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."
It’s a headline intended to suck you in, if you need sucking when you visit My Ticket Confession. (And Confessors seem to be a little bored with all the Freak talk, so I thought I’d pivot back a bit.) The Musers are a legendary team that’s impossible to imitate and against whom comparisons are doomed. But consider:
As we mull over the microscopic existential threat that the Freak is presenting using Ticket alumni, and as rumors of further defections are in the air (although, given The Freak’s deservedly low ratings, query whether any career-conscious talent is likely to sign on), we necessarily look ahead to what’s going to happen with The Ticket as the quarters roll by. Many Confessors have remarked, and it is obvious, that things will change over time. Hosts will retire; hosts will move on to other interests; and sure, hosts may jump ship for dollars. So we check out the bench to see what’s there.
Confessors are aware that I’m a fan of Work in Progress. (From March 2020: https://myticketconfession.blogspot.com/2020/03/is-this-best-show-on-ticket.html) And it seems to me like we’re hearing more of these two on other shows as fill-ins, and they’re good there, too.
As I was considering the merits of the Mino-Monty team the other day, it occurred to me that they remind me a bit of Craig and George. Between them they seem to know the range of sports in which the P1 is interested. Without wishing to overstate this, I see Mino as the Craig-y guy, smooth-talking, metrosexual (general hate neologisms, but it fits), and (seems to me) the leader of the pair as time has gone by. Monty as the George-y guy, a little more blue-collar, earthy, plain-talking, very non-radio voice that is nevertheless very listenable. They can both be witty. They both interact well with the crew on their show, which, while the collective voice of that crew does not take the place of Gordon, those interactions do keep the sound of the show fresh and, frequently, funny.
Yeah, yeah, I KNOW they don’t sound just like Dunham and Miller. But they come closer than any other pair I can think of to that kind of gestalt for a morning show.
Someday, Junior and George will have mused their last. Gordon will be off pursuing his Pulitzer. My mornings could start a whole lot worse than by punching in SportsDay and hearing Work in Progress.
But they gotta fix that name. These guys are throwing out a show in full and my bet is they could do it daily.
Hal jay is mid 70s. Norm is mid 70s. Bo and Jim were in their 70s before Jim quit. Bo is still at it, just with a younger partner now.Rhyner was 70ish on his first voluntary retirement, he’ll be 72 or 73 on his next (forced) retirement. Musers are mid 50s. George had a late kid, who’s know early 20s I think. Craig just had a kid. Gordo is incredibly secretive, but I know he had a kid in the great ticket baby boom of 2002. I believe he’s had at least one more since. And one of my beliefs on life- if you make a lot of money you spend a lot of money-. Yes they probably made good money. But enough to flat out retire before 62 with zero income? I think the musers will lose an hour from their show (9-10a) before they flat out retire. Would then open up a 9-12 slot to pair Donnie with others once norm retires. I agree Monty and Mino are clearly up and comers. Jake wasn’t kidding with his song “waiting on a ticket host to die”. Will Monty and Mino wait for funerals, or do what Matt Mcclarin and Scott Harrison did and go get a job in another Cumulus market. I’d love to hear them on more, I just think the musers will retire when they’re ready. And I don’t think they’re ready yet. C
Musers are late 50s. I truly believe we have two more years of them before they move on to the next phase of their lives. Dry Dock '24 will mark the end of their 30th year on-air. There is absolutely a hush-hush rumor that's been floating around the bar stool circuit of folks who are in varying degrees associated with Ticket Varsity and JV (some are rather close associates) that what I say is very much in play and even likely. If so, you can bet your ass THZ and perhaps a +1 Donnie will take over that coveted slot. Rightfully, smartly so. Mony n Mino taking over the now HZ slot? You betcha. All day, every day. Those boys just keep getting better. Wanna know why? Because they're genuine; they merely present themselves as they are, in true Musketeer Ticket fashion. No pretenses, no false humility, no ass kissing, no passive-aggressiveness, no sense of entitlement. Nothing but being a couple of everyday dudes talking sports and everyday life. Internet lists and moronic time killing segments like "my favorite fingers, listed in order" find no shelter here.
As to THZ bolting to TF, no way. Did you hear Jake praise Bennett and Cat earlier this week? He gushed about how understanding and accommodating they/The Ticket has been during these tough (but hopefully getting much better) times for the Kemp family. That, the 6 month NC, and TF suck factor....not a chance in Hell THZ goes anywhere.
WiP is greatness. They are carrying on The Ticket mien and ethos in fine fashion. Between WiP and THZ alone, the station's health and long term outlook is bright. My only gripe (not sure if "gripe" is the right word) is that I wish THL would rename itself. It should've the moment Greggo left. It doubly should've the moment Rhyner left. It triply should've when Davey came aboard. And it quadruply should've when Rhyner started The Freak. Why give Rhyner the satisfaction? Or is it that they know it bugs the living shit out of him and that's why it remains? Whatever it is, there's nothing hard about THL and none of the original members are left. I mean, do they really want to imitate Foreigner?
I listened to a 5 segments of all 3 Freak shows this past week. Nothing really to report that hasn't already been said: None of them are very good. The only organic sounding segment was on The Down Beat, which pertained to music and was mostly a What's on Danny's Mind joint, with little to no input from either Mike. Even that was OK, not super compelling. But when the rest of it, across all shows, is that bad, such a segment stands out. The one thing that really really really stood out was Ben and Skin's constant, and I mean constant, shilling for their brewery. It's damn near the main focus of their show. At least from the 5 random segments I listened to. They spend entire segments talking up the food, new food specials and/or menu items, drinks and drink specials, events, the whole 9 yards. Never heard anything like it. I might be wrong, but I think they purchase ad spots on their show/the station for their brewery. It's as if the whole project is about the brewery rather than the show. I find it rather telling. As if they know The Freak is on a short leash, and their show even shorter, so they're working it and working it hard in service of their brew pub. That is, what will soon be their primary source of income (primary, not only). It's freakin' weird. You'd think iHeart would say something to them. But that's the PD's job, isn't it. Oh, yeah. They don't have one because they say/do what they want.
I guess you've never seen photos of the majority of radio personalities (specially in sports talk). Monty's build is not an anomaly. Leave Monty alone and mind your own. He's great just the way he is.
If it were up to me I'd lock up the Musers for as many three-year terms as I could.
But -- while I disclaim any inside information, and I'm far from alone in this -- I'm thinking that at least one Muser is a little loose in the socket, and if he goes, the others will go as well. None of them is hurting for money, even retirement money, and they'll all be pursued for other paying gigs short of a full-time show anchor should they decide to give up the morning grind. Money is never NOT in play, but if you have enough to be happy, you value other happy things more. Maybe Gordon hangs around as a free-lance gadfly who flits from show to show, much as he has been doing lately, but I'm sensing he has bigger fish to fry as well.
I'd be OK with Jake and Dan being awarded morning drive for general excellence in broadcasting, but for me it's not a great driving-down-the-road show; hard to throw things towards the radio at Dan whilst whizzing down the Tollway. Wanting to throw things at Dan without getting too put off is part of what makes it great radio. But yes -- I can see where if that's the plum, it would go to Hang Zone and not Work in Progress.
In any case, I'm pleased to see general agreement on Monty and Mino.
@Anon 12:52 - I thought it was Jake that had the countdown clock on the "cache me ousside" girl from the Dr. Phil show. Maybe it was someone else on the station.
Gonna have to miss Ticket Stock this year due to other obligations. Really curious how The Freak and associated shows will be addressed. I would say "if at all" but when the hosts take questions from the audience I don't see how this can be avoided.
Lastly, I just want the blind lady to see her kids faces and for humankind to be able to fix a horses bones.
Monty and Mino are great. They are the best of the weekend shows. I can see them taking the Hangzone slot or the Invasion depending on what happens in the morning or drive-time. Dan is sadly a punch out for me. Totally on me though, He's very good at radio but I passive-aggressive tones and attitudes drive me crazy so I have a much more pleasant day not listening to him.
I think Gordon did have bigger aspirations at one point. Hence the Gordon Keith Show, his TV stint on WFAA (or was it KTVT, memory is failing a bit), writerings at Quick and DMN, movie junket Gordo…it all went away over time. Who knows what happened. Maybe he found out that the grind of being dime store Ryan Seacrest (no disrepect to either) wasn’t his bag. Maybe whatever caused him clam up on all details of his personal life caused him to abandon these things. Going sober? Probably some combination of these and other crap we don’t know about. But he seems very content pursuing whatever happens to interest him at any given time while being an above averaged size fish in a medium sized pond. Good for him.
Lemme get this straight: You're saying he sounds lazy but is not lazy....but needs to sit up....inplying that he slouches, LAZES and needs to sit up. Again. You suck. Contradict yourself much?
RE Justin's broadcast style: Part of what I like about it is what 822/1043 finds "lazy." I find it conversational, relaxed, what we like about The Ticket generally as opposed to those "East Coast guys shouting you down." It's a good Ticket sound and it meshes well with David Mino's more seamless timbre.
I have occasion to listen to a major market sports show elsewhere, a city with all the sports. Horrible, horrible-sounding station. All sports, no lifestyle/pop culture stuff, and man, do they shout you down.
356: Glad you are enjoying The Downbeat. It is, however, difficult to understand how Danny Balis, whose powers are considerable but not in the superhero category, could save Speakeasy and the perennially unsavable Ben & Skin.
It somewhat calls your bona fides as a Freak fan into question.
It calls into question their place if employment. Thus is standard fare over on the reddit page. That is, Freak employees (hosts too) attempting to gin up genuine interest and/or positive Freak vibes. They all read the same, and so too does this one. The next step is for this same person to leave additional comments (again, all reading the same) attesting to their original comment. It's all rather sad. The next book might do them in. Yes, it's already rumored to be looking mighty dismal for Bitches & Co., across the board. Still amazed Danny joined this turd burger.
It’s their branding (or lack of it) that kills me. Saw some Ben Rogers social media posts. Where he’s claiming the Freak is your home for Cowboys talk. 2 problems. #1- it’s not. The Fan is the flagship, and the Ticket is the dominatrix in that 3-way relationship. The ratings show the Freak is the meek submissive with a ball gag getting pegged by the big boys. #2- you’re on air imaging doesn’t coincide with your social messages. A marginally competent PD, brand manager or even an imaging director or social media expert would line up the messaging to self-reinforce. But no it’s the Freak. So Ben is claiming to be Cowboys experts, while they refuse to position it as a sports station. I swear, there will be seminars on this in the future, “how to ruin a multi million dollar biller in just 6 short months”. C
Ben's socials are full of the cringiest tryhard content imaginable. It's actually a turn off to their entire station. And that's not even mentioning the weird, near-constant product promotions
"97.1 The Freak is a damn fun factory. If you’re not listening, you’re missing some really good times. And we’re the home of Cowboy talk. Both rodeo and #DallasCowboys"
"Lunchtime Funny and WALL TO WALL #DallasCowboys content on the official home of sports — @971TheFreak . TUNE IN NOW. Giving away Mavs tickets to the best Cowboys caller at 11:35!! @timeforjeffrey calls in at 1:35!! Let’s celebrate!!"
"This is the most unique radio station I’ve ever been a part of… Suit-free is the key. Creative control in the hands of the hosts. That’s exactly why people are so excited to be a part of this. We’ve waited our whole careers for this. @971TheFreak"
Ben is a no talent huckster pure and simple. Skin has something and so does Kristina (to a much smaller amount) but Ben drags everything down. Always has.
Monday. But that’s the holiday book, so it has zero meaning. I work in sales, I see requests from agencies. Every single request will ask for ratings with the holiday book excluded. Doesn’t matter if they’re asking for last 3 months, last 6, no agency, which is the biggest category of ad spending, counts the holiday book as meaningful. It’s why the Ticket burns the vast majority of the host vacation time in December and why the stations that do flip to Xmas do it in November. They’re trying to push the improved ratings back into the December monthly, which is mostly November by real calendars. I’ve seen the coming soon trailer for Monday. The Freak did themselves no favors by going into drydock when the ticket did. The opposing navy pulls their unbeatable battleship into drydock. But instead of spending that time raiding their shipping and capturing cargos of listeners, you allow your dinky little ship the “SS Oneshare” to also go into drydock. C
Someone beat me to the punch, but it really seems like B&S have turned their show solely into (i) a daily infomercial for their brewery and (ii) a tryout and/or new demo tape for another home, a sports home at that. It's a weird listen, man. So so obvious what they're up to.
Have to wonder if backchannels are opened or are attempting to be opened by current Freakers/ex-Ticketpats Sirois and Julie? I've noticed their soshes have become very much muted since that last ratings book. No more of the once often and not so veiled jabs at their former place of employment.
Even if they are trying to open them, why would the Ticket respond? What do any of those people offer except for a now proven ability to NOT draw ratings. That’s why I never understood the Sirois, Danny, or Julie stand. Yes you liked them in small portions served alongside something else you liked. But a steady diet? I like vegetables as a side dish, doesn’t make me want to become a vegetarian and give up my meat-sports- and potatoes -guy talk- that I consume every day. C
I think we have the same Freak employee commenter from above angrily weighing in. Trying first to foment love for his/her soon to be ex employer and now hate for someone who gets too close to the truth.
Norm is still great the day after a Cowboys game. They should ask him to do the Dale Hansen shift on Monday and Friday, and then pair Monty with Donovan the rest of the week.
It’s just after noon. Ratings are being printed out by PD’s, GM’s, and GSM’s across the metroplex. How bad is it fir the freak? One of C’s little birdies whispered in C’s ear that there was an all hands on deck programming meeting with someone from Corporate Programming yesterday. So much for we say what we want. So much for no corporate interference. But more importantly how badly was Fridays panel report that they immediately turned it around to a Monday staff meeting. And for those of you that don’t know- there’s a sneak preview of the ratings the Friday before it comes out. The panel report has info on the panelists that make up the ratings. If you’re panelist count goes up, chances are good your ratings will go up. How bad is it that corporate suits pulled together a meeting over the weekend? Can’t wait for Reddit to post these ratings. Going to be delicious seeing what new chunk of listeners they’ve lost. C
I think this is why B&S are beginning to push sports. They know all too well what failure and its attendant incoming changes out resultant outcomes look like. Rhyner does not. They're trying to get ahead of the game here and are either gambling on or have been told The Freak's heading to Sports Land. They are radio cockroaches, man. Whatever you might think of them, you have to admit they are crafty, they are survivors.
They can push sports. Problem being you’ve just spent 4 months training your consumer that this is NOT the place for consistent sports talk. You’ve spent 4 months ringing that bell and serving up music talk, internet lists, and self congratulatory circle jerks. How many listeners have listened over the last 4 months and have an image in their head of what the Freak is. And it’s an image they don’t like. Sure you can change that image. Put up more poorly conceptualized-ego driven -billboards. Note- whoever approved putting the FACE of a radio personality on a billboard should be fired. Today. But billboards take time, marketing takes time, the corporate buzzards are already circling. They smell it. Death is close… C
Danny mentioned the "2 hour meeting with corporate" on the air on Monday. I don't remember it exactly but he said something to the effect of, "told us to listen up or they'll pull us off the air." He delivered it in a clearly sarcastic tone, and Sirois immediately whispered something like, "that didn't happen."
If you're saying stuff like that on air, there are manifold levels of problems in play. And I'm not here referring to specifics. 1. They're far too attentive to siocial media, 2. It reeks of deflection. 3. Is a classic defense mechanism that is related to 2. Finally, 4. It evinces once again their misplaced focus, energies, and understanding of their situation.
If you pay close attention to and take seriously what people say (even, no, especially in jest), you will find that they will tell (I dare say confess) you exactly what's happening in their lives, their modus operandi, what they actually think of you/themselves/others, and their intentions. Old Pizza F Pants and Chael let way more slip than either knows.
Flipping to sports dominated would be yet another disaster for the little Freak. Timing is awful. After cowboys season is over? Who wants to hear any of these voices talking Mavs or counting down to truck day? Sorry not sorry, but the M25-54 don’t want to hear a female spouting off HSOs. Shifting to majority sports would further crater the morning show even more. And Mike R clearly doesn’t want to host a sports talk show right now. iHR would be better off blowing it up and going back to Tejano in the short term rather than a half hearted sports pivot that’s destined to fail
"Little Freak"? My ass. That's an iHeart station, son. Susquehanna, yes, little. Again, iHeart is to little as diarrhea is to an SBD. In case you still don't get it, it's quite the opposite.
These fuckos are in a mess of their own making. I'm talking about iHeart, not about the local yokel celebs at The Freak. Those ding a lings are merely that, ding a lings. See, Freakers, here's the dealio: Basing your actual cache off The Sosh is like playing the riff from Smoke on the Water for your Mom and little sister and actually believing it when they tell you that not only are you're talented, but also you're boundlessly creative. Hint: It's not real; they say it because they love you -- in the example, that is. As for the sosh, they have some inexplicable allegiance to you.
Somehow, these clowns parlayed a mimiscule sosh "groundswell" into taking over a f/Freaking heritage frequency radio station in the 4/5th largest market in the country. I mean, fuck, that's fuckin' impressive. No doubt about it. Not only that, they all got sexy salaries and benefits and all that shit. Fuck, they even got a "drydock" after having worked, what, a month and a half and change. It's basically benn one big party paid for by a fat cat corporation (who also happens to be emerging from bankruptcy, but hey, who isn't these day? Am I right? You bet I am).
Heading southbound on the DNT today and I spied one of the Rhyner billboards. Kinda hidden behind a tree and on the northbound side of traffic, so it's not readily seen. You have to look away from where you're going and over at oncoming/opposite travelling traffic to see it. I mean that placement says something, ya know. Like the whole endeavor, not much thought went into it, a textbook couldn't give a shit, just put it up *or as Rhyner used to dismissively say to traffic chicks, "just do the cars"*... funny how shit comes back around in the most random of ways.
Gonna be innarestin' to see how this things is ultimately dismantled. Not the abrubpt and summarily 86'ed format and its employees. Oh no. No, that's coming real soon. I'm talking about the subsequent finger pointing, backbiting, revisionist histories, and blame games that will ensue. Big questions: Does Rhyner disappear into that good night, emerging once in a blue moon, only after having kissed and made up with his former bunkermates? Is his once iron clad legacy and rep terminally tarnished? Does Sirois try to gab is gift of gab back into the comforting bosom of The Mothership? (Side note: I believe when the real real real story comes out, his gift of gab is going to be the biggest player in the genesis of The Freak and Rhyner's and everyone else's involvement in it...including the multiple and incoherent narratives of its coming to be. Just my hunch.) Will Julie return as a fill-in/P/T Tickerperson? As regards Danny, I think it's safe to say he'll fade completely from local yokel media view, be a bar owner, continue to make music. As for the rest of them, I'm saaaaawwwwreeeeeeeee, but I don't care. Wish them all the best, one hundo. But I mean, come on.
Grubes will keep on Grubesin'. Would he return to The Ticket? Dunno. I'd have to think he's still on good terms with everyone up there. But then again, maybe not. Thing about Grubes is that he's from a genuine 1-5%er income family. So he can follow his passions and whimsies and not have to worry about making ends meet, making hard career decisions, and whatnot. Grubes can take chances that others cannot. And good for him. Wish I had those options. Don't we all.
Well, I've done several healthy sample sizes over their entire broadcast day and on several occasions and for a week at a time. You don't have to listen every or most days to get at what's going on. Listen to one segment once in awhile or something along those lines, sure, that's not enough to make a real assessment.
I think the people that really listen are the same ones that love the freak people on twitter, and that's probably the extent of it. Also, I feel like the freak people I follow seem a a little quiet on social media, that may be in my head though idk. Also find it a little odd that Sirois, Danny, and Mike do not mention the freak in the bio at all.
before Muse, I'll switch over to Freak, & see if I can at least make it to 1min - think the closest its gotten to is 35secs. You're telling me besides PT Julie those other guys have prior on air experience?!? It.Is.So.Bad. & to tie in to Pmans post...Work in Progress is far and away better than anything 97.1 is producing...thats just a Fact.
It’s a headline intended to suck you in, if you need sucking when you visit My Ticket Confession. (And Confessors seem to be a little bored with all the Freak talk, so I thought I’d pivot back a bit.) The Musers are a legendary team that’s impossible to imitate and against whom comparisons are doomed. But consider:
ReplyDeleteAs we mull over the microscopic existential threat that the Freak is presenting using Ticket alumni, and as rumors of further defections are in the air (although, given The Freak’s deservedly low ratings, query whether any career-conscious talent is likely to sign on), we necessarily look ahead to what’s going to happen with The Ticket as the quarters roll by. Many Confessors have remarked, and it is obvious, that things will change over time. Hosts will retire; hosts will move on to other interests; and sure, hosts may jump ship for dollars. So we check out the bench to see what’s there.
Confessors are aware that I’m a fan of Work in Progress. (From March 2020: https://myticketconfession.blogspot.com/2020/03/is-this-best-show-on-ticket.html) And it seems to me like we’re hearing more of these two on other shows as fill-ins, and they’re good there, too.
As I was considering the merits of the Mino-Monty team the other day, it occurred to me that they remind me a bit of Craig and George. Between them they seem to know the range of sports in which the P1 is interested. Without wishing to overstate this, I see Mino as the Craig-y guy, smooth-talking, metrosexual (general hate neologisms, but it fits), and (seems to me) the leader of the pair as time has gone by. Monty as the George-y guy, a little more blue-collar, earthy, plain-talking, very non-radio voice that is nevertheless very listenable. They can both be witty. They both interact well with the crew on their show, which, while the collective voice of that crew does not take the place of Gordon, those interactions do keep the sound of the show fresh and, frequently, funny.
Yeah, yeah, I KNOW they don’t sound just like Dunham and Miller. But they come closer than any other pair I can think of to that kind of gestalt for a morning show.
Someday, Junior and George will have mused their last. Gordon will be off pursuing his Pulitzer. My mornings could start a whole lot worse than by punching in SportsDay and hearing Work in Progress.
But they gotta fix that name. These guys are throwing out a show in full and my bet is they could do it daily.
Hal jay is mid 70s. Norm is mid 70s. Bo and Jim were in their 70s before Jim quit. Bo is still at it, just with a younger partner now.Rhyner was 70ish on his first voluntary retirement, he’ll be 72 or 73 on his next (forced) retirement. Musers are mid 50s. George had a late kid, who’s know early 20s I think. Craig just had a kid. Gordo is incredibly secretive, but I know he had a kid in the great ticket baby boom of 2002. I believe he’s had at least one more since. And one of my beliefs on life- if you make a lot of money you spend a lot of money-. Yes they probably made good money. But enough to flat out retire before 62 with zero income? I think the musers will lose an hour from their show (9-10a) before they flat out retire. Would then open up a 9-12 slot to pair Donnie with others once norm retires.
ReplyDeleteI agree Monty and Mino are clearly up and comers. Jake wasn’t kidding with his song “waiting on a ticket host to die”. Will Monty and Mino wait for funerals, or do what Matt Mcclarin and Scott Harrison did and go get a job in another Cumulus market. I’d love to hear them on more, I just think the musers will retire when they’re ready. And I don’t think they’re ready yet.
C
Musers are late 50s. I truly believe we have two more years of them before they move on to the next phase of their lives. Dry Dock '24 will mark the end of their 30th year on-air. There is absolutely a hush-hush rumor that's been floating around the bar stool circuit of folks who are in varying degrees associated with Ticket Varsity and JV (some are rather close associates) that what I say is very much in play and even likely. If so, you can bet your ass THZ and perhaps a +1 Donnie will take over that coveted slot. Rightfully, smartly so. Mony n Mino taking over the now HZ slot? You betcha. All day, every day. Those boys just keep getting better. Wanna know why? Because they're genuine; they merely present themselves as they are, in true Musketeer Ticket fashion. No pretenses, no false humility, no ass kissing, no passive-aggressiveness, no sense of entitlement. Nothing but being a couple of everyday dudes talking sports and everyday life. Internet lists and moronic time killing segments like "my favorite fingers, listed in order" find no shelter here.
ReplyDeleteAs to THZ bolting to TF, no way. Did you hear Jake praise Bennett and Cat earlier this week? He gushed about how understanding and accommodating they/The Ticket has been during these tough (but hopefully getting much better) times for the Kemp family. That, the 6 month NC, and TF suck factor....not a chance in Hell THZ goes anywhere.
Yes, The Musers have made enough to retire before age 60
ReplyDelete#teammonty. Justin is great. When he fills in for Jake, you would think he’s the regular co-host.
ReplyDeleteWiP is greatness. They are carrying on The Ticket mien and ethos in fine fashion. Between WiP and THZ alone, the station's health and long term outlook is bright. My only gripe (not sure if "gripe" is the right word) is that I wish THL would rename itself. It should've the moment Greggo left. It doubly should've the moment Rhyner left. It triply should've when Davey came aboard. And it quadruply should've when Rhyner started The Freak. Why give Rhyner the satisfaction? Or is it that they know it bugs the living shit out of him and that's why it remains? Whatever it is, there's nothing hard about THL and none of the original members are left. I mean, do they really want to imitate Foreigner?
ReplyDeleteI listened to a 5 segments of all 3 Freak shows this past week. Nothing really to report that hasn't already been said: None of them are very good. The only organic sounding segment was on The Down Beat, which pertained to music and was mostly a What's on Danny's Mind joint, with little to no input from either Mike. Even that was OK, not super compelling. But when the rest of it, across all shows, is that bad, such a segment stands out. The one thing that really really really stood out was Ben and Skin's constant, and I mean constant, shilling for their brewery. It's damn near the main focus of their show. At least from the 5 random segments I listened to. They spend entire segments talking up the food, new food specials and/or menu items, drinks and drink specials, events, the whole 9 yards. Never heard anything like it. I might be wrong, but I think they purchase ad spots on their show/the station for their brewery. It's as if the whole project is about the brewery rather than the show. I find it rather telling. As if they know The Freak is on a short leash, and their show even shorter, so they're working it and working it hard in service of their brew pub. That is, what will soon be their primary source of income (primary, not only). It's freakin' weird. You'd think iHeart would say something to them. But that's the PD's job, isn't it. Oh, yeah. They don't have one because they say/do what they want.
ReplyDeleteTough love for Monty: The man needs to start taking care of himself before anyone invests long-term in him.
ReplyDeleteI’m sure Monty is well aware of his weight, but your concern is touching.
ReplyDeleteI guess you've never seen photos of the majority of radio personalities (specially in sports talk). Monty's build is not an anomaly. Leave Monty alone and mind your own. He's great just the way he is.
ReplyDeleteVery nice picture of two gingers, P-man. Do we need to start Jake's countdown clock on them?
ReplyDeleteJake's? He digs the old.
ReplyDeleteIf it were up to me I'd lock up the Musers for as many three-year terms as I could.
ReplyDeleteBut -- while I disclaim any inside information, and I'm far from alone in this -- I'm thinking that at least one Muser is a little loose in the socket, and if he goes, the others will go as well. None of them is hurting for money, even retirement money, and they'll all be pursued for other paying gigs short of a full-time show anchor should they decide to give up the morning grind. Money is never NOT in play, but if you have enough to be happy, you value other happy things more. Maybe Gordon hangs around as a free-lance gadfly who flits from show to show, much as he has been doing lately, but I'm sensing he has bigger fish to fry as well.
I'd be OK with Jake and Dan being awarded morning drive for general excellence in broadcasting, but for me it's not a great driving-down-the-road show; hard to throw things towards the radio at Dan whilst whizzing down the Tollway. Wanting to throw things at Dan without getting too put off is part of what makes it great radio. But yes -- I can see where if that's the plum, it would go to Hang Zone and not Work in Progress.
In any case, I'm pleased to see general agreement on Monty and Mino.
PS: I do try not to select jailbait reds. I thought these young ladies were not too young, but, I concede, not not-too-young by much.
ReplyDelete@Anon 12:52 - I thought it was Jake that had the countdown clock on the "cache me ousside" girl from the Dr. Phil show. Maybe it was someone else on the station.
ReplyDeleteGonna have to miss Ticket Stock this year due to other obligations. Really curious how The Freak and associated shows will be addressed. I would say "if at all" but when the hosts take questions from the audience I don't see how this can be avoided.
Lastly, I just want the blind lady to see her kids faces and for humankind to be able to fix a horses bones.
It was Mino that had the countdown clock on Danielle Bregoli from 2017. I will let you guys do the math
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpvdpTl6FMc
Monty and Mino are great. They are the best of the weekend shows. I can see them taking the Hangzone slot or the Invasion depending on what happens in the morning or drive-time. Dan is sadly a punch out for me. Totally on me though, He's very good at radio but I passive-aggressive tones and attitudes drive me crazy so I have a much more pleasant day not listening to him.
ReplyDeleteI think if Gordon genuinely had bigger fish to fry, he'd have done it by now. Long ago in fact.
ReplyDelete^ True. ^
ReplyDeleteI think Gordon did have bigger aspirations at one point. Hence the Gordon Keith Show, his TV stint on WFAA (or was it KTVT, memory is failing a bit), writerings at Quick and DMN, movie junket Gordo…it all went away over time. Who knows what happened. Maybe he found out that the grind of being dime store Ryan Seacrest (no disrepect to either) wasn’t his bag. Maybe whatever caused him clam up on all details of his personal life caused him to abandon these things. Going sober? Probably some combination of these and other crap we don’t know about. But he seems very content pursuing whatever happens to interest him at any given time while being an above averaged size fish in a medium sized pond. Good for him.
ReplyDeleteMonty’s delivery sounds lazy to me. Sounds like he is doing the show while laying on a couch. He needs to sit up when he does the show.
ReplyDeleteNot saying he is lazy; just saying his delivery sounds lazy to me.
ReplyDeleteLemme get this straight: You're saying he sounds lazy but is not lazy....but needs to sit up....inplying that he slouches, LAZES and needs to sit up. Again. You suck. Contradict yourself much?
ReplyDeleteYep, Pman, these reds are far far far too close to being jailbait. I'd say they probs are.
ReplyDeleteDownbeat is v good now. I tried to resist but it’s got my attention. The whole station has my attention now. Balis saved it.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:34
ReplyDeleteTineye says the original image goes back to 2017 so do the math.
RE Justin's broadcast style: Part of what I like about it is what 822/1043 finds "lazy." I find it conversational, relaxed, what we like about The Ticket generally as opposed to those "East Coast guys shouting you down." It's a good Ticket sound and it meshes well with David Mino's more seamless timbre.
ReplyDeleteI have occasion to listen to a major market sports show elsewhere, a city with all the sports. Horrible, horrible-sounding station. All sports, no lifestyle/pop culture stuff, and man, do they shout you down.
356: Glad you are enjoying The Downbeat. It is, however, difficult to understand how Danny Balis, whose powers are considerable but not in the superhero category, could save Speakeasy and the perennially unsavable Ben & Skin.
ReplyDeleteIt somewhat calls your bona fides as a Freak fan into question.
It calls into question their place if employment. Thus is standard fare over on the reddit page. That is, Freak employees (hosts too) attempting to gin up genuine interest and/or positive Freak vibes. They all read the same, and so too does this one. The next step is for this same person to leave additional comments (again, all reading the same) attesting to their original comment. It's all rather sad. The next book might do them in. Yes, it's already rumored to be looking mighty dismal for Bitches & Co., across the board. Still amazed Danny joined this turd burger.
ReplyDeleteRaGE writ large, that's The Freak. Everything Rhyner ever railed against, he's become. No. That's untrue. He always was it.
ReplyDeleteIt’s their branding (or lack of it) that kills me. Saw some Ben Rogers social media posts. Where he’s claiming the Freak is your home for Cowboys talk. 2 problems. #1- it’s not. The Fan is the flagship, and the Ticket is the dominatrix in that 3-way relationship. The ratings show the Freak is the meek submissive with a ball gag getting pegged by the big boys.
ReplyDelete#2- you’re on air imaging doesn’t coincide with your social messages. A marginally competent PD, brand manager or even an imaging director or social media expert would line up the messaging to self-reinforce. But no it’s the Freak. So Ben is claiming to be Cowboys experts, while they refuse to position it as a sports station. I swear, there will be seminars on this in the future, “how to ruin a multi million dollar biller in just 6 short months”.
C
Ben's socials are full of the cringiest tryhard content imaginable. It's actually a turn off to their entire station. And that's not even mentioning the weird, near-constant product promotions
ReplyDelete"97.1 The Freak is a damn fun factory. If you’re not listening, you’re missing some really good times. And we’re the home of Cowboy talk. Both rodeo and #DallasCowboys"
"Lunchtime Funny and WALL TO WALL #DallasCowboys content on the official home of sports —
@971TheFreak
. TUNE IN NOW. Giving away Mavs tickets to the best Cowboys caller at 11:35!!
@timeforjeffrey
calls in at 1:35!! Let’s celebrate!!"
"This is the most unique radio station I’ve ever been a part of… Suit-free is the key. Creative control in the hands of the hosts. That’s exactly why people are so excited to be a part of this. We’ve waited our whole careers for this. @971TheFreak"
Ben is a no talent huckster pure and simple. Skin has something and so does Kristina (to a much smaller amount) but Ben drags everything down. Always has.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know when does the next book makes port?
ReplyDeleteMonday. But that’s the holiday book, so it has zero meaning. I work in sales, I see requests from agencies. Every single request will ask for ratings with the holiday book excluded. Doesn’t matter if they’re asking for last 3 months, last 6, no agency, which is the biggest category of ad spending, counts the holiday book as meaningful. It’s why the Ticket burns the vast majority of the host vacation time in December and why the stations that do flip to Xmas do it in November. They’re trying to push the improved ratings back into the December monthly, which is mostly November by real calendars. I’ve seen the coming soon trailer for Monday. The Freak did themselves no favors by going into drydock when the ticket did. The opposing navy pulls their unbeatable battleship into drydock. But instead of spending that time raiding their shipping and capturing cargos of listeners, you allow your dinky little ship the “SS Oneshare” to also go into drydock.
DeleteC
The next book covers Jan 5-Feb 1, so after that
ReplyDeleteSomeone beat me to the punch, but it really seems like B&S have turned their show solely into (i) a daily infomercial for their brewery and (ii) a tryout and/or new demo tape for another home, a sports home at that. It's a weird listen, man. So so obvious what they're up to.
ReplyDeleteHave to wonder if backchannels are opened or are attempting to be opened by current Freakers/ex-Ticketpats Sirois and Julie? I've noticed their soshes have become very much muted since that last ratings book. No more of the once often and not so veiled jabs at their former place of employment.
Even if they are trying to open them, why would the Ticket respond? What do any of those people offer except for a now proven ability to NOT draw ratings. That’s why I never understood the Sirois, Danny, or Julie stand. Yes you liked them in small portions served alongside something else you liked. But a steady diet? I like vegetables as a side dish, doesn’t make me want to become a vegetarian and give up my meat-sports- and potatoes -guy talk- that I consume every day.
ReplyDeleteC
Stans, not stand
DeleteC has few friends in the industry.
ReplyDeleteAnd you make this claim based on......???????
ReplyDeleteI think we have the same Freak employee commenter from above angrily weighing in. Trying first to foment love for his/her soon to be ex employer and now hate for someone who gets too close to the truth.
Norm is still great the day after a Cowboys game. They should ask him to do the Dale Hansen shift on Monday and Friday, and then pair Monty with Donovan the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind seeing that happen, 1243. Though I do think SeaBass might be a better pairing. But I'd be just fine with Monty. Big Monty fan.
ReplyDeleteMonty is 52x better than ultra milquetoast Sean Bass.
ReplyDeleteBut Surly, he's a girl dad.
ReplyDeleteyank… yank…
ReplyDeleteIt’s just after noon. Ratings are being printed out by PD’s, GM’s, and GSM’s across the metroplex. How bad is it fir the freak? One of C’s little birdies whispered in C’s ear that there was an all hands on deck programming meeting with someone from Corporate Programming yesterday. So much for we say what we want. So much for no corporate interference. But more importantly how badly was Fridays panel report that they immediately turned it around to a Monday staff meeting. And for those of you that don’t know- there’s a sneak preview of the ratings the Friday before it comes out. The panel report has info on the panelists that make up the ratings. If you’re panelist count goes up, chances are good your ratings will go up. How bad is it that corporate suits pulled together a meeting over the weekend?
ReplyDeleteCan’t wait for Reddit to post these ratings. Going to be delicious seeing what new chunk of listeners they’ve lost.
C
Good shit, as always, C.
ReplyDeleteI think this is why B&S are beginning to push sports. They know all too well what failure and its attendant incoming changes out resultant outcomes look like. Rhyner does not. They're trying to get ahead of the game here and are either gambling on or have been told The Freak's heading to Sports Land. They are radio cockroaches, man. Whatever you might think of them, you have to admit they are crafty, they are survivors.
ReplyDeletei believe you meant they are cacaroaches
ReplyDeleteGood one.
DeleteThey can push sports. Problem being you’ve just spent 4 months training your consumer that this is NOT the place for consistent sports talk. You’ve spent 4 months ringing that bell and serving up music talk, internet lists, and self congratulatory circle jerks. How many listeners have listened over the last 4 months and have an image in their head of what the Freak is. And it’s an image they don’t like. Sure you can change that image. Put up more poorly conceptualized-ego driven -billboards. Note- whoever approved putting the FACE of a radio personality on a billboard should be fired. Today. But billboards take time, marketing takes time, the corporate buzzards are already circling. They smell it. Death is close…
ReplyDeleteC
Danny mentioned the "2 hour meeting with corporate" on the air on Monday. I don't remember it exactly but he said something to the effect of, "told us to listen up or they'll pull us off the air." He delivered it in a clearly sarcastic tone, and Sirois immediately whispered something like, "that didn't happen."
ReplyDeleteYikes.
If you're saying stuff like that on air, there are manifold levels of problems in play. And I'm not here referring to specifics. 1. They're far too attentive to siocial media, 2. It reeks of deflection. 3. Is a classic defense mechanism that is related to 2. Finally, 4. It evinces once again their misplaced focus, energies, and understanding of their situation.
ReplyDeleteIf you pay close attention to and take seriously what people say (even, no, especially in jest), you will find that they will tell (I dare say confess) you exactly what's happening in their lives, their modus operandi, what they actually think of you/themselves/others, and their intentions. Old Pizza F Pants and Chael let way more slip than either knows.
Flipping to sports dominated would be yet another disaster for the little Freak. Timing is awful. After cowboys season is over? Who wants to hear any of these voices talking Mavs or counting down to truck day? Sorry not sorry, but the M25-54 don’t want to hear a female spouting off HSOs. Shifting to majority sports would further crater the morning show even more. And Mike R clearly doesn’t want to host a sports talk show right now. iHR would be better off blowing it up and going back to Tejano in the short term rather than a half hearted sports pivot that’s destined to fail
ReplyDeleteMaybe the hosts should all take a course and spend all day saying whatever they want in Spanish?
DeleteRadio banditos!
DeleteTruck full of Mexicans.
ReplyDelete"Little Freak"? My ass. That's an iHeart station, son. Susquehanna, yes, little. Again, iHeart is to little as diarrhea is to an SBD. In case you still don't get it, it's quite the opposite.
ReplyDeleteThese fuckos are in a mess of their own making. I'm talking about iHeart, not about the local yokel celebs at The Freak. Those ding a lings are merely that, ding a lings. See, Freakers, here's the dealio: Basing your actual cache off The Sosh is like playing the riff from Smoke on the Water for your Mom and little sister and actually believing it when they tell you that not only are you're talented, but also you're boundlessly creative. Hint: It's not real; they say it because they love you -- in the example, that is. As for the sosh, they have some inexplicable allegiance to you.
Somehow, these clowns parlayed a mimiscule sosh "groundswell" into taking over a f/Freaking heritage frequency radio station in the 4/5th largest market in the country. I mean, fuck, that's fuckin' impressive. No doubt about it. Not only that, they all got sexy salaries and benefits and all that shit. Fuck, they even got a "drydock" after having worked, what, a month and a half and change. It's basically benn one big party paid for by a fat cat corporation (who also happens to be emerging from bankruptcy, but hey, who isn't these day? Am I right? You bet I am).
Heading southbound on the DNT today and I spied one of the Rhyner billboards. Kinda hidden behind a tree and on the northbound side of traffic, so it's not readily seen. You have to look away from where you're going and over at oncoming/opposite travelling traffic to see it. I mean that placement says something, ya know. Like the whole endeavor, not much thought went into it, a textbook couldn't give a shit, just put it up *or as Rhyner used to dismissively say to traffic chicks, "just do the cars"*... funny how shit comes back around in the most random of ways.
Gonna be innarestin' to see how this things is ultimately dismantled. Not the abrubpt and summarily 86'ed format and its employees. Oh no. No, that's coming real soon. I'm talking about the subsequent finger pointing, backbiting, revisionist histories, and blame games that will ensue. Big questions: Does Rhyner disappear into that good night, emerging once in a blue moon, only after having kissed and made up with his former bunkermates? Is his once iron clad legacy and rep terminally tarnished? Does Sirois try to gab is gift of gab back into the comforting bosom of The Mothership? (Side note: I believe when the real real real story comes out, his gift of gab is going to be the biggest player in the genesis of The Freak and Rhyner's and everyone else's involvement in it...including the multiple and incoherent narratives of its coming to be. Just my hunch.) Will Julie return as a fill-in/P/T Tickerperson? As regards Danny, I think it's safe to say he'll fade completely from local yokel media view, be a bar owner, continue to make music. As for the rest of them, I'm saaaaawwwwreeeeeeeee, but I don't care. Wish them all the best, one hundo. But I mean, come on.
^^^^^^Sniper, this one. Has studied their target well and know its tendencies.
ReplyDeleteit would seem the only people that listen to KEGL these days are found in this comment section. definitely do not know anyone in real life that does.
ReplyDeleteYou paint with a broad brush.
Deleteno seriously, I don't. sure, maybe some that have "checked it out", but no one that is a regular.
DeleteAle as in Ail: Will Grubes be back to his baseball gig or will he too just fade away?
ReplyDeleteGrubes will keep on Grubesin'. Would he return to The Ticket? Dunno. I'd have to think he's still on good terms with everyone up there. But then again, maybe not. Thing about Grubes is that he's from a genuine 1-5%er income family. So he can follow his passions and whimsies and not have to worry about making ends meet, making hard career decisions, and whatnot. Grubes can take chances that others cannot. And good for him. Wish I had those options. Don't we all.
ReplyDeleteWell, I've done several healthy sample sizes over their entire broadcast day and on several occasions and for a week at a time. You don't have to listen every or most days to get at what's going on. Listen to one segment once in awhile or something along those lines, sure, that's not enough to make a real assessment.
ReplyDeleteI think the people that really listen are the same ones that love the freak people on twitter, and that's probably the extent of it. Also, I feel like the freak people I follow seem a a little quiet on social media, that may be in my head though idk. Also find it a little odd that Sirois, Danny, and Mike do not mention the freak in the bio at all.
ReplyDeletebefore Muse, I'll switch over to Freak, & see if I can at least make it to 1min - think the closest its gotten to is 35secs. You're telling me besides PT Julie those other guys have prior on air experience?!? It.Is.So.Bad.
ReplyDelete& to tie in to Pmans post...Work in Progress is far and away better than anything 97.1 is producing...thats just a Fact.
New thread up, not much of an observation by Your Plainsman.
ReplyDelete