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."
Thursday, October 6, 2022
Tired of Scrolling Through All Those Comments. Freak/Ticket Thread Continues
I think it speaks volumes that Danny, who left The Ticket because of a lack of opportunity to move up (host) and the salary that comes along with it, gave a flat "no" to not only The Freak but also to any interview pertaining to either The Freak or Mike R. If Julie and Sirois and KT were offered host positions, I can only imagine Danny either was or would've been if interested. The way Mike himself said "No" in the D-Mag pod said so much. It said Danny had been asked andnot only wasn't interested, but wanted nothing to do with it. If you leave X for Y reason and are subsequently offered A that is another iteration of X but without Y, why would you not take it? The answer, to me, is rather evident. When on Gordon's Twitch stream, Danny was explicit about his deep friendship with both Corby and Gordon, as well as his respect for the other Ticket guys. For those not around when Danny began working there, he got the job by basically sending in original theme songs, bit songs, being a regular caller, going to remotes, and generally being a rabid, obsessive P1 who was so ubiquitous (known then as Danny in Lake Highlands), that he got himself hired and the rest is history. In other words, Danny absolutely loves The Ticket. Not just Mike R, but the whole Ticket ethos, modus, and that certain ineffable quality that is The Ticket. And while yes Mike R brought it all together and instilled into them the bunker mentality and gave the whole thing an edge (hard to imagine that these days, edgy Mike), The Ticket is far more than Mike. Danny knows this in his bones and will not go against the thing he loves. Yes he left. But it had to do with corporate structure, not The Ticket qua The Ticket. One more thing. A thread or two ago someone said don't be so sure everyone at The Ticket worshipped Mike. I do wonder. Those "no's" by both Danny and Mike might very well have legs.
I like Emily Jones, probably more than Julie too just based off of what I heard on their podcast. If Emily Jones was added to the downbeat, i'd be more interested I think. I live out of state now, and only listen through the sportsday app. I'm probably never gonna mess with switching between the ticket and the freak just because it's annoying. If I lived in DFW still, I may do that during ticket commercials or whatever. I wonder how many P1's listen via the app, whether they're in DFW or somewhere else.
Back in the day, i'd switch between the hardline and russ martin quite regularly.
There was a great segment yesterday on The Downbeat: Mike R's story of the time he played air hockey with Robert Plant. He spun the story out masterfully and amusingly. I don't know if there are enough stories in his bag to supply the content needs of the show, but it was a good listen.
Why are they ensuring that The Downbeat has these (temporary?) female voices.
I hope the Sirois/Krystina thing doesn't turn into a Whitt/Sybil icky thing.
I don't know what Emily Jones does or doesn't want -- she recently did a spot on The Ticket -- but I do know that The Freak is collecting testimonials from all kinds of people who don't know anything about it. I haven't seen it, but apparently there's something with, of all people, Ben Stiller. And a bunch of others who are unlikely to spend much time listening to 97.1.
If I were a Dallas sports figure deciding on whether to hook up with The Freak, I'd give it a good, long look to make sure it was going to make a go of it. It will be a while before we see enough ratings books to know if the self-proclaimed Freak revolution is going to stick.
According to Richie Whitt's new post today, it is rumored that Danny IS going to join The Freak once his non-compete expires. And now The Hangzone is considering joining once their contract is up in 2023. Whitt says it is the same source that leaked The original Freak news so strong chance this is also true. I guess iHeart has a ton of money to hand out just like LIV Golf.
Regarding your trivia challenge of October 3, 2022 at 6:05 PM, I believe you are referencing Basil Fawlty asking Ronald what shape of chip be would like before going on a rant of the merits of freshly-made mayonnaise vs. Salad Cream.
Anon 10:29: Not disputing this info, but one question. Why would Danny have to wait out a non-compete when Mike Sirois obviously did not wait out any kind of a non-compete?
Both held the same title, Producer. I imagine contracts could've been negotiated differently, but it seems a reasonable assumption they were employed with very similar contracts.
Also, interesting to note that Julie as a ticker person (an on-air role), didn't wait out a non-compete either.
This seems to point more toward Danny not having any interest in joining his former colleagues at the Freak.
I really enjoyed the air hockey story, to me, it was Mike R. at this storytelling best. I have also enjoyed Grubes, and not just for old-time's sake but for his input. He seems like he has matured quite a bit and is more sure of himself. There are elements at the Freak I really like. I fear they will run out of content steam without sports to lean on. There are only so many Robert Plant stories you go back to before you have nothing left.
*Remember that radio industry source that whispered to me that Mike Rhyner was coming out of retirement and then it … happened? Well, same source says the roster shuffling isn’t over. First of all, I’m told that long-time Ticket producer Danny Balis will join The Freak once his non-compete clause expires. Pretty common sensical to connect those dots. But, bigger and more surprising, Ticket midday Hang Zone hosts Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell are seriously considering bolting for The Freak in early 2023. Again, I won’t believe it until I hear it, but …
Dear Mike Sirois, stop sounding like you're trying to convince yourself, Rhyner, and everyone around you how "awesome" this all is. As Rhyner used to say to Nickie Granville, "just do the cars." Well, Sirois, "just do the show."
One week in the books. 7-3 is a mixed bag of mediocrity. Julie needs A LOT of work. KT needs A LOT of work. Krystina needs some work. Sirois needs to stop playing producer and stop blowing smoke up Mike's wrinkled ass and start finding his voice. I mean HIS voice. That entails substance, not 'member berries of partying and stupid Q&A segments and rankings and guessing games. It's spike through me head inducing. This issue is pervasive. Oh yes, stop referring to your girlfriend as "the lovely..." All three shows fill more time than not with such crapola. Mike does sound re-energized. It's real nice to hear. When he's engaged and feeling it, he's flat out special. Is he all that yet, no, but he's moving that way. Let's see where he is come March. I do wish he'd take control of the show more in lieu of Mike. But maybe that's what he wants. That is to shepherd Mike into being a true #1 and not a goodtime guy everybody's favorite uncle. Two pot stories in one day is too much. It's not edgy, OGW. Then again they can SAY ANYTHING! It was fitting that the final words of the final segment of the first week consisted of some world class ass kissing. A perfect bookend.
If they can solidify TDB lineup (stop with the guest hosts already), whatever that's going to be, and I hope it does involve Danny or Emily Jones. they are going to be a serious threat to THL's ratings dominance. If that lineup is put together right and keeps improving and most importanly if Rhyner continues to be engaged, THL will find itself firmly, decidedly in 2nd place. If THZ is contemplating a move (begrudgingly I can no longer dismiss out of hand RW's reporting) and it happens and they become the morning show (probably adding TC to the mix), The Musers too are in for some healthy competition. Very healthy competition, indeed. If I'm The Ticket while I'm not yet panicking, I'm damn sure doing a thoroughgoing autopsy on what the fuck just happened, carefully analyzing is what is happening and rumored to be happening, and figuring out a way to keep what it is I have and how to make it better. Cats get fat. Don't be a fat ass, Cat. Fix this shit or lose it.
I've been mulling over the Richie Whitt scoop, if it may be thus characterized.
(1) Richie does have good sources. I'm going to credit that the rumblings he's reporting are out there in one form or another. When mid-2023 rolls around, we may be kicking ourselves -- I suppose I should speak for myself -- that his information had us rubbing our chins in October 2022.
(2) Let's assume that both of those things happen -- Danny signing on, and Dan and Jake sliding over to The Freak.
(3) What is Danny going to do? He's not going to be a producer. I don't see him signing on as less than a host, just as Mike S did not. And he's a talented broadcaster. He belongs in one of the Big Chairs.
(4) If so, where do you put him? Let's start with the current lineup as currently constituted. The Speakeasy? No. Ben and Skin? No. His only home is with The Downbeat. Again, we're talking about the current lineup. So I want you to think about a Mike, Mike, and Danny show. Danny is NOT going to sign on to the lollilpops-and-roses tone of the show as we've come to hear it in its first week. (Theater of the Mind: Imagine Danny in Mike S's seat this first week.) Now maybe that show will get a harder edge as time goes by where Danny could fit in as a third host, especially if they don't force feed us Julie and Krystina, but three cynical and sometimes-cranky hosts in PM drive? With Danny being able to take it or leave it (I credit his statements that he's doing just fine without radio)? You absolutely know what that will turn into: Two talented broadcasters battling for mic time, with Mike R increasingly -- well, "marginalized." Sound familiar?
(5) So now let's change our assumption and add in Jake and Dan. I don't know when their contracts are up, if they are up about the same time, or anything else. But whenever they're up, they will have their own noncompetes to deal with. Seems like we're all guessing six months, and that's a pretty good guess. So if their contracts aren't up for several months yet, at least, seems like we're talking about something on the order of a year before The Hang Zone, or any part of it, could take the leap.
(5.5) How about Jake without Dan? Now that would create some interesting permutations.
(6) But let's put THAT aside, too, and assume that Dan and Jake are available for poaching. The logical guess is for The Freak to shift to a four-show format, with Dan and Jake more or less moving their scene intact. AM Drive? Might work, the Hang Zone is a very credible show and Jake is, in my judgment, a Dallas radio star. In fact, it would be hard for Dan and Jake to leave one midday-slot for another, frying pan/fire. But what do you with The Speakeasy? Remember, The Ticket's lineup has a two-hour show with Norm and D. You gonna marginalize The Speakeasy there in a short pre-midday show? Or cut Jake and Dan off at 9 AM? Take a slice out of Ben & Skin? Maybe the latter makes more sense. But moving The Speakeasy into the Death Valley of mid-mornings will not be a good look for Julie, who they're heavily promoting. In fact, they're spotlighting both Julie and Krystina, neither of whom would fit comfortably with Danny/Dan -- Jake, maybe.
(7) And what about Ben & Skin? These guys have been SO all in with The Freak's new mythology, I just don't see them being asked to change much, other than perhaps their hours. They're founders -- they just can't be dumped.
(8) Recall that we're not entirely sure what to do with Danny. Does he join Dan and Jake as a third host? Anyone seeing that? Me neither. Leave Dan behind and poach Jake to pair with Danny? Hmmm.
Before I get too granular here (too late!), I'm thinking that Richie's info, if correct, will, at a minimum, mean that (assuming it lasts in its present form until Jake and Dan are free) The Freak will have to blow up its current schedule something fierce. Which, if it has succeeded in the meantime as it promises to do, will not be easy. And if it has not succeeded in the meantime, its current promise of a Dallas radio revolution will not have been kept.
None of this will mean a thing until we've seen at least four or five ratings books.
Too much talent, Not enough bandwidth in a medium whose obits continue to be written.
Have a fine weekend, Confessors, in this Brave New Age of Dallas Radio.
You weren't around for The Ticket's early days. Skip Bayliss, Curt Menafee, Chuck Cooperstein, The Musers, and The Hardline. Neither THL nor DnM were in their final time slots. Gordo was not a Muser. He worked on Skip's show and in fact did equal amounts if not more for THL in the early days than DnM. So, as far as TF goes, as So Anon (Sirois) has dropped in these comboxes many times, "everything is possible." And it is. As regards Danny, he would fit in perfectly with TDB. Sirois needs someone keeping him honest. Right now no one, including Mike, is able/going to do that. As loosey goosey and relaxed as he is with language ('soosh' for 'sushi' and the likes), he's actually a ball of nervous energy that needs to slow his roll more often than not. That's why he over does the fawning (be it Mike or in earlier days, Norm or as he did on Gordon's stream--which, Gordo would remain silent never returning the smooches) and in so many ways is every bit as Superlative Corby as Corby is. If you don't think so, you'll see. Just give it a month. You're going to get a big dose of Mr. Sirois. I think he could be greatness. But he needs roping in. Danny is ideal for this. Danny will also bring the Rhyner out of Mike. Rhyner was radio gold. Mike's happy to watch the wheels go round and round.
I'm sorry for Cavanaugh, KT, and probably Krystina and maybe but doubtfully Julie, they're most likely going to end up as canon fodder. B&S will survive like they always do. I say this because, regardless of all the "there's never been a station like this, ever in ever" talk, it's an iHeart station, it's a HUGE corp. and that means they demand results. The morning show will not get the minimum numbers required and will be reformulated (Hiya, HZ). The morning show is expendable. Harsh to say, I agree, hut that's how business go. B&S too will probably be reworked. They'll stay on but will have a 3rd added. They will also go heavy Mavs and local sports. Ditto THZ as morning drive -- they'll basically be a Musers clone whose humor leans more toward the Rant side of things.
I don't know a thing about anyone's NCs, but if their contract is up, does a NC mean a thing?
Yes, noncompetes mean something when an employment contract expires -- depending, of course, on the terms of the noncompete. Typically, they provide that an employee can't compete while employed and for some period of time thereafter. The length of time, and the geographic scope, cannot be unreasonable. In the case of employees who enter into contracts that are not part of a buyout of a company (i.e., where founders may be given employment contracts after they sell out), that period of time almost never exceeds a year, and six months would be fairly typical, especially for non-executives.
Let's be honest - The Ticket is in its last days metaphorically speaking: - THZ will leave for the Freak - The Musers will retire within 2 years - Sturm (a sports talking superstar) will turn his attention to a national stage - Corby will join a local FM station and become a local well known DJ spinning hits and doing a brand of friendly FM talk ala Kid Kraddick - no amount of outside "talent" or Tier 2's moving up will fix the Ticket when THZ departs starting the station's cascading descent into death
@1126 I'm kinda there with you. So far the Saturday shows are local sports intensive. The overnight programming was a national sports feed. As someone else pointed out, most of the show content that wasn't some sort of game or get to know __ was sports related. The news update returns from breaks are basically Tickers with a general news item tossed in. In light of all that I'm not sure how The Freak is different from The Ticket? My guess is that going forward it will only become more like The Ticket. If Danny and The Hang Zone or anyone else from The Ticket go over to The Freak, for all intents and purposes wouldn't The Freak at that point be a carbon copy of The Ticket? It's weird. The whole thing is weird. Tbh it has an odd smell to it. There's something off about the narrative of its genesis. I have a feeling that in fairly short order some light is going to be shed and certain reputations are going to be tarnished in the eyes of many. Before you think I'm talking about The Freak side of things, think again. It very well could be The Ticket side that ends up looking bad. Could go either way. But again, there's something off here. Does anyone else get this sense?
Not sure what Corby meant. I would think it pertained to decades long relationships and Mike's numerous Ticket appearances and acting like he was still s brother in arms when at the very least his last two months of appearances were while he was working out The Freak deal. That, to me, us rather underhanded. Moreover, if I felt marginalized and unwanted by a group of people/ place of employment, I'm not going back there on the regular to hang out. I'm done with it. But that's not what Mike did. He did the opposite. Wer're ralking about Mike Rhyner here. He does what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. The whole marginalized story fiesn't add up. Period.
The math doesn't work on this. The timeframes given by Freakers only sometimes line up, the frequent (mostly by Sirois) claims of "good people doing this," Mike's above mentioned from seemingly out of nowhere marginalized/unwanted story -he tells a different make nice version in the 2nd DMN interview, only to revert to the marginalized bit during Tuesday's show, to the station's already repeated ad nauseam and we're only through week 1 mottos of "we can say and do whatever we want and we're not a sports station" and "isn't this the most funnest of fun you've ever had?! did you ever think this much fun and freedom was ever possible?!," shit don't vibe right. I also have a hunch Sirois' involvement in making The Freak happen/getting Mike aboard is far deeper than we know. Not saying that is a bad thing, at all. Just saying I believe he was instrumental in both the formulating the concept and getting it off the ground. A Sirois Industry production. The whole mien of The Freak has his prints all over it. But as I said, it doesn't necessarily mean it's solely a Freakers' issue. There's another side to this. If Danny, much less The Hang Zone joins up, then I think the spotlight points squarely onto The Ticket. And I'll bet it goes from some of the on-air talent (some, not all) up to Cat and Bennett, and all the way up to the CTOs. If so, then once Danny (and especially Dan and Jake) get their Freak on I'll bet answers will be revealed.
However it all shakes out I'm hoping it results in two kick ass stations going head to head. That'll bring out the best in everyone and we listener win. I want my allegiances to be conflicted. Whatever and why this all happened is fascinating, but the fact is The Ticket has gotten lazy and has been idling for years now because it's never had a lick of real competition. Seems like that might be changing. Seems like it. So don't think I'm trying to say Mike or Sirois or Corby or Cat are good or bad guys. I think there's a lot of grey area here, on all sides and with all involved. Let's just hope that at the end of it we listeners get the win.
For reasons I've already stated, I think we have a long, long way to go before Jake, or Dan and Jake, could possibly jump.
I don't know about Danny, but I don't see either Dan or Jake jumping to a struggling Freak unless the money were really, really compelling. If the Freak looks like a serious threat to Ticket dominance, then maybe. But again -- if (and only if) we're right about contract expirations and noncompetes, they could be a year away or more from being free to jump. I'm not discounting the rumblings, but the possibility is currently way too remote to write any Ticket obits.
Danny has his fans, and I'm one of them, but his sign-on alone won't draw listeners. Not enough listeners, anyway. I doubt any listeners exited The Hardline when he did, entertaining though he was, and Dave Lane has been a fine addition.
So, as I've said, speculation about who's moving where will depend critically on how The Freak does in the meantime.
And I'm still trying to figure out what Mike R's financial stake is in this. He claimed on the air that it was substantial. He didn't buy KEGL, and I'm doubtful he participated in a private placement of iHeart stock itself to make this happen. I'm wondering if maybe, just maybe, one or more hosts are HIS employees -- if his deal with iHeart is with a company he controls, rather than him personally. That's a longshot, I know, but some very peculiar things have been said this week on the Freak.
It did not sound like a joke to me, as Mike S followed it up by saying that his own investment was purely "sweat equity." But the answer to your question is yes, I got that idea because Mike R said it in a non-ironic context in the course of talking rather seriously about the debut of the station. When he said it, he was trying to persuade listeners that this wasn't just another one of his larks, for which he had become known since leaving The Ticket, that this time he was serious about this thing.
But could it have been untrue, or a gag? Well, sure. We've heard several untrue things on the Freak and the coverage of it over the past couple of weeks. But if you told me that Mike was financially responsible for Mike S and Julie D, at least until the Freak demonstrates some staying power, I wouldn't be shocked.
But you're right, it's wild speculation. As Kevin Hart says, "It's what I do."
He said he did. Of course, he also said he was stifled and disrespected at The Ticket, which is also absurd. I guess it's absurd to think he speaks truthfully, even under circumstances in which he is purporting to speak seriously about how committed he is to this thing.
We are talking about a 70 something year old man. A huge financial stake could mean a full piece of fried fish versus Luann platter at Luby’s. On the other hand…70 something year old men are prone to thinking about their personal legacy. He certainly has a huge stake in that one.
One week in the books and we're about to embark upon week two. There was a time when the buzz would just be picking up, but in our hyper connected, throw away world, the truth of the matter is the buzz for The Freak is already spent. The mere days ago felicitous interviews now forgotten, swept up into the digital dustbin; the D-Magazine pod, did anyone actually hear it?; and out there on the net and all throughout the realm of social media, the sign off for week one hadn't yet come down and yet MTC and reddit and Twitter folks had already moved onto the possibility of THZ and Danny Balis getting their Freak on, occasioning actual radio content to the status of an afterthought, if that. It's an ephemeral thing, no. My point here being, nowadays the build up, the initial buzz, and the resultant direction of those energies which in turn lead either to a palatable momentum, building up and into something, or a fast track to being an afterthought happens in the blink of an eye. Therefore, it's paramount to make the most of that fleeting moment of urgency. Did The Freak do as such? Regretfully I'd say no, they did not. I wish they wouldn't have misused their initial opportunity to capture the imagination of Eagle listeners, the curious in general, and of course, P1s by playing a bewildering game of mix and match the host. In their bid to introduce themselves, they inadvertantly created confusion for the listener and discontinuity between shows and for the listening day as a whole. All the while, the mantra, "We say/do what we want - we are not a sports station" was incanted to the edge of annoyance. In effect, a week long infomercial for The Freak was on offer. As a consequence I submit The Freak squandered their fugacious opportunity.
But what of the off-script content, that is, the few glimpses offered into what we'll hear in the days to come? Unlike many here, I for one was heartened. I heard a re-energized Mike Rhyner of the likes we haven't seen since the mid-oughts, a Ben & Skin, knowing this is probably their last go-round in the business, eager to show the Metroplex what they're made of; and then there's the quinumvirate of Sirois-Julie-Cavanaugh-Krystina-KT, each highly motivated to stake their claim in the business as genuine, unique talents. All of which portend something special in the making. But a portent is an indicator, not a guarantor. Many commenters have ably delineated the issues The Freak faces both internally and externally. There's no need to trod upon already well-worn paths. My hope is that The Freak will find its footing and become The Ticket's first genuine competitor, and do so in short order. Yes, I believe soon The Ticket might find its hands full. And yes, I will be listening to both stations. This is all well and good, but for any of it to come to fruition The Freak must first overcome the self-inflicted wounds of time and opportunity wasted.
It seems as if Cumulus is pulling or at least delaying all podcasts and services like u-save-it to prevent listeners from double-dipping on both stations. I guess if you listen to the Ticket they want you to do it live and not same day on the services. Interesting move. Of course, what is to keep a listener from doing the Ticket live then catching 97.1 content on the podcast? How will this help or hurt the ratings?
3:32 Anonymmouse wrote: "if I felt marginalized and unwanted by a group of people/ place of employment, I'm not going back there on the regular to hang out. I'm done with it. But that's not what Mike did. He did the opposite."
That's the first time I've heard anyone say this anywhere. I hadn't thought of it. Truer words haven't been spoken. The answer is of course you don't. No one does. That commenter stated that of all people Mike R sure as hell doesn't. That's a true statement too. There's a pretty cynical way to look at why then Mike R kept going on The Ticket if he felt this way. There'a a pretty cynical way to look at it if he doesn't feel that way too. In the end I guess what matters is if TF and Mike R are any good. No one's going to care about any of this if they are good. If they aren't then picking all of it apart probably becomes a sport. Mike R's always been my leader and I hated it when he left The Ticket. I'm happy he's back and that he seems happy to be back. But no one likes to see the flaws in their heroes. Maybe there's no flaw here. Maybe it's all explanable and in context makes sense. I hope so. I am digging what I've heard on TF.
Nice stroke, 504. I agree with all of it. They did squander that first week on unnecessary "introductions" on several of the shows, and schoolgirl ass-kissing, not just directed at Mike R, but at each other. These people LOVE each other. They're each the BEST.
There was some good content. The sports content was pretty good.
But people make up their minds fast. They're not going to listen to The Freak for weeks if they don't get to whatever it is they want to talk about, of which they will be able to unburden themselves for the first time, damned soon. And if it isn't interesting. If it's great, they'll hang. If it's just what'd-you-do-last-night chit-chat and contests and internet lists and woke political talk (none of that so far, that I heard), then no anticipation of Danny or Jake or Dan is going to save it.
I hope it does get better. I really do. I'll try to listen to this week. Freak ratings will probably be good here at the outset because people like me will be checking it out.
Jake is clearly the preeminent under 40 sports talker in the Metroplex and it isn't even close. If a smooth running machine like THZ moved over to 91.1 it's lights out for the Ticket as it will be impossible for Gordon to continue to work 3 shifts a day in perpetuity. In my opinion if THZ bails that hastens the Musers retirement.
Plainsman, some thoughts for you re: Mike’s alleged financial stake. I agree with anon402, there is no chance iHeart gave him any meaningful ownership stake in KEGL. I think it’s entirely possible that Mike’s compensation is in the form of stock grants with various tails of short, medium and long term vesting periods. It serves the purpose keep him around for a few years and might explain the “significant financial stake”…the freak and iHeart doing well means significant upside for Mike?
That's possible, but his statement wasn't that he had a "financial stake." I don't recall his exact words, but the import of his phrasing was that he was had invested a significant chunk of "my own personal fortune," OWTTE, which is a very different thing.
I agree, and have said in my comments, that he almost certainly did not make a direct financial investment either in KEGL or iHeart.
Look, I said when I tossed the idea out that he might be personally employing one or more of his colleagues at the Freak, that it was a long shot. It is -- quite unlikely. Just trying to throw out a hypothesis that is consistent with one of the many puzzling things we heard on 97.1 last week.
Of course . . . your Plainsman may not be remembering things correctly.
I admit, Mike coming out of retirement for nothing less of a brinks truck seems unlikely. But if he has a compensation package that’s mostly stock based, that’s more money to spread around to the other hosts (and potential poached hosts). It’s a tenuous theory at best, I admit.
I think Pman hit the nail on the proverbial head with, "the many puzzling things we heard on 97.1 last week." At least five other Confessors touched on this. A lot of what went down last week on 97.1 was head scratching. Like to the point of "is this one big goof?" There was zero professionalism on display. I'm not saying everything that went down was poor. It wasn't. Of course it was the sports side that made last week's highlight reels. Pretty much nothing else.
Let's see what a weekend of review and listening to voices outside the bubble do for the Freakers. Hopefully they'll tweak some things and ditch some others.
Whatever happens, so far it's been an interesting ride.
And there's the difference. That handoff between The Musers and NaD would consist of a fantastical tale of either a sasquatch or wookie or a moose and the inner turmoil it's going through, the embarrassing social situation, etc. All analogous to our little everyday travails. They would've picked the lowest hanging fruit and actually made a tasty compote out of it, whereas The Freak, still drunk from the previous night's circle j sesh / I LOVE you, no I LOVE you feel good frenzy, merely plucks that fruit, says "whatevs, I'm hungrover," and bites down hard.
Not good buddy, not good. They can't do what The Ticket can, and The Ticket chooses not to do what they do. Big. F'n. Difference.
anyone check out the latest batch of ratings courtesy of peter welpton?
pretty much par for the course except 10-12 from july thru sept.
those numbers go down, tie with the fan in aug and then are bested by the fan in sept.
let's say that slide is due to sirois leaving. if so then the freak shouldn't be an issue because he's not on b&s. b&s will most likely not be an issue and if they are, they'll most likely take listeners from the fan. but it can't be ruled out that 10-12 won't also lose some listeners to the freak too.
the maanner in which it shakes out matters little. what does is that i'll bet the farm this trend is not an anomaly. rather it's the new reality. one that will only worsen. so what does cat and bennet do about it?
hire emily jones as the 10-12 3rd, and norm's de jure replacement? bring danny back in that same role? cowlishaw? monty or someone else in-house? dunno. maybe emily makes the most sense. but will any of those hires attract scores of ears? i'm not so sure. if pressed i'd say probably not.
something needs to be done for that time-slot. better, that time slot and the whole listening day need to be reconfigured. perhaps another major or major-ish reshuffling of the deck is in order? do you pay out the rest of norm's contract and move donnie to thz and make it a 3 show programming day? not sure. that's for better minds than mine to figure out.
i'll also wager that if the next book shows real inroads made by the freak we will indeed see a substantial reaction by ticket management.
Anom 5:04 Just to put a wet blanket on the Sirois pitty party but how much time did Norm miss during that time? Between surgery or sickness or two and at least two extended vacation trips, he wasn't there. Believe it or not, he still has a large following, especially with the over-54 age group who is out of the preferred demographic. I wish the Norm hate would go away. Does he have his early 90s fastball anymore, no? Is he still entertaining? He is to a large number of D1P1s despite what the 40 and under crowd thinks. Would you quit your job with 40 years of seniority so the 15-year wonder boy can move up? Hell no you wouldn't. Seniority and contracts have privileges. Health permitting, he will be there until his contract is up in 2024.
I made sure to listen to the 3:00 Monday intro from the OGW. I have tried to listen over the past week and have my thoughts, mainly echoing everything that has been posted. However, if I get time from work obligations I will post my thoughts, observations & comments in a countdown #10 to #1. However, if I don't get this done here is my #1 observation from the OGW intro on the opening Monday.
#1 - Little sweet Jordan Claire Rhyner (the "YD", "young daughter") is engaged. Doesn't it seem like in some ways we all "watched" her grow up?
I punched in once yesterday. One of the women, not sure which one, was talking about her family. Another in the series of "introductions." I PO'd. Now I see from East Texas P1 that we're hearing about Mike R's family.
I'm sure they must be talking about something other than themselves, and that my punch-ins have been coincidental with family talk. Other than themselves, and sports, can someone advise on what other Downbeat segments have focused on?
The Norm 'n' D Invasion is, alas, a weak link in The Ticket's string of pearls. I happen to like both Donovan and Norm, so I do listen. But Norm's in-and-out, and his good days and bad days, have, I regret to say, diminished that particular product. Donnie deserves better, and I'd like to see Norm go out in a blaze of glory rather than a gradual puttering out. I'm sure Jeff Catlin has that time slot near the top of his to-do list, and I would not say that its ratings decline is the first chime in the death knell for The Ticket.
It's inevitable that The Ticket will decline in influence. Hosts are going to retire; perhaps entire shows (Dan and Jake) will decamp to another signal (I'll have more thoughts on this soon); all manner of circumstances can conspire to change the Dallas sports radio landscape. But people have been predicting the end of (1) terrestrial radio, (2) The Ticket, (3) the Hardline for as long as I've run this blog. None of those things has come to pass. While I'm doing my best to give The Freak the benefit of the doubt and try to catch some of its broadcasting (mainly Downbeat -- it's clear already I'm not going to have great interest in the style of Speakeasy and Ben & Skin, even if their substance improves), so far it's snooze-a-palooza.
It's GOT to get better. I'm about to put on the old conducting headset and go for a run and see what contest the team has running this morning.
Other than THZ migrating and/or a total reworking of the lineup (pretty much everyone sans Mike R and I guess Mike S since he's R's handpicked sidekick), this thang ain't gonna get any Freakin' better. These need to happen at the very least for things to improve, but it's only part of the equation. The core, connected, issue is as follows:
Here's the deal, Corby, if you have no directive other than "we do what we want," you had better, EVERY SINGLE HOST HAD BETTER, be hella fuccin' good at what you do. You better be wicked interesting with a lot of hot takes on pretty much everything under the sun. You better be (love him or hate him) Joe Roganesque. Compelling compelling compelling is the name of that game. So far NONE of them have even sniffed that for at most MAYBE a 1/4 of a segment, if even that, and if so only once per show. MAYBE.
The Freak needs definitive direction. It's a FREAKIN' sports station. It is. Stop saying it isn't. You go to a national sports feed when live programming ends. You will now have a Cowboys pregame show (post, too?). The ONLY segments of substance you have are sports related. 98% of your on-air talent is not only from sports media, it's what they live and breathe. This is FREAKIN' ridiculous. You don't wanna go that route? OK. You're stupid, but seeing how this thing appears to have been constructed with Elmer's Glue and cheap crafting paper a week prior to going live, let's say we go another way. Politics. Or, say, all entertainment news. Whatevs. Just have a well defined point of focus and work within and around its orbit.
Honestly, as is The Freak will not be here this time next year. Bet your stank on it. I say unless a MAJOR overhaul occurs, including talent and trajectory, this is going to be the Q-Cat of local radio, and it's going to the be end of some careers, at least in this market. Some of which that were or should've been over, some of which that were only beginning, some of which who need to find a new angle, and some of which who had no business being in the game in the first place. Just to be clear, this last claim hasn't a damn thing to do with what sort of person(s) h/she/it may or may not be or how talented they are in other areas. Only means that perhaps hosting a show or at least hosting a show under these circumstances ain't their forte. All that and regardless of what we might think (for/agin), bridges were burnt before it went live and whatever bridges were left standing then, by the end of day two those puppies too were in ashes.
I didn't understand the Corby reference, but otherwise a nice angry blast, 154. Don't see much to disagree with. They apologize for talking sports, but to date those segments have been the only worthwhile ones. The only two compelling personalities on the stations are Mike R and -- I would argue but others might disagree -- Mike S, and among the thin JV I might add that nice young Michael Gruber and I have a soft spot for Kevin Turner. The Mikes are compelling personalities, but so far they haven't authored any compelling content. As I can testify from personal experience, charm only takes you so far.
Both of the female voices sound shoehorned in. Especially, I regret to say, Julie.
I had the opportunity to punch in Ben & Skin. I heard (1) sports and (2) an internet list. PO.
Speakeasy and B&S -- do consultants advise to shriek and holler when someone makes a mildly interesting statement?
***i've only switched over during Ticket commercials over the last wk - just Morn & DriveTime - i guess it can only get better from here but wow, that Speakeasy show is just not good listening. Im a big Julie fan...but now more than ever it appears that the shows she honed her voice on (BaD/HZ) were a direct result into that thinking. As for Dropbeat - - -i got to catch Mikes list of danger fish. I really enjoyed it - more so bc his cohorts were Sirois and Machine. That was some good fun radio, but this is also coming from a DragonBrag p1. MoreMachine.
Also, I am a BIG P1 of Ed Wallace on Saturday mornings on KLIF. Last Saturday he brought up Rhyner, and when his co-hosts clearly did not understand, he explained "Mike Rhyner of the The Ticket".
The context was a caller asked if he (Ed) would come back and co-host, guest-host, etc. and Ed basically said no, once you leave you are gone, and Rhyner does not understand this.
Let's just say IMO that Ed Wallace is probably the smartest man on radio and is in our market. His last day is either this week or in just a few weeks after 30 years. Not to derail the Ticket 1310 discussion with another radio station but I think the Freq (Freak? thanks Surly) could build on this.
If I could plan on WOMM (What's on Mike's Mind) segments with Ed Wallace, Sharon Grigsby (DMN), Jim Schutze (DO), maybe Wilonsky, Caraway and others it would be a definite placeholder for me.
Thanks for the Ed W heads up. I figured he was leaving at some point sooner rather than later. Are thinking this Saturday is his last? I will catch it for sure. I used to live his show and his Inside Automotive news aggregate site. Alas he went from being a bona fide straight down the middle, the truth is the truth whether it fits your right or left narrative or not, to a dude who embodies the logical fallacy Appeal to Authority. Regardless, I hate to see him go. And regardless ofhin s late career hubris, Ed's still right about a lot of things. He's also right about Rhyner. I don't want to shit on the parade, but when this all comes to a rather ignominious end, Rhyner's legacy will literally be the old fart and fall down the ladder drop once played while he was on The Ticket.
Sorry. It is what's soon coming down. Bad decision, coach.
Thanks for the heads up on Ed Wallace. He got me through a lot of miles when I was working Saturdays in the 90s and early 2000s. He lost some of his shine in the weeks after 9/11 when KLIF had him doing noon-3 for a few weeks. I'll tune in Saturday for sure.
If TC is getting his Freak on, I'm thinking Whitt's info is once again spot on, and so, rest assured that THZ and Danny will be doing remotes from next year's Freaker's Ball.
From what I can tell, Ed's last broadcast is on Oct. 29. But I'll be tuning in every Saturday until then just in case my info is bad.
I'm an Ed P1. Like you, ETP1, I think Ed's the smartest radio personality out there, hands down. He's a bona fide autodidact to boot. And as you said, he's from here. Pretty cool. Conversely, I also have to admit that Ed's definitely altered courses throughout his wonderful, important career. Prior to 9/11 he was a staunch Texan's Texan GOP company man. After 9/11 he had a so-called "red pill" moment and became a true libertarian, questioning and critiquing the US government/the Bush Admin and did so (at first) at the cost of most of his audience. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan plodded on, listeners who vowed never to tune in again returned hat in hand, calling in to say how right Ed was and how wrong they were, moreover, his audience grew exponentially. Ed always had a contrarian streak in him, and his correct analysis of our reaction to 9/11 (both domestic and foreign) only served to bring that side of him to the fore. It was at that point he began to gravitate toward calling out hypocrisy on both sides of the political aisle, in the automotive industry, in the media, and in the energy industry. Problem with being a contrarian and an autodidact is that they both inform each other and can create an addiction of sorts. Meaning, often times such folk get caught up in gotcha games and trying to find the fatal flaw when either it doesn't exist or is much less fatal than they'd like to believe; all of which is arrived at and supported by means of a self-selected (i.e., highly slanted to preconceived notions and leanings) funnel of information (information bias, curse of the autodidact). Finally, once it became obvious Trump was a legitimate candidate, Ed's aforementioned Achilles' heels, including his tendency to clamp down on something and not let up, got the best of him. His aggregate news site/auto page, Inside Automotive, began to look like a combo platter of Drudge and HuffPo; his stories and sources soon became more tabloid than not; and everything seemed to be personal. The beauty of Ed was his Mencken-Hitchens-like eye for spotting and calling out the shills and shits of the world, and he didn't care what party or interest they represented. Sadly, that all left the building with the advent of Trump. Instead of calling out then president Trump on hypocrisy in policy and appointments and general tone, he ran story after story about his wife, Melania, or some paid for oppo shrink claiming this that or the other about Trump's psychological makeup. It ran against everything Ed had preached for 15 years (9/11 forward). Even with Trump's exit, the aggregate hasn't changed. In many ways, neither has the tone of his show, which also took a turn for the smarmy, the snarky in 2016. While I have never liked Trump (used to LOVE when back in the 90s the old Spy mag would ruthlessly lampoon him, a la "the short fingered vulgarian") and found him to be an awful, embarrassing president, I didn't understand Ed's attraction to the lowest hanging fruit and, again, was hoping with his exit so too would Ed's jaws loosen their grip and he'd get back to doing what he does best. But no.
Regardless, I love the man and will miss him awfully. We will never again see the likes of him over the airwaves. That type of media figure is mostly gone, the few left, like Ed, are now leaving the stage and soon none will remain, never to be replaced.
Stay hard, Ed. Keep jammin' and we'll see ya.
P.S. He's correct about Rhyner. Unfortunately, Rhyner's going to learn this lesson the painful way.
Pre-emptive comment: I'm happy to have reminiscences of Ed Wallace. I'm not familiar with him but obviously many of you are and have a fondness for at least some portion of his output.
I'm going to leave 234's testimonial up, but please, I beg each of you, no commentary on the pros and cons of Ed's (and 234's) political and cultural positions, although if you want to remark on Ed's intellectual journey, that's OK.
2:34 here. Thanks for leaving the comment up. I wasn't trying to go down that road, but rather, spell out his public (and obviously private, too) journey. Probably shouldn't have thrown in my own opinion about 45ths tenure and cut of jib.
I have been travelling this week, lots of opportunity to drive and listen. I like and respect Rhyner. Sirois, Meh. I really like Grubes, so I try to listen in and deal with it. Next to Big Strong, Grubes is the best on the board. Unfortunately, right now, he has a small selection of drops with which to work his magic, I think that is a big obstacle.
B&S are worth a listen during basketball season. While I really like Norm personally, I agree with the above comment, it's time. You guys are right, Cat needs to be on his game right now. The midday lineup needs help. I have found myself liking the B&S show.
Speakeasy, not good. I really like Julie, but I think she is in a bad spot. And, I will always be a Musers P1, until their contracts run out and they retire.
I am not a D1P1, I got here in late '99. Did the Ticket have chemistry at first? I know the history and the names that have left, but I am just curious if it needs time to develop, or if it is not worth it.
I will say this.... for a cast that continues to harp on "We say what we want", I haven't heard ANYTHING different than what I have the last 22 or so years on the ticket. I doubt seriously if they could have a "Gay or not gay" segment. I haven't heard anything close to baby-arm. They may think they can say what they want, but they can't.
Final thought, the constant positivity, and Woodstock lovefest for each other is old already. It almost makes me think there have been several internal blow-ups at the Ticket probably over several years that led to this. They all act butt-hurt over some event. I know MS and Julie left because of money, but something else had to happen. I know people have left over the years, hosts and JVers. But I don't recall an exodus like Jer, Julie, the Mikes and Danny, not within that time period.
Fortunately, I have the Sorts Day App, which works sometimes, so I can listen to the Freak on occasion and then catch up, but I think it has lost its shine already.
I tend to agree some about lost its shine already some...felt like last week it was the biggest thing ever, to now it just being some other station in Dallas that's not the ticket. If the Hangzone actually goes over, that would be a big deal, but I also could see that rumor just being for the HZ to get a better contract. Danny going over would also be pretty big I suppose, but he seems to still be pretty close with the ticket guys as of now.
Wow IJB 902 is a doozy. TC unloads on Corby at about the 44 minute mark. Didn't think of it at the time but that really was some classless bullying Corby was doing when TC was an unpaid intern. TC talked about Corby going around asking people if a picture of TC looked like a lesbian. It was clear that stuff really hurt TC but he played along for a while. Corby's frat boy antics amazingly didn't land him any hot water. Also goes off on Corby's rant about Rhyner in the DMN.
Main takeaway from two weeks of The Freak is that they seem like they're trying to convince themselves, each other, and anyone that'll listen of the following things:
[a] How incredibly free they are to do whatever they please and how much they've been held back by former employers. So much so, that for the first time in their professional lives they are actually set up to succeed.
[b] What incredibly talented, funny, smart, supportive, and most importantly good, as in morally upright each other are and how that wasn't necessarily the case with either/or management and fellow employees at their former stops.
[c] That this format is singular, one might say even pathbreaking, and is in no way, shape or form a sports talk station, and nor can it be (much less should be) compared to with The Ticket.
What also has kind of surprised me is that week two was a carbon copy of week one. Which makes me think that's their modus operandi. If so, I will agree that The Freak is singular in that I've never encountered a more confusing station in all my considerable years of listening to radio. The show names seem to designate bracketed off time-slots where a certain group of hosts will always be present, but the show itself will never be reflective of those hosts' personalities. Rather, the base hosts are each day joined by others for the entirety of the show. The guest hosts often take over the show to the point you have to remind yourself it's actually the base hosts' program. It all comes off as planned spontaneity. Despite their insistence of how sweet their new found freedom is, the whole thing seems canned. From the almost comical over laughter to every segment being goofily named, to the now obvious, purposive manufacturing of old Ticket drops for themselves. For example, Mike twice this week gave Grubes a classic drop: "Pong" and "I love the Rangers." Both times involved a long winded and winding set up by Sirois, with "Pong" coming from one of the already countless game show/quiz/guessing game segments. In both cases the lead up to the drop was obvious to the point of being a painful listen. Mike even said them in the exact same tone of voice and cadence. It was bad and it was a perfect reflection of the 1st two weeks on air. As the kids say, it's cringe. Thus far The Freak (that is, its hosts) are cringe.
Then there's The Ticket ex-pats; the ones that have been on The Freak, the ones about to be on The Freak, and the ones that reportedly will be on The Freak.
I listened a lot the first week, not as much the second. It occurs to me that what we are dealing with here is a cult of personality. Take the OGW out of the mix and what have you got? Let's say everything else is the same except for Mike R. and in his place (for the sake of argument) is Danny. Does this cause anywhere near the ruckus that was caused two weeks ago? In fact, the whole deal probably doesn't go down without Rhyner (blinding flash of the obvious). I want the Freak to succeed because I think the competition will make the Ticket better. But the Freak goes however Mike goes.
Boy, I remember that really nasty Corby "young man or aging lesbian" remark about some photograph of TC. Appalling. I am more or less a Corby defender, but that one should have earned him a suspension. TC wasn't everyone's favorite at The Ticket, and he's had some choice words for it in years since (and he really loathes MTC), but he absolutely did not deserve that.
I have not listened to the "It's Just Banter" in question. I'm wondering if its yanking has something to do with TC's reported upcoming weekend show on The Freak, management perhaps not wishing to start some kind of pissing match with The Ticket that only draws attention to the latter and tends to measure them the same way.
So I'm thinking maybe it's "We Say What We Want, Unless We're Prospective Weekend Hosts Saying Things on Our Own Time."
I thought I'd be able to listen to more of The Freak this week, but couldn't. Surprised it didn't take a leap forward, topics wise.
I said a few comments ago that I got the feeling that The Freak is kind of a nostalgia act, and it's seeming more and more that way.
You can find the IJB episode on Apple. As far as reddit goes, it's about the same as here. In fact, there's a lot of new Ticket related threads thrown up that have zero or 1-3 comments. The Freq stuff other than the TC announcement earlier this week has pretty much died off. Even the TC thing fizzled out after a day or two.
I'm in gagreeance with everyone saying The Freq's buzz is already gone and that past the initial WTF I can't believe it's happening it doesn't seem to be built for the long haul. If The Freq goes as Rhyner goes then for sure it's not going far. He seems to be already back in his late days Hardline form.
Here's the analysis I threatened you all with earlier today. (Thanks for the kind words, Plainsman.)
First off, to answer Scott's query (I am a D1P1), yes they had chemistry and in spades. Was it a polished product? No. That took some time. But understand they truly were trailblazing. Not just in this market, but in the industry. They were combining one part WFAN / Mike and The Mad Dog and one part Howard Stern Show (all Tristate area phenoms) but keeping it local-centric both in tone and content. It was a risk. It was ballsy. Everyone said it would fail. We all know what happened. Whether he truly deserves all of it or not, Rhyner got and still gets all of the credit for making it happen. The truth of that is not so cut and dry but that's for another time. Back to Scott's question and regardless of the above, The Musers, Gordon (who was not a Muser then), and The Hardline all had that rare, ever elusive "it factor." They were funny, unafraid to speak their minds and speak out against / criticize area media luminaries, knowledgeable, and had a local, wholly relatable manner of communication. In short, they were compelling and you couldn't turn the dial. From damn near day one Mike, Greggo, Craig, George, and Gordo were must-hear --I don't care if I'm late I'm not leaving my car until Rhynes finishes his thoughts on Kenny Rogers' a-hole behavior-- radio. Onto my armchair analysis.
While The Freak has Mike Rhyner as its anchor, alas, it does not possess that almost inexpressible, you just know it when you know it, "it factor." Far from it, actually. This much was said in my previous comment so there's no reason to elaborate any further. So what of The Ticket ex-pats (present, hours away from airing, and rumored) involved?
Knowns: (While B&S and KT were Ticket employees at one time, I don't include them here because their tenures were many years ago, brief, and are best known for their work outside the nurturning biosphere.)
[Mike Rhyner] His opening salvo on day one made my arm hair stand on end. I was transported back to '96. My heart was saying, "holy s, my leader is back!" By the third segment my head soberly admitted, "this is going to be no different than the last 6 years of The Hard Line and any of the podcasts he's done since leaving." Which is to say Mike should never have come out of retirement. At least not to do this with this assembly of talent, with this particular cohost, and within this devil-may-care (silly) format. There is a lot more I could say here but won't out of respect for Mike.
[Mike Sirois] I've always been agnostic on Sirois. Never understood the near fanatical allegiance to him so many (at least on-line) have, and yet I also never understood the severe criticism he receives (at least on-line) by some. I do think the jury is out on whether he's genuine host material. So far he's shown that he's not. In some ways I think his issue is that he tries too hard to be creative, funny, to be supremely interesting. And so far he's played more the role of producer, as facilitator for Mike than actual cohost. Perhaps he'll get better. Right now he's not a good host or at least not really even a host. Frankly, I think he and Mike are a poor pairing. Mike needs someone somewhat closer in age (at least mid-late 50s) and someone who will challenge him, and not kiss up to, fawn over, and cater to him. Mike needs an equal. Sirois is not that. Consequently and regrettably, I don't believe The Downbeat will fare well in the mid to long run.
[Julie Dobbs] Julie is not yet ready to be a host. As much as Sirois needs work, Julie needs even more. I do believe she could one day be a real talent, that it's in her. But not yet. However, being a host on a top 5 market a.m drive show (every show, really) is not the place to cut one's teeth and learn the craft. There are other female voices in the area that are far better prepared and able. Emily Jones, Gina Miller, Dana Larsen, Sam Ganon come to mind. As I said, I believe she has the potential to be a compelling talent, but I'm afraid that unless she's a speed learner her time on The Freak is already borrowed.
[TC Fleming] TC is a very small lightening rod and will garner enough ears (at least at first) to justify his presence. If his sole role is to cohost a show on Saturday afternoons, I think he'll do fine. That is unless he begins to let his ego and related bad judgment get the best of his tongue. If IJB is an indicator, then I'n not sure he'll be able to control himself.
Rumored Future Acquisitions:
[Danny Balis] I don't see this happening. But if it does, then I hope he's paired with Mike and that Sirois is moved to mornings, where he probably should be.
[Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell] This is a tough call. Dan is a contrarian who seems to enjoy fighting against "the man." Jake too appears to love standing up to "the man." The problem is, iHeart is a much larger and more powerful "man" than Cumulus. Jake has a toddler and a newborn. Dan, two college students. Both need stability (job and income). Will iHeart make an offer they can't refuse? If so, what's the odds The Freak will be around in 2 - 3 years? The Hang Zone is the up and coming the signature show of The Ticket. When The Musers retire (which will happen sooner rather than later), would they not be the ideal show for that important slot? If The Hardline is broken up, would that not also be ideal for them? There are some in-the-know folks out there who tell me The Ticket will soon have a rather seismic shakeup. If true, might it pertain to reformatting the show schedule? And if so, I would have to think The Hang Zone would be moved to a prime slot. I don't see them heading off for The Freak. Too much to potentially lose and for minimum gain.
One final thing. I sometimes get the sense that The Freak was conceived, sold to iHeart, assembled (talent), and really, built upon the extremely loud vocal minority that is social media.
The reenergizing of the mothership tells me they view the freak as a viable threat. Maybe that’s squarely Rhyner related or perhaps due to those who “got away”
I’ve enjoyed both products and have found that another option makes the mundane day tolerable
Not sure how much more explicit I could've been: "Start listening with 11-12 minutes remaining. Interesting between the lines stuff here from Gordon regarding The Freak, but really it's about Rhyner."
In other words, Gordo is discussing his feelings about The Freak and especially Rhyner's decision to go that route. Isn't that relevant enough? Do you want a transcription? If so, you're asking far too much from your audience.
RIP, Country Force. Eli's going to The Tee Box where he, Rosen Rosen, and Rick will do a mix and match depending on who's available that weekend. Ty is done with weekend programming and will spend more time with his family. I also noticed The Kick Around was on much earlier today. Didn't catch the explanation, if it's permanent, or whathaveyounot. Little changes seem to be afoot at The Mothership. Often times little changes precede big ones. I have a feeling sometime after the first book with The Freak comes in we'll see a seismic reshuffling. One on a par with the aftermath of Mike R's leaving. I'm thinking along the lines of what happened very early on. That is, THL moved to pm drive from mid-mornings, while The Musers migrated from middays to am drive. Well, there's no way The Musers are moving. They're a juggernaut and nothing The Freak is throwing up is in any way a threat. Pm drive, possibly a different story. I would have to think Cat & Co. are worried Whitt's latest radio rumor also has legs and do not want to lose either Hang Zoners. THZ is the only show on The Ticket that consistently grabs the ear of the younger demo. As much as I don't care to admit it, THL, even with Davey, is no longer must-hear radio. Hasn't been for years now. That means long before Mike R left. It's hung in there because it hasn't had a lick of competition since the heyday of The Russ Martin Show. That was ages ago. Well, now THL very well might have genuine competition. Truth be told, if The DownBeat can settle down and settle into a groove, I think THL will quickly become #2. #2 in the sense that The FAN is #2. A no shot in hell at #1, #2. How to combat this? Better, how to head it off at the pass before it occurs? Time slot swap. THZ to pm drive, THL to middays. It makes almost too much sense. You keep THZ from bolting, go head to head with TDB with a tandem that can out guy and sports talk them and thus retain that #1 status, and you make middays more what they ought to be, sportsy but with a touch of edge (Davey). Right now it's the other way around and I'm not sure it works. Yes the ratings say otherwise, but again there's zero competition. Until now. And let's be honest here, the only time slot we're talking about is pm drive. The rest of The Freak lineup is a non-starter. It's kind of shocking an iHeart station would change formats in the 5th largest market and assemble this group of on air talent. No offense to any of them, but Mike R is the only known commodity outside a narrow demo. And the name of the game for iHeart is to garner listeners from all points, not just men 24-54 or thereabouts.
344/419, my point is: Telling us how to find a podcast we won't listen to doesn't tell us anything. Let me be more specific -- I personally don't have the time to listen to it; perhaps every other Confessor encountering your comment does.
So, 344, here's how much more explicit you could have been, upon which you did not elaborate at 419:
What did Gordon say "regarding the Freak"?
What did Gordon say "about Rhyner"?
What were Gordon's "feelings about The Freak"?
What were Gordon's feeling about "Rhyner's decision to go that route."
It's not a question of relevance. It's a question of content.
Sorry to crank at you 344/419, but I frequently have to ask Confessors to reprise for readers the content they're commenting on, when, for example, they post, "Did you hear X twist of on Y in WTDS?"
Seriously though. I pointed to the URL and the specific subject matter at hand so those who are interested can check it out. That's enough. It's not like a 2 minute part of a rando segment in a 4 hour show, it's a podcast where you can go right to the topic in question. I even give a ballpark timestamp that has a minute or two cushion. Pretty easy stuff and made for quick consumption, I'd say. So yeah, not doing it. Sorry. Love the site, dig you. But no.
Good Gravy, anon is being such a little b about it. So I’ll tell you.
Gordon pretty much says that as a listener it’s great that there’s now the freak. It’s good to have options. But for him, there’s complicated feelings, because it’s former ticket employees that are starting it. He says it’s weird and strange that Mike did what he did. He would have loved for Mike to be doing it back with the Ticket, as opposed to the Freak.
'Course now a OTR licensed trucker's no longer drivin' her life away. Far from it. S/He/It/Self-Identifying Polyamorous Silverfish is raking in serious bank. Which is more than fine by me. Those carbon-based life forms more than earn their keep. Fuck yeah, Brenda! LET'S GO!
Men and women, all I'm asking is that you take a few extra moments to make your comments meaningful to readers without them having to leave the site, do homework, download apps, watch videos, listen to podcasts, or put up a post asking "what did so-and-so say?" on the Ticket segment one has referred to without describing its content.
I try to keep this place an easy and enjoyable destination, and while posting links (which, of course, don't work in Blogger) is entirely permissible, and while it's even OK to post unexplained links and references, it's just better if you unpack what drew your attention, even though many Confessors may already know to what you are referring. Many more, likely, will not, including Your Plainsman.
I'll be honest, I don't really get what The Freak is, regardless of how it's being billed. I also don't really get Rhyner doing all this. I'm also not sure if it's any good. So far, so meh. But I will say that it's good to have options and that maybe The Freak will improve to the point that it's a genuine option to The Ticket when things over there are bogging or uninteresting or just annoying.
I’ve been a P1 for about 12 years. It appears I’m in the minority but I’ve really enjoyed the 2 Mike’s on the Freak. The only time I have switched over to the Hatdline the last 2 weeks is to hear Joel Klatt. I do feel like Sirois kisses Rhyner’s ass too much, but I feel like that could change over time after the newness runs off. Them having a guest host everyday really feels like they are biding time until their 3rd host gets there. I don’t think Sirois would sign on to do a show with Rhyner without a 3rd voice. He knows that Mike can check out at anytime. Sirois is close to Corby and has most likely heard him complain about that for a long time.
I don’t hate the trio in the morning, but let’s be honest…there is no one in the entire metroplex they could get for me to switch over from the Musers.
Haven’t heard 1 second of Ben and Skin. Which is unfortunate because I like Kristina. But those 2 are an absolute nut kick. They are like cockroaches…they just keep on keeping on.
The few times I've listened in to The Speakeasy lately I'm noticing that Julie is just reading from news stories rather than using her own words and telling a story and giving color. It's very unnatural.
@ Surly, all the shows seem to be doing that, which was part and partial of the Treehouse. Given that they let those guys go it seems strange that they seem to be following the format of that show all across the station.
Cat has a keen eye for talent (the haves and the have nots).
All you Sirois and Julie fanboys out there still convinced? Dunno. I'm sure not seeing the breathless fawning like we did. No "see! see how Cat f'd up! They're brilliant! Just needed a chance and a Living Wage!" No, you're not. Partner chemistry is one thing. Yes, that can take some time to build, to gel. Individual display of having the goods either manifests at first blush or it does not. Sorry. It's true. No disrespect to either S or J. But you wanna be square in the public eye for public consumption and in turn to earn money for delivering the goods to the public, then it goes both ways. The public has a right to say, "eh" and "meh" and "just not good enough, buddy." Nothing personal. And no personal attack, either. That's when the public goes too far. It's just business.
They’ll drop the talk talk format for all sports at the end of next summer before the start of Cowboys season. Ratings books will be grim. Maybe they’ll be smart and keep their shows around past the first week of December and get some ears away from WIP, Last Resort, Eli & [insert 2 cohosts] and get a decent book to close the year. Otherwise, where are they getting share from the littlest one or 105.3 during Cowboys season? Further, will the iHeart suits give an eff about a dead cat bounce in a month that doesn’t matter for ratings? I have no doubt Mike R will fight to keep the original lineups in place for as long as he can, but to me, it’s pretty evident that disorganized, rudderless format + middling personalities will have the freakers solidly in third place. Cue the iHeart execs in July/August 2023 shaking it up, going to all sports, trying to displace the Fan as second banana.
I think it speaks volumes that Danny, who left The Ticket because of a lack of opportunity to move up (host) and the salary that comes along with it, gave a flat "no" to not only The Freak but also to any interview pertaining to either The Freak or Mike R. If Julie and Sirois and KT were offered host positions, I can only imagine Danny either was or would've been if interested. The way Mike himself said "No" in the D-Mag pod said so much. It said Danny had been asked andnot only wasn't interested, but wanted nothing to do with it. If you leave X for Y reason and are subsequently offered A that is another iteration of X but without Y, why would you not take it? The answer, to me, is rather evident. When on Gordon's Twitch stream, Danny was explicit about his deep friendship with both Corby and Gordon, as well as his respect for the other Ticket guys. For those not around when Danny began working there, he got the job by basically sending in original theme songs, bit songs, being a regular caller, going to remotes, and generally being a rabid, obsessive P1 who was so ubiquitous (known then as Danny in Lake Highlands), that he got himself hired and the rest is history. In other words, Danny absolutely loves The Ticket. Not just Mike R, but the whole Ticket ethos, modus, and that certain ineffable quality that is The Ticket. And while yes Mike R brought it all together and instilled into them the bunker mentality and gave the whole thing an edge (hard to imagine that these days, edgy Mike), The Ticket is far more than Mike. Danny knows this in his bones and will not go against the thing he loves. Yes he left. But it had to do with corporate structure, not The Ticket qua The Ticket. One more thing. A thread or two ago someone said don't be so sure everyone at The Ticket worshipped Mike. I do wonder. Those "no's" by both Danny and Mike might very well have legs.
ReplyDeleteTicket ought to make a play for Emily Jones. She's the real deal. Genuine host material.
ReplyDeleteEmily made a Freak promo video clip. Don't be so sure she wants anything to do with The Ticket.
ReplyDeleteI would not be surprised if Emily ends up as the 3rd voice on The Downbeat
ReplyDeleteI like Emily Jones, probably more than Julie too just based off of what I heard on their podcast. If Emily Jones was added to the downbeat, i'd be more interested I think. I live out of state now, and only listen through the sportsday app. I'm probably never gonna mess with switching between the ticket and the freak just because it's annoying. If I lived in DFW still, I may do that during ticket commercials or whatever. I wonder how many P1's listen via the app, whether they're in DFW or somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteBack in the day, i'd switch between the hardline and russ martin quite regularly.
There was a great segment yesterday on The Downbeat: Mike R's story of the time he played air hockey with Robert Plant. He spun the story out masterfully and amusingly. I don't know if there are enough stories in his bag to supply the content needs of the show, but it was a good listen.
ReplyDeleteWhy are they ensuring that The Downbeat has these (temporary?) female voices.
I hope the Sirois/Krystina thing doesn't turn into a Whitt/Sybil icky thing.
I don't know what Emily Jones does or doesn't want -- she recently did a spot on The Ticket -- but I do know that The Freak is collecting testimonials from all kinds of people who don't know anything about it. I haven't seen it, but apparently there's something with, of all people, Ben Stiller. And a bunch of others who are unlikely to spend much time listening to 97.1.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a Dallas sports figure deciding on whether to hook up with The Freak, I'd give it a good, long look to make sure it was going to make a go of it. It will be a while before we see enough ratings books to know if the self-proclaimed Freak revolution is going to stick.
According to Richie Whitt's new post today, it is rumored that Danny IS going to join The Freak once his non-compete expires. And now The Hangzone is considering joining once their contract is up in 2023. Whitt says it is the same source that leaked The original Freak news so strong chance this is also true. I guess iHeart has a ton of money to hand out just like LIV Golf.
ReplyDeleteMr. Plainsman:
ReplyDeleteRegarding your trivia challenge of October 3, 2022 at 6:05 PM, I believe you are referencing Basil Fawlty asking Ronald what shape of chip be would like before going on a rant of the merits of freshly-made mayonnaise vs. Salad Cream.
Anon 10:29: Not disputing this info, but one question. Why would Danny have to wait out a non-compete when Mike Sirois obviously did not wait out any kind of a non-compete?
ReplyDeleteBoth held the same title, Producer. I imagine contracts could've been negotiated differently, but it seems a reasonable assumption they were employed with very similar contracts.
Also, interesting to note that Julie as a ticker person (an on-air role), didn't wait out a non-compete either.
This seems to point more toward Danny not having any interest in joining his former colleagues at the Freak.
P1Rick, you are correct.
ReplyDeleteIf you will email me your address, I'll find some swell prize to send you.
Email is: ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLoSy7pVkOA
If the Freak can avoid 'Junk for Joy' spots & JJT spouting off about how SOTA makes him 'sexy', I would appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the air hockey story, to me, it was Mike R. at this storytelling best. I have also enjoyed Grubes, and not just for old-time's sake but for his input. He seems like he has matured quite a bit and is more sure of himself. There are elements at the Freak I really like. I fear they will run out of content steam without sports to lean on. There are only so many Robert Plant stories you go back to before you have nothing left.
ReplyDeleteMike told that story on The Ticket many years ago. I will say so far the sports conent on all shows has been good to very good.
ReplyDeleteMike has told that story numerous times. He repeats the same stories yearly.
ReplyDeleteHere's Whitt's tidbit:
ReplyDelete*Remember that radio industry source that whispered to me that Mike Rhyner was coming out of retirement and then it … happened? Well, same source says the roster shuffling isn’t over. First of all, I’m told that long-time Ticket producer Danny Balis will join The Freak once his non-compete clause expires. Pretty common sensical to connect those dots. But, bigger and more surprising, Ticket midday Hang Zone hosts Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell are seriously considering bolting for The Freak in early 2023. Again, I won’t believe it until I hear it, but …
Dear Mike Sirois, stop sounding like you're trying to convince yourself, Rhyner, and everyone around you how "awesome" this all is. As Rhyner used to say to Nickie Granville, "just do the cars." Well, Sirois, "just do the show."
ReplyDeleteOne week in the books. 7-3 is a mixed bag of mediocrity. Julie needs A LOT of work. KT needs A LOT of work. Krystina needs some work. Sirois needs to stop playing producer and stop blowing smoke up Mike's wrinkled ass and start finding his voice. I mean HIS voice. That entails substance, not 'member berries of partying and stupid Q&A segments and rankings and guessing games. It's spike through me head inducing. This issue is pervasive. Oh yes, stop referring to your girlfriend as "the lovely..." All three shows fill more time than not with such crapola. Mike does sound re-energized. It's real nice to hear. When he's engaged and feeling it, he's flat out special. Is he all that yet, no, but he's moving that way. Let's see where he is come March. I do wish he'd take control of the show more in lieu of Mike. But maybe that's what he wants. That is to shepherd Mike into being a true #1 and not a goodtime guy everybody's favorite uncle. Two pot stories in one day is too much. It's not edgy, OGW. Then again they can SAY ANYTHING! It was fitting that the final words of the final segment of the first week consisted of some world class ass kissing. A perfect bookend.
If they can solidify TDB lineup (stop with the guest hosts already), whatever that's going to be, and I hope it does involve Danny or Emily Jones. they are going to be a serious threat to THL's ratings dominance. If that lineup is put together right and keeps improving and most importanly if Rhyner continues to be engaged, THL will find itself firmly, decidedly in 2nd place. If THZ is contemplating a move (begrudgingly I can no longer dismiss out of hand RW's reporting) and it happens and they become the morning show (probably adding TC to the mix), The Musers too are in for some healthy competition. Very healthy competition, indeed. If I'm The Ticket while I'm not yet panicking, I'm damn sure doing a thoroughgoing autopsy on what the fuck just happened, carefully analyzing is what is happening and rumored to be happening, and figuring out a way to keep what it is I have and how to make it better. Cats get fat. Don't be a fat ass, Cat. Fix this shit or lose it.
So Anonymous = Sirois. Richie Whitt's source = Mike Sirois. I'd bet the farm of The Hang Zone getting its Freak on.
ReplyDeletePART 1:
ReplyDeleteI've been mulling over the Richie Whitt scoop, if it may be thus characterized.
(1) Richie does have good sources. I'm going to credit that the rumblings he's reporting are out there in one form or another. When mid-2023 rolls around, we may be kicking ourselves -- I suppose I should speak for myself -- that his information had us rubbing our chins in October 2022.
(2) Let's assume that both of those things happen -- Danny signing on, and Dan and Jake sliding over to The Freak.
(3) What is Danny going to do? He's not going to be a producer. I don't see him signing on as less than a host, just as Mike S did not. And he's a talented broadcaster. He belongs in one of the Big Chairs.
(4) If so, where do you put him? Let's start with the current lineup as currently constituted. The Speakeasy? No. Ben and Skin? No. His only home is with The Downbeat. Again, we're talking about the current lineup. So I want you to think about a Mike, Mike, and Danny show. Danny is NOT going to sign on to the lollilpops-and-roses tone of the show as we've come to hear it in its first week. (Theater of the Mind: Imagine Danny in Mike S's seat this first week.) Now maybe that show will get a harder edge as time goes by where Danny could fit in as a third host, especially if they don't force feed us Julie and Krystina, but three cynical and sometimes-cranky hosts in PM drive? With Danny being able to take it or leave it (I credit his statements that he's doing just fine without radio)? You absolutely know what that will turn into: Two talented broadcasters battling for mic time, with Mike R increasingly -- well, "marginalized." Sound familiar?
(5) So now let's change our assumption and add in Jake and Dan. I don't know when their contracts are up, if they are up about the same time, or anything else. But whenever they're up, they will have their own noncompetes to deal with. Seems like we're all guessing six months, and that's a pretty good guess. So if their contracts aren't up for several months yet, at least, seems like we're talking about something on the order of a year before The Hang Zone, or any part of it, could take the leap.
(5.5) How about Jake without Dan? Now that would create some interesting permutations.
PART 2:
ReplyDelete(6) But let's put THAT aside, too, and assume that Dan and Jake are available for poaching. The logical guess is for The Freak to shift to a four-show format, with Dan and Jake more or less moving their scene intact. AM Drive? Might work, the Hang Zone is a very credible show and Jake is, in my judgment, a Dallas radio star. In fact, it would be hard for Dan and Jake to leave one midday-slot for another, frying pan/fire. But what do you with The Speakeasy? Remember, The Ticket's lineup has a two-hour show with Norm and D. You gonna marginalize The Speakeasy there in a short pre-midday show? Or cut Jake and Dan off at 9 AM? Take a slice out of Ben & Skin? Maybe the latter makes more sense. But moving The Speakeasy into the Death Valley of mid-mornings will not be a good look for Julie, who they're heavily promoting. In fact, they're spotlighting both Julie and Krystina, neither of whom would fit comfortably with Danny/Dan -- Jake, maybe.
(7) And what about Ben & Skin? These guys have been SO all in with The Freak's new mythology, I just don't see them being asked to change much, other than perhaps their hours. They're founders -- they just can't be dumped.
(8) Recall that we're not entirely sure what to do with Danny. Does he join Dan and Jake as a third host? Anyone seeing that? Me neither. Leave Dan behind and poach Jake to pair with Danny? Hmmm.
Before I get too granular here (too late!), I'm thinking that Richie's info, if correct, will, at a minimum, mean that (assuming it lasts in its present form until Jake and Dan are free) The Freak will have to blow up its current schedule something fierce. Which, if it has succeeded in the meantime as it promises to do, will not be easy. And if it has not succeeded in the meantime, its current promise of a Dallas radio revolution will not have been kept.
None of this will mean a thing until we've seen at least four or five ratings books.
Too much talent, Not enough bandwidth in a medium whose obits continue to be written.
Have a fine weekend, Confessors, in this Brave New Age of Dallas Radio.
You weren't around for The Ticket's early days. Skip Bayliss, Curt Menafee, Chuck Cooperstein, The Musers, and The Hardline. Neither THL nor DnM were in their final time slots. Gordo was not a Muser. He worked on Skip's show and in fact did equal amounts if not more for THL in the early days than DnM. So, as far as TF goes, as So Anon (Sirois) has dropped in these comboxes many times, "everything is possible." And it is. As regards Danny, he would fit in perfectly with TDB. Sirois needs someone keeping him honest. Right now no one, including Mike, is able/going to do that. As loosey goosey and relaxed as he is with language ('soosh' for 'sushi' and the likes), he's actually a ball of nervous energy that needs to slow his roll more often than not. That's why he over does the fawning (be it Mike or in earlier days, Norm or as he did on Gordon's stream--which, Gordo would remain silent never returning the smooches) and in so many ways is every bit as Superlative Corby as Corby is. If you don't think so, you'll see. Just give it a month. You're going to get a big dose of Mr. Sirois. I think he could be greatness. But he needs roping in. Danny is ideal for this. Danny will also bring the Rhyner out of Mike. Rhyner was radio gold. Mike's happy to watch the wheels go round and round.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for Cavanaugh, KT, and probably Krystina and maybe but doubtfully Julie, they're most likely going to end up as canon fodder. B&S will survive like they always do. I say this because, regardless of all the "there's never been a station like this, ever in ever" talk, it's an iHeart station, it's a HUGE corp. and that means they demand results. The morning show will not get the minimum numbers required and will be reformulated (Hiya, HZ). The morning show is expendable. Harsh to say, I agree, hut that's how business go. B&S too will probably be reworked. They'll stay on but will have a 3rd added. They will also go heavy Mavs and local sports. Ditto THZ as morning drive -- they'll basically be a Musers clone whose humor leans more toward the Rant side of things.
I don't know a thing about anyone's NCs, but if their contract is up, does a NC mean a thing?
If it's not a sports station then why do they go to a national over night sports feed? Nothing makes much sense so far. Lots of conflicting messages.
ReplyDelete1041: Some good hard-nosed points.
ReplyDeleteYes, noncompetes mean something when an employment contract expires -- depending, of course, on the terms of the noncompete. Typically, they provide that an employee can't compete while employed and for some period of time thereafter. The length of time, and the geographic scope, cannot be unreasonable. In the case of employees who enter into contracts that are not part of a buyout of a company (i.e., where founders may be given employment contracts after they sell out), that period of time almost never exceeds a year, and six months would be fairly typical, especially for non-executives.
Let's be honest - The Ticket is in its last days metaphorically speaking:
ReplyDelete- THZ will leave for the Freak
- The Musers will retire within 2 years
- Sturm (a sports talking superstar) will turn his attention to a national stage
- Corby will join a local FM station and become a local well known DJ spinning hits and doing a brand of friendly FM talk ala Kid Kraddick
- no amount of outside "talent" or Tier 2's moving up will fix the Ticket when THZ departs starting the station's cascading descent into death
RIP The Ticket 1994-2024 Gone but not forgotten
@1126
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda there with you. So far the Saturday shows are local sports intensive. The overnight programming was a national sports feed. As someone else pointed out, most of the show content that wasn't some sort of game or get to know __ was sports related. The news update returns from breaks are basically Tickers with a general news item tossed in. In light of all that I'm not sure how The Freak is different from The Ticket? My guess is that going forward it will only become more like The Ticket. If Danny and The Hang Zone or anyone else from The Ticket go over to The Freak, for all intents and purposes wouldn't The Freak at that point be a carbon copy of The Ticket? It's weird. The whole thing is weird. Tbh it has an odd smell to it. There's something off about the narrative of its genesis. I have a feeling that in fairly short order some light is going to be shed and certain reputations are going to be tarnished in the eyes of many. Before you think I'm talking about The Freak side of things, think again. It very well could be The Ticket side that ends up looking bad. Could go either way. But again, there's something off here. Does anyone else get this sense?
@1:31 PM
ReplyDeleteI kind of agree with you. I was really taken aback by Corby's comments to the DMN saying Mike had burned bridges as if he owed Corby anything.
Not sure what Corby meant. I would think it pertained to decades long relationships and Mike's numerous Ticket appearances and acting like he was still s brother in arms when at the very least his last two months of appearances were while he was working out The Freak deal. That, to me, us rather underhanded. Moreover, if I felt marginalized and unwanted by a group of people/ place of employment, I'm not going back there on the regular to hang out. I'm done with it. But that's not what Mike did. He did the opposite. Wer're ralking about Mike Rhyner here. He does what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. The whole marginalized story fiesn't add up. Period.
ReplyDelete^^^^^^ same Anon here.
ReplyDeleteThe math doesn't work on this. The timeframes given by Freakers only sometimes line up, the frequent (mostly by Sirois) claims of "good people doing this," Mike's above mentioned from seemingly out of nowhere marginalized/unwanted story -he tells a different make nice version in the 2nd DMN interview, only to revert to the marginalized bit during Tuesday's show, to the station's already repeated ad nauseam and we're only through week 1 mottos of "we can say and do whatever we want and we're not a sports station" and "isn't this the most funnest of fun you've ever had?! did you ever think this much fun and freedom was ever possible?!," shit don't vibe right. I also have a hunch Sirois' involvement in making The Freak happen/getting Mike aboard is far deeper than we know. Not saying that is a bad thing, at all. Just saying I believe he was instrumental in both the formulating the concept and getting it off the ground. A Sirois Industry production. The whole mien of The Freak has his prints all over it. But as I said, it doesn't necessarily mean it's solely a Freakers' issue. There's another side to this. If Danny, much less The Hang Zone joins up, then I think the spotlight points squarely onto The Ticket. And I'll bet it goes from some of the on-air talent (some, not all) up to Cat and Bennett, and all the way up to the CTOs. If so, then once Danny (and especially Dan and Jake) get their Freak on I'll bet answers will be revealed.
^^^^^Same Anon
ReplyDeleteHowever it all shakes out I'm hoping it results in two kick ass stations going head to head. That'll bring out the best in everyone and we listener win. I want my allegiances to be conflicted. Whatever and why this all happened is fascinating, but the fact is The Ticket has gotten lazy and has been idling for years now because it's never had a lick of real competition. Seems like that might be changing. Seems like it. So don't think I'm trying to say Mike or Sirois or Corby or Cat are good or bad guys. I think there's a lot of grey area here, on all sides and with all involved. Let's just hope that at the end of it we listeners get the win.
For reasons I've already stated, I think we have a long, long way to go before Jake, or Dan and Jake, could possibly jump.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about Danny, but I don't see either Dan or Jake jumping to a struggling Freak unless the money were really, really compelling. If the Freak looks like a serious threat to Ticket dominance, then maybe. But again -- if (and only if) we're right about contract expirations and noncompetes, they could be a year away or more from being free to jump. I'm not discounting the rumblings, but the possibility is currently way too remote to write any Ticket obits.
Danny has his fans, and I'm one of them, but his sign-on alone won't draw listeners. Not enough listeners, anyway. I doubt any listeners exited The Hardline when he did, entertaining though he was, and Dave Lane has been a fine addition.
So, as I've said, speculation about who's moving where will depend critically on how The Freak does in the meantime.
And I'm still trying to figure out what Mike R's financial stake is in this. He claimed on the air that it was substantial. He didn't buy KEGL, and I'm doubtful he participated in a private placement of iHeart stock itself to make this happen. I'm wondering if maybe, just maybe, one or more hosts are HIS employees -- if his deal with iHeart is with a company he controls, rather than him personally. That's a longshot, I know, but some very peculiar things have been said this week on the Freak.
Are you getting the idea that Mike has a financial stake from what he said to Sirois? If so, I'm 99.9% sure it was a joke.
ReplyDeleteIt did not sound like a joke to me, as Mike S followed it up by saying that his own investment was purely "sweat equity." But the answer to your question is yes, I got that idea because Mike R said it in a non-ironic context in the course of talking rather seriously about the debut of the station. When he said it, he was trying to persuade listeners that this wasn't just another one of his larks, for which he had become known since leaving The Ticket, that this time he was serious about this thing.
ReplyDeleteBut could it have been untrue, or a gag? Well, sure. We've heard several untrue things on the Freak and the coverage of it over the past couple of weeks. But if you told me that Mike was financially responsible for Mike S and Julie D, at least until the Freak demonstrates some staying power, I wouldn't be shocked.
But you're right, it's wild speculation. As Kevin Hart says, "It's what I do."
While Rhyner is certainly not hurting for money, IHeart is a gigantic company. It's absurd to think he has an official stake.
ReplyDeleteHe said he did. Of course, he also said he was stifled and disrespected at The Ticket, which is also absurd. I guess it's absurd to think he speaks truthfully, even under circumstances in which he is purporting to speak seriously about how committed he is to this thing.
ReplyDeleteI have an enormous financial stake in My Ticket Confession. I say I what I want.
ReplyDeleteWe are talking about a 70 something year old man. A huge financial stake could mean a full piece of fried fish versus Luann platter at Luby’s. On the other hand…70 something year old men are prone to thinking about their personal legacy. He certainly has a huge stake in that one.
ReplyDeleteCelery! Welcome back!
ReplyDeleteOne week in the books and we're about to embark upon week two. There was a time when the buzz would just be picking up, but in our hyper connected, throw away world, the truth of the matter is the buzz for The Freak is already spent. The mere days ago felicitous interviews now forgotten, swept up into the digital dustbin; the D-Magazine pod, did anyone actually hear it?; and out there on the net and all throughout the realm of social media, the sign off for week one hadn't yet come down and yet MTC and reddit and Twitter folks had already moved onto the possibility of THZ and Danny Balis getting their Freak on, occasioning actual radio content to the status of an afterthought, if that. It's an ephemeral thing, no. My point here being, nowadays the build up, the initial buzz, and the resultant direction of those energies which in turn lead either to a palatable momentum, building up and into something, or a fast track to being an afterthought happens in the blink of an eye. Therefore, it's paramount to make the most of that fleeting moment of urgency. Did The Freak do as such? Regretfully I'd say no, they did not. I wish they wouldn't have misused their initial opportunity to capture the imagination of Eagle listeners, the curious in general, and of course, P1s by playing a bewildering game of mix and match the host. In their bid to introduce themselves, they inadvertantly created confusion for the listener and discontinuity between shows and for the listening day as a whole. All the while, the mantra, "We say/do what we want - we are not a sports station" was incanted to the edge of annoyance. In effect, a week long infomercial for The Freak was on offer. As a consequence I submit The Freak squandered their fugacious opportunity.
ReplyDeleteBut what of the off-script content, that is, the few glimpses offered into what we'll hear in the days to come? Unlike many here, I for one was heartened. I heard a re-energized Mike Rhyner of the likes we haven't seen since the mid-oughts, a Ben & Skin, knowing this is probably their last go-round in the business, eager to show the Metroplex what they're made of; and then there's the quinumvirate of Sirois-Julie-Cavanaugh-Krystina-KT, each highly motivated to stake their claim in the business as genuine, unique talents. All of which portend something special in the making. But a portent is an indicator, not a guarantor. Many commenters have ably delineated the issues The Freak faces both internally and externally. There's no need to trod upon already well-worn paths. My hope is that The Freak will find its footing and become The Ticket's first genuine competitor, and do so in short order. Yes, I believe soon The Ticket might find its hands full. And yes, I will be listening to both stations. This is all well and good, but for any of it to come to fruition The Freak must first overcome the self-inflicted wounds of time and opportunity wasted.
It seems as if Cumulus is pulling or at least delaying all podcasts and services like u-save-it to prevent listeners from double-dipping on both stations. I guess if you listen to the Ticket they want you to do it live and not same day on the services. Interesting move. Of course, what is to keep a listener from doing the Ticket live then catching 97.1 content on the podcast?
ReplyDeleteHow will this help or hurt the ratings?
3:32 Anonymmouse wrote: "if I felt marginalized and unwanted by a group of people/ place of employment, I'm not going back there on the regular to hang out. I'm done with it. But that's not what Mike did. He did the opposite."
ReplyDeleteThat's the first time I've heard anyone say this anywhere. I hadn't thought of it. Truer words haven't been spoken. The answer is of course you don't. No one does. That commenter stated that of all people Mike R sure as hell doesn't. That's a true statement too. There's a pretty cynical way to look at why then Mike R kept going on The Ticket if he felt this way. There'a a pretty cynical way to look at it if he doesn't feel that way too. In the end I guess what matters is if TF and Mike R are any good. No one's going to care about any of this if they are good. If they aren't then picking all of it apart probably becomes a sport. Mike R's always been my leader and I hated it when he left The Ticket. I'm happy he's back and that he seems happy to be back. But no one likes to see the flaws in their heroes. Maybe there's no flaw here. Maybe it's all explanable and in context makes sense. I hope so. I am digging what I've heard on TF.
Nice stroke, 504. I agree with all of it. They did squander that first week on unnecessary "introductions" on several of the shows, and schoolgirl ass-kissing, not just directed at Mike R, but at each other. These people LOVE each other. They're each the BEST.
ReplyDeleteThere was some good content. The sports content was pretty good.
But people make up their minds fast. They're not going to listen to The Freak for weeks if they don't get to whatever it is they want to talk about, of which they will be able to unburden themselves for the first time, damned soon. And if it isn't interesting. If it's great, they'll hang. If it's just what'd-you-do-last-night chit-chat and contests and internet lists and woke political talk (none of that so far, that I heard), then no anticipation of Danny or Jake or Dan is going to save it.
I hope it does get better. I really do. I'll try to listen to this week. Freak ratings will probably be good here at the outset because people like me will be checking it out.
I'm sorry but IMO Jake would poison this well. If they need Jake to get ratings it's a lost cause.
ReplyDeleteDisagree Anon 8:18
ReplyDeleteJake is clearly the preeminent under 40 sports talker in the Metroplex and it isn't even close. If a smooth running machine like THZ moved over to 91.1 it's lights out for the Ticket as it will be impossible for Gordon to continue to work 3 shifts a day in perpetuity. In my opinion if THZ bails that hastens the Musers retirement.
Plainsman, some thoughts for you re: Mike’s alleged financial stake. I agree with anon402, there is no chance iHeart gave him any meaningful ownership stake in KEGL. I think it’s entirely possible that Mike’s compensation is in the form of stock grants with various tails of short, medium and long term vesting periods. It serves the purpose keep him around for a few years and might explain the “significant financial stake”…the freak and iHeart doing well means significant upside for Mike?
ReplyDeleteThat's possible, but his statement wasn't that he had a "financial stake." I don't recall his exact words, but the import of his phrasing was that he was had invested a significant chunk of "my own personal fortune," OWTTE, which is a very different thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and have said in my comments, that he almost certainly did not make a direct financial investment either in KEGL or iHeart.
Look, I said when I tossed the idea out that he might be personally employing one or more of his colleagues at the Freak, that it was a long shot. It is -- quite unlikely. Just trying to throw out a hypothesis that is consistent with one of the many puzzling things we heard on 97.1 last week.
Of course . . . your Plainsman may not be remembering things correctly.
I admit, Mike coming out of retirement for nothing less of a brinks truck seems unlikely. But if he has a compensation package that’s mostly stock based, that’s more money to spread around to the other hosts (and potential poached hosts). It’s a tenuous theory at best, I admit.
ReplyDeleteI think Pman hit the nail on the proverbial head with, "the many puzzling things we heard on 97.1 last week." At least five other Confessors touched on this. A lot of what went down last week on 97.1 was head scratching. Like to the point of "is this one big goof?" There was zero professionalism on display. I'm not saying everything that went down was poor. It wasn't. Of course it was the sports side that made last week's highlight reels. Pretty much nothing else.
ReplyDeleteLet's see what a weekend of review and listening to voices outside the bubble do for the Freakers. Hopefully they'll tweak some things and ditch some others.
Whatever happens, so far it's been an interesting ride.
So The Freak is going to maintain the "Not a Sports Station!" mantra even though they're going to be airing a Cowboys Postgame Show
ReplyDeleteBen and Skin devoting an entire segment to reading/trying to understand Gen Z slang is total cringe
ReplyDeleteI think their actual slogan should be:We Have No Idea What We're Doing!
ReplyDeleteThe Freak is plunging headlong into to The Trinity. Will its admiral go down with his ship?
Cat's eye for talent looks keener bythe day.
Not to mention extended discussion of bowel movements during the AM handoff. Jeez, if it were night it would be amateur night.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's the difference. That handoff between The Musers and NaD would consist of a fantastical tale of either a sasquatch or wookie or a moose and the inner turmoil it's going through, the embarrassing social situation, etc. All analogous to our little everyday travails. They would've picked the lowest hanging fruit and actually made a tasty compote out of it, whereas The Freak, still drunk from the previous night's circle j sesh / I LOVE you, no I LOVE you feel good frenzy, merely plucks that fruit, says "whatevs, I'm hungrover," and bites down hard.
ReplyDeleteNot good buddy, not good. They can't do what The Ticket can, and The Ticket chooses not to do what they do. Big. F'n. Difference.
anyone check out the latest batch of ratings courtesy of peter welpton?
ReplyDeletepretty much par for the course except 10-12 from july thru sept.
those numbers go down, tie with the fan in aug and then are bested by the fan in sept.
let's say that slide is due to sirois leaving. if so then the freak shouldn't be an issue because he's not on b&s. b&s will most likely not be an issue and if they are, they'll most likely take listeners from the fan. but it can't be ruled out that 10-12 won't also lose some listeners to the freak too.
the maanner in which it shakes out matters little. what does is that i'll bet the farm this trend is not an anomaly. rather it's the new reality. one that will only worsen. so what does cat and bennet do about it?
hire emily jones as the 10-12 3rd, and norm's de jure replacement? bring danny back in that same role? cowlishaw? monty or someone else in-house? dunno. maybe emily makes the most sense. but will any of those hires attract scores of ears? i'm not so sure. if pressed i'd say probably not.
something needs to be done for that time-slot. better, that time slot and the whole listening day need to be reconfigured. perhaps another major or major-ish reshuffling of the deck is in order? do you pay out the rest of norm's contract and move donnie to thz and make it a 3 show programming day? not sure. that's for better minds than mine to figure out.
i'll also wager that if the next book shows real inroads made by the freak we will indeed see a substantial reaction by ticket management.
Anom 5:04
ReplyDeleteJust to put a wet blanket on the Sirois pitty party but how much time did Norm miss during that time? Between surgery or sickness or two and at least two extended vacation trips, he wasn't there. Believe it or not, he still has a large following, especially with the over-54 age group who is out of the preferred demographic. I wish the Norm hate would go away. Does he have his early 90s fastball anymore, no? Is he still entertaining? He is to a large number of D1P1s despite what the 40 and under crowd thinks. Would you quit your job with 40 years of seniority so the 15-year wonder boy can move up? Hell no you wouldn't. Seniority and contracts have privileges. Health permitting, he will be there until his contract is up in 2024.
I made sure to listen to the 3:00 Monday intro from the OGW. I have tried to listen over the past week and have my thoughts, mainly echoing everything that has been posted. However, if I get time from work obligations I will post my thoughts, observations & comments in a countdown #10 to #1. However, if I don't get this done here is my #1 observation from the OGW intro on the opening Monday.
ReplyDelete#1 - Little sweet Jordan Claire Rhyner (the "YD", "young daughter") is engaged. Doesn't it seem like in some ways we all "watched" her grow up?
ET P1
I'll always know her as "the squid." That's what Halcyon Days Rhyner would call kids.
ReplyDeleteI punched in once yesterday. One of the women, not sure which one, was talking about her family. Another in the series of "introductions." I PO'd. Now I see from East Texas P1 that we're hearing about Mike R's family.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they must be talking about something other than themselves, and that my punch-ins have been coincidental with family talk. Other than themselves, and sports, can someone advise on what other Downbeat segments have focused on?
The Norm 'n' D Invasion is, alas, a weak link in The Ticket's string of pearls. I happen to like both Donovan and Norm, so I do listen. But Norm's in-and-out, and his good days and bad days, have, I regret to say, diminished that particular product. Donnie deserves better, and I'd like to see Norm go out in a blaze of glory rather than a gradual puttering out. I'm sure Jeff Catlin has that time slot near the top of his to-do list, and I would not say that its ratings decline is the first chime in the death knell for The Ticket.
ReplyDeleteIt's inevitable that The Ticket will decline in influence. Hosts are going to retire; perhaps entire shows (Dan and Jake) will decamp to another signal (I'll have more thoughts on this soon); all manner of circumstances can conspire to change the Dallas sports radio landscape. But people have been predicting the end of (1) terrestrial radio, (2) The Ticket, (3) the Hardline for as long as I've run this blog. None of those things has come to pass. While I'm doing my best to give The Freak the benefit of the doubt and try to catch some of its broadcasting (mainly Downbeat -- it's clear already I'm not going to have great interest in the style of Speakeasy and Ben & Skin, even if their substance improves), so far it's snooze-a-palooza.
It's GOT to get better. I'm about to put on the old conducting headset and go for a run and see what contest the team has running this morning.
Other than THZ migrating and/or a total reworking of the lineup (pretty much everyone sans Mike R and I guess Mike S since he's R's handpicked sidekick), this thang ain't gonna get any Freakin' better. These need to happen at the very least for things to improve, but it's only part of the equation. The core, connected, issue is as follows:
ReplyDeleteHere's the deal, Corby, if you have no directive other than "we do what we want," you had better, EVERY SINGLE HOST HAD BETTER, be hella fuccin' good at what you do. You better be wicked interesting with a lot of hot takes on pretty much everything under the sun. You better be (love him or hate him) Joe Roganesque. Compelling compelling compelling is the name of that game. So far NONE of them have even sniffed that for at most MAYBE a 1/4 of a segment, if even that, and if so only once per show. MAYBE.
The Freak needs definitive direction. It's a FREAKIN' sports station. It is. Stop saying it isn't. You go to a national sports feed when live programming ends. You will now have a Cowboys pregame show (post, too?). The ONLY segments of substance you have are sports related. 98% of your on-air talent is not only from sports media, it's what they live and breathe. This is FREAKIN' ridiculous. You don't wanna go that route? OK. You're stupid, but seeing how this thing appears to have been constructed with Elmer's Glue and cheap crafting paper a week prior to going live, let's say we go another way. Politics. Or, say, all entertainment news. Whatevs. Just have a well defined point of focus and work within and around its orbit.
Honestly, as is The Freak will not be here this time next year. Bet your stank on it. I say unless a MAJOR overhaul occurs, including talent and trajectory, this is going to be the Q-Cat of local radio, and it's going to the be end of some careers, at least in this market. Some of which that were or should've been over, some of which that were only beginning, some of which who need to find a new angle, and some of which who had no business being in the game in the first place. Just to be clear, this last claim hasn't a damn thing to do with what sort of person(s) h/she/it may or may not be or how talented they are in other areas. Only means that perhaps hosting a show or at least hosting a show under these circumstances ain't their forte. All that and regardless of what we might think (for/agin), bridges were burnt before it went live and whatever bridges were left standing then, by the end of day two those puppies too were in ashes.
I didn't understand the Corby reference, but otherwise a nice angry blast, 154. Don't see much to disagree with. They apologize for talking sports, but to date those segments have been the only worthwhile ones. The only two compelling personalities on the stations are Mike R and -- I would argue but others might disagree -- Mike S, and among the thin JV I might add that nice young Michael Gruber and I have a soft spot for Kevin Turner. The Mikes are compelling personalities, but so far they haven't authored any compelling content. As I can testify from personal experience, charm only takes you so far.
ReplyDeleteBoth of the female voices sound shoehorned in. Especially, I regret to say, Julie.
I had the opportunity to punch in Ben & Skin. I heard (1) sports and (2) an internet list. PO.
Speakeasy and B&S -- do consultants advise to shriek and holler when someone makes a mildly interesting statement?
Because Corby is wont to say, "here's the deal." Specially when Superlative Corby is announcing his entrance or when Corby is doing an ad spot.
ReplyDeleteAh.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair to the Freq, The Hardline spent an entire segment having Bob read police reports from local community papers. WTF
ReplyDelete***i've only switched over during Ticket commercials over the last wk - just Morn & DriveTime - i guess it can only get better from here but wow, that Speakeasy show is just not good listening. Im a big Julie fan...but now more than ever it appears that the shows she honed her voice on (BaD/HZ) were a direct result into that thinking.
ReplyDeleteAs for Dropbeat - - -i got to catch Mikes list of danger fish. I really enjoyed it - more so bc his cohorts were Sirois and Machine. That was some good fun radio, but this is also coming from a DragonBrag p1. MoreMachine.
Also, I am a BIG P1 of Ed Wallace on Saturday mornings on KLIF. Last Saturday he brought up Rhyner, and when his co-hosts clearly did not understand, he explained "Mike Rhyner of the The Ticket".
ReplyDeleteThe context was a caller asked if he (Ed) would come back and co-host, guest-host, etc. and Ed basically said no, once you leave you are gone, and Rhyner does not understand this.
Let's just say IMO that Ed Wallace is probably the smartest man on radio and is in our market. His last day is either this week or in just a few weeks after 30 years. Not to derail the Ticket 1310 discussion with another radio station but I think the Freq (Freak? thanks Surly) could build on this.
If I could plan on WOMM (What's on Mike's Mind) segments with Ed Wallace, Sharon Grigsby (DMN), Jim Schutze (DO), maybe Wilonsky, Caraway and others it would be a definite placeholder for me.
Still working on the #10 to #1 observations.
ET P1
Thanks for the Ed W heads up. I figured he was leaving at some point sooner rather than later. Are thinking this Saturday is his last? I will catch it for sure. I used to live his show and his Inside Automotive news aggregate site. Alas he went from being a bona fide straight down the middle, the truth is the truth whether it fits your right or left narrative or not, to a dude who embodies the logical fallacy Appeal to Authority. Regardless, I hate to see him go. And regardless ofhin s late career hubris, Ed's still right about a lot of things. He's also right about Rhyner. I don't want to shit on the parade, but when this all comes to a rather ignominious end, Rhyner's legacy will literally be the old fart and fall down the ladder drop once played while he was on The Ticket.
ReplyDeleteSorry. It is what's soon coming down. Bad decision, coach.
TC and Jordan Richardson will be hosting a Saturday(?) show on The Freak. Airing this weekend, time TBD
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on Ed Wallace. He got me through a lot of miles when I was working Saturdays in the 90s and early 2000s. He lost some of his shine in the weeks after 9/11 when KLIF had him doing noon-3 for a few weeks. I'll tune in Saturday for sure.
ReplyDeleteIf TC is getting his Freak on, I'm thinking Whitt's info is once again spot on, and so, rest assured that THZ and Danny will be doing remotes from next year's Freaker's Ball.
ReplyDeleteI still don't think any of it saves the format.
From what I can tell, Ed's last broadcast is on Oct. 29. But I'll be tuning in every Saturday until then just in case my info is bad.
ReplyDeleteI'm an Ed P1. Like you, ETP1, I think Ed's the smartest radio personality out there, hands down. He's a bona fide autodidact to boot. And as you said, he's from here. Pretty cool. Conversely, I also have to admit that Ed's definitely altered courses throughout his wonderful, important career. Prior to 9/11 he was a staunch Texan's Texan GOP company man. After 9/11 he had a so-called "red pill" moment and became a true libertarian, questioning and critiquing the US government/the Bush Admin and did so (at first) at the cost of most of his audience. As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan plodded on, listeners who vowed never to tune in again returned hat in hand, calling in to say how right Ed was and how wrong they were, moreover, his audience grew exponentially. Ed always had a contrarian streak in him, and his correct analysis of our reaction to 9/11 (both domestic and foreign) only served to bring that side of him to the fore. It was at that point he began to gravitate toward calling out hypocrisy on both sides of the political aisle, in the automotive industry, in the media, and in the energy industry. Problem with being a contrarian and an autodidact is that they both inform each other and can create an addiction of sorts. Meaning, often times such folk get caught up in gotcha games and trying to find the fatal flaw when either it doesn't exist or is much less fatal than they'd like to believe; all of which is arrived at and supported by means of a self-selected (i.e., highly slanted to preconceived notions and leanings) funnel of information (information bias, curse of the autodidact). Finally, once it became obvious Trump was a legitimate candidate, Ed's aforementioned Achilles' heels, including his tendency to clamp down on something and not let up, got the best of him. His aggregate news site/auto page, Inside Automotive, began to look like a combo platter of Drudge and HuffPo; his stories and sources soon became more tabloid than not; and everything seemed to be personal. The beauty of Ed was his Mencken-Hitchens-like eye for spotting and calling out the shills and shits of the world, and he didn't care what party or interest they represented. Sadly, that all left the building with the advent of Trump. Instead of calling out then president Trump on hypocrisy in policy and appointments and general tone, he ran story after story about his wife, Melania, or some paid for oppo shrink claiming this that or the other about Trump's psychological makeup. It ran against everything Ed had preached for 15 years (9/11 forward). Even with Trump's exit, the aggregate hasn't changed. In many ways, neither has the tone of his show, which also took a turn for the smarmy, the snarky in 2016. While I have never liked Trump (used to LOVE when back in the 90s the old Spy mag would ruthlessly lampoon him, a la "the short fingered vulgarian") and found him to be an awful, embarrassing president, I didn't understand Ed's attraction to the lowest hanging fruit and, again, was hoping with his exit so too would Ed's jaws loosen their grip and he'd get back to doing what he does best. But no.
Regardless, I love the man and will miss him awfully. We will never again see the likes of him over the airwaves. That type of media figure is mostly gone, the few left, like Ed, are now leaving the stage and soon none will remain, never to be replaced.
Stay hard, Ed. Keep jammin' and we'll see ya.
P.S. He's correct about Rhyner. Unfortunately, Rhyner's going to learn this lesson the painful way.
Pre-emptive comment: I'm happy to have reminiscences of Ed Wallace. I'm not familiar with him but obviously many of you are and have a fondness for at least some portion of his output.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to leave 234's testimonial up, but please, I beg each of you, no commentary on the pros and cons of Ed's (and 234's) political and cultural positions, although if you want to remark on Ed's intellectual journey, that's OK.
Thank you.
2:34 here. Thanks for leaving the comment up. I wasn't trying to go down that road, but rather, spell out his public (and obviously private, too) journey. Probably shouldn't have thrown in my own opinion about 45ths tenure and cut of jib.
ReplyDeleteMan, I was expecting a tsunami of comments -- pro and con -- about Freek Week 2. But almost nothing. Are Confessors tuning in?
ReplyDeleteI have been travelling this week, lots of opportunity to drive and listen. I like and respect Rhyner. Sirois, Meh. I really like Grubes, so I try to listen in and deal with it. Next to Big Strong, Grubes is the best on the board. Unfortunately, right now, he has a small selection of drops with which to work his magic, I think that is a big obstacle.
ReplyDeleteB&S are worth a listen during basketball season. While I really like Norm personally, I agree with the above comment, it's time. You guys are right, Cat needs to be on his game right now. The midday lineup needs help. I have found myself liking the B&S show.
Speakeasy, not good. I really like Julie, but I think she is in a bad spot. And, I will always be a Musers P1, until their contracts run out and they retire.
I am not a D1P1, I got here in late '99. Did the Ticket have chemistry at first? I know the history and the names that have left, but I am just curious if it needs time to develop, or if it is not worth it.
I will say this.... for a cast that continues to harp on "We say what we want", I haven't heard ANYTHING different than what I have the last 22 or so years on the ticket. I doubt seriously if they could have a "Gay or not gay" segment. I haven't heard anything close to baby-arm. They may think they can say what they want, but they can't.
Final thought, the constant positivity, and Woodstock lovefest for each other is old already. It almost makes me think there have been several internal blow-ups at the Ticket probably over several years that led to this. They all act butt-hurt over some event. I know MS and Julie left because of money, but something else had to happen. I know people have left over the years, hosts and JVers. But I don't recall an exodus like Jer, Julie, the Mikes and Danny, not within that time period.
Fortunately, I have the Sorts Day App, which works sometimes, so I can listen to the Freak on occasion and then catch up, but I think it has lost its shine already.
Because it's not any good. It's so not any good that there's nothing worth discussing. Two weeks on, mind you, and it's already come to this.
ReplyDeleteEd Wallace knows his shit.
Jeff Caitlin knows talent.
I tend to agree some about lost its shine already some...felt like last week it was the biggest thing ever, to now it just being some other station in Dallas that's not the ticket. If the Hangzone actually goes over, that would be a big deal, but I also could see that rumor just being for the HZ to get a better contract. Danny going over would also be pretty big I suppose, but he seems to still be pretty close with the ticket guys as of now.
ReplyDeleteWow IJB 902 is a doozy. TC unloads on Corby at about the 44 minute mark. Didn't think of it at the time but that really was some classless bullying Corby was doing when TC was an unpaid intern. TC talked about Corby going around asking people if a picture of TC looked like a lesbian. It was clear that stuff really hurt TC but he played along for a while. Corby's frat boy antics amazingly didn't land him any hot water. Also goes off on Corby's rant about Rhyner in the DMN.
ReplyDeleteInteresting 11:57. I just tried to listen and the episode is temporarily unavailable
ReplyDeleteI heard it and yes it's pretty explosive andnor am I surprised ifit's been deleted.
ReplyDeleteIt is still downloadable on the Blowout podcast network. Just verified
ReplyDeletehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blowout-blowout-podcast-network/id1072265632?i=1000582359820
Main takeaway from two weeks of The Freak is that they seem like they're trying to convince themselves, each other, and anyone that'll listen of the following things:
ReplyDelete[a] How incredibly free they are to do whatever they please and how much they've been held back by former employers. So much so, that for the first time in their professional lives they are actually set up to succeed.
[b] What incredibly talented, funny, smart, supportive, and most importantly good, as in morally upright each other are and how that wasn't necessarily the case with either/or management and fellow employees at their former stops.
[c] That this format is singular, one might say even pathbreaking, and is in no way, shape or form a sports talk station, and nor can it be (much less should be) compared to with The Ticket.
What also has kind of surprised me is that week two was a carbon copy of week one. Which makes me think that's their modus operandi. If so, I will agree that The Freak is singular in that I've never encountered a more confusing station in all my considerable years of listening to radio. The show names seem to designate bracketed off time-slots where a certain group of hosts will always be present, but the show itself will never be reflective of those hosts' personalities. Rather, the base hosts are each day joined by others for the entirety of the show. The guest hosts often take over the show to the point you have to remind yourself it's actually the base hosts' program. It all comes off as planned spontaneity. Despite their insistence of how sweet their new found freedom is, the whole thing seems canned. From the almost comical over laughter to every segment being goofily named, to the now obvious, purposive manufacturing of old Ticket drops for themselves. For example, Mike twice this week gave Grubes a classic drop: "Pong" and "I love the Rangers." Both times involved a long winded and winding set up by Sirois, with "Pong" coming from one of the already countless game show/quiz/guessing game segments. In both cases the lead up to the drop was obvious to the point of being a painful listen. Mike even said them in the exact same tone of voice and cadence. It was bad and it was a perfect reflection of the 1st two weeks on air. As the kids say, it's cringe. Thus far The Freak (that is, its hosts) are cringe.
Then there's The Ticket ex-pats; the ones that have been on The Freak, the ones about to be on The Freak, and the ones that reportedly will be on The Freak.
More on that this evening.
I listened a lot the first week, not as much the second. It occurs to me that what we are dealing with here is a cult of personality. Take the OGW out of the mix and what have you got? Let's say everything else is the same except for Mike R. and in his place (for the sake of argument) is Danny. Does this cause anywhere near the ruckus that was caused two weeks ago? In fact, the whole deal probably doesn't go down without Rhyner (blinding flash of the obvious). I want the Freak to succeed because I think the competition will make the Ticket better. But the Freak goes however Mike goes.
ReplyDeleteBoy, I remember that really nasty Corby "young man or aging lesbian" remark about some photograph of TC. Appalling. I am more or less a Corby defender, but that one should have earned him a suspension. TC wasn't everyone's favorite at The Ticket, and he's had some choice words for it in years since (and he really loathes MTC), but he absolutely did not deserve that.
ReplyDeleteI have not listened to the "It's Just Banter" in question. I'm wondering if its yanking has something to do with TC's reported upcoming weekend show on The Freak, management perhaps not wishing to start some kind of pissing match with The Ticket that only draws attention to the latter and tends to measure them the same way.
So I'm thinking maybe it's "We Say What We Want, Unless We're Prospective Weekend Hosts Saying Things on Our Own Time."
I thought I'd be able to listen to more of The Freak this week, but couldn't. Surprised it didn't take a leap forward, topics wise.
I said a few comments ago that I got the feeling that The Freak is kind of a nostalgia act, and it's seeming more and more that way.
BTW, well-written comment, Cracklin'.
What's going on over at Reddit?
You can find the IJB episode on Apple. As far as reddit goes, it's about the same as here. In fact, there's a lot of new Ticket related threads thrown up that have zero or 1-3 comments. The Freq stuff other than the TC announcement earlier this week has pretty much died off. Even the TC thing fizzled out after a day or two.
ReplyDeleteI'm in gagreeance with everyone saying The Freq's buzz is already gone and that past the initial WTF I can't believe it's happening it doesn't seem to be built for the long haul. If The Freq goes as Rhyner goes then for sure it's not going far. He seems to be already back in his late days Hardline form.
Here's the analysis I threatened you all with earlier today. (Thanks for the kind words, Plainsman.)
ReplyDeleteFirst off, to answer Scott's query (I am a D1P1), yes they had chemistry and in spades. Was it a polished product? No. That took some time. But understand they truly were trailblazing. Not just in this market, but in the industry. They were combining one part WFAN / Mike and The Mad Dog and one part Howard Stern Show (all Tristate area phenoms) but keeping it local-centric both in tone and content. It was a risk. It was ballsy. Everyone said it would fail. We all know what happened. Whether he truly deserves all of it or not, Rhyner got and still gets all of the credit for making it happen. The truth of that is not so cut and dry but that's for another time. Back to Scott's question and regardless of the above, The Musers, Gordon (who was not a Muser then), and The Hardline all had that rare, ever elusive "it factor." They were funny, unafraid to speak their minds and speak out against / criticize area media luminaries, knowledgeable, and had a local, wholly relatable manner of communication. In short, they were compelling and you couldn't turn the dial. From damn near day one Mike, Greggo, Craig, George, and Gordo were must-hear --I don't care if I'm late I'm not leaving my car until Rhynes finishes his thoughts on Kenny Rogers' a-hole behavior-- radio. Onto my armchair analysis.
While The Freak has Mike Rhyner as its anchor, alas, it does not possess that almost inexpressible, you just know it when you know it, "it factor." Far from it, actually. This much was said in my previous comment so there's no reason to elaborate any further. So what of The Ticket ex-pats (present, hours away from airing, and rumored) involved?
ReplyDeleteKnowns: (While B&S and KT were Ticket employees at one time, I don't include them here because their tenures were many years ago, brief, and are best known for their work outside the nurturning biosphere.)
[Mike Rhyner] His opening salvo on day one made my arm hair stand on end. I was transported back to '96. My heart was saying, "holy s, my leader is back!" By the third segment my head soberly admitted, "this is going to be no different than the last 6 years of The Hard Line and any of the podcasts he's done since leaving." Which is to say Mike should never have come out of retirement. At least not to do this with this assembly of talent, with this particular cohost, and within this devil-may-care (silly) format. There is a lot more I could say here but won't out of respect for Mike.
[Mike Sirois] I've always been agnostic on Sirois. Never understood the near fanatical allegiance to him so many (at least on-line) have, and yet I also never understood the severe criticism he receives (at least on-line) by some. I do think the jury is out on whether he's genuine host material. So far he's shown that he's not. In some ways I think his issue is that he tries too hard to be creative, funny, to be supremely interesting. And so far he's played more the role of producer, as facilitator for Mike than actual cohost. Perhaps he'll get better. Right now he's not a good host or at least not really even a host. Frankly, I think he and Mike are a poor pairing. Mike needs someone somewhat closer in age (at least mid-late 50s) and someone who will challenge him, and not kiss up to, fawn over, and cater to him. Mike needs an equal. Sirois is not that. Consequently and regrettably, I don't believe The Downbeat will fare well in the mid to long run.
[Julie Dobbs] Julie is not yet ready to be a host. As much as Sirois needs work, Julie needs even more. I do believe she could one day be a real talent, that it's in her. But not yet. However, being a host on a top 5 market a.m drive show (every show, really) is not the place to cut one's teeth and learn the craft. There are other female voices in the area that are far better prepared and able. Emily Jones, Gina Miller, Dana Larsen, Sam Ganon come to mind. As I said, I believe she has the potential to be a compelling talent, but I'm afraid that unless she's a speed learner her time on The Freak is already borrowed.
Will Know in Mere Hours:
ReplyDelete[TC Fleming] TC is a very small lightening rod and will garner enough ears (at least at first) to justify his presence. If his sole role is to cohost a show on Saturday afternoons, I think he'll do fine. That is unless he begins to let his ego and related bad judgment get the best of his tongue. If IJB is an indicator, then I'n not sure he'll be able to control himself.
Rumored Future Acquisitions:
[Danny Balis] I don't see this happening. But if it does, then I hope he's paired with Mike and that Sirois is moved to mornings, where he probably should be.
[Jake Kemp and Dan McDowell] This is a tough call. Dan is a contrarian who seems to enjoy fighting against "the man." Jake too appears to love standing up to "the man." The problem is, iHeart is a much larger and more powerful "man" than Cumulus. Jake has a toddler and a newborn. Dan, two college students. Both need stability (job and income). Will iHeart make an offer they can't refuse? If so, what's the odds The Freak will be around in 2 - 3 years? The Hang Zone is the up and coming the signature show of The Ticket. When The Musers retire (which will happen sooner rather than later), would they not be the ideal show for that important slot? If The Hardline is broken up, would that not also be ideal for them? There are some in-the-know folks out there who tell me The Ticket will soon have a rather seismic shakeup. If true, might it pertain to reformatting the show schedule? And if so, I would have to think The Hang Zone would be moved to a prime slot. I don't see them heading off for The Freak. Too much to potentially lose and for minimum gain.
One final thing. I sometimes get the sense that The Freak was conceived, sold to iHeart, assembled (talent), and really, built upon the extremely loud vocal minority that is social media.
The reenergizing of the mothership tells me they view the freak as a viable threat. Maybe that’s squarely Rhyner related or perhaps due to those who “got away”
ReplyDeleteI’ve enjoyed both products and have found that another option makes the mundane day tolerable
I read book.
ReplyDeleteStart listening with 11-12 minutes remaining. Interesting between the lines stuff here from Gordon regarding The Freak, but really it's about Rhyner.
ReplyDeletehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-breakfast-included/id1560879438?i=1000582609526
Would be grateful if persons posting podcasts could summarize what is postable about them. Many thanks.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how much more explicit I could've been: "Start listening with 11-12 minutes remaining. Interesting between the lines stuff here from Gordon regarding The Freak, but really it's about Rhyner."
ReplyDeleteIn other words, Gordo is discussing his feelings about The Freak and especially Rhyner's decision to go that route. Isn't that relevant enough? Do you want a transcription? If so, you're asking far too much from your audience.
Anon 4:19 - he mad!
ReplyDeleteRIP, Country Force. Eli's going to The Tee Box where he, Rosen Rosen, and Rick will do a mix and match depending on who's available that weekend. Ty is done with weekend programming and will spend more time with his family. I also noticed The Kick Around was on much earlier today. Didn't catch the explanation, if it's permanent, or whathaveyounot. Little changes seem to be afoot at The Mothership. Often times little changes precede big ones. I have a feeling sometime after the first book with The Freak comes in we'll see a seismic reshuffling. One on a par with the aftermath of Mike R's leaving. I'm thinking along the lines of what happened very early on. That is, THL moved to pm drive from mid-mornings, while The Musers migrated from middays to am drive. Well, there's no way The Musers are moving. They're a juggernaut and nothing The Freak is throwing up is in any way a threat. Pm drive, possibly a different story. I would have to think Cat & Co. are worried Whitt's latest radio rumor also has legs and do not want to lose either Hang Zoners. THZ is the only show on The Ticket that consistently grabs the ear of the younger demo. As much as I don't care to admit it, THL, even with Davey, is no longer must-hear radio. Hasn't been for years now. That means long before Mike R left. It's hung in there because it hasn't had a lick of competition since the heyday of The Russ Martin Show. That was ages ago. Well, now THL very well might have genuine competition. Truth be told, if The DownBeat can settle down and settle into a groove, I think THL will quickly become #2. #2 in the sense that The FAN is #2. A no shot in hell at #1, #2. How to combat this? Better, how to head it off at the pass before it occurs? Time slot swap. THZ to pm drive, THL to middays. It makes almost too much sense. You keep THZ from bolting, go head to head with TDB with a tandem that can out guy and sports talk them and thus retain that #1 status, and you make middays more what they ought to be, sportsy but with a touch of edge (Davey). Right now it's the other way around and I'm not sure it works. Yes the ratings say otherwise, but again there's zero competition. Until now. And let's be honest here, the only time slot we're talking about is pm drive. The rest of The Freak lineup is a non-starter. It's kind of shocking an iHeart station would change formats in the 5th largest market and assemble this group of on air talent. No offense to any of them, but Mike R is the only known commodity outside a narrow demo. And the name of the game for iHeart is to garner listeners from all points, not just men 24-54 or thereabouts.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4:37 - I mad!
ReplyDelete344/419, my point is: Telling us how to find a podcast we won't listen to doesn't tell us anything. Let me be more specific -- I personally don't have the time to listen to it; perhaps every other Confessor encountering your comment does.
ReplyDeleteSo, 344, here's how much more explicit you could have been, upon which you did not elaborate at 419:
What did Gordon say "regarding the Freak"?
What did Gordon say "about Rhyner"?
What were Gordon's "feelings about The Freak"?
What were Gordon's feeling about "Rhyner's decision to go that route."
It's not a question of relevance. It's a question of content.
Sorry to crank at you 344/419, but I frequently have to ask Confessors to reprise for readers the content they're commenting on, when, for example, they post, "Did you hear X twist of on Y in WTDS?"
Come on, man, help us out here.
Sorry, dude. Above my paygrade.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though. I pointed to the URL and the specific subject matter at hand so those who are interested can check it out. That's enough. It's not like a 2 minute part of a rando segment in a 4 hour show, it's a podcast where you can go right to the topic in question. I even give a ballpark timestamp that has a minute or two cushion. Pretty easy stuff and made for quick consumption, I'd say. So yeah, not doing it. Sorry. Love the site, dig you. But no.
ReplyDeleteGood Gravy, anon is being such a little b about it. So I’ll tell you.
ReplyDeleteGordon pretty much says that as a listener it’s great that there’s now the freak. It’s good to have options. But for him, there’s complicated feelings, because it’s former ticket employees that are starting it. He says it’s weird and strange that Mike did what he did. He would have loved for Mike to be doing it back with the Ticket, as opposed to the Freak.
For those of us who aren't Apple/itunes kind of people, I could not access the links.
ReplyDeleteETP1
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWell, the truck stop, cutie
ReplyDeleteComin' on to me
Tried to talk me into a ride
Said, I wouldn't be sorry
But she was just a baby
A waitress pour me
Another cup of coffee
Pop it down jack me up
Shoot me out flyin' down the highway
Lookin' for the mornin'
Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away
Lookin' for a better way, for me
Ooh, I'm drivin' my life away
Lookin' for a sunny day
'Course now a OTR licensed trucker's no longer drivin' her life away. Far from it. S/He/It/Self-Identifying Polyamorous Silverfish is raking in serious bank. Which is more than fine by me. Those carbon-based life forms more than earn their keep. Fuck yeah, Brenda! LET'S GO!
ReplyDeleteMen and women, all I'm asking is that you take a few extra moments to make your comments meaningful to readers without them having to leave the site, do homework, download apps, watch videos, listen to podcasts, or put up a post asking "what did so-and-so say?" on the Ticket segment one has referred to without describing its content.
ReplyDeleteI try to keep this place an easy and enjoyable destination, and while posting links (which, of course, don't work in Blogger) is entirely permissible, and while it's even OK to post unexplained links and references, it's just better if you unpack what drew your attention, even though many Confessors may already know to what you are referring. Many more, likely, will not, including Your Plainsman.
Thanks very much.
I'll be honest, I don't really get what The Freak is, regardless of how it's being billed. I also don't really get Rhyner doing all this. I'm also not sure if it's any good. So far, so meh. But I will say that it's good to have options and that maybe The Freak will improve to the point that it's a genuine option to The Ticket when things over there are bogging or uninteresting or just annoying.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been a P1 for about 12 years. It appears I’m in the minority but I’ve really enjoyed the 2 Mike’s on the Freak. The only time I have switched over to the Hatdline the last 2 weeks is to hear Joel Klatt. I do feel like Sirois kisses Rhyner’s ass too much, but I feel like that could change over time after the newness runs off. Them having a guest host everyday really feels like they are biding time until their 3rd host gets there. I don’t think Sirois would sign on to do a show with Rhyner without a 3rd voice. He knows that Mike can check out at anytime. Sirois is close to Corby and has most likely heard him complain about that for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI don’t hate the trio in the morning, but let’s be honest…there is no one in the entire metroplex they could get for me to switch over from the Musers.
Haven’t heard 1 second of Ben and Skin. Which is unfortunate because I like Kristina. But those 2 are an absolute nut kick. They are like cockroaches…they just keep on keeping on.
The few times I've listened in to The Speakeasy lately I'm noticing that Julie is just reading from news stories rather than using her own words and telling a story and giving color. It's very unnatural.
ReplyDelete@ Surly, all the shows seem to be doing that, which was part and partial of the Treehouse. Given that they let those guys go it seems strange that they seem to be following the format of that show all across the station.
ReplyDeleteI'll keep saying it:
ReplyDeleteEd Wallace is right about Mike R.
Cat has a keen eye for talent (the haves and the have nots).
All you Sirois and Julie fanboys out there still convinced? Dunno. I'm sure not seeing the breathless fawning like we did. No "see! see how Cat f'd up! They're brilliant! Just needed a chance and a Living Wage!" No, you're not. Partner chemistry is one thing. Yes, that can take some time to build, to gel. Individual display of having the goods either manifests at first blush or it does not. Sorry. It's true. No disrespect to either S or J. But you wanna be square in the public eye for public consumption and in turn to earn money for delivering the goods to the public, then it goes both ways. The public has a right to say, "eh" and "meh" and "just not good enough, buddy." Nothing personal. And no personal attack, either. That's when the public goes too far. It's just business.
3 weeks in and we still can't do a show with hosts proper?
ReplyDeleteOn or around which date does The Freak change either format or has a major talent and lineup overhaul:
(1) Jan 5th 2023
(2) Mar 1st 2023
(3) Sept 1st 2023
(4) Jan 5th 2024
My vote is Nov 5 2022
ReplyDeleteNew post. Cool red.
ReplyDeleteThey’ll drop the talk talk format for all sports at the end of next summer before the start of Cowboys season. Ratings books will be grim. Maybe they’ll be smart and keep their shows around past the first week of December and get some ears away from WIP, Last Resort, Eli & [insert 2 cohosts] and get a decent book to close the year. Otherwise, where are they getting share from the littlest one or 105.3 during Cowboys season? Further, will the iHeart suits give an eff about a dead cat bounce in a month that doesn’t matter for ratings? I have no doubt Mike R will fight to keep the original lineups in place for as long as he can, but to me, it’s pretty evident that disorganized, rudderless format + middling personalities will have the freakers solidly in third place. Cue the iHeart execs in July/August 2023 shaking it up, going to all sports, trying to displace the Fan as second banana.
ReplyDelete