station is singular in its hands off/freedom bestowing modus operandi because of the format change. I know, it's confusing. Yet that's what actually took place. A lot of yesterday was confusing. This confusion is my biggest take away from The Freak's first day. Despite my admitted fondness for knowing the inside dish and backstory on these things, there's something else very obvious and very much in play here.
As interesting as the behind the scenes backstory might be, and as eyebrow tilting as some of the timelines and slips of the tongue might point toward The Freak's genesis dating back more than 6,000 years ago and all that that implies, I do believe it originated sometime in mid-July and it was put together that quickly. I believe it because of the haphazard and obviously last minute way it's been put together. Hard to believe a corporation as large as iHeart would do it this way period, much less in the 5th largest market in the country and on a longtime, well known commodity/call letters/frequency/signal. But it's exactly what they've done. Having said that, Rhyner, Sirois, Julie, B&S, and the others can shout "freedom!" all they want. They might have their freedom (whatever the hell that really means), for now. But rest assured, if The Freak was put together that quickly, that ham-fistedly, it can be dismantled even quicker and with greater force. It's telling that it has been constructed as such. To me it indicates iHeart saying, "Sure, we'll indulge you. We were going to flip formats, regardless. This will be on the cheap (sans Rhyner) with little to no risk. Doesn't pan out, no big deal, next format up." If after 4 books ratings aren't better than what preceded (The Eagle), look for personnel changes/tweaking of the format. Both equate consultant/mgmt, which means less "freedom." After 6-8 books and no real inroads are made, flip/clean house. Yes, all of that is an extremely short leash. But that's how penny stocks are treated. Buy low, if they don't yield in short order, dump 'em. No biggie.
I heard B&S say that too about working on this for over a year. If true, and unless you're gullible enough to believe Rhyner wasn't in on it from the beginning and that he hadn't clued in Sirois and Julie and who knows else, I'm not sure what to tell you other than good luck with your bottom. If true it says a lot about all these folks.
Man oh man enough with "Glenn." Stoopy dumb. Day two, first full day of shows. OED definition of suboptimal. They need to heed Surly's advice, for starters. . . .
Surly: Not just laughing, but howling, shouting, over-emoting over not-so-dramatic utterances. And the constant overpraising of one another and the apotheosis of Mike Rhyner.
I know they're happy. I know it's something "new." But get on with it.
The Downbeat opening tune is the tits. But it wasn't written by Dingu. That's a B&S joint. Word on the street is Dingu's not down with getting his Freak on.
Yeah, they sound like that old SCTV skit that parodied The Tonight Show (Johnny Carson era). Knee slapping, continual guffawing, over laughing, laughing at things objectively not funny. Canonball Run outtake stuff but without the magnetism of Burt or the charisma of Dom.
I've already been over-Julied, and we're only on day two. This thing's gonna be a f'n disaster.
Now I know why Norm n D had/has so many named and oh jeez segments: Chael. Here we go again. Every segment is named and has some twist to it. Almost every segment is all about Mike R. Though I'm looking forward to 5:30 because they promise to address The Ticket and its and his former coworkers and pals' reaction.
I agree the back patting has been OTT. I, clearly, believe that Rhyner deserves to be given all due respect for what he did in this business but that's too much of it so far.
There's also way to much back patting. As a great man once said "Let the game come to you."
I commented on Back patting twice. I'd like to say it was a clever bit about how much back patting there was but it wasn't. As Jr said "I have a fever."
Listening to The Downbeat. So far -- sports. But more non-sports is promised.
It is hard for me to think that Mike & Mike talking about whatever they want is going to be more fun or interesting to me -- not even a devoted sports fan -- than Bob and Corby and Dave talking mostly about sports and their other usual topics.
But giving it a chance. Maybe their personalities and thinkings will be of sufficient interest.
Wait! Oh my God! Their first post-sports segment is yet ANOTHER segment about Mike R, with future "Getting to Know You" segments on the rest of the bunch. "We talk about what we want," and what they want to talk about is themselves.
This is awful. It can only get better.
Still prepared to give it a chance. They will run out of themselves soon enough.
I was around for the first week of The Ticket. They did nothing of this. There was no all sports or guy talk format in Dallas. Never had been. They were the first. And yet there was no get to know you segment repeated ad nauseam. They got to it. We came to know them through their opinions, their senses of humor, and their sports acumen. There were no let me tell me about myself by you asking me questions about me and in turn I'll do the same to you segments. As you said, Plainsman, it can only get better. Right? Two days in and I feel like I'm hearing stunting that consists of the last 2 years of Mike R interviews. Also has a very NaD vibe to it. Sirois seems to still be in producer mode with Mike in a less sportsy Norm role of having everything laid out before him, catered to him, and he plods along for the ride. Sorry to be so negative, but it's what I'm hearing. Has to get better, right?
I'm prepared to give them a chance with the "get to know you" stuff. The Eagle is a well-established station with its own listener base, so perhaps this is aimed at them and not us?
If I'm Rhyner..... Well, if I'm the Rhyner that Rhyner has always presented himself to be, then all these declarations of fealty by way of segment after segment devoted to the extolling of my greatness by others is making me pretty uncomfortable. Not just that but my decades of experience and success is telling me this isn't entertaining or informative. I have to think or at least hope that Rhyner is thinking along these lines and making mental notes to move away from this beginning tomorrow if not by the today's final segment. Caveat being if I'm that Rhyner.
You make sense 422. But many of us early P1s and especially our gfs and wives could've cared less about sports and sports guy talk. Yet we and they became P1s because of the personalities and their talent. While I'm typing this Sirois is doing a Ticker whatever they're calling it. A host, a pm drive host is doing that duty? That seems odd. Odd and cheap. 249 could be onto something.
A segment where Julie gives a title of a children's book to Mike who then, no, I can't go on. What is going on here? Is the play to say we're not a sports station but the only segments with any meat so far on any show has been about sports so when the ratings barely register they can say The Ticket and The FAN aren't actually their competition? Are they saying KERA-NPR and am talk radio is their competition?
I'm a 24 year old dude. I'm a 44 year old dude. I'm a 34 year old chick. Doesn't matter. This is one big punch out.
The PD HAS to be pulling their hair out right now. It's day 2.
Surly, if you're the kind of guy who watched "Top Cat," aka "TC," then you're probably my kind of guy.
Also, see my original Comment 11.
And, while we're all at it, Comment 12.
And yes, as surprisingly annoying as the last two days have been, we do have to give this thing at least a couple of weeks. While, of course, continuing to point out annoyances as well as home runs.
Is anyone listening to The Ticket? Have there been any side-eye references to their old pal or his new station? Guessing no but . . . listening to The Freak.
You guys act like it should be year 5 Ticket. It is going to take a few to find their place. There will be a little swerving. It will take some time, growth always does. If you don't like it bail out. I for one, love hearing Rhynes and Grubes on the air together. It may be short lived, who knows. But, tap the brakes a tad.
That's great, Scott. But here's the thing. This isn't Ticket year one. This is Mike Radio HoFer Godfather of The Ticket Marconi Winner Rhyner, Mike 16 years at The Ticket Sirois, 20 years with their own show on multiple stations in the 5th largest market in the country grizzled vets B&S, nearly 20 years behind the mic and supporting it KT, and cohost of his own show on The FAN Jeff Cavanaugh. These are all known commodities and one will absolutely go down in radio history as a genuine game changing force. Yes, there will be tweaks and there will be some early shaky moments. Perhaps it's you who ought to put it into perspective. Not trying to be antogonistic towards you. Just offering a countering view.
Listening to The Freak's Ticket segment. While what he's saying isn't wrong, seems like Rhyner is missing some key issues. You know, like going on Ticket shows while working out the Freak deal and not letting at least George or Corby or someone know he's moving in that direction. He's confirming some of the DMN piece. Specifically the marginalization, they wouldn't have wanted me back anyway line was confirmed. He and Mike sort admitted The Freak and Sirois's involvement goes back further than the timelines presented.
Really turned off by Julie's coaching and contextualizing. Put a skin on the wall first, my friend. She's coming off bad. She thinks she's in the bunker. I'm sure that's been instilled by Mike, since it seems this is early Ticket days redux for him. Still this isn't a good look for her. Might bite back on her one day. And bite back hard.
Sirois handled it well. It's the first time in nearly 8 hours of airtime he hasn't kissed Mike's ass. Hopefully a sign of things to come. He did mention "good people" again. That's a loaded statement when placed in context of the situation and how often it's been stated over the past 2 days. (Note to Sirois: you have ten years on Julie, she's not a part of "your ages.")
Maybe that was the cathartic segment they needed to get off their chests and now they can begin having a show that does more than celebrates Mike's existence.
I for one will give it a bit more time before removing the preset.
Don't we all remember the chest-pounding that went on with Greg Williams and Richie Whitt when RaGE hit the airwaves? And how disappointing that product turned out to be after all those promises of a major arse-kicking?
The first two days of The Freak are self-proclaiming a huge, revolutionary -- their words, not mine -- pivot in Dallas radio. Truly industry altering, at least locally. But Mike, if he is the radio genius he's portrayed to be, has got to know that it is better to underpromise and overdeliver than the other way around. He has got to know that if the product is ONLY listenable, and not extraordinary, he and his acolytes are going to look foolish.
And yet he is allowing this (excuse the vulgarity) circle-jerk up and down the broadcast day so far. As someone pointed out above, he's almost already started letting things happen to him, rather than steering the ship as everyone has surmised he would. His reputation will garner listeners for a while, and there may be individual fans of Cavanaugh, Dobbs, Sirois, B&S, who like them and want to hear what they have to say every day, and, of course, the anti-Corbites who are not now listening to The Hardline, or threatening not to. But it is hard to see how kaffeeklatch conversation between some fairly normal, if nice, human beings that does not have any particular focus (other than "what we want to talk about") is going to blow the lid off Dallas radio. It can be good, but still not be great, and given the send-off they're giving themselves, that will be a disappointment if not a failure.
But I guess, as a couple of hosts of a pretty good little show never tire of telling us, "it's a work in progress." I'll tune at least until I see what this thing is aiming at.
Rhyner doesn’t have it in him to steer a ship anymore. He hadn’t steered The Hardline in a decade and then he couldn’t even be bothered to steer a one man, podcast at his own leisure effort. Sirois asked him how he’s feeling about his decision two days in, and Rhyner claimed he feels great, but I swear I already heard regret in his voice. I’m not sure if his new radio career will even clear Christmas. I’d give it a 10% chance of lasting more than a year.
COMMENT 14: I tried to think about what shape this station could take and came up with the following highly non-evidentiary forecast:
(1) Inevitably, I think, they're going to be doing a fair amount of sports. Mav's flagship, and strong Cowboys interest in the demo.
(2) Talking about their own personal interests will get them a week, maybe two, of content.
(3) Leading to more sports, and a failure of The Freak's highly-promoted reason for being. But it could be a great sports-talk station with "lifestyle" (guy) talk to fill in.
(4) But if not more sports, and "what we want" turns out not to be so interesting, that means -- they'll be going through news websites, culling out current events they want to talk about. And it will be WOKE AS HELL. If the focus is entertainment instead of news, it may not be WOKE AS HELL, but Mike R won't have the slightest idea of what anyone is talking about.
(5) It boils down to this: If you don't have a topic around which to build your talk -- sports, for example -- you won't attract listeners who are interested in a particular topic. If you have dazzling personalities, super-sharp people with attractive personalities, you can get away with it, and perhaps The Freak offers this. Too early to tell. But if people aren't attracted to that host line-up on a day-to-day basis irrespective of what they want to talk about, and if the station has no subject-matter focus, then listeners, who do tend to have individualized interests, will continue to drift into where they've been going for a while now -- podcasts.
@Plainsmman 7:18 Long time lurker first time commenter.
I agree with you about the format. Because I think people got burned out about how woke The Ticket got (not at all saying the ticket doesn’t have the right to do that, but we have the option to tune out). But if The Freak is not a sports talk station and a minor current event hot topic, pick a political side happens. It seems like the Freak is more pressured to talk about it because they theoretically don’t have the option to focus on Dallas Cowboy's previous game or next game. It seems like it would be hard to turn a blind eye to current events.
It almost seems like in terrestrial radio you got to go politics or sports and have an identity. With the option to talk about other stuff. I hope The Freak does great, also happy if The Ticket keeps domination. Downbeat to me has been interesting enough to turn away from Hardline though.
I like everyone on the freak and i'll continue to listen to both stations because it's new and a little different. Plainsman seems to be reaching, I haven't heard anybody on the freak say anything negative about the ticket.
930: Oh yeah, I am reaching. Tossing out predictions without much to go on. Guilty. Yes, two days is not a sufficient sample size. Just trying to figure out if the claimed reason for The Freak's being rings true, and what it really is likely to become.
Could be way wrong. Could turn out to be the game-changer its hosts are promising. And sure, no reason one can't listen to both.
So, 930, you're saying when Freak employees talk on-air of being marginalized, unwanted, and stifled at their former place of work, and for three of them it was The Ticket, that they're not saying anything negative about The Ticket? Well alrighty then.
"I would have said those words" ---- you said Body Count, Gordo. This is one of the biggest shots fired at Lower Tier's....that yea prolly got a lot of them feeling Very Inferior. Im such a fan of gordo but i always come back to this exchange - -- you Punch but the minute you're Hit.. well. he's changed in the last five years/mths and i guess i havent appreciated that from him
Yo^^^^, are you using some sort of capitalization and punctuation randomizer app? So you're saying the reason Rhyner decided to get his Freak on and Sirois followed suit is all due to an exchange that occurred nearly ten years ago between Gordo and Sirois? Ok, man, you got it.
SMALL SAMPLE SIZE ALERT: Tuned in to The Speakeasy.
Sports.
There's nothing wrong with the content. It's fine But it's typical non-Ticket sports fare -- people talking over one another, talking really fast, talking louder than strictly necessary.
Foods We Fear (picking up on a Sirois "I fear the egg" comment from yesterday; pickles, mayo, etc.).
Words Used in the 1920's (Julie reading from website https://alcapones.com/slang_dictionary.php, or one similar).
I have had the same issue with iHeart as another Confessor mentioned. The stream will switch to rock without notice and you have to exit and re-start iHeart to get back to Freak. Unrequested switching away from the signal is not something Freak needs right now.
Personal relationships are messy things. I get why Mike kept things a secret and I get why some at the Ticket are, deservedly, upset about it. Especially given that Mike was the author of the bunker mentality. I think Rhnyer would have been better served to have acknowledged the legitimacy of their feelings at the same time saying expressing his reasons for doing this. That's not the road this is going to go though.
I'll continue to give the Downbeat a listen, with the Hardline mixed in. It might switch back to the Hardline being the primary listen before long. I do think its better with Davey but Corby still beats me down in short order.
I’ve been trying to check out The Downbeat during HL breaks today and no matter how many times I try to open/close/reset the app, I only get rock music playing. Unforgivable for them not to have their app ready to go
While I agree, I have seen posts elsewhere saying the app links to their HD2 channel that is playing music. You have to go to the web page for now to catch the broadcast.
If you heard days one and two, you haven't missed a thing. "We can say/do whatever we want!" "We're a group of good people." "Here's a game we can all play." And then there's 3-7 (Julie's on again and Sirois seems more producer with a dedicated segment or so), well we're an hour and a half in and we've had 3 Rhyner The Legend segments already. To the point where Rhyner's beginning to lay out whenever kisses are blown his way (which is non-stop), responding with sheepish thank yous. They had a segment where they asked Rangers if they were aware if Rhyner was back on air. It's all weird, man. Not a damn thing is organic, and that WAS the way of THL and The Ticket. Rhyner insisted on that every bit as much he did they all stick to the Bunker Mentality mentality. To quote a once great man, "I guess I just don't get it."
I get The Freak most of the time on iHeart. It switches to HD2 music after commercial breaks sometimes, but easy enough to get it back. But Surly's right, they need to get that fixed pronto.
I've punched into The Downbeat twice. The first time it was Sirois about to go to the "I'm Mike Sirois" section (P.O.), the second was Rangers, i.e., sports. Sounds OK, but I'm not sensing the revolution.
Odd the ONLY segments of substance so far from 7a-7p that have nothing to do with the greatness of OGW or 'let me introduce myself' are about drum roll SPORTS. But the one thing it isn't as we've been told OVER and over is a sports guy station. Cavanaugh and B&S are no way in hell going to be able to keep up internet listing and tortured game showing and grocery store talking everyday for two weeks much less two months before turning into sports guy talk. No way. If The DownBeat keeps up what it's doing which as someone beat me to the punch said the Norm and D show part 2 it's going to be replaced by NYE. So whether they want it to or not TheFreak's going to be a sports guy station.
I figured it out. If I tried to listen during a commercial break it would fire up a rock song. If I joined during content I got content. I just happened to try to listen 3-4 times in a row while they were in break
Ok I can't take it anymore - Does The Ticket have to take the money from Trajan Wealth with their now upsized 25% bonus and 10 percent guaranteed a year. They even had the audacity to say that means if you "invest" 1 million dollars you get a 250 thousand dollar bonus. Come on man this is beyond absurd. Annuities are for suckers and financial planners to get rich. Meanwhile back at the Freak we are on day 4 of telling us what they are about to do at some point in the future.
In general, comments on ads will be allowed. If the thread turns into the merits of the particular product rather than the ad, I'll start deleting, or if I think there's a special pleader on the loose. For the record, I'm not an annuity guy, and I also wonder if anyone's brought the Trajan ads to the SEC's attention.
I listened to about ten minutes of Speakeasy this morning. There's nothing wrong with happy-talk radio, these hosts are not objectionable, and I've always been a Kevin Turner fan, but it won't be a destination for me. I've returned to The Musers.
Agreed with you on the Speakeasy P-Man. Its fine but nothing to take me away from those who muse so gently. KT talks way to fast at times and I think Julie is better with the Downbeat but given some time they might be something. I'll listen during breaks on the Musers or during segments I don't care about but I don't think its going to be my first choice.
Got off work early I tuned into B&S on the drive home. There is no one in the world that thinks Ben & Skin are more funny than Ben & Skin. They laugh at their own bits more than any humans I’ve ever heard.
Just occurred to me that from Mike R on down, the hosts have all said "we're doing this because this is something WE always wanted to do, to say what WE want to say."
What I don't hear is any suggestion that "this is something that radio listeners have been wanting to hear."
The Ticket's ratings have remained jumbo since Mike's departure. Stifled or not, these lads are putting out a popular product -- something listeners prized by advertisers want to hear.
So The Freak is banking on their newly-unshackled, form-free conversation coinciding with an unmet demand among those (let's face it -- among those men 25-54) who listen to terrestrial radio/stream -- or who would do so, if only they could hear form-free radio.
Every success and innovation comes with risk. As I've said elsewhere, the chances of this really ending up to be as different as its promotions are now claiming are questionable. But if they stick to their "what we wanna talk about that's usually not sports" format, and it turns out that those topics prove to be must-listen for an already content-drenched public in the desired demo, then we'll have to judge The Freak a freakish success.
So far the morning show is a C to C-. All this means is it's on a par with a lot of morning shows that plod along and remain on air because a station has to have a morning show and as long as it's not disagreeable it will bring in ad rev, which is the name of the game.
Middays could be very good but these guys choose for it not to be. They can't get out of their own way. I guess that's the Ben and Skin way, as they've been doing it for a long time now. There was a moment yesterday that actually grabbed me. Skin was discussing the old Peter Sellars movie "Being There." Ben asked him what he thought the final scene meant and Skin gave a very thoughtful answer. An answer that made me think of what I might say and the conversation we might have. That's what made The Ticket, The Ticket. You wanted to be in on it, be a part of it. Of course, 5 seconds later Kristina kicks off another internet list game thing and I flipped back to THZ. Now, I know Peter Sellars talk is very niche. I also know that B&S and myself are Gen Xers and even for us, few know who Peter Sellars and even fewer are fans and know of his work. But what grabbed me was the passion, the GENUINE interest. Not some ginned up segment that sounds more like someone was given a homework assignment to come up with something novel in order to kill time. And that's the issue I'm having with The Freak, across all shows. Talk about what YOU'RE truly into. Stop "brainstorming" for unique "look at all the we can do whatever we want" material. It's boring. You haven't been on a week and it's already old. This is why you need host pairings that while on one hand have differing opinions about certain issues, on the other they share at least a couple of passions. You can't merely throw people together who want "to do what we want" and expect good radio--forget about great radio. It's why The Musers are true greatness. It's why the OG HL worked so well. I know B&S have deep and shared interests, but, again, they just can't help but get in their own way.
Had to smile at the "What's On Mike's Mind" reference. Do you remember that segment on The Hardline? Mike might or might not have a topic in mind, but even if he did, he throw it out there and Corby would take the ball and run with it, he and Danny would bat it around, and Mike wouldn't have much more to say. That segment was a misnamed laugher on The Ticket and Exhibit 1 for Rhynes's characterization as Checkout Mike, but apparently Downbeat thinks it's worth resurrecting.
Let me say something nice. Mike R does sound good, rested and as mellifluous as ever. Mike S has an easy radio way about him, and he's a favorite of mine to begin with. The intro to The Sunset Lounge was good but it's too long for a daily intro; redeemed somewhat by Mike's musical delivery but I'm already tired of it. I agree that they're overusing Julie -- I think a show with the three Mikes might actually have some chance of resurrecting thoughts of Hardline 1.0 if they can find something to talk about. So far, as many have noted, it's one big hanj, but surely they'll get over themselves sometime within the next week or so. I'm giving The Downbeat a chance for awhile on its own merits, although I'm reasonably sure Bob/Corby/Dave will continue to be my go-to.
My take is The Freak is going for the younger reddit demo. If you visit the reddit site you'll see that the entire place cares only for bits and some form of up for anything thing crushing it talk. I also think they want to net some of the sportsier Ticket listeners. The first goes with what they're doing already and the second goes with having Mike R and having a sportsier seggo or 2 sprinkled in. I also think alotof people on this blog are older and more out of touch with what the younger reddit demo than they wantto believe. Killing time with memes and lists is what they do.
436, I have had similar thoughts. They're really hammering the sosh -- I'm skeptical that the time spent drenching Twitter and TikTok and Instagram and Reddit and Facebook with Freak-friendly stuff is all that effective, but it certainly contrasts with The Ticket's meager efforts in the digital realm.
But here's the thing -- the audience for terrestrial radio is generally older to begin with, and getting older all the time.
Here's another thing -- The Freak host lineup is not young. Other than the increasingly marginalized Norm Hitzges, no one at The Ticket is nearly as old as the leader of The Freak. I haven't heard them discussing any movie or song or artist that's less than a couple decades old.
Here's another thing -- The Freak is a lot more feminized than The Ticket. Lotta kid talk, lotta relationship talk, lotta family talk. Some say yay; not sure what the male 25-54 demo is going to say.
I never listened to Live 105 before it became The Fan, but how exactly is The Freak any different than the failed Live 105? I’m not getting how they’re selling this as a revolutionary format.
It's not much different, at all. Substitute fooj, beej, and hanj for menage and you have oft made fun of by Rhyner "Ron and Don Show." They'd mostly talk about inane crap and push the sports button a time or two per show. This was before social media and the web became the omnivore it now is, mind you. But generally, yeah, it's Live 105. A station that's a part of B&S CV too boot. Plainsman and many of you here are a lot nicer or more tolerant than I, because four days on and I will make a patented Mike Rhyner claim: This Thing Sucks. It does. With all the money and years of broadcasting involved on top of the fact that regardless of what's bandied about this format is nothing new and therefore no one is flying by the seat of their pants, making up the rules and breaking them along the way, it has the sound of something thrown together last-minute.
I don’t have a feel for whether The Freak will succeed or not. But a couple of decades of listening suggest a few thoughts. Not in order of importance or confidence. I’ll number them for your ease in firing back.
ReplyDeleteCOMMENT 1: I like these people and wish them the best of luck. Sure, I’ll be tuning in.
COMMENT 2: Ben and Skin have failed to ignite any time slot they’ve been a part of. Not a thing wrong with them, listened to them with pleasure. But they need to decide if they’re the cool snotty guys of their old weekend Ticket show, or the ‟let’s have another contest with the staff‟ homers of some of their later incarnations.
COMMENT 3: Mike Rhyner’s post-Ticket projects have failed to engage him enough to make him prepare for them any more than he prepared for the last half-decade or two of The Hardline. Will The Freak be different? Why exactly is he doing this?
He seems like a bitter man; I don’t know why he left The Ticket, but it seems unlikely that it was because he had a burning desire to embark on projects to which he eventually devoted little attention. Just guessing, but I’m thinking that Cat or some uber-Cat told him to get interested in The Hardline again, and he didn’t like it. But he’s seen how the very popular Greg Williams flamed out when he and Richie Whitt raged into PM drive, and (with a couple of oddball ratings periods excepted) didn’t make much of a dent against HeeHoo’s old Ticket show even when HeeHoo was present and lucid. What makes him think he’ll do any better at 72 (or however old he is)?
One of two things will happen: We’ll see laissez-faire Mike that has characterized his last decade, his thinking being that his broadcast gifts (huge) and radio personality (very appealing) will draw listeners with him not doing much more than showing up; or we will see fully-engaged, creative Mike who will put together some must-listen radio, which will cause listeners to wonder why he couldn’t have devoted – or why he chose not to devote – that energy to The Hardline.
Sometime, someone is going to tell us the real reason Mike R left The Ticket. And it won’t reflect well on him.
COMMENT 4: Mike Rhyner and Mike Sirois are the alphas of this project. I like them both, always been a Sirois fan in whatever situation The Ticket featured him; Mike R, man, goes without saying – the master, the Jeff Beck of Dallas radio in any format. But: Both are thin-skinned; both are bossy and undiplomatic; both, by reputation at least, live hard. If The Freak wavers, they’ll butt heads, and it will be audible.
ReplyDeleteDespite the encomiums heaped on Mike R when he “retired” from The Ticket, I have the feeling that he was not an extremely popular guy at the station itself in the last half-dozen years at least. No evidence for that, just got the feeling that he kept himself remote from what was happening at the station and didn’t always have the greatest respect for the contributions and skills of others (“a chicken could do middays”). When called upon to appear with his colleagues (on Cowboys pre- and post-game, for example, and there are many others), he was never prepared and almost invisible. Is he going to be a generous mother hen of the new crew at The Freak?
And what does his assembly of The Freak say about any affection or respect he might have had for the station – and the many talents – who made his fortune at The Ticket?
COMMENT 5: Julie is nice. I don’t have a recollection of her sportsy talk. She will be massively patronized, as are many female sports broadcasters, and as she herself was at The Ticket, because everyone’s so goddam afraid of being accused of sexism, or worse. She will sound much better on The Freak because she won’t have to be constantly jousting with Dan McDowell’s passive-aggressive baiting. She’ll have a bigger voice on The Freak, she can’t help but be better.
COMMENT 6: The Freak may sound quite a bit like The Ticket from time to time, and it will be slagged for sounding quite a bit like The Ticket. Every new bit will, fairly or unfairly, be accused of sounding like a Ticket bit.
COMMENT 7: The Ticket will almost completely ignore The Freak.
COMMENT 8: We should not overlook the contribution of Jeff “The Western Hemisphere Catman” Catlin in The Ticket’s success over the years. Not sure how much direction he provided on a day to day basis, but I’m reasonably certain that when things got, shall we say, excessive, he would provide some guidance on how to keep from offending regulators and owners, and driving away advertisers and listeners. Who will be doing that with Mike and Mike and Ben and Skin and all the rest? Who will be mediating the jealousies and feuds and Mike v. Mike issues I’m shakily predicting? KEGL program director Don Davis resigned mid-September, I believe.
COMMENT 9: JV and lower-tier Ticket people who either leave The Ticket for The Freak, or who are no longer at The Ticket and drift into The Freak, hoping to advance in the sports-talk radio world, will be disappointed. Not because The Freak won’t succeed, not because The Freak will mistreat them, but because there won’t be any more slots for them there than there were at The Ticket.
COMMENT 10: Interesting to consider whether The Freak, if it makes any noticeable inroads on The Ticket’s ratings, might affect the much-predicted retirements/departures of Ticket hosts over the next couple of years. No one is going to want to blow up any of the Ticket shows if it looks like they were driven to it by The Freak.
Speaking of ratings – just as happened with RaGE, there will be ratings periods where The Freak will appear to ascend, and The Ticket will appear to dip. As with the RaGE period, The Ticket will hang in there for a good long time before management changes anything much.
COMMENT 11: You know what The Freak really needs? T.C. Fleming.
COMMENT 12: There will be lots of overlaughing.
Good shit, Pman. Will address in substance as soon as The Cows wrap this thing up.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTaco Cheese not being invited to the freak should tell you all that you need to know.
3. I think it's more than boredom, 416, although that probably has something to do with it. Creative people who've left their main gigs find lots of ways not to be bored, and he tried but, as you note, the spotlight was elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, the spotlight stayed on The Ticket with continued to thrive and garner the industry's highest honors without the slightest contribution from him.
I know, it's fatuous to analyze people one doesn't know at all, but:
I think he's actually hostile towards The Ticket, although perhaps friendly with some of the folks there, for reasons we can only guess at. If not hostile, at least jealous. It has succeeded utterly without him (and, to my ear, improved in all of the programs that changed as a result of his departure). I think he's doing this in large part to show 'em that he can succeed without all the interference from local management and Cumulus and "consultants" and put to rest all the griping that he'd been dozing through The Hardline for a long time.
More, wants to prove that he's the primary author of its success for all these decades by bringing his original creation, now Mike-less, low. He wants to show that he's Brady to Cumulus's Belichick.
What you say makes sense. Though I'm think it's safe to say iHeart too uses consultants. Especially when a new format is at stake. Unless part of Mike's deal was to have little to no real input by management and its consultants, then I'm not sure he's really made a change of scenery. The Brady/Belichick comparison feels right.
ReplyDeleteI've no idea what potential or talents lie inside another. This certainly applies to those I don't know. But I really do believe we will in short order see some folks' ability to create compelling, daily content to be exposed. As someone else previously mentioned, this is neither 1994 nor 2004. We'll soon see what flies, what gets grounded, and what goes over like a lead balloon. If "The Fate of Man" is an indicator of original comedic content coming down the pike, then as Rhyner used to say, quoting the great Levi Stubbs: "This one's gonna be short." But if, as you say, Rhyner has found that old magic again, then all bets are off. At least from 3-7.
We shall very soon see.
Looks like the focus is going to be geared more toward the guy talk side of things.
ReplyDeleteRadioInsight.com
@radioinsight
iHeartRadio app already displaying new "97.1 The Freak" logo and positioning as “We Talk About What We Want" showing emphasis not just on Sports but general Guy Talk.
COMMENT 13: Thanks, Anon 1142.
ReplyDeleteIt's dangerous to read into too much into a slogan, but I'm going to go ahead and read too much into it anyway.
The suggestion in "We Talk About We Want" is that there are other stations whose guys don't get to talk about what THEY want. Which can only be the Ticket.
Which I choose to read as supporting my thesis that Mike R left The Ticket because he was being instructed to talk about, maybe, what management thought its listeners wanted to hear about.
And it suggests that no one is telling US what to do here at The Freak! Which means this is Mike R's show and management is hands-off, or at least that's what Mike R is anticipating. Tip: Management is never hands-off.
This could be terrific, maybe something new and fresh. Not that light-sports-more-guy talk radio is innovative, but these personalities might be able to pull it off. (But see: Ben & Skin). It could also be a crashing bore because if it IS sports-lite, as Anon 1142 suggests, then the alternative focus is the thinkings of the hosts. Which may or may not be fascinating on an hour-by-hour basis.
This whole Freak show has kind of a slapdash feel to it, like it was put together real fast without a whole lot of planning -- and without a strong program director, if any.
I would expect a press release from the station to lay out everything we're speculating on. All we know is the grey wolf is back, and that's enough to grab the interest of my ears. The little ticket hasn't been the same without him.
ReplyDelete*Not the same Anonymous*
ReplyDeleteI have a theory (that cannot be proven) that Cumulus had concerns about FCC attention to the Ticket and the Cumulus suits decreed that if they didn't want the FCC to pull the rug out from under them they needed to stay away from controversy and triggering bits - so no Snapper John, no Ed Carter, no Mexican Dracula, no Jive Talking Stu, no Women Say the Darnedest Thing About Sports, no Girl on TV Who's So Good Looking, etc. I think Mike saw this coming and wanted no part of it.
Or not.
Anon 936: I like it, kind of a refinement of my theory. I think it is less likely that it was the FCC than an even more powerful authority: Advertisers fearful of the unwoke and, in some cases, probably put off by some of the attitudes you illustrate. I'm surprised Dr. Carlton Maxwell is still allowed to drop by.
ReplyDelete11. TC remark not seriously intended.
ReplyDeleteI think there’s something here about tanned copper. He’s got a little Gordon in him. I don’t mean the vocal talent or the comedic timing. I mean the ability to drive co-workers homicidal with rage. I think that can, by itself, create interesting content.
DeleteAlready impartial now 👍
Confirmed, @thefreakdallas is a fake twitter account
ReplyDeleteI've been listening since I went to HS in the Metroplex in the early 90's. I've always like Mike and listened to a few of his podcasts/youtube stuff. It will come down to logistics. Don't forget that a big part of their ratings is streaming. In fact, weren't they a leader in this. For some reason, I remember listening to THL 1.0 in the early 2000's and I was living in another state. The dedicated app is also something I haven't seen from other stations. I know I would listen less if it weren't for the ability to FFD and RWD.
ReplyDeleteThe wife has me living in Rosegarden's old stomping grounds so I'm not going to stumble upon the Freak nor is it an easy run up and down a dial. In a nutshell, if it's hard to find, I'll stick with what I know.
Now 97.1 is stunting TP. Why didn't they just name the station Rhyner? It amazes me that iHeart is building an entire station in a top 5 market around a 73 year old (check out his Twitter page, he posted a new pic) who's been out of the game for two years and hasn't even tried for nearly 15. This is going to be an interesting ride. I'm hoping it succeeds because I still have a warm spot in my heart for the Rhyner of old and I'm also a sucker for radio competition. Don't agree with the thought that Mike got out because of the FCC clamping down or anything to do with wokeness. Mike's interested in Mike, not Gordon's characters. As to Gordo's characters, my guess is that's a case of self-censorship. Not some edict.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Surly, nobody cares. Stop letting others get into your kitchen and then live rent free once there.
One more thing. I wonder if The Freak will have local nighttime and weekend programming? I doubt they'll have NFL games, so Sundays are wide open. That could open up some opportunities for disgruntled, realist Ticket JVers. One hour until the opening salvo is fired.
ReplyDelete"Sometime, someone is going to tell us the real reason Mike R left The Ticket. And it won’t reflect well on him." Probably tired of big corp BS...who wouldn't be? Being a Day One'r I know the Musers have been mailing it in for at least ten years. They are completely risk averse, no-rocking the boat, don't say or support anything that does not tow the most middle-of-the-road (for modern wokeian times) and generic line. I don't think George or Gordo say anything close to what is actually on their minds. Jr? Well he's become an East Dallas group think guy through and through. As a group, they are cashing in a check and looking forward to retirement. Norm and Donnie are fine..Norm gets to go out on his on terms..no question. Amazingly the mid-day show (two #2s) is somehow the only show with any real energy and dare we say it? Passion. The Frankenstein afternoon show..man what a train wreck. Maybe the Freak will suck but maybe we'll get to hear some energy and passion..pleasure even coming from the hosts.
ReplyDeleteI really don't want the station and the boys taking shots at each other. That might turn me off to both of stations.
ReplyDeleterhynes' new show is called the downbeat he told his version of the story of how he got there, said filling in for skin started the ball rolling
ReplyDeleteYeah, The Ticket ain't happy. THL, RIP. This Downbeat is gonna crush. Rhynes is back. He also alluded to his leaving as something other than I'm bored. As Pman saidd, that backstory is probably interesting and a bit ugly. Thinking he was told to leave on whatever terms he liked, but nevertheless, leave. Why that was the case, there's where it gets interesting.
ReplyDeleteAll that and several shots already fired over The Ticket bow by the Admiral of the Trinity River Navy.
I'm already falling asleep 20 minutes in. And they are going to do 4 hours of this everyday without having sports segments to help fill time?
ReplyDeleteSo obviously Cat knew something was afoot when they brought Davy on board on THL.
ReplyDeleteCorby just announced the Musers on with THL now and the shows will be doing swaps with whole shows going on other shows for a few hours at a time. Basically Ticket roundtables in perpetuity to compete with The Freak.
ReplyDeleteSo Julie is still doing Tickers just on a different frequency? Thought she was a host, earning her Just Wage? Or is it double duties? The Tickers are a news/sports combo, which I don't mind. I hope Sirois is giving her part of his host salary. Ditto Grubes and the rest of the support staff. Somehow I think he's not going to.
ReplyDeleteTicket is at Defcon 5. Pants are being shat in and upon.
ReplyDeleteHere's the rub. Myaelf and others said this long ago and got crapped on by some here and almost everyone over at reddit. We said we no longer listen to much of the programming because we're tired of being talked down to by Craig, Corby, Dan, Jake, and sometimes Gordon. We're tired of being told what's right and what's not. We're tired of sociopolitical views OF ANY KIND rammed down our throats. We miss OUR Ticket. The Ticket that GENUINELY was inclusive. Offensive at times, you bet. But it was an equal opportunity offender. We just want our local sports and local guy talk done by guys and gals we can relate to. Excepting a couple of hosts (Donnie, George, Bob to some extent) that horse left the barn over a decade ago.
ReplyDeleteIf believed, and we'll see if it bears out, The Freak is going back to those days and that way of operating, that way of relating to the listener. That is to make it fun again. Fun first. Relatable. We'll see how The Ticket responds. They're already going to the tried and true roundtable/cross show interaction a la White Elephant Day. Those don't have the same magic they once did and will never do so again. Will The Ticket weather the storm and remain top dog, who knows. One thing I do know is that things will never be same again around here. I also think that's a good thing.
He ain’t lyin’. ^^
ReplyDeleteRight there with you 3:57, brutha. There's so many of us out there. Hoping The Freak makes good on its promise. Have to say the morning show isn't exciting me one bit.
ReplyDeleteHot off the DMN presses. Um, OK.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Dallas Morning News PART I:
I understand the excitement about the unexpected return of Texas Radio Hall of Famer Mike Rhyner to local airwaves.
But am I the only one conflicted that the beloved “Godfather of The Ticket” — the one-of-a-kind sports talk station that Mike built on listeners’ unswerving devotion — has signed up to conquer the station that has brought us so much joy these last 28 years?
My point of view feels pretty lonely, given that even many Ticket loyalists, intoxicated by this soap opera, are cheering the return of the Old Gray Wolf to the new 97.1 The Freak.
Even worse, in the gladiator ring that is social media, I’ve seen a lot of the sentiment “to hell with The Little Ticket. I hope The Freak takes them down.”
For this Day One P1, it’s awful to watch the longtime leader of The Ticket’s tight-knit band of brothers return from retirement to try a land grab on legacy.
A guy who wasn’t just a founding member of The Ticket bunker but who built that bunker on Monday began shooting down into it.
When I talked with Mike the day before The Freak’s launch, I asked how he squares building a station on listener loyalty and then competing against his former partners for those same listeners.
“I don’t have a real good answer for that right now,” he said. “I realize I’m gonna have to square it in some way.”
PART II
ReplyDeleteAs for my analogy that his sights are set on The Ticket, Mike said: “I guess you could look at it that way. But if that’s the case, I’m shooting with a BB gun across the moat into the castle that is The Ticket.” From left, Craig Miller, Corby Davidson, Gordon Keith and Mike Rhyner during a Ticket... From left, Craig Miller, Corby Davidson, Gordon Keith and Mike Rhyner during a Ticket Roundtable at the station's 20th anniversary celebration.(Allison Slomowitz / Special Contributor)
Mike got a hero’s sendoff when he left The Ticket and has regularly been back on its airwaves and at events for P1s, which refers to those of us who listen almost exclusively to the station. If he’s got new ideas, why not return to the place so identified with his best work and where he had lifelong friends?
His response is that no one at the station ever specifically raised that possibility — and he was not about to call them and ask.
Until 97.1 came calling, he said, “I was a very happy retiree.”
Ticket program director Jeff Catlin told me he was as shocked as anyone when he first heard the rumors several weeks ago.
“I didn’t believe it. And now I am really sad about it,” he said. “Mike has a home on The Ticket for life, but he never contacted me about having the itch to get back on air.”
Jeff doesn’t understand why Mike never reached out to anyone at The Ticket about his plans.
“I didn’t think it was their business,” Mike told me when I asked why his longtime Ticket colleagues learned only through the grapevine of his plans to return.
PART III
ReplyDeleteMike said sticking it to The Ticket or to owner Cumulus Media wasn’t a motivator. But he followed up with the contention that he had been “minimized and marginalized” by almost everyone at the station. Mike Rhyner, right, and Corby Davidson shared a laugh at The Ticket's broadcast table at the... Mike Rhyner, right, and Corby Davidson shared a laugh at The Ticket's broadcast table at the week leading up to the 2008 Super Bowl in Phoenix.(TOM FOX)
Corby Davidson, who still works in the prestigious drive-time hours that he shared with Mike from January 2000 to his retirement 20 years later, said he has no idea what his former Hardline co-host means about being minimized.
“Mike was universally loved at The Ticket,” Corby told me. “We hoisted him on our shoulders in retirement. We invited him to all our events. We had him on all our shows, as recently as August.”
Corby said he and his colleagues believed Mike would always be the face and heartbeat of The Ticket. “He chose otherwise, and destroyed relationships that had been in existence for 30 years. It’s heartbreaking and unconscionable.”
So much for that band of brothers I like so many thought was unbreakable.
And while The Ticket is a formidable powerhouse (and in full disclosure, partners with The Dallas Morning News to produce the SportsDay Talk app), don’t confuse this with any David vs. Goliath fight.
Mike’s new home is owned by iHeartRadio, a huge corporation that ranks well ahead of Cumulus in the number of stations it owns. The Freak broadcasts the Mavericks games, considerably more popular than The Ticket’s Stars franchise.
Bigger than that, The Freak boasts a broadcasting signal that The Ticket can only dream of.
But here’s what The Ticket does have: Listeners for whom its ecosystem — created by those hosts who have been on the air since the station’s earliest days — is entwined into our DNA.
Memories of The Ticket and its place in my day-to-day life in 2022 are ties that don’t break.
In recent years, I’ve come to regard Mike, along with Morning Muser Gordon Keith and a couple of other guys at the station, as a friend. But years before meeting any of them, I was a die-hard P1.
Saturday night dinner conversations in the 1990s meant the retelling of the most absurd Ticket moments of the week. The Musers were the soundtrack of car-pooling my two sons to school each day. Decades later, a surefire way to bond with a new acquaintance is to ask if he or she is a P1.
Shawn Williams, now a vice president with Allyn Media, and I did just that back when I sought him out in 2007 to learn more about southern Dallas.
At the time, he was running the online Dallas South News operation and was not so sure whether to trust an establishment journalist like me. I still recall how talking about The Ticket — he too was a longtime P1 — broke the ice.
“The Ticket is part of my subconscious,” Shawn said when I called him to talk about the Rhyner defection. “Some of these are people I’ve been listening to for more than 20 years. Turning on The Ticket is, like, what I’m supposed to do.”
So, yes, he feels some conflict. But he also knows a lot of people in this market want to do sports talk and need more opportunities.
His car radio may be set on The Ticket, but during commercial breaks, he scans the dial. “I may go over to 97.1, but it’s not something I’m making an appointment for.”
Listening to Mike’s opening segments on The Freak on Monday, just to make sure it went off as advertised, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was that first raw day when an ugly custody agreement is finally signed.
Now father is competing against son.
The Ticket will remain steady by continuing to be the best possible version of itself, and I’m sure the new competition will make it better.
But I remain enormously sad that the next chapter in Dallas radio unfolded this way — and baffled by how unconflicted so many of my fellow Ticket listeners feel about this sorry ending.
I've tried to listen to some this afternoon. (Not that it's hard to listen to, I'm just doing something else while listening.) As I sit here right now, a little after 5 PM, it sounds like a really long cross-talk with Ben & Skin & Krystina that I'm not understanding much of. Can't get much of a flavor form these first few hours, so best to hold off.
ReplyDeleteBut I'll say this: Mike sounds good. He does.
And he said one thing that really surprised me: He said a "sizable portion" of his "personal fortune" (OWTTE) was invested in this thing. Hard to know what that means. iHeart's market capital (the market value of all of its stock) is about $1 billion. Did it sell a portion of the signal to Mike? Did he agree to some kind of iHeart private placement? I'm not finding anything online that 97.1 has been sold to any kind of Mike-led consortium (or anyone else).
If it's really a big chunk of Mike's assets, it certainly suggests that he is not going to answer to much local program management.
Ben just described the station as "lifestyle talk."
This cross-talk, if that's what it is (it may not be -- not sure what the schedule is supposed to be) is 95 percent Ben & Skin.
Current takeaway: Ben, Skin, Krystina, Mike R, Mike S, and everyone else in this thing, really really LOVE each other.
Let's see if the number of Ticket fans going to 97.1 offsets the number of Eagle fans leaving for pastures that play music before we plan the parade. My TSL will be split between the Downbeat and the Hardline. The rest of the 97.1 is a dumpster fire IMHO.
ReplyDeleteYup, So Anonymous is Sirois. "The cherry on top." Either him or Mike. And I cannot imagine it'd be Mike.
ReplyDeleteHe was joking, Plainsman. It's not a mix but rather a meet n greet of sorts. And of course they really love each other today. They've also engaged in semantics, revisionist history, and some out and out b.s. All of which is to be expected.
ReplyDeleteMike R just told Ben & Skin that he couldn't understand why their show never caught on.
ReplyDeleteLeft unclear is how their show will change when out from under the KEGL jackboot.
This first day is not a good sampler, as it's mainly mutual admiration and talking about how they'll all FINALLY be able to do what they want. And maybe what they want will be great.
But today, they're not getting to it. So best to withhold judgment until they do.
Mike R is stressing that this will not be a sports station. OK. That means we really have to like these personalities from a lifestyle standpoint. So they're going to talk about:
Politics?
Music?
Weird news items?
Interpersonal relationships?
Ben & Skin Contests?
TV Shows?
Some sports?
Things listeners call in about, Mike R being so very fond of listener input?
How free they all are?
Amphibious landing craft?
[I'll find some way to give a prize to anyone understanding that final reference.]
I'll be honest with you -- I will be interested to hear what these teams come up with. "Lifestyle talk" has been the mainstay of many popular shows, but most of them are from decades past. (Thinking of stuff like Don & Roma in Chicago, Steve Dahl & Garry Meier (also Chicago).) It can work. But man, your personalities had better be creative on the fly. Not impossible that these guys can pull it off. But they need strong show prep, an allergy to happy talk, and an eye on the winds of the sosh.
Good to hear that nice young Michael Gruber.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Grubes just let a little timeline bit slip. Mike contacted him a couple of months ago. When did Sirois leave? How long ago was it since Rhyner had been a guest on The Ticket? I'm thinking you have the deal coming together and your cohost picked out long before you look for a producer.
ReplyDeleteBetween that DMN article (h/t to whoever posted it) and some of the things bandied about this afternoon, I'm not sure what to think about stuff.
So Mike's claiming The Ticket didn't do things right and is unserious? Was he doing all those pop ons in order to keep his name and brand visible because this had been in the works for some time?
ReplyDeleteMy buddies and I were sad when Grubes left, he sounds grown up now, and it makes me feel old. I can't believe it's been 10 years.
ReplyDeleteAnon 616, my exact thought.
ReplyDeleteMike has repeatedly says he wants to be somewhere where "people" want to "do things right."
What exactly was not done right with one of the most successful radio properties in the history of the medium, repeatedly honored by the industry, a ratings killer still, at a time when radio's obituary is being written every little once in a while? And he had a lot to do with that and has been duly recognized for it.
There is just something wrong with his story. He's obviously the architect of this new thing, and he thinks that this thing is going to be RIGHT, in contradistinction to other similar things in which he has been involved. Why so vague? He's absolutely implying that this will be BETTER than some other "things" whose content has somehow been strangled in a way that his content won't.
Whoa: Grubes just played a Ticket drop. I would think that Cumulus might have a problem with that.
Can't wait to hear what Mike R's newly-liberated content might comprise. Which means, I guess, he's been successful in getting me to listen.
Possible red flag, especially when you factor in the "doing things right" comments: When a group keeps telling each other that they're "good people." Why say that over and again? Somebody wanna tell B&S and the whole gang that KEGL was an iHeart station. The same company that didn't allow them to be themselves, whatever that means. The same company they now laud.
ReplyDelete"The Sunset Lounge" is proof positive that you can't always go home, that getting the band back together isn't always a good idea. That intro alone.
Let's see what this sounds like next Wednesday. Then we'll have a better hold on the scene. Until then, my eyebrow is ever so slightly raised.
"Glenn" is not funny. Stop it. Just stop.
It's the honeymoon phase. Enjoy the glow, the memories, and the fun. The real work starts later.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed today, but it felt like a group of friends that have nothing to talk about other than the "cool" friend that isn't there.
ReplyDeleteSomeone is going to have to explain the "Glen" gag to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to withold judgment for at least a month. But I must say that I was catching that distinct aroma of the perfumed inner thigh of folks trying hard to convince themselves and everyone around them of something. I'm talking mostly about what Plainsman and another commenter hit upon.
ReplyDeleteI just grokked something.
ReplyDeleteThe Freak, if today is any indication, is a nostalgia act.
Which can be enjoyable and successful.
Maybe today is not an indication.
It was supposedly a show name that Sirois came up with. They just ran and ran with it all 4 hours. As I previously wrote, if "The Fate of Man" is creative and funny, yikers. "Glenn" falls right in line.
ReplyDelete@ P-Man 9:54
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right. If the advertisers aren't happy, nobody is happy.
Anom 6:14
ReplyDeleteWith Rhyner saying he had been in and out of the building during talks I'm surprised someone in the media didn't catch that. After today, this whole thing sounds rather calculated to me.
Also, it wasn't clear to me but did Grubes give up his Stars and Rangers gig for this? Hope he didn't burn any bridges.
I'm trying to figure out how andvehen were either Mike ever muted, muzzled at The Ticket. Doesn't add up. I also think this was in the makings for many months if not a year before launch. I
ReplyDeleteGrubed is from a 1%er family, for real. For him it's a question if desire, not future career considerations. Not saying it's a bad ir goid thing, just stating facts. I love Grubes.
ReplyDelete@ Gopher
ReplyDeleteHe was also working as an audio engineer for Bally Sports Southwest. If I recall correctly, he said as good as his jobs were, the long and irregular hours were wearing on him. He was ready to return to a regular board op gig.
Do yourself a favor and listen to the D-Magazine pod with Rhyner. Doesn't take a genius to read between Mike's lines. When asked if Danny was going to be involved, he dead-panned, "no." Did it in a very halting, telling tone and manner. It's also evident Sirois was in on it from the onset and that onset appears to have occurred prior to his leaving The Ticket. More on that below. Rhyner's reason for retiring waivers from today's revelation of being miscast and marginalized to this pod recorded 10 days ago where he holds the usual "it was just time, I love all those guys" line he's espoused since Jan '20. What does all this mean?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure. Listened to the maiden voyage twice plus the aforementioned D-Mag pod before writing this. What struck me most about Day One is how the entire on-air staff gathered and for the better part of 4 hours oddly kept stating, affirming, and reaffirming the timeline of The Freak's coming into being and each individual member's initial conversation with either Mike or B&S about coming aboard. However, humans being human, sometimes "a month ago" was later referred to as "months." As I said, I'm not sure what to think. Though my inner-cynic says something's a bit off, doesn't smell quite right. Same goes with Rhyner's claim of being marginalized, of talking about things being done right (implying rather explicitly they weren't at The Ticket), and the notion of now having the freedom to discuss what he wants. They all made the last claim. What's more, as someone already pointed out, I heard many times how they're doing all this with "good people," which implies the obvious about The Ticket and elsewhere. And then there's all the guest appearances by Mike on The Ticket since leaving, the heaps of praise thrown his way from that station and his former colleagues. All the while, at the very least during his last month or so of appearances, he's working on The Freak and getting so-called disgruntled talent to leave The Ticket for his new endeavor. He admits going to disgruntled Ticketers on the pod, but does not explicitly say when. Again, it all has a funny smell. But honestly, even if it smells off, does it really matter? Isn't that the way of business? I admit I'm conflicted.
Listen to the pod and judge for yourself. Perhaps you don't come to the conclusion that this was in the works long before Sirois departed, perhaps even Julie. I'd love to hear other takes.
As to the show itself, it's difficult to say. After all, one day is one day. I do hope Sirois (and all hosts/supporting crew) leaves the constant ring kissing behind. The whole show was like a loop of Sirois' infamous fawning over Norm moments before Norm discussed Tech's field goal attempt (Normathon). I think the morning show will be reformulated before Valentine's Day '23. B&S are B&S. Their selling of themselves today was convincing only to those already fans. Not that they aren't any good, they're OK. They're just not must-hear. Rhyner's intro was excellent. But that's where the excellence ended. We'll see in the days and weeks ahead. Though in truth, I'm not sure this thing has legs. Oh, and Grubes is Grubes and you can't help but like and root for him. But he's a board-op (and I think) / producer, not a host. As much as we all love the guy, he can't carry a show, much less the anchor p.m. drive, show.
Here's a link to the pod.
ReplyDeletehttps://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/forcedn/dmagazine/Mike_Rhyner2.mp3
Hey Gordon - I haven’t visited your blog in some years, but wanted to read how you would minimize The Freak and The Old Grey Wolf before it even gets started.
ReplyDeleteJust want to say there are some of us “no longer P1’s” that have seen the tarnish for awhile and we are happy to give The Freak a fair shot.
^^^^^^ Weird take, man.
ReplyDeleteDoes that guy think this is Gordon's blog?
ReplyDeleteEvidently, yes. The ball, after all, do crazy things.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with a lot that I am seeing here...
ReplyDeleteOGW can do whatever he wants, everyone knows that, but to act like it shouldn't push the buttons of former coworkers is wrong. These aren't guys that work on the same floor in their cubicles. They talked to each other for hours a day, went on trips with each other and 'camped' out together yearly. They were/are friends. The current ticket hosts have only praised Mike since he left, and loved to have him on. Mike seems to be acting like he is trying to help the ones treated wrong at the ticket, but never gave off that vibe while actually working at the ticket (regularly made himself seem better than Tier2). Also, if anyone was going to change treatment of employees at the ticket, or even ownership, i'd imagine Mike would have had the best luck at doing that.
While I like(d) Mike, I can't help but to think this is largely due to him not being the center of attention. Mike left the ticket, his old show and the station continued to do well, and no one really cared about Mike's podcast. He didn't like finding out that the station would still succeed without him. So here we are.
A lot of this makes me sad because while the ticket hasn't been completely without drama, I always enjoyed that it at least seemed that the ticket didn't really have these problems that you do hear about with other similar ventures.
I wonder if it really irked Mike that they kept the Hardline moniker...
ReplyDeleteI listened a bit this morning to the Speakeasy. It was....a little Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen. They'll no doubt find a comfortable footing for themselves...but i def didnt stay interested for very long
Anon 10:47
ReplyDeleteTo your point it is hard to stay interested when the innumerable cooks in the kitchen keep talking about the recipe they are planning to make rather than actually preparing anything. Listening in on B&S and they keep talking about what the Freak is going to be. My question: When are you going to be what you say you are going to be without resetting what you think you are going to be ad nauseum? My god get on with it. For those that thought this would be a 3rd sports talk station, I think not...
I've been listening to Mike since I was a teenager going to school in the mornings and he was getting thrown down the stairs by Labella & Rody on the Morning Zoo. I found his intro of his achievements a bit cringe worthy but nothing he said was a lie. He'd done all those things. I think we all feel there was more to his leaving the Ticket than we were privy to but there might be legitimate reasons he's got issues with it beyond his ego etc. The Ticket can't really say "We can do what you do but you can't do what we do." When they guy who pretty much invented "What we do." is the one doing it.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we can judge the show by day one. It was stage setter and infomercial for the new station. Given that I'm out on THL these days I'm going to give the Downbeat a chance and see where it it goes. I listened to some of the morning show on my commute and it wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. Nothing happened there this morning that I see myself turning there instead of the Ticket in the mornings, but I'll probably pop over during a segment I don't care about or commercials and stick for a segment or two at times. B&S, unless they are changing a lot I don't see myself listening. I've tried to like them at every station they've gone to and it has never clicked for me.
I don't know if the Ticket needs to be worried or not. I don't think there's any way the Freak can have the level of success that the Ticket has enjoyed. I don't think many stations can. The Ticket was / is lightning in the bottle.
As we've said here, you can't judge much after a couple of days. Herewith, a couple of observations about Ben & Skin today:
ReplyDelete1. They are talking about their "new boss," Paul Corvino. Yeah, but he's pretty remote. He's the iHeart "Detroit Region President." iHeart recently cleaned out their executive suite, and Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio have been added to his responsibility.
2. Skin said they'd been working on this for "over a year."
3. No #3.
4. There was one really good segment. It was the sports segment. There was some inside baseball about what went on during the Romo-Prescott transition I'd never heard before, and it was quite interesting and efficiently presented.
5. Every single person on the station is the greatest in the world at some particular thing or human characteristic. Corby could learn something about hyperbole from these guys.
6. They continue to convey the message that this is revolutionary radio. Skin just gave a speech where he said that this is a huge moment in the evolution of Dallas radio, nothing like it, we can say or do whatever we want, "iconic signal." Well, with the buildup these guys are giving themselves, you bet I'll be tuning in. But when the only non-self-referential portions of the show today were
(1) the sports segment,
(2) the "This Day in History" bit, and
(3) in what seemed to me to be the only actual "what we want to talk about" part, Skin's concern over scheduling his bowel movements,
I'm skeptical. I'll miss the last hour of the show, so maybe something revolutionary will happen before The Downbeat.
These shows need to get off of talking about themselves, and reading texts of other people talking about them, and the founding of this version of 97.1, ASAP.
They all also need to listen to the ticket again and realize how relatively rare it is for everyone invloved in a show to bust out laughing and guffawing at something one of them said.
ReplyDeleteIt happens maybe once a week across all shows on the ticket. It's happening multiple times PER SEGMENT on the freq
Good takes, KDF.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to take a few weeks, minimum, to see exactly what The Freak is, as opposed to what this week's long form (to borrow KDF's term) infomercial claims it is.
Like many Confessors and this site's proprietor, I too like to know the behind the scenes soap opera goings on, grudges, false fronts and all the rest. If The Freak crew snickers or wonders incredulously how people misread, have bad info, and-or are clueless about the how and when it came together and the what it is, they need to understand (a) it's human nature to inquire and speculate and (2) in many ways they have themselves to blame. That's really the case with Rhyner in light of the Dallas Morning News article and what he said during yesterday's first show. Like others I don't see where and how he was constrained. Constrained by those who didn't do things rightly? Is he saying that when he would talk of "fooj's", "hanj's", spending entire segments on L.A. area mountain lions, on bands and musicians that haven't been relevant in over 40 years, and that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, that all of it was an edict? That that sort of subject matter is what the consultants and the CTOs demanded of him, against his will? Of course not. It doesn't add up. Same goes with B&S who said they sat out many non-competes because they did things their own way and would leave a station when told otherwise. So KEGL, an iHeart station, was constricting, cramping your style? So much so that according to your narrative you went to the PD to start a dialogue about a format change. Why would "doin' it our way" guys like you jump aboard a company you think needs such a drastic change in the first place? Yet in nearly the same sentence they would say how different it was when they signed up with KEGL, only then go onto say how the same iHeart corporation/iHeart run station is singular in its hands off/freedom bestowing modus operandi because of the format change. I know, it's confusing. Yet that's what actually took place. A lot of yesterday was confusing. This confusion is my biggest take away from The Freak's first day. Despite my admitted fondness for knowing the inside dish and backstory on these things, there's something else very obvious and very much in play here.
As interesting as the behind the scenes backstory might be, and as eyebrow tilting as some of the timelines and slips of the tongue might point toward The Freak's genesis dating back more than 6,000 years ago and all that that implies, I do believe it originated sometime in mid-July and it was put together that quickly. I believe it because of the haphazard and obviously last minute way it's been put together. Hard to believe a corporation as large as iHeart would do it this way period, much less in the 5th largest market in the country and on a longtime, well known commodity/call letters/frequency/signal. But it's exactly what they've done. Having said that, Rhyner, Sirois, Julie, B&S, and the others can shout "freedom!" all they want. They might have their freedom (whatever the hell that really means), for now. But rest assured, if The Freak was put together that quickly, that ham-fistedly, it can be dismantled even quicker and with greater force. It's telling that it has been constructed as such. To me it indicates iHeart saying, "Sure, we'll indulge you. We were going to flip formats, regardless. This will be on the cheap (sans Rhyner) with little to no risk. Doesn't pan out, no big deal, next format up." If after 4 books ratings aren't better than what preceded (The Eagle), look for personnel changes/tweaking of the format. Both equate consultant/mgmt, which means less "freedom." After 6-8 books and no real inroads are made, flip/clean house. Yes, all of that is an extremely short leash. But that's how penny stocks are treated. Buy low, if they don't yield in short order, dump 'em. No biggie.
I heard B&S say that too about working on this for over a year. If true, and unless you're gullible enough to believe Rhyner wasn't in on it from the beginning and that he hadn't clued in Sirois and Julie and who knows else, I'm not sure what to tell you other than good luck with your bottom. If true it says a lot about all these folks.
ReplyDeleteMan oh man enough with "Glenn." Stoopy dumb. Day two, first full day of shows. OED definition of suboptimal. They need to heed Surly's advice, for starters. . . .
Surly: Not just laughing, but howling, shouting, over-emoting over not-so-dramatic utterances. And the constant overpraising of one another and the apotheosis of Mike Rhyner.
ReplyDeleteI know they're happy. I know it's something "new." But get on with it.
The Downbeat opening tune is the tits. But it wasn't written by Dingu. That's a B&S joint. Word on the street is Dingu's not down with getting his Freak on.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they sound like that old SCTV skit that parodied The Tonight Show (Johnny Carson era). Knee slapping, continual guffawing, over laughing, laughing at things objectively not funny. Canonball Run outtake stuff but without the magnetism of Burt or the charisma of Dom.
ReplyDeleteI've already been over-Julied, and we're only on day two. This thing's gonna be a f'n disaster.
Now I know why Norm n D had/has so many named and oh jeez segments: Chael. Here we go again. Every segment is named and has some twist to it. Almost every segment is all about Mike R. Though I'm looking forward to 5:30 because they promise to address The Ticket and its and his former coworkers and pals' reaction.
ReplyDeleteI agree the back patting has been OTT. I, clearly, believe that Rhyner deserves to be given all due respect for what he did in this business but that's too much of it so far.
ReplyDeleteThere's also way to much back patting. As a great man once said "Let the game come to you."
I commented on Back patting twice. I'd like to say it was a clever bit about how much back patting there was but it wasn't. As Jr said "I have a fever."
ReplyDeleteCat's eye for Tier 1 talent is being proven on point right before our very eyes.
ReplyDeleteListening to The Downbeat. So far -- sports. But more non-sports is promised.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard for me to think that Mike & Mike talking about whatever they want is going to be more fun or interesting to me -- not even a devoted sports fan -- than Bob and Corby and Dave talking mostly about sports and their other usual topics.
But giving it a chance. Maybe their personalities and thinkings will be of sufficient interest.
Wait! Oh my God! Their first post-sports segment is yet ANOTHER segment about Mike R, with future "Getting to Know You" segments on the rest of the bunch. "We talk about what we want," and what they want to talk about is themselves.
This is awful. It can only get better.
Still prepared to give it a chance. They will run out of themselves soon enough.
I was around for the first week of The Ticket. They did nothing of this. There was no all sports or guy talk format in Dallas. Never had been. They were the first. And yet there was no get to know you segment repeated ad nauseam. They got to it. We came to know them through their opinions, their senses of humor, and their sports acumen. There were no let me tell me about myself by you asking me questions about me and in turn I'll do the same to you segments. As you said, Plainsman, it can only get better. Right? Two days in and I feel like I'm hearing stunting that consists of the last 2 years of Mike R interviews. Also has a very NaD vibe to it. Sirois seems to still be in producer mode with Mike in a less sportsy Norm role of having everything laid out before him, catered to him, and he plods along for the ride. Sorry to be so negative, but it's what I'm hearing. Has to get better, right?
ReplyDeleteI'm prepared to give them a chance with the "get to know you" stuff. The Eagle is a well-established station with its own listener base, so perhaps this is aimed at them and not us?
ReplyDeleteIf I'm Rhyner..... Well, if I'm the Rhyner that Rhyner has always presented himself to be, then all these declarations of fealty by way of segment after segment devoted to the extolling of my greatness by others is making me pretty uncomfortable. Not just that but my decades of experience and success is telling me this isn't entertaining or informative. I have to think or at least hope that Rhyner is thinking along these lines and making mental notes to move away from this beginning tomorrow if not by the today's final segment. Caveat being if I'm that Rhyner.
ReplyDeleteYou make sense 422. But many of us early P1s and especially our gfs and wives could've cared less about sports and sports guy talk. Yet we and they became P1s because of the personalities and their talent. While I'm typing this Sirois is doing a Ticker whatever they're calling it. A host, a pm drive host is doing that duty? That seems odd. Odd and cheap. 249 could be onto something.
ReplyDeleteA segment where Julie gives a title of a children's book to Mike who then, no, I can't go on. What is going on here? Is the play to say we're not a sports station but the only segments with any meat so far on any show has been about sports so when the ratings barely register they can say The Ticket and The FAN aren't actually their competition? Are they saying KERA-NPR and am talk radio is their competition?
ReplyDeleteI'm a 24 year old dude. I'm a 44 year old dude. I'm a 34 year old chick. Doesn't matter. This is one big punch out.
The PD HAS to be pulling their hair out right now. It's day 2.
What the freq really needs is a weekend show featuring Top Cat Fleming.
ReplyDeleteSurly, if you're the kind of guy who watched "Top Cat," aka "TC," then you're probably my kind of guy.
ReplyDeleteAlso, see my original Comment 11.
And, while we're all at it, Comment 12.
And yes, as surprisingly annoying as the last two days have been, we do have to give this thing at least a couple of weeks. While, of course, continuing to point out annoyances as well as home runs.
Is anyone listening to The Ticket? Have there been any side-eye references to their old pal or his new station? Guessing no but . . . listening to The Freak.
You guys act like it should be year 5 Ticket. It is going to take a few to find their place. There will be a little swerving. It will take some time, growth always does. If you don't like it bail out. I for one, love hearing Rhynes and Grubes on the air together. It may be short lived, who knows. But, tap the brakes a tad.
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Scott. But here's the thing. This isn't Ticket year one. This is Mike Radio HoFer Godfather of The Ticket Marconi Winner Rhyner, Mike 16 years at The Ticket Sirois, 20 years with their own show on multiple stations in the 5th largest market in the country grizzled vets B&S, nearly 20 years behind the mic and supporting it KT, and cohost of his own show on The FAN Jeff Cavanaugh. These are all known commodities and one will absolutely go down in radio history as a genuine game changing force. Yes, there will be tweaks and there will be some early shaky moments. Perhaps it's you who ought to put it into perspective. Not trying to be antogonistic towards you. Just offering a countering view.
ReplyDeleteListening to The Freak's Ticket segment. While what he's saying isn't wrong, seems like Rhyner is missing some key issues. You know, like going on Ticket shows while working out the Freak deal and not letting at least George or Corby or someone know he's moving in that direction. He's confirming some of the DMN piece. Specifically the marginalization, they wouldn't have wanted me back anyway line was confirmed. He and Mike sort admitted The Freak and Sirois's involvement goes back further than the timelines presented.
ReplyDeleteReally turned off by Julie's coaching and contextualizing. Put a skin on the wall first, my friend. She's coming off bad. She thinks she's in the bunker. I'm sure that's been instilled by Mike, since it seems this is early Ticket days redux for him. Still this isn't a good look for her. Might bite back on her one day. And bite back hard.
Sirois handled it well. It's the first time in nearly 8 hours of airtime he hasn't kissed Mike's ass. Hopefully a sign of things to come. He did mention "good people" again. That's a loaded statement when placed in context of the situation and how often it's been stated over the past 2 days. (Note to Sirois: you have ten years on Julie, she's not a part of "your ages.")
Maybe that was the cathartic segment they needed to get off their chests and now they can begin having a show that does more than celebrates Mike's existence.
I for one will give it a bit more time before removing the preset.
Apparently Julie is the Gordon of the Freq. Too valuable to be part of only one show.
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought:
ReplyDeleteDon't we all remember the chest-pounding that went on with Greg Williams and Richie Whitt when RaGE hit the airwaves? And how disappointing that product turned out to be after all those promises of a major arse-kicking?
The first two days of The Freak are self-proclaiming a huge, revolutionary -- their words, not mine -- pivot in Dallas radio. Truly industry altering, at least locally. But Mike, if he is the radio genius he's portrayed to be, has got to know that it is better to underpromise and overdeliver than the other way around. He has got to know that if the product is ONLY listenable, and not extraordinary, he and his acolytes are going to look foolish.
And yet he is allowing this (excuse the vulgarity) circle-jerk up and down the broadcast day so far. As someone pointed out above, he's almost already started letting things happen to him, rather than steering the ship as everyone has surmised he would. His reputation will garner listeners for a while, and there may be individual fans of Cavanaugh, Dobbs, Sirois, B&S, who like them and want to hear what they have to say every day, and, of course, the anti-Corbites who are not now listening to The Hardline, or threatening not to. But it is hard to see how kaffeeklatch conversation between some fairly normal, if nice, human beings that does not have any particular focus (other than "what we want to talk about") is going to blow the lid off Dallas radio. It can be good, but still not be great, and given the send-off they're giving themselves, that will be a disappointment if not a failure.
But I guess, as a couple of hosts of a pretty good little show never tire of telling us, "it's a work in progress." I'll tune at least until I see what this thing is aiming at.
Rhyner doesn’t have it in him to steer a ship anymore. He hadn’t steered The Hardline in a decade and then he couldn’t even be bothered to steer a one man, podcast at his own leisure effort. Sirois asked him how he’s feeling about his decision two days in, and Rhyner claimed he feels great, but I swear I already heard regret in his voice. I’m not sure if his new radio career will even clear Christmas. I’d give it a 10% chance of lasting more than a year.
ReplyDelete^^^^^ I mean, exactly.
ReplyDeleteCOMMENT 14: I tried to think about what shape this station could take and came up with the following highly non-evidentiary forecast:
ReplyDelete(1) Inevitably, I think, they're going to be doing a fair amount of sports. Mav's flagship, and strong Cowboys interest in the demo.
(2) Talking about their own personal interests will get them a week, maybe two, of content.
(3) Leading to more sports, and a failure of The Freak's highly-promoted reason for being. But it could be a great sports-talk station with "lifestyle" (guy) talk to fill in.
(4) But if not more sports, and "what we want" turns out not to be so interesting, that means -- they'll be going through news websites, culling out current events they want to talk about. And it will be WOKE AS HELL. If the focus is entertainment instead of news, it may not be WOKE AS HELL, but Mike R won't have the slightest idea of what anyone is talking about.
(5) It boils down to this: If you don't have a topic around which to build your talk -- sports, for example -- you won't attract listeners who are interested in a particular topic. If you have dazzling personalities, super-sharp people with attractive personalities, you can get away with it, and perhaps The Freak offers this. Too early to tell. But if people aren't attracted to that host line-up on a day-to-day basis irrespective of what they want to talk about, and if the station has no subject-matter focus, then listeners, who do tend to have individualized interests, will continue to drift into where they've been going for a while now -- podcasts.
Can a non-sports Freak be better than podcasts?
@Plainsmman 7:18
ReplyDeleteLong time lurker first time commenter.
I agree with you about the format. Because I think people got burned out about how woke The Ticket got (not at all saying the ticket doesn’t have the right to do that, but we have the option to tune out). But if The Freak is not a sports talk station and a minor current event hot topic, pick a political side happens. It seems like the Freak is more pressured to talk about it because they theoretically don’t have the option to focus on Dallas Cowboy's previous game or next game. It seems like it would be hard to turn a blind eye to current events.
It almost seems like in terrestrial radio you got to go politics or sports and have an identity. With the option to talk about other stuff. I hope The Freak does great, also happy if The Ticket keeps domination. Downbeat to me has been interesting enough to turn away from Hardline though.
I like everyone on the freak and i'll continue to listen to both stations because it's new and a little different. Plainsman seems to be reaching, I haven't heard anybody on the freak say anything negative about the ticket.
ReplyDelete930: Oh yeah, I am reaching. Tossing out predictions without much to go on. Guilty. Yes, two days is not a sufficient sample size. Just trying to figure out if the claimed reason for The Freak's being rings true, and what it really is likely to become.
ReplyDeleteCould be way wrong. Could turn out to be the game-changer its hosts are promising. And sure, no reason one can't listen to both.
So, 930, you're saying when Freak employees talk on-air of being marginalized, unwanted, and stifled at their former place of work, and for three of them it was The Ticket, that they're not saying anything negative about The Ticket? Well alrighty then.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theunticket.com/gordo-vs-sirois-was-your-mom-a-whore/
ReplyDelete"I would have said those words" ---- you said Body Count, Gordo. This is one of the biggest shots fired at Lower Tier's....that yea prolly got a lot of them feeling Very Inferior. Im such a fan of gordo but i always come back to this exchange - -- you Punch but the minute you're Hit.. well. he's changed in the last five years/mths and i guess i havent appreciated that from him
Yo^^^^, are you using some sort of capitalization and punctuation randomizer app? So you're saying the reason Rhyner decided to get his Freak on and Sirois followed suit is all due to an exchange that occurred nearly ten years ago between Gordo and Sirois? Ok, man, you got it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSMALL SAMPLE SIZE ALERT: Tuned in to The Speakeasy.
ReplyDeleteSports.
There's nothing wrong with the content. It's fine But it's typical non-Ticket sports fare -- people talking over one another, talking really fast, talking louder than strictly necessary.
Contrast Those Who Muse So Gently.
Three days in and I'm getting a real good idea why Emily Jones got to where she is and why Julie did not.
ReplyDeleteI listened to most of Speakeasy this morning.
ReplyDeleteFoods We Fear (picking up on a Sirois "I fear the egg" comment from yesterday; pickles, mayo, etc.).
Words Used in the 1920's (Julie reading from website https://alcapones.com/slang_dictionary.php, or one similar).
I have had the same issue with iHeart as another Confessor mentioned. The stream will switch to rock without notice and you have to exit and re-start iHeart to get back to Freak. Unrequested switching away from the signal is not something Freak needs right now.
Do consultants say to laugh a lot?
ReplyDeletePersonal relationships are messy things. I get why Mike kept things a secret and I get why some at the Ticket are, deservedly, upset about it. Especially given that Mike was the author of the bunker mentality. I think Rhnyer would have been better served to have acknowledged the legitimacy of their feelings at the same time saying expressing his reasons for doing this. That's not the road this is going to go though.
ReplyDeleteI'll continue to give the Downbeat a listen, with the Hardline mixed in. It might switch back to the Hardline being the primary listen before long. I do think its better with Davey but Corby still beats me down in short order.
I’ve been trying to check out The Downbeat during HL breaks today and no matter how many times I try to open/close/reset the app, I only get rock music playing. Unforgivable for them not to have their app ready to go
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree, I have seen posts elsewhere saying the app links to their HD2 channel that is playing music. You have to go to the web page for now to catch the broadcast.
ReplyDeleteIf you heard days one and two, you haven't missed a thing. "We can say/do whatever we want!" "We're a group of good people." "Here's a game we can all play." And then there's 3-7 (Julie's on again and Sirois seems more producer with a dedicated segment or so), well we're an hour and a half in and we've had 3 Rhyner The Legend segments already. To the point where Rhyner's beginning to lay out whenever kisses are blown his way (which is non-stop), responding with sheepish thank yous. They had a segment where they asked Rangers if they were aware if Rhyner was back on air. It's all weird, man. Not a damn thing is organic, and that WAS the way of THL and The Ticket. Rhyner insisted on that every bit as much he did they all stick to the Bunker Mentality mentality. To quote a once great man, "I guess I just don't get it."
ReplyDeleteI get The Freak most of the time on iHeart. It switches to HD2 music after commercial breaks sometimes, but easy enough to get it back. But Surly's right, they need to get that fixed pronto.
ReplyDeleteI've punched into The Downbeat twice. The first time it was Sirois about to go to the "I'm Mike Sirois" section (P.O.), the second was Rangers, i.e., sports. Sounds OK, but I'm not sensing the revolution.
Odd the ONLY segments of substance so far from 7a-7p that have nothing to do with the greatness of OGW or 'let me introduce myself' are about drum roll SPORTS. But the one thing it isn't as we've been told OVER and over is a sports guy station. Cavanaugh and B&S are no way in hell going to be able to keep up internet listing and tortured game showing and grocery store talking everyday for two weeks much less two months before turning into sports guy talk. No way. If The DownBeat keeps up what it's doing which as someone beat me to the punch said the Norm and D show part 2 it's going to be replaced by NYE. So whether they want it to or not TheFreak's going to be a sports guy station.
ReplyDeleteSurly, the freak app was working fine on iphone for me. Do you have an iphone?
ReplyDeleteI figured it out. If I tried to listen during a commercial break it would fire up a rock song. If I joined during content I got content. I just happened to try to listen 3-4 times in a row while they were in break
ReplyDeleteSurly, my experience zackly.
ReplyDeleteOk I can't take it anymore - Does The Ticket have to take the money from Trajan Wealth with their now upsized 25% bonus and 10 percent guaranteed a year. They even had the audacity to say that means if you "invest" 1 million dollars you get a 250 thousand dollar bonus. Come on man this is beyond absurd. Annuities are for suckers and financial planners to get rich. Meanwhile back at the Freak we are on day 4 of telling us what they are about to do at some point in the future.
ReplyDeletePlease delete this asshat.
ReplyDeleteSorry Mr. Trajan aka Anon 8:18 am. I am done.
ReplyDeleteIn general, comments on ads will be allowed. If the thread turns into the merits of the particular product rather than the ad, I'll start deleting, or if I think there's a special pleader on the loose. For the record, I'm not an annuity guy, and I also wonder if anyone's brought the Trajan ads to the SEC's attention.
ReplyDeleteI listened to about ten minutes of Speakeasy this morning. There's nothing wrong with happy-talk radio, these hosts are not objectionable, and I've always been a Kevin Turner fan, but it won't be a destination for me. I've returned to The Musers.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with you on the Speakeasy P-Man. Its fine but nothing to take me away from those who muse so gently. KT talks way to fast at times and I think Julie is better with the Downbeat but given some time they might be something. I'll listen during breaks on the Musers or during segments I don't care about but I don't think its going to be my first choice.
ReplyDeleteGot off work early I tuned into B&S on the drive home. There is no one in the world that thinks Ben & Skin are more funny than Ben & Skin. They laugh at their own bits more than any humans I’ve ever heard.
ReplyDeleteKDF
Just occurred to me that from Mike R on down, the hosts have all said "we're doing this because this is something WE always wanted to do, to say what WE want to say."
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't hear is any suggestion that "this is something that radio listeners have been wanting to hear."
The Ticket's ratings have remained jumbo since Mike's departure. Stifled or not, these lads are putting out a popular product -- something listeners prized by advertisers want to hear.
So The Freak is banking on their newly-unshackled, form-free conversation coinciding with an unmet demand among those (let's face it -- among those men 25-54) who listen to terrestrial radio/stream -- or who would do so, if only they could hear form-free radio.
Every success and innovation comes with risk. As I've said elsewhere, the chances of this really ending up to be as different as its promotions are now claiming are questionable. But if they stick to their "what we wanna talk about that's usually not sports" format, and it turns out that those topics prove to be must-listen for an already content-drenched public in the desired demo, then we'll have to judge The Freak a freakish success.
But, I think, it would indeed be freakish.
So far the morning show is a C to C-. All this means is it's on a par with a lot of morning shows that plod along and remain on air because a station has to have a morning show and as long as it's not disagreeable it will bring in ad rev, which is the name of the game.
ReplyDeleteMiddays could be very good but these guys choose for it not to be. They can't get out of their own way. I guess that's the Ben and Skin way, as they've been doing it for a long time now. There was a moment yesterday that actually grabbed me. Skin was discussing the old Peter Sellars movie "Being There." Ben asked him what he thought the final scene meant and Skin gave a very thoughtful answer. An answer that made me think of what I might say and the conversation we might have. That's what made The Ticket, The Ticket. You wanted to be in on it, be a part of it. Of course, 5 seconds later Kristina kicks off another internet list game thing and I flipped back to THZ. Now, I know Peter Sellars talk is very niche. I also know that B&S and myself are Gen Xers and even for us, few know who Peter Sellars and even fewer are fans and know of his work. But what grabbed me was the passion, the GENUINE interest. Not some ginned up segment that sounds more like someone was given a homework assignment to come up with something novel in order to kill time. And that's the issue I'm having with The Freak, across all shows. Talk about what YOU'RE truly into. Stop "brainstorming" for unique "look at all the we can do whatever we want" material. It's boring. You haven't been on a week and it's already old. This is why you need host pairings that while on one hand have differing opinions about certain issues, on the other they share at least a couple of passions. You can't merely throw people together who want "to do what we want" and expect good radio--forget about great radio. It's why The Musers are true greatness. It's why the OG HL worked so well. I know B&S have deep and shared interests, but, again, they just can't help but get in their own way.
Had to smile at the "What's On Mike's Mind" reference. Do you remember that segment on The Hardline? Mike might or might not have a topic in mind, but even if he did, he throw it out there and Corby would take the ball and run with it, he and Danny would bat it around, and Mike wouldn't have much more to say. That segment was a misnamed laugher on The Ticket and Exhibit 1 for Rhynes's characterization as Checkout Mike, but apparently Downbeat thinks it's worth resurrecting.
ReplyDeleteLet me say something nice. Mike R does sound good, rested and as mellifluous as ever. Mike S has an easy radio way about him, and he's a favorite of mine to begin with. The intro to The Sunset Lounge was good but it's too long for a daily intro; redeemed somewhat by Mike's musical delivery but I'm already tired of it. I agree that they're overusing Julie -- I think a show with the three Mikes might actually have some chance of resurrecting thoughts of Hardline 1.0 if they can find something to talk about. So far, as many have noted, it's one big hanj, but surely they'll get over themselves sometime within the next week or so. I'm giving The Downbeat a chance for awhile on its own merits, although I'm reasonably sure Bob/Corby/Dave will continue to be my go-to.
My take is The Freak is going for the younger reddit demo. If you visit the reddit site you'll see that the entire place cares only for bits and some form of up for anything thing crushing it talk. I also think they want to net some of the sportsier Ticket listeners. The first goes with what they're doing already and the second goes with having Mike R and having a sportsier seggo or 2 sprinkled in. I also think alotof people on this blog are older and more out of touch with what the younger reddit demo than they wantto believe. Killing time with memes and lists is what they do.
ReplyDelete436, I have had similar thoughts. They're really hammering the sosh -- I'm skeptical that the time spent drenching Twitter and TikTok and Instagram and Reddit and Facebook with Freak-friendly stuff is all that effective, but it certainly contrasts with The Ticket's meager efforts in the digital realm.
ReplyDeleteBut here's the thing -- the audience for terrestrial radio is generally older to begin with, and getting older all the time.
Here's another thing -- The Freak host lineup is not young. Other than the increasingly marginalized Norm Hitzges, no one at The Ticket is nearly as old as the leader of The Freak. I haven't heard them discussing any movie or song or artist that's less than a couple decades old.
Here's another thing -- The Freak is a lot more feminized than The Ticket. Lotta kid talk, lotta relationship talk, lotta family talk. Some say yay; not sure what the male 25-54 demo is going to say.
I never listened to Live 105 before it became The Fan, but how exactly is The Freak any different than the failed Live 105? I’m not getting how they’re selling this as a revolutionary format.
ReplyDeleteIt's not much different, at all. Substitute fooj, beej, and hanj for menage and you have oft made fun of by Rhyner "Ron and Don Show." They'd mostly talk about inane crap and push the sports button a time or two per show. This was before social media and the web became the omnivore it now is, mind you. But generally, yeah, it's Live 105. A station that's a part of B&S CV too boot. Plainsman and many of you here are a lot nicer or more tolerant than I, because four days on and I will make a patented Mike Rhyner claim: This Thing Sucks. It does. With all the money and years of broadcasting involved on top of the fact that regardless of what's bandied about this format is nothing new and therefore no one is flying by the seat of their pants, making up the rules and breaking them along the way, it has the sound of something thrown together last-minute.
ReplyDeleteGot a thing for classier reds lately. New thread up. No new content.
ReplyDelete