Studio Walls--9-25-24

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

Here are a few from the archives...

September 22, 1994—Friends debuts

=If it happened in the 90s, I have written a parody song about it. You can hear it here. 

 

September 23, 1977: Aja Released by Steely Dan

=Bill Schnee was the recording engineer on that album and told us what is was like working with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.  

September 23, 1986: Matlock debuts

=Voice over actor Richard Epcar worked on the show. He even remembered his lines when we interviewed him 30+ years later.

 

September 24, 1970—Patridge Family debuts 

=Danny Bonaduce was on our show.

September 24, 1993—Boy Meets World debuts

=One of the stars of that sitcom, Maitland Ward, was on our show. You'll never guess what she's doing now. She's an adult film actress. 

September 24, 2007—Big Bang Theory debuts 

=Bridget and I were on the set...(OK, it was just part of the WB tour)

September 24, 2013—The Goldbergs debuts

=One of the stars of that sitcom, Hayley Orrantia, was a delightful interview.  

 September 24--Eric Soderholm birthday

=We talked to the former White Sox slugger in this episode. He later endorsed our book Chili Dog MVP.

September 25--Michael Douglas birthday

=One of the most memorable interviews I booked for John Landecker. We have the audio from that day. I told the story in this episode. 

September 25, 2021—Arlington Park closes forever. 

-For a few glorious summers, Dave was the wacky Quinn Ela at Arlington Park. We wrote the bits together. Here's an example...

 

September 26—George Gerschwin birthday

=We wrote a radio ad for Biasco Music starring George Gerschwin. It was an award winner.

September 26, 1965—Gilligan's Island debuts

=I wrote a parody song about our morning show to the tune of this theme song. Will we play it this week?

September 26, 1969—The Brady Bunch debuts

=We had Robbie Rist (Cousin Oliver) on the show. 

=We also had NY Times Best Selling Author William Dameron on the show. In this interview, he refers to his family as The Gaydy Bunch. 

September 26, 1969—Abbey Road released

=On the same exact day as the Brady Bunch? Does not compute. My boys and I went to street crossing of Abbey Road when we were in England.

September 26, 1975—Rocky Horror Picture Show released. 

=Fee Waybill starred in it. He told us all about it.  

 

September 27, 1992—Dr. Demento plays Ebony & Ivory song “Oktoberfest ist here”

=Don't believe me? Here's the show list for that day. 

September 27—Debi Derryberry birthday

=We interviewed the voice of Jimmy Neutron on this episode. 

September 27—Wilford Brimley birthday

=Mark Giangreco told us a story about how he once got in a trouble for making a Wilford Brimley joke.  

September 27—The Inheritance debuts on Broadway. 

=We talked to the producer of that show, Eric Nelsen. 

 

September 28, 1938—The Homer in the Gloamin

=We have the audio of Gabby Hartnett's famous homer--probably the second most famous homer in Wrigley Field history.

 

Studio Walls--8-28-24

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

Here are a few from the archives...

August 25—Birthday of Gene Simmons

=Loverboy’s Doug Johnson told us a story about opening for KISS at their very first gig.  

August 25, 1994—Natural Born Killers released. 

=Duane Scott Cerny told us a story about his dealings with Oliver Stone during the making of that film.  

 

August 26, 1972—Summer Olympics begin in Munich

=Dwight Stones represented America and reminded us what it was like at that memorable Olympic games. 

August 26, 1817—University of Michigan founded.

=Chuck Swirsky was the broadcaster for their basketball games for a few years. It wasn't exactly a first-class operation at the time, which he told us all about in this episode.  

 

August 27--Dave Sinker birthday

=We had the comedian on the show a few years ago.  

 

August 28, 2015—“We are your friends” debuts

=Max Joseph was the director. He told us all about it. 

 

August 29—Michael Jackson birthday

=We've been told two great Michael Jackson stories. One by record producer/engineer Bill Schnee, and one by the one time teen idol Tony DeFranco. 

August 29--James Finn Garner birthday

=The NY Times Best Selling Author was on this episode of Minutia Men Celebrity Interview. 

August 29--Elliott Gould birthday

=My brush with Elliott was told in this episode. 

August 29--Mr. Blackwell birthday

=My brush with the famous clothing designer was told in this episode.  

August 29—Jerry Seinfeld birthday. 

=Kevin Matthews once invited Jerry to perform in his comedy jam. Jerry sniffed out the audience pretty quickly.  

August 30--Carmen Fanzone birthday

=We talked to the former Cubs player in this episode.  

 

August 31--Zack Ward birthday

=Who is Zack? He played the bully in Christmas Story (Scut Farkus). He also bullied us a bit. Only guest we ever called a dick live on the air. 

Studio Walls--July 10, 2024

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

Here are a few from the archives...

July 7, 1974—West Germany wins the World Cup, beating Netherlands 2-1. 

=This was the tournament that spurred my love of soccer, and eventually inspired the Free Kicks podcast

July 7, 1899—Adolph Luetgert dies

=Chicago historian Robert Loerzel wrote a book about that crazed killer. He told us all about it in this episode.

July 7—Ringo Starr birthday 

=Felix Cavaliere tells the story of playing in Ringo's All star band in this episode.  

=Bill Schnee tells the story of recording Ringo's album sessions, when all three of the other Beatles showed up.  

***

July 8, 1990—Germany wins the World Cup, beating Argentina 1-0. 

=This was the tournament that restored my love of soccer, and eventually inspired the Free Kicks podcast.

***

July 9, 2005—Adam Greenberg’s only Cub at bat

=One of the all-time great baseball stories.  

July 9, 2006—Men in Blazers stars Roger Bennett and Michael Davies meet at a wedding reception in New York.

=Roger Bennett told us that story in this episode.

July 9, 2019—Chance the Snapper found. 

=Block Club Chicago Editor-in-Chief Shamus Toomey told us the story of the alligator that put his Chicago website on the map.  

July 9, 1971—Grand Funk at Shea Stadium. 

=They sold more tickets in a shorter amount of time than the Beatles did six years earlier. Mark Farner told us more. 

 

***

July 10--Fred Mitchell birthday

=The legendary sportswriter appeared on this episode of Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.

 

***

July 11, 1996—5:30 Club

=This is a video of the John Landecker show's opening segment every morning on WJMK--The 5:30 Club. My age and shape are mentioned. 

July 11, 1960—To Kill a Mockingbird is published. 

=And now it's banned in Florida. Scott Turow talked to us about his thoughts regarding its banning. 

***

July 12, 1979--Disco Demoilition

=This video from that night does a pretty good of explaining the hype.

***

July 13, 2014—Germany wins the World Cup, beating Argentina 1-0. 

=Pretty good week in history for Germany, eh?

July 13—Cheech Marin birthday 

=We interviewed Tommy Chong, who told us all about his ex-comedy partner Cheech.  

Studio Walls--July 3, 2024

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

Here are a few from the archives...

June 30, 1959—Two balls in play at once at Cubs game

=We have the audio of that totally confusing play-by-play

June 30—Mike Tyson birthday

=Dan Frischman of the show Head of the Class has a great story about his brush with Mike Tyson. He told it to us in this episode of Minutia Men.

***

July 1—Release of the New York Times bestseller The Lie by William Dameron

=He appeared in this episode of Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.  

July 1—Canada Day

=Mr. Zero, one of the leaders of the Canadian Band The Kings appeared on Minutia Men. 

=Felix Cavaliere from the Rascals talked to us about his inexplicable popularity in Canada. 

=Canadian journalist Paul Saltzman told us a story about Beatles making fun of Canada. 

***

July 3--Tom Cruise birthday

=I told my Tom Cruise story in this episode of Minutia Men.  

July 3, 1971—Don Kessinger hits an inside the park homer 

=We have the audio. 

July 3, 2020—Rick appears on Phil Manicki show on WGN 

=We talked about the media business, including our show Minutia Men. You can hear it here.

***

July 4, 1954—West Germany beats Hungary 3-2 to win the World Cup

=Just another reminder to listen to Free Kicks.

July 4—Bill Schnee birthday

=The famous recording engineer/producer has some incredible rock and roll stories. A great sampling of them are in this interview. 

***

July 5, 1970—Leo Durocher starts a brawl 

=We have the play-by-play audio.

 

***

July 6, 1970—Ron Santo hits 3 homers 

=We play the play-by-play audio.

July 6--Robert Loerzel birthday

=The Chicago historian tells us all about the 1919 race riots in Chicago. 

July 6—Burt Ward birthday

=Mike Toomey has a story about dealing with Robin. 

July 6—Nick Digilio birthday 

=Nick came on the Minutia Men show shortly before debuting his Radio Misfits podcast.

Studio Walls--June 26, 2024

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

Here are a few from the archives...

June 23, 1939—Siam changes name to Thailand. 

=How many podcasts have had guests on live from Thailand? We did. Author Bill Paige was living in Thailand when he talked to us about his book Everything I Know I Learned From Rock Stars

June 23, 1993--John Wayne Bobbitt gets his penis cut off by his wife Lorena

=Yes, of course we wrote a song about that for Landecker and the Legends. I told that story in this episode of Minutia Men. If you want to read the lyrics, they are here.

June 23, 1995—Pocahontas released by Disney

=Yes, we wrote a song about that too. "The Polka-hontas Polka" was on Landecker & the Legends Volume II, and just might be heard again in a future episode of Minutia Men.

June 24, 1901—Brighton & Hove Albion founded 

=Just another reminder to listen to the Free Kicks podcast with Adam and Rick. Brighton & Hove Albion is mentioned quite frequently.

June 24—Dave Vescio birthday

=Dave is an actor and an artist and a memorable guest  on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview

June 24--Roger Badesch birthday

=We talked to the former newsman/political flak/teacher & author of The Unplanned Life on this episode of Minutia Men

 

June 25—Carly Simon birthday

=Record producer and engineer Bill Schnee told us a story about what it was like to work with her.  You can hear it on this episode of Minutia Men Celebrity Interview.

 

June 26—Vick’s Vapo Rub debuts 1905. 

=We did a radio ad for them when we owned our advertising agency. Would you like to hear it? It stars Dave. We'll play it on a future episode of the show.

June 26, 2023—Dick Biondi death

=I worked with Dick for ten years at WJMK, but only appeared on one show with him--when he was on Tony Lossano's podcast. Here's a photo from that day.

June 26, 1981—Stripes premieres 

=Did you know that Bill Murray and Harold Ramis were not the original choices for the lead characters in that film? Tommy Chong revealed to us that Cheech and Chong were offered the movie first.

June 26--Bobby Holland Hanton birthday

=The stuntman who has worked in virtually all of the Marvel films appeared on our show to explain the stunts. You can hear that here.

June 26—Eric Nelsen birthday

=The star of the Yellowstone prequel 1884 was a fun guest. Here he is on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview

June 27, 1994—Caning in Singapore

=The story of the American kid who was sentenced to caning in Singapore was the top story in the news here. Scott May told us a great story about how the Kevin Matthews show and the Danny Bonaduce show on the Loop helped celebrate the story.  Listen here.

June 27—Adam Howarth birthday

=Adam is my co-host on Free Kicks. Free Kicks returns at the end of August for the new Premier League season.

June 27—James Breakwell birthday

=The NY Times best selling author appeared on Minutia Men Celebrity Interview

June 28—Mel Brooks birthday

=Mel is 98 years old this week. We talked to actor Eric Allan Kramer (Little John in "Robin Hood: Men in Tights") about what it was like working with comedy's greatest legend. 

June 28--John Cusack birthday

=I told the story of my brush with John Cusack in  this episode of Minutia Men.

June 28, 1997—Mike Tyson bites Holyfield’s ear 

=Was it a huge story in the 1990s? You bet. Did Landecker & the Legends record a song about it? What do you think? It's on our fourth CD "Live Long and Perspire"

June 28, 1970—Gay Pride Day established

=It's expanded into a whole month now. We interviewed actor Dan Butler (Bulldog on Frasier) about his activism for the LBGT community in this episode of Minutia Men Celebrity Interview

Studio Walls--April 3, 2024

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

March 31, 1984—Jonathan Stoddard birthday. The actor talked us through the secret of the perpetual 3-days-unshaved look. 

April 1--The Empire Carpet Man (Lynn Hauldren) birthday. We played an audio bit I wrote for John Landecker's show featuring Lynn. The Empire Carpet Man Strikes Back.  

April 1, 1976—Apple Corp founded. We talked to the man who owned 10% on that first day, but sold it for a few hundred dollars, Ronald Wayne 

April 1--Jim Shorts birthday. I interviewed Kevin Matthews' sidekick in German on AM 1000 back in the day.

April 2--Dr. Demento birthday. I told my Dr. Demento story in this episode of Minutia Men. 

April 2—Marvin Gaye birthday. Record producer Bill Schnee told us the story of creating Marvin's live album. 

April 3, 1983—“She’s a Beauty” by the Tubes released. Fee Waybill told us the story about David Foster producing that song. 

April 3, 2018—WJMK becomes WBMX. I worked on WJMK. The Mayor of Slowjamistan works for WBMX.  

April 3--Billy Hayes (Midnight Express) birthday. A man that can answer Peter Grave's question in Airplane with an unqualified yes: "Have you ever been in a Turkish Prison?" 

April 4—World Rat Day. Tours with Mike has a whole tour about rats. : 

April 4--Robbie Rist birthday. The former Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch was one of our first ever celebrity interviews. At one point, we talked about his balls. 

April 5—Jane Asher birthday. Paul Saltzman met her in India and told us a lovely story about meeting up her later in London. 

April 6--Marilu Henner birthday. I told my Marilu Henner story in this episode of Minutia Men.

April 6, 2012—Tom Latourette appears on Johnny B to sing a song I wrote. Details here. Will we play the song this week? 

Studio Walls--February 28, 2024

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

This week's Minutia Men is called Jenkins in the newsroom, and features a story about a truly massive whoopsie on a TV newscast in Oregon.

This week's Minutia Men Celebrity Interview is with retiring Channel 9 meteorologist Tom Skilling.

February 25--George Harrison's birthday. 

=We had record producer Bill Schnee on the show and he told us a few incredible George stories, including one about the maze beneath George's castle.

February 25--Sean Astin's birthday. 

=DB Sweeney wrote and produced a comedy show with Sean, and told us all about it. 

February 26--The late Sun Times columnist Robert Novak's birthday. 

=I met him once and it was a truly memorable encounter. You can hear that story in this episode.

February 27--The late actor Howard Hesseman's birthday. 

=Would you believe we've had two different celebrities on our show with great Howard Hesseman (Johnny Fever) stories? Tommy Chong has a hilarious tale about their comedy feud. Howard's Head of the Class co-star Dan Frischman has a similar tale.

March 1-- Harry Caray's birthday

=I told the stories about my multiple brushes with Harry in this episode of Minutia Men. Rich King has even better Harry Caray stories. He tells a few of them to us in this interview. 

March 1, 1996—Carl Giammarese appears at live Landecker broadcast 

=I handed him new lyrics to one of his songs, and he performed it live at Union Station in Chicago at 8:00 in the morning. You can hear it in this episode of Minutia Men. 

March 1—Roger Daltrey's birthday

=The Who's keyboardist Loren Gold told us several funny stories about what it is like working with Roger.  

March 2--Lou Reed's birthday

=Famed rock photographer Mick Rock hung out extensively with Lou, and told us about a four day binge they went on together.

Studio Walls--January 10, 2024

 

A weekly update/preview of my latest podcasts, and a look back at some of my previous audio work from this week in history over the past 40+ years.

Coming this week: Adam and I will discuss the array of Premier league games over the holidays, the Festive Fixtures in a new episode of Free Kicks. Dave and I will be back in the Minutia Men saddle with stories about 9-1-1 calls, bad parenting, and more.

From the archives...

*January 7—National Bobblehead day. We were lucky enough to interview the creator of the Bobblehead Hall of Fame in Milwaukee.  

*January 7—is also National Pass Gas Day. I wrote this ultimate tribute to the phenomenon in 1996. Recorded by Landecker & the Legends. We only played it on the air once before the management of WJMK banned it. 

*January 8—Elvis birthday. We never talked to Elvis, but we did get some Elvis stories from an actor who appeared in a movie with him; Danny Bonaduce. 

*January 8--Soupy Sales shared a birthday with Elvis. I told the story about my brush with Soupy in this early episode of Minutia Men. 

*January 8—Finally, a birthday boy who is alive. Loverboy's lead singer Mike Reno. We talked to him about four years ago. 

*January 9—Debut of show “Pivoting” starring Fizaa Dosani. I remember our interview as being generationally awkward. You can listen to it here. 

*January 9, 2011—Shameless debuts on Showtime. One of the actresses who appeared on the show, Maria Breese, also appeared on our show. You might be able to hear us struggle with talking to someone we had just seen naked.  

January 10, 1863--London Underground opened. We interviewed Emma Clarke (the Mind the Gap voice). I loved that interview because I could also use her passionate defense of Manchester United in an episode of Free Kicks.

January 10—Birthday of Donald Fagen. Record engineer Bill Schnee worked on the Steely Dan records and told us what that experience was like. 

January 10, 2016—David Bowie died. Mick Rock was a good friend of Bowie's, and the legendary rock photographer told us a few great Bowie stories.  

January 10, 1999—The Sopranos debuted. We've only had one actor from that show on the podcast, but it sure was memorable talking to Vito/Joseph Gannascoli 

January 11, 1895—Laurens Hammond born. The creator of the Hammond Organ. Ides of March keyboardist Scott May was on our show, and told us all about the great man's legacy. 

January 11, 1980--The only hit by The Kings--The Beat Goes On/Switchin to Glide peaked in Chicago on the WLS charts at #9. We still love that song so much, we talked to Mr. Zero from The Kings. If memory serves we learned that nothing matters but the weekend from a Tuesday point of view.  

January 12, 1928: Andy Frain pitches Wrigley for the job of providing security at the ballpark. His company did that for over 50 years. When we interviewed author Don Evans he told us a story about the Andy Frains using kids like him as child labor after the games.

January 12, 1969—Led Zeppelin’s first album was released. We haven't interviewed any of those guys, but we did interview Jim Peterik who toured with them. He told us a Led Zeppelin debauchery tale for the ages. 

January 12--Maharishi's birthday. We interviewed someone who studied with him in India...while the Beatles were there too. Paul Saltzman. 

Studio Walls

Every week I send my Minutia Men Co-Host Dave Stern a list from our audio archives for this week's Studio Walls feature. These are the possibilities for this week. Which one will he choose?

September 18, 1965—I Dream of Jeannie debuts. Ron Santo was a big fan of that show, and we have  great old WGN Radio promo audio/about Jeannie.

September 19, 2010—Boardwalk Empire debuts. We interviewed the scary Cuban hit man from that show, actor Paul Calderone interview. (Listen to that interview here)

 September 19, 2012—Tell me if this sounds familiar. Ten years ago the Cubs were terrible. Tom Latourette and I wrote a song about it called We Might Lose 100 Games (Audio)

September 19—Adam West birthday—WGN-TV's Mike Toomey did an incredible impersonation of the original Batman a few years ago. (Listen to his entire interview here)  

·         September 20--Comedian Tim Clue's birthday. He was kind enough to our show a few years ago and we had a great time talking to him. (Full interview here)

·         September 20, 2009—I was interviewed on WGN about a fake birth announcement Dave and I took out in the Chicago Tribune, welcoming the birth of Waitle Nex Yeare (audio)

·         September 21--Bill Kurtis' birthday. We had the birthday boy on the show a few years ago. (Listen to full interview here): 

·         September 22, 1994—Friends debuts. I wrote a song about that show from the perspective of their parents. It was a big hit for Landecker & the Legends (“Parents ofFriends” AUDIO) 

·         September 23, 1977: The classic album Aja was released by Stealy Dan. We had the engineer of that record, Bill Schnee, on the show and he told us all about working with those guys. (Entire interview is here)

·         September 23, 1986: Matlock debuts. We had voice actor Richard Epcar on our show as a guest, and it turns out that is big break came when he got a part on Matlock. (Epcar interview here)

·         September 24--Eric Soderholm's birthday. The ex-White Sox slugger was one of our first guests on Minutia Men, now more than five years ago. (Listen to it here)

·         September 24, 1970—Patridge Family debuts. One of the breakout stars of that show was little Danny Bonaduce. Dave and I were lucky enough to talk to Danny on our podcast. (Here's the full interview)