Lake Tahoe

 A few pics from my trip to Tahoe. Back to reality on Monday.

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview--Oscar Special

 The latest episode is live. You can listen to it here.

SPECIAL OSCAR EDITION: Oscar’s Biggest Mistakes and a preview to this year’s Academy Awards.  Rick and Dave chat with author Eric Litt. [Ep95]

Eckhartz Everyday

 *On this day in 2012, Kim Strickland held the launch party for her brand new novel Down at the Golden Coin. 

Among the goodies handed out that day, chocolate golden coins. They should have never sat Dave and I near that bowl.

Eckhartz Everyday

 *Today is Peyton Manning's birthday. The Hall of Fame quarterback is featured in the pages of Randy Merkin's great Eckhartz Press book, Behind the Glass.

Studio Walls

 Programming Note: This week's episode of Minutia Men will contain five different Studio Walls segments. You'll hear...

*Lyricist Glen Slater talk about what its like to work with his musical collaborator Andrew Lloyd Webber.

*Grand Funk Railroad's Mark Farner talk about how he created the song "Bad Time" before going into a rant about radio.

*Tube's lead singer Fee Waybill talk about the song "Don't Touch Me There" and the absolutely wild stage antics that accompanied it.

*Paul Michael Glaser from Starsky & Hutch talk about how cool it was to drive that iconic Starsky and Hutch Grand Torino.

and...

*A super-young Ernie Banks (in 1955) in his first big interview.

The show drops Saturday.

Eckhartz Everyday

 

*On this day in 2013, the Chicago Tribune reviewed John Landecker's memoir Records Truly Is My Middle Name (co-written by me). It was glowing. Thank you Rick Kogan.

*On this day in 2018, Beth Jacobellis had her book launch party on the Northwest side of Chicago. Her book Cameo is still available.

*Today is Jim Geddes birthday. He was a member of the 1972 White Sox and is featured in the book Chili Dog MVP.

From the Writing Archives--William Shatner

 

I only met William Shatner once, but I figured this would be a good day to tell that story. It's his birthday. I originally wrote this piece back in 2006.

My one and only William Shatner encounter occured in the late '80s.

At the time I was working for Steve & Garry at WLUP-AM, as well as doing an overnight disc jockey shift on WLUP-FM. One of the perks for my seven day work week was the occasional “personal appearance.”

I was under no illusions that people were clamoring for a Rick Kaempfer appearance. The entire concept was laughable. During the Steve & Garry years I was best known for being “the idiot” who didn’t get Steve & Garry what they wanted fast enough. The extent of my personality during my FM air shifts involved new and interesting ways to introduce Led Zeppelin. I knew the score. When I was sent out to a personal appearance by the radio station, it only meant that they were contracted to provide a radio personality for an event, and everyone else on the staff had said no.

They didn’t say “no” for no reason.

Any “non-star” who has ever done one of these appearances knows what I’m talking about. It’s not exactly a rip-roaring good time. It’s a couple of hours of schmoozing the client, saying hello to maybe a dozen people, and watching the clock.

Luckily I didn’t bring my dignity with me the day I was sent out to the Chicago Auto Show for a personal appearance. It would have just gotten in the way every time I had to answer the question: “Who are you?”

The only thing that saved this day from being a complete loss was that William Shatner was scheduled to make an appearance on the same day. Shatner’s setup was no more than fifty feet away from mine.

I had a tiny 5’ X 7’ booth. He had a roped off area in front of an elevated stage.

I had a metal folding chair. He had a fully stocked trailer attended to by three Teamsters.

I had an 8 ½ by 11 paper sign that said: “Meet Loop DJ.” He had a large poster with his picture under the headline: “MEET WILLIAM SHATNER!”

On the other hand, almost nobody was there to see him either. About fifteen minutes before his appearance was set to begin, there were maybe a half-dozen people in this gigantic roped-off area. Since nobody was there to see me, and nobody was there to see him, I left my post by the “Meet Loop DJ” sign, and got in line. I figured, “What the heck? I’ll never get another opportunity like this.”

Minutes turned into an hour, and still, there was no sign of William Shatner.

By then the throng had grown to maybe twenty people. When he finally poked his head out of the trailer and made his way up to the stage, the crowd let out frenzied cheers at the sight of him. He nodded politely and walked up to the microphone.

“Thanks for coming out today. I’m looking forward to talking to each and every one of you. Unfortunately, I won’t be signing any autographs, but I will shake your hand, press the flesh, and say hello.”

Since I was seventh in line, I heard what he said to all six people in line ahead of me.

“Hi, I’m Bill. Nice to meet you.”

That was it. Within seconds it was my turn. That’s when I smelled him. He reeked of wine.

“Hi, I’m Bill. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” I said.

He shook everyone’s hand in maybe five minutes. With that, boom, he was gone—back into the trailer.

I had never really been to a celebrity personal appearance before so I didn’t know what to expect, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be that lame. On the other hand, I looked around at the rest of the people in the audience and they didn’t seem that upset. I heard one husband and wife talking on their way out.

“What did you think of his piece?” the husband asked.

“I like the fluffy TJ Hooker one better,” the wife said.

I went back to my “Meet Loop DJ” sign, and watched that trailer for twenty minutes from my metal folding chair.

Nobody came, and nobody left.

Unless there was some sort of an escape hatch beneath the trailer, William Shatner was spending several hours on Sunday afternoon hanging out with some Teamsters in a trailer in the middle of an almost empty Chicago Auto Show.

I eventually picked up my “Meet Loop DJ” sign, folded up my metal folding chair, and left. Shatner was still there.

My pay for that afternoon was an electric can opener and two tennis rackets.

Don’t let anyone tell you that showbiz isn’t glamorous.

Eckhartz Everyday

 

*On this day in 2019, the Eckhartz Press book Nose Over Toes by Janet Sutherland-Madden was officially released. 

It was accompanied by a Q&A with the author.

Chicago Radio Ratings

 From Robert Feder's column today. For full daypart breakdowns, click here.

1. (tie) WBEZ 91.5-FM public radio news talk, 5.7 (5.4); WVAZ 102.7-FM R&B, 5.7 (5.7)
3. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM all news, 5.1 (5.7)
4. WLIT 93.9-FM adult contemporary, 5.0 (5.1)
5. (tie) WDRV 97.1-FM classic rock, 4.6 (4.8); WGN 720-AM news talk, 4.6 (5.2)
7. WXRT 93.1-FM adult album alternative, 3.7 (3.2)
8. WRME 87.7-FM soft rock oldies, 3.3 (2.6)
9. (tie) WOJO 105.1-FM Mexican regional, 3.2 (3.5); WPPN 106.7-FM Spanish adult contemporary, 3.2 (2.8)
11. WLS 94.7-FM classic hits, 3.1 (2.9)
12. WUSN 99.5-FM country, 3.0 (3.1)
13. WTMX 101.9-FM hot adult contemporary, 2.9 (3.4)
14. WKSC 103.5-FM Top 40, 2.7 (2.9)
15. (tie) WBMX 104.3-FM classic hip-hop, 2.5 (2.4); WCHI 95.5-FM rock, 2.5 (2.5); WGCI 107.5-FM hip-hop, 2.5 (2.1)
18. WBBM 96.3-FM Top 40, 2.3 (2.4)
19. WLEY 107.9-FM Mexican regional, 2.2 (1.8)
20. WSHE 100.3-FM adult contemporary, 2.0 (2.2)
21. WKQX 101.1-FM alternative rock, 1.9 (1.6)
22. WSCR 670-AM sports talk, 1.6 (2.0)
23. WFMT 98.7-FM classical, 1.5 (1.8)
24. WLS 890-AM news talk, 1.4 (1.0)
25. WCKL 97.9-FM contemporary Christian music, 1.3 (1.3)
26. WPWX 92.3-FM hip-hop, 1.2 (1.1)
27. WVIV 93.5-FM Spanish contemporary, 1.0 (0.9)
28. WMVP 1000-AM sports talk, 0.9 (1.3)
29. (tie) WDCB 90.9-FM public radio jazz, 0.7 (0.8); WERV 95.9-FM classic hits, 0.7 (0.8); WMBI 90.1-FM Christian ministry, 0.7 (0.6); WSRB 106.3-FM R&B, 0.7 (0.7)

Minutia Men--H-E-Double Toothpicks

 The latest episode is out. You can listen to it here.

Jenkins buys a football, H-E-double toothpicks, Dr. Phil Plait talks Uranus, Mike Tyson gets high with William Shatner, a truly unfortunate press conference, and a listener’s brush with Phil Donahue.. [Ep264]

Eckhartz Everyday

 

*On this day in 2016, Eckhartz Press author Dobie Maxwell returned his hometown of Milwaukee for the north of the border book launch for Monkey in the Middle.

*On this day in 2018, Eckhartz Press author Beth Jacobellis appeared on WGN Radio to talk about her novel Cameo.

*Today is Supertramp's Roger Hodgson's birthday. He is featured in the Eckhartz Press book Everything I Know I Learned From Rock Stars by Bill Paige.

*Today is also Shawon Dunston's birthday. The man who helped make him famous, Dave Cilha--creator of the Shawon-O-Meter is featured in the Eckhartz Press book Cubsessions. Dunston, of course, is in the book EveryCubEver.

Writers Conference

 Had a great time at the CWA Writers Conference this weekend. Thanks to everyone who attended and participated...

Free Kicks--Turmoil at Chelsea

 The latest episode of Free Kicks has been posted. You can listen to it here.

Chelsea Football Club has been sanctioned because they are owned by a Russian oligarch. Adam and Rick discuss the implications. [Ep149]

Chicago Writes

 This weekend I'll be downtown at the Allerton Hotel helping preside over the Chicago Wrtiers Association writers conference known as Chicago Writes. I'll be moderating a panel discussion on Saturday with fellow producers Jeff Hoover (WGN-TV), Jason Marck (WBEZ), and Jasmine Cooper (WCIU-TV). On Sunday I'll be on a panel with fellow Chicago publishers from Amika Press and Tortoise Press. Looking forward to spending a weekend talking about and thinking about writing.

Eckhartz Everyday

 *Happy birthday to Eckhartz Press author Rich King! The former WGN-TV sports reporter penned the book Back in the Game for us in 2014, and has a new book coming out on Eckhartz Press later this year.

Arnold Tells it Like it is

A message to the Russian people https://t.co/HILAX7w6aw via @YouTube

— Mara Liasson (@MaraLiasson) March 17, 2022

New morning show at B-96

Sounds like they are going for the younger audience that doesn't listen to radio. Let's hope it works. From Robert Feder's column...

Four personalities from Phoenix’s KALV — known collectively as “The Morning Mess” — are moving to Chicago to broadcast live from B96, Audacy announced Wednesday. They’ll start on the air the week of April 4.

The show will air here from 5:30 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and continue to be heard in Phoenix as well.

Leader of the ensemble cast is Joey Rodriguez, a Philadelphia native of Puerto Rican descent who grew up in Los Angeles. Known to fans as “Joey Boy” and “Nachoo,” he first began pursuing his radio ambitions at age 15 and was hosting nights at Power 106 in L.A. by his early 20s.

His team also features Jeana Shepard (described as a young mother of two who’s “looking for any excuse to get out of the house”), Aneesh Ratan (“an avid advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and top-of-the-line twerker”), and Karla Hernandez (“a young and fun Mexican American beauty queen who enjoys giving listeners a sneak peek into her dating, partying and personal life”).

Info on the latest Cub

Eckhartz Everyday

 *It's St. Patrick's Day, so Just One Bad Century is featuring every single Cub  named Pat. Naturally, they are all in the book EveryCubEver.

*Gary Sinese was born on St. Patrick's Day. The famous Cub fan is featured in the Eckhartz Press book Cubsessions.

Minutia Men Celebrity Interview--Sherman Dilla Thomas

 Our latest interview episode has been posted. Listen to it here.

His TikTok videos about Chicago history are a phenomenon (@6figga-dilla), and Rick and Dave discuss his upcoming streaming deal, and some of the unique and crazy stories about Chicago history that have brought him attention. [Ep94]

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?

*March 13, 1781 the planet Uranus was discovered. We talked to Phil Plait about our favorite planet. (Listen to the entire interview here)

*March 14 is Dobie Maxwell's birthday. We interviewed Dobie on the show, including about his book Monkey in the Middle.. (Listen to full interview)

*March 14 is also the birthday of God Friended Me creator Steve Harper. We talked to him about that show, and the importance of the BLM marches in 2020. (Listen to full interview here)

*March 15 is the Ides of March. We had Ides of March lead singer Jim Peterik on the show, and he played their biggest hit ("Vehicle") for us. (Full interview available here).

*March 17 is St. Patrick's Day. A perfect day to call the Catholic Confession Hotline (AUDIO)

*St. Patrick's Day\, of course, was celebrated live on the podcast in 2020 when we had Irish musician Timothy O'Shea in the studio. (Listen to his entire interview here)

*March 17, 2017 is the day the program The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel debuted. We spoke to an actor on that show, Dave Koenig (Full interview is here)

*March 18 is sportscaster Rich King's birthday. We had him on the show on the anniversary of his retirement. (Listen to interview here)

*March 18 is also the birthday of Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine. We talked to the man who discovered him playing in a garage, John Denicola. John is the guy who co-wrote the hits for the film Dirty Dancing. (Listen to full interview here).

(Rick and Dave with Timothy O'Shea)

Eckhartz Everyday

*Today is NPR's Scott Simon's birthday. Scott was featured in two Eckhartz Press books, Records Truly Is My Middle Name by John Landecker, and Cubsessions by Becky Sarwate-Maxwell and Randy Richardson.

*On this day in 2013, Randy Richardson was appearing at the Book Stall in Winnetka to promote his book Cheeseland. 

*On this day in 2015, I was on Rick Kogan's show to talk about my book Father Knows Nothing. I brought oldest son Tommy along to observe the interview.

*Today is Nancy Wilson's birthday. The guitarist of Heart is featured in the Eckhartz Press book We Have Company by Bobby Skafish.

*Today is also Tom Bradley's birthday. Tom was a member of the 1972 White Sox, and is featured in the pages of the Eckhartz Press book Chili Dog MVP.

The Ides of March

As Shakespeare's soothsayer warned Caesar...Beware the Ides of March. You'd think that with the purple hair, he'd have seen it coming. (Jim Peterik from the Ides of March)

Gaylord Perry

I never realized that he actually admitted it. And he's in the Hall of Fame.

Pitching legend Gaylord Perry talks about the spitball on a classic episode of "Late Night with David Letterman"! (1983) #MLB #Baseball #History pic.twitter.com/lN8iF5KYbJ

— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) March 15, 2022

Chili Dog MVP

 Great review by Rick Kogan in today's Chicago Tribune about our latest book, Chili Dog MVP. "I guarantee that the most excitement you’ll find — short of a World Series win on either side of town — is in the 400-some pages of “Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, the ‘72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago” from publisher Eckhartz Press."

You can read it here.

Adam vs. Tucker

Amen to this. Tucker may not be a full-fledged traitor at this moment, but he's coming awfully close.

Tucker Carlson invited me on his show tonight, but that’s not going to happen…ever. While he echoes Putin’s lies, I’ll remain focused on supporting the Ukrainian people. My video statement: pic.twitter.com/plfOhh6bNb

— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) March 14, 2022

From the Writing Archives

Today is WXRT Morning Man Richard Milne's birthday. I interviewed him two years ago for the Illinois Entertainer. 

Here is a small excerpt of that piece...

He had been a heavy XRT listener for years, and he credits some of the greats for influencing his own style on the air.

“All of them had an impact on me,” he says, “but I don’t think I’ve ever given proper credit or attribution to Bobby Skafish. He created the most marvelous radio in the late ’70s/early ’80s, which was an impressionable time for me. I was a hardcore WXRT listener beginning in ’78 or ’79, and Bobby Skafish was on fire in those days. His personality leaped through the speakers. Those Skafish years at WXRT are as responsible for me getting into radio as anything.”

Since arriving at the 93.1 dial position himself, Milne has had some of his own shining moments.

“I remember talking to Curtis Mayfield in 1996. He had just released his first LP since an on-stage lighting accident in 1991. You have to admire all that Curtis brought to music, but for the majority of his life—by this time, he was living in Atlanta—he was a Chicago guy. I have always taken great pride in that. When I left the studio that day, having just interviewed Curtis Mayfield, albeit it that he was literally lying on his back talking into a telephone, I felt like I was walking on air. Surviving an interview with Lou Reed live, with his personality, while witnessing his on-stage performance, was another highlight. He played songs four feet away from me that I was engineering.  It’s hard to top that.”

Milne isn’t the same disc jockey he was when he first cracked the microphone in the 80s. His on-air style has evolved over time, and he credits his attention to detail.

“I have a path I follow every break,” he says. “That’s the way I do my best work. I have to know what my ‘in’ is and what my ‘out’ is, and what my content is. I don’t just whip these things out. I have given thought to everything I say and everything I play. It is important to me. I don’t have a problem with other people who can crack a mike and let the stream of consciousness flow, but I’m not that guy.”

He is, he admits, a very lucky guy.

“I wish everyone in radio had the kind of outlet and the kind of freedom we have on WXRT. That’s why listeners respond to it. As far as I’m concerned, the future remains bright for Chicago’s Finest Rock, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Richard Milne can be heard every weekday morning from 5:30am—10am.

If you'd like to read the entire piece, it's here.

Eckhartz Everyday

 *On this day in 2016, Eckhartz Press author Dobie Maxwell was making the rounds, appearing on WGN, WLS, WIND, WRXR, and WTMJ. 

You can listen to all of those appearances here.

This Week in English Soccer

 *This week in 1872 (March 16), they played the first FA Cup final game in history. Wanderers FC beat Royal Engineers FC 1-0.

*This week in 1892 (March 15), Liverpool FC (my favorite English team) was founded. 

Both Liverpool and the FA Cup will be discussed in this week's Free Kicks with Adam and Rick. New episodes drop every Friday.

Minutia Men--Box Full of Heads

 The latest episode of Minutia Men is out. You can listen to it here.

Pickle crime, Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch, Grizzly Bear counselors, flatulent license plates, a box full of heads, and a brush with a celebrity rapper are discussed by Rick and Dave. [Ep263]

Marilyn and the Cubs

 I've never seen this one before. It was posted on my facebook page. Love it. Trying to figure out who those three Cubs players are...

UPDATE: It wasn't the Cubs. It was the White Sox. Full story is here.

That makes me feel a little better. I was worried I didn't recognize the players.

RIP William Hurt

He passed away yesterday at the age of 71. Really good in Body Heat and the Big Chill. Great in Broadcast News...

From the Writing Archives

Today is 3/14, which my math-genius son calls "Pi Day" (The first few digits of Pi are 3.14). In honor of "Pi Day" about ten years ago, I wrote a math-oriented Father Knows Nothing column for him. He hated it. I'm not sure why...


These simple story problems will not only help your child with math, they will help explain the frustration that eventually emerges in all parents.

Remember, boys and girls, to show your work.

#1: One of Freddy’s jobs is to make sure he changes his underwear every day. If his mother does the laundry every Friday, and there is only one pair of Freddy’s underwear in the laundry, how many days has Freddy neglected to do his job that week?

#2: George is a very bright boy. He gets 100% on every paper he turns in, but he only turns in seven of the ten papers that were due. If each paper is worth 100 points, and he receives zero points on every paper he doesn’t turn in, what is his final grade for the class?

#3: Billy has been brushing his teeth all by himself twice a day (morning and night) since the day he turned three years old. Unfortunately, Billy never remembers to do this until his parents remind him, and each time they need to remind him three times. By the time Billy reaches his 15th birthday, how many times have his parents had to remind him to brush his teeth?

#4: Sissy and her mother go to the supermarket to buy vegetables. Her mother asks the grocer how many different types of vegetables he sells, and the grocer replies “70.” Of these 70 varieties of vegetables, only three can be served on a plate to Sissy without inducing loud whining. What percentage of the available vegetables will Sissy eat without making dinner miserable for everyone around her?

ANSWER KEY
#1: 6 days in one week (85.7% of the week)
#2: C Minus
#3: 52,560 times
#4: 4.28571% of available vegetable varieties

Eckhartz Everyday

 *Happy birthday to Dobie Maxwell. Dobie's great book Monkey in the Middle is one of the best selling books in Eckhartz Press history, and one of three Eckhartz Press books optioned for film rights.

*On this day in 2013, John Landecker began his publicity campaign for Records Truly Is My Middle Name with an appearance on Windy City Live. Two surprise callers joined in...his daughter Amy, and the legendary disc jockey Larry Lujack.

*Today is radio host/podcaster Steve Cochran's birthday. Steve was a big fan of the Eckhartz Press book The Living Wills and said this about it: 

An amazing accomplishment. You couldn’t pick a more difficult way to write a book, and they have pulled it off.