DryDock Quick Hits

Been out of town and doing the Christmas thing with the fam, just barely keeping up with comments.

And then I tune in to my own site and find absolute gold in the last batch of comments.  I was going to cobble together some drydock quick hits but I find that Anonymous and Shaggy have beaten me to the punch, reporting more thoroughly and authoritatively than I could.  I hope I have their permission to repost their comments for further inspection by the Nation.

My reactions will appear in a comment.

First, here's Anonymous, Parts 1 and 2:

STD ALERT!!!

Thoughts concerning Dry Dock:

Gordie and the Deuce: Funny and uncomfortable as all get out. Doocy laid out the blueprint on how to effectively combat Gordo's guerrilla warfare. Good chemistry, even better times.

Rhads and Followheezy: Solid. Rhads has become a better radio broadcaster. He doesn't yell into the mic nearly as much as he once did. Nor does he try too hard to Ticket schtick it up, again, like he once did. Followill was his usual bad a self. Sure, he's going to give us a glass is (more than) half full view of the Mavs, but I think we can all understand why. His Cowboy talk has been chock full of HSOs, and that's a good.

Black and Quack: I agree with Plainsman where Dick Hicks is concerned. He's a consummate pro. Yes he can grate from time to time, but overall his HSOs are on point and fearless. Donnie Doo, I cannot say the same. The man is overexposed. There's been WAAAAY (to use one of his annoying traits) too much airtime for our man Donnie Doo. Between BaD, Cowboys post, fill in for the morning drive, and B&Q...it's much too much. I like Donnie, but he's a one trick pony. While it's evident that he's been working really hard on his football knowledge (especially draft history, personnel from other teams, etc.), he just doesn't add anything meaningful to the conversation on a regular basis. He finds an obvious or emotion based point and keeps ramming it home, over and again. And even when he has a really good point, again, he won't relent, he won't move on; he applies it to everything, or he keeps returning to it. The CTOs need to curb his on air time. He doesn't need to be involved with so many shows. No one else up there is, why him? I can appreciate his work ethic and industry, but like Nell Carter used to sing: "Gimme a break, I sure deserve it."

Soul Patch: Why they were tapped to do morning drive is beyond me. Poor decision. It's not a bad show, but it's not strong enough to fill those shoes. Heck, they had basically run out of content by the end of their allotted time. Scott H has a pleasant voice and fairly good sports chops. For the life of me, I'll never understand why the show is named after a spot of (passe) facial hair. I don't understand a mid-late 40-something with multiple piercings, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Like I said, he (and the show) ain't bad. Matt McClearin is an entirely different animal altogether. Wow! I mean, from the prom, the teenage bride, the UFOs, the notion of sex, love, conception, and being well-adjusted, the wearing a kilt, mooning your family, and not realizing the when you don't wear underwear your junk will be showing as well, and finally, the Christmas fisticuffs with his brother over him sticking an olive in his bro's ear while trying to squeeze the juice out of it (hello Freud!)... while his mother is crying. Again, Wow! An odd duck for sure, and I'll leave it at that. (I'm sure he's a nice guy, but nice guys can be weird, too.)

CDS: When the Bros Sirois talk sports, I listen. I think they are the true up and comers around The Little One. What I dislike is their infatuation with their own sense of humor. When they go into schtick, especially extended schtick, it's overkill. Because they're brothers, they both sound similar. Furthermore they both speak very rapidly (something they need to temper). And when you have two people who sounds a lot alike, speak rapidly, and constantly finish each others thoughts/talk over each other, radio chaos ensues. They need to work on this. It's when they get too "cute" for too long that this most usually occurs. I wish they 'd be more sports oriented. I think that by doing so, they're star would rise faster. Don't get me wrong, they can be funny. But, like their rapid speaking, temper it; find the golden mean. Oh, and I know that Mike works for Norm, so I see where it comes from, but they are guilty of "Over Norm." You don't need to do your own Norm drops or imitations at every turn. While they can be funny when well placed, they get stale when repeated time and again. Besides, no one can hold a candle to Gordon in that regard.

Can't wait for p.m. drivetime BaD. A foretaste of the future perhaps???

Well put, Anonymous. 
Here is Shaggy's offering:

The Soul Patch really has got nothing. As generic as it gets. Today was my first time listening to them for a moderate length of time, and it wasn't good. They are exactly what other stations across the country come up with by trying to copy The Ticket's sports talk/guy talk formula. And it's nearly always bad.

Agree about Cirque. I also think they have something, but they are way too schtick-y. They are an almost exact carbon copy of Ben & Skin when they were on The Ticket. They would constantly be laughing at their own and each others' jokes, but they werent all that funny. I think B&S have grown a lot, but they do still suffer from thinking they're a lot cooler and funnier than they really are.

Gentlemen Confessors, you have my thanks.  I'll get the comments underway

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Had to Laugh in the Car at Something Greggo Said Today

Rhads and Followill were enjoyable enough, but it struck me that I hadn't checked out RaGE in awhile, so I punched over.  They were talking to some FANfan (their latest catchphrase -- at least I hadn't heard it before) who had won a contest and was sitting in on the show.  One of his interests was camping.

GREGGO:  Why would anyone want to go camping?

SYBIL:  You can go out in the woods and drink beer, not shower for three days.

GREGGO:  I can do that at home.

Dunno, just struck me funny.  Didn't listen for long, no other major impressions. 

Except that they're still around and not taking time off over the holidays.  I recall commenters predicting their demise well before now, but they're hanging on.

PS:  Question:  I thought I heard Rhads say that BaD was going to do some PM drive shows during the break.  Did anyone hear that or know what days that will take place?  Thanks.

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Follow Your Plainsman on Twitter:  @Plainsman1310

Some Drydock Quick Hits from Confessor Doug

Confessors, I have a special holiday treat for you. Frequent and perspicacious commenter Doug dropped me a private line the other day. He says the holidays left him with some downtime, so he got off a few private blasts. I thought they were very interesting and well-stated, on topics I did not have on my own list, so I secured his permission to share some of them. I’ve edited them a bit for length. My thanks to Doug both for taking the time to write, and to let me publish them here:

Doug on Drydock Showgram Quality and Substitute Hosts

It's implied that during drydock, the quality of the shows will drop off a little, but the substitutes Cat (I guess) comes up with make the station nearly unlistenable.

I remember in a segment just after the 15th anniversary party (which I relive thanks to the UnTicket) Bob and Dan preached the greatness of Bruce Gilbert (before he took the Fan PD gig) because he went out and got radio guys to do radio things. I understand they aren't going to get top talent for four weeks of fill-in time, but The Ticket has plenty of people in their arsenal that I think would produce better radio.

The problem with grabbing TV guys is they're too aware of their day job. I think Mark Followill is the best sub and has deep Ticket roots, won't so much as cuss without thinking twice about it. I'm not saying working blue produces good radio, but I do think good radio is made mostly off the cuff. Doocy isn't bad either, but again, you don't get that same level of honesty. Everything is polished. You're telling me Mike loves everyone he works with and doesn't have a single issue with his day job? Please. It's not their fault, though. If I had a dream job I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize it either. That's my point. The problem is the casting (I left out one obvious one. I'll get to him in a sec).

[On John Rhadigan:] I feel terrible for what I'm about to say because he seems like a total sweetheart of a man. Everyone says that working with John will spoil you because he is the ultimate professional, but holy crap. The guy just has nothing. Great on TV postgame shows, Horrible for four hours. He does waaaay too many resets. He takes a hit of speed before he does a segment, causing him to talk 600 words a minute, he repeats himself too much, he swallows his words like Ditka, and he’ll start a thought, then take an immediate left turn into another thought. He tries to get the Ticket lingo, but gets it just wrong, which is about as annoying as misquoting movies or songs. I’m sure he’s one of the nicest guys in the DFW market in person, but he just tries too hard.

Doug on Alternative Drydock Programming

With Elf gone, The Scrubs about as generic as you can get, and Danny on vacation (but Davey has a day job as a copywriter, which is awesome, so he probably couldn’t do fill-in anyway), I would propose giving the boys at It’s Just Banter a go from noon to 3. [I’d never heard of it, but apparently it’s the TC Fleming/Jake Kemp podcast – Plainsman.] They’re raw, sure. They cuss on the podcast, but they both have on-air experience. Plus they have chemistry with each other which is so important in radio, but somehow over looked during drydock. They’re also hungry to prove themselves. They’ll do their homework and have each segment planned out to a tee.

Then for 3-7 Cirque du Sirois. I love Mike Sirois. Loved him when he was doing Saturday morning Tickers full of schtick. Loved him when he was fill in producer, and I listen to Norm more now because he’s the producer. He’s got something. And he’s in his element when he’s working with people he knows like…his brother. They’ve got a good thing going. I’m almost wondering if Cash was busy this week since he’s not filling in anywhere.

More Doug at a later date. Comments are now open. I would remind commenters, who are almost always respectful – Anonymous, now, you be good – that Doug did not originally write this material for publication. He’s allowing me to republish his remarks because I asked him to let me do it. So keep that in mind as you post your thoughtful reactions. Many thanks

--  Plainsman

Drydock Quick Hit

I like Followill and Rhadigan as drydock substitutes.  Always glad to hear that they're substituting.  They did a one-day fill-in for The Hardline yesterday, and the show really caught my attention because:

First, any show where either of them is a host is always really loud.  They are classic radio/TV guys, trained to avoid dead air at all costs.  Their show is a slab of sound.  Good talk, but noisy as hell, very conventional-sounding.  In contrast to most of the Ticket hosts, these guys have great, if conventional, radio pipes.  (I don't know what it is about Followill, but it sounds like he is always EQ'd really, really hot, his voice sizzles and hisses in comparison to the much more midrangy Rhadigan.  Maybe he needs to lean back from that mic a bit.)

But yesterday, it was different.  Better.

It was better because of the presence of Danny Balis.  He participated in the showgram as a near-equal, and it completely transformed the Followill/Rhadigan offering.  His calmer and more conversational tone busted up the Phil-Spectorish tsunami of syllables and regulated the show to excellent effect.   That extra voice transformed the entire cadence of the Mark/John roar into something much more agreeable to the ear.

My ear, anyway.

A Modest Proposal for the Hardline – PART 4: The Modest Proposal Itself

HeeHoo is not coming back.

And Mike probably is not going to magically reassert control over the show.

But I invite you to consider whether balance, stronger content, and Mike's interest might be restored by the introduction of another host, someone who could bring to the show something of the same animating spirit that HeeHoo did.

And, most importantly, someone who could be Mike's ally in the same way that HeeHoo was. A more meaty, blue-collar voice to offset the too-cool-for-school smartiness of the two lads. (Again, I like that attitude, but without some leavening it wears you down day after day.) Someone who could lessen the severity of the Corbyward tilt, and might, just might, be able to talk sports in the bargain.

I understand the risk. The show is good now, why upset what chemistry there is? What internal problems would arise by introducing someone who would necessarily cut into Corby's air time? Station politics, which are probably already much hotter than any of us imagines, would be daunting. If it failed, wouldn't it be a public relations disaster? Look what happened when they tried to pair Connie Chung with Dan Rather.

These are all quite legitimate questions, and all reasons why this modest proposal will, to a virtual certainty, live and die in this little blog.

But just for fun, let me invite you to put aside the impossibility of any organic change in The Hardline in the short run, and review for a moment the merits of an individual who is right there on the premises, available for service:

Mike Bacsik.

Don't laugh, or snort in derision. Just bear with me for a minute. Consider – he has a lot of HeeHoo's strengths (not all, not yet), some strengths that HeeHoo did not have, and none of his weaknesses. But also some weaknesses that HeeHoo did not have.

     --      He is a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy. He sometimes misspeaks in a very charming, engaging kind of way. Sound familiar?

     --      Although younger than Corby and Danny, he conveys a general impression of adulthood, stability, maturity. Family man.  (Yeah, I know Corby is a family man -- a man with a family.)

     --      He is not a slick broadcaster. His voice is not polished; is, in fact, a little coarse. Very matter of fact, but can summon up passion about the things that matter to him. Someone like Followill would not work on aesthetic grounds alone – the voice just doesn't fit with the Hardline. I feel the same way about Rhadigan. Those guys are broadcaster’s broadcasters – they hate dead air, but the pauses and errors of everyday conversation are part of what gives The Ticket its distinctive and appealing sound. Love both Mark and John, and love it when they sit in, but with the exception of Bob Sturm and Danny, there’s not a classic broadcasting voice on the station. You need someone with a little roughness around the edges, and Bacsik fills that bill. Just this morning, George Dunham was making fun of Bacsik’s voice, likening it to Chewbacca’s. There you go – it’s a distinctive, likable sound and not a prefab broadcast sound. (And by the way: George’s timbre is not so far distant from Bacsik’s.)

     --      He possesses the distinctive quality of actually knowing something about a variety of sports. Holds his own with Norm.

     --      He has broadcast and behind-the-scenes technical experience without being a "professional" broadcaster.

     --      He comes across as a nice guy.

     --      DISADVANTAGE: He is not a naturally amusing human. For it to work, he would have to loosen up a little. His shows with Rhadigan over the Christmas break were quite good. His weekend show with some guy whose name escapes me right now is also good. But he'd need some time to get into the swing of things on The Hardline.

     --      DISADVANTAGE: Might be a little straight-laced for some of the more rambunctious Hardline segments. He would need to get comfortable with pop culture topics, chicks, movies, bad music, and, of course, the occasional bodily discharge. That would come with time. In any event, that seat at the table should be a little, shall we say, uninformed about certain things – like HeeHoo was.

     --      DISADVANTAGE: The man likes to talk. He can go on some. Nothing would be worse than The Hardline sounding like Why Today Doesn’t Suck, with a buncha guys talking at once.

     --      DISADVANTAGE: Three guys on the show named Michael.

Of course, the most difficult problem is how The Ticket could make this happen in a way that did not make it seem as though the station were concerned about The Hardline. (For all I know, Cumulus and station management have no concern whatsoever about The Hardline. In fact, I may be the only person who does.) Maybe have Bacsik produce a few times if Danny has some time off. If that works for the show, have him sub for Corby a couple times when Corby has a commitment elsewhere. See how it goes.

OK, so maybe you don’t care for Bacsik . Or maybe he’s not the right guy. But what do you think about looking for a structural change in the show that sharpens up the creative tension that used to make that showgram snap? Is Your Plainsman way off base here?

Let’s say a new host were brought in, any new sportsy host: What would happen?

Mike R would be challenged to sharpen up his sports awareness. His interest in the show would revive, as it seemed to do when Rhadigan was on the show last week. Segments would have more substance, would rely less on repetitive inside gags and drops. (But, of course, we still want an appropriate quantity of inside gags and drops.)

It might be perceived as a "demotion" for Corby. (Adding any new host would have this effect.) That would be regrettable, as he certainly doesn’t deserve one. Another host would inevitably cut into his airtime, although it is not beyond imagining that Mike R would be the one reducing his cumulative airtime with a new voice there to talk sports. The whole idea here is to get mike interested again, get him off the defensive, increase the dramatic tension between the two factions of the show, which is what gives it its charm. If Mike R's participation (quantity or quality) were not enhanced by Mike B's arrival, then the strategy will fail.

Crazy? Sure. Just how crazy depends on how you think The Hardline is sounding. If you think its current gestalt is fine just the way it is and for the future, then it’s real crazy. If you don’t enjoy the showgram like you used to – or if, like me, you’re just worried about the damned thing – ask yourself why. If you locate the source of your reaction in the OverCorby (or, perhaps more accurately, the UnderMike) – as much as you may like them both – then a structural solution, while risky, may not be quite as crazy as it seems on first hearing.

Ask yourself this: If you had only known Greg Williams from occasional host appearances and contributions as a producer, and the Hardline were just like it is today, what would you have thought of the suggestion that he be added as an additional host on The Hardline? Could any of us have possibly imagined the legendary powerhouse that show became?

Of course, Norm would need a new producer. I nominate Doyle King.

Thank you for shopping at My Ticket Confession.

Michael Comes Alive

We all love the Hardline just the way it is. But did you hear the program on Wednesday? Corby had a family matter to attend to and John Rhadigan filled in. 

The ear will usually welcome change. Some of what made one sit up and take notice on Wednesday was that the show just sounded different. So none of what follows is a knock on Corby, who, as you know, I think is a very talented broadcaster.

But . . . did you hear the difference in Mike’s performance? The man was engaged, in charge. And the show was a pleasure to listen to. Rhads had his say, and some of it was very astute. Danny’s contributions were trenchant and well-timed. The segments sounded like they were . . . egads! . . . prepared. The show crackled; the energy coming through the speakers was palpable.

It was substantial, impactful radio. Shows like today’s remind you of why they call it The Hardline.

[SEE next post re next week's special Hardline series.]