Monday, September 30, 2019

Minutia Men--Hops, Skip & a Jump

Rick and Dave discuss Jenkins at the White House, spotted cows, Dave’s awards, Rick’s brush with David Lee Roth, and they interview singer/comedian Skip Griparis.

Listen here.

Free Kicks--Chelsea Blues

Crazy weekend at my house. Sorry. Forgot to post this on Friday.

Adam & Rick discuss Chelsea’s climb up Liverpool mountain, throat-crushing Man City, the bubbles at West Ham, take a quiz about a Premier League star, and pick the scores of the top 5 games for next weekend.

Listen to it here.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Al Franken

Look who has re-emerged! Al Franken signs deal to host a talk show for Sirius/XM.

It will good to get him back on the radio. When he was with Air America he was a good counterbalance to Rush and his ilk. I think that radio show actually showed the people of Minnesota that Al was more than just a comedian.

He was super serious as a senato thoughr. Hope he remembers to keep it light like he used to. That's the secret of Rush. He's a hyper partisan, but he's also funny (for conservatives).

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Truth

Dahlcast


I was invited to go to the live Dahlcast last night at Zanies in Rosemont by Joe Callahan, and I thought, "what the heck, I haven't seen that before".

Enjoyed it. They did three shows and I had to leave during the third one, but I enjoyed it very much. It was nice meeting Joe. I saw a few people I haven't seen in years (like Jennifer Keiper in the picture), and Steve fans from many years ago. Didn't get a chance to talk to Steve or any of the other guys in the show (or Janet), but only because I couldn't stay all the way until the end.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Will Byington

Another great photographer captures my favorite city in the world...

Why are they so scared of a 16-year-old girl

16-year-old Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg is really freaking out the right wingers. Go on Twitter and look at the responses she is getting, if you want to see a real cesspool.

A guest on Fox News called her a "mentally ill Swedish girl". That made Fox News do something it never does--they apologized and banned him from their station.

Get a grip, people. She's 16. She has Aspbergers. She's really smart. But she is no threat to you. Stop acting like whiny little brats. She's the one that's 16. Not you.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Todd Manley

WGN Shakeup underway. From Robert Feder's column...

It didn’t take long for the new owner of WGN 720-AM to start shaking things up. Less than 24 hours after acquiring the former Tribune Broadcasting news/talk flagship, Nexstar Media Group fired Todd Manley, station manager and vice president of content, and named news and operations director Mary Sandberg Boyle interim boss. Manley, who’d headed programming since 2013, took the fall for WGN’s precipitously low ratings. In the latest Nielsen Audio survey, the station tied for 16th place overall, with mornings, middays, afternoons and evenings all out of the top 10. In a meeting with staffers Friday, new executive vice president Sean Compton hinted at more changes to come.

Autumnal Equinox

Minutia Men--Mind the Gap

Rick and Dave discuss the pigeon poop problem, the science of semen extraction, the Cubs we lost this week, Rick’s brush with Walter Payton, and they interview the voice of the London Underground, Emma “Mind the Gap” Clarke.

Listen to it here.

Friday, September 20, 2019

17th birthday

This is what he really wanted for his birthday, so I took him last night. Great game, but the end results were a little disappointing.

Free Kicks--Upset of the Year


The latest episode of Free Kicks is out. We've now started to give score predictions for our wagering friends. If you're a Premier League fan, check it out: https://radiomisfits.com/fk44/

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Jimi

He was only 27 when he died, and he died on this day in 1970...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Strawberry Fields

The place that John Lennon sought refuge as a kid is finally opening to the public. Strawberry Fields is in Liverpool, and it inspired the Beatles song.

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.


RIP Alex Grammas

On Friday September 13, we lost another ex-Cub. Alex Grammas played on the Cubs in 1962-1963, the last two seasons of his playing career. He later became a coach, and served on the staffs of two World Series champs (1975 Reds, 1984 Tigers). Here is his obit.

Here's his entry in Everycubever...

~Alex Grammas 1926--2019 (Cubs 1962-1963)
Grammas was a big league infielder for ten years, the last year and half of which were with the Cubs. He came to the Cubs (along with Don Landrum) from the Cardinals in the midst of the College of Coaches fiasco. The veteran glove man backed up young Cubs studs Ken Hubbs, Andre Rodgers, and Ron Santo. After his playing career he became a big league manager for the Pirates and Brewers.

Bobby & Chuck

Happy birthday to two Eckhartz Press authors today, Bobby Skafish and Chuck Quinzio. Best way to celebrate their birthday is to buy their incredible books ("We Have Company: Four Decades of Rock and Roll Encounters" and "Life Behind the Camera"). Both are still available at www.eckhartzpress.com. If you love television (Chuck's book) and rock and roll radio (Bobby's book), you won't be able to put these books down.

RIP Cokie Roberts

One of my favorite political pundits is gone. Cokie Roberts was 75 years old.

They are dropping like flies now.

Monday, September 16, 2019

RIP Ric Ocasek

Lost another R&R great over the weekend--the Cars singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek was found dead in his apartment in Manhattan. He was 75. Actually I was surprised he was that old. That means he was 40 when this song was a hit...

Socctoberfest '19

Weekend was jam packed for the Kaempfer family. We were all out at the Green White soccer fields on Saturday and most of Sunday serving food and drinks to hundreds of families of soccer players. Hard work, but rewarding to see so many happy customers. Thanks again to everyone who helped.

Brain Aneurysm Walk

Even though the skies were threatening and it was a little chilly yesterday morning, we had a great turnout for the Brain Aneurysm Awareness Walk/Run at College of DuPage. Thanks to everyone who came out to support a good cause. We raised quite a bit of money. I brought along my son Sean, and he actually "won" the race, although to be fair--most people walked.

Friday, September 13, 2019

RIP Eddie Money

I didn't realize that Eddie had cancer. He passed away today (Friday the 13th) at the age of 70. Eddie has several hits (most famously "Two Tickets to Paradise"), but this is one I always liked the best...

Thursday, September 12, 2019

RIP Tom Phoebus

Last week (9/6) we lost former Cubs pitcher Tom Phoebus at 77 years old. He pitched in the World Series for the Orioles, but his last year in the big leagues (1972) was with the Cubs.

This is his obit in the Baltimore Sun.

Here's his writeup in Everycubever...

~Tom Phoebus 1942--2019 (Cubs 1972)
Phoebus was a member of the very impressive Baltimore Orioles starting rotation of the late 60s. He was a star right out of the gate. He threw shutouts in his first two big league starts and was named Sporting News Rookie of the Year in 1967. He won 15 and 14 games the next two years as well, tossed a no-hitter against the Red Sox, and won a game in the 1970 World Series. By the time he came to the Cubs in 1972, however, he was primarily a relief pitcher. He struggled with his control in Chicago, and the Cubs traded him to the Braves after the season for a career minor leaguer named Tony LaRussa. Not sure what happened to that LaRussa kid.

RIP Charlie Silvera

One of the oldest living Cubs is living no more. Charlie Silvera has passed away at the age of 94. He was really known more for his time with the Yankees, but his last season in the big leagues was spent with the Cubs (1957).

His NY Times Obit is here.

Socctoberfest

I'm gonna be busy this weekend. Two book signing appearances at the Green White soctoberfest. I'll also be working there the rest of those two days.


Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Brain Aneurysm Walk

On Sunday morning Eckhartz Press author Janet Sutherland Madden will be appearing at the College of Dupage for the Brain Aneurysm walk. She'll have copies of her book for sale there, naturally, because "Nose Over Toes" is the inspiring tale of her recovery from a brain aneurysm. The walk starts at 10. Books will be on sale before and after. I'll be out there in the morning too. Stop by if you can. https://give.bafound.org/site/TR?fr_id=2021&pg=entry

A Very Brady Renovation

I thought this idea was genius when I first heard about it. The Brady kids were enlisted by HGTV to renovate the home (used for outside shots only) from their TV series. HGTV bought the house, got all six Brady kids to participate, and it debuted on Monday night.

HGTV scored their highest ratings ever. Details are here.

Great Article About Abbey Road

Mark Lewisohn is the foremost expert on the Beatles. This piece is about his new stage show, which discusses the making of Abbey Road. It includes a tape recording of a meeting they had, which reveals some truly shocking news: They were planning their "next" album, which they never did.

This one is for the Beatle nerds like me.

h/t to Brent Petersen for pointing it out to me.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Interview with me

This is from the CWA (Chicago Writers Association) website...


Behind the Pen: Meet CWA board member Rick Kaempfer
Interview by Meryl D'Sa

Interview with Chicago Writers Association board member, Rick Kaempfer

Rick Kaempfer, author of four books and co-founder and publisher of Eckhartz Press, has a wide range of writing experience from writing for radio, hosting a weekly podcast, to writing fiction, nonfiction, and collaborating on novels with fellow writers. Kaempfer has utilized and developed his writing skills across different forms of media and continues to do so by forming important connections and relationships within Chicago’s media.

Q: Would you say your writing process has evolved over time? If so, how?

A: My writing process is probably pretty unusual because of my background. I began my professional career in radio (with Hall of Famers Steve & Garry at WLUP and John Records Landecker at WJMK). That was a very different type of writing than I do now. My process has changed a lot over the years.

When I wrote my first book (The Radio Producer’s Handbook), I was given three months to deliver the manuscript. I’ve written seven books since then on wildly different subject matters, and each one required a different process. For my first novel ($everence), I mapped out every twist and turn before I wrote the first word. My second novel (The Living Wills) was on the opposite end of that spectrum. I wrote it with another author, using improvisation techniques to unlock intersecting storylines. I’ve since written a non-fiction book that took me ten years to research (Everycubever) and that was a totally different process. Another book required me to cull ten years of my newspaper and magazine columns (Father Knows Nothing). I adapt my process to the project, if that makes sense.

Q: How do you handle writer’s block?

A: I’ve never experienced writer’s block and I think there is a very good reason for that. When I wrote for radio, my job was to come up with four hours of material every single day. There’s no room for writer’s block in that situation. Necessity is the mother of invention. It forced me to find great stories, and they are all around if you pay attention.

Now that life has slowed down a bit from that frenetic pace, there are a few things I do that help. I’ve found that when I am super busy, I must allow myself some thinking time. I sit on the deck in the summer with my dog and enjoy the summer air. I come up with some of my best ideas doing that. If I’m on the other end of the spectrum and spending too much time thinking about a project, I keep myself busy doing something else for a while. Just going to the grocery store can unlock ideas that my myopic mind hasn’t allowed me to think about.

Q: Do you have a routine in place daily, or is it always random how you write?

A: Yes, I definitely have a routine. I write first thing in the morning before I do anything else. The thoughts have been gestating overnight and need to come out of my brain before I do anything else. Once they are on paper (or in a computer file), I can leave them behind for a while. I own a publishing company (Eckhartz Press), host a couple of podcasts (Minutia Men, and Free Kicks), and I’m on four board of directors for not-for-profits, so when my writing is done, it’s time to do my actual day jobs.

Q: What, in your opinion, establishes someone as a “writer”?

A: If you write, you are a writer. I don’t differentiate between people who write for print (newspapers, magazines, etc) and those who write for other media like I did. I guess I’m not a purist in that sense.

Q: What literary workshops or opportunities do you think have made you a stronger writer?

A: The only conferences I’ve ever attended are the ones we’ve done for the CWA. I found those incredibly inspiring. There’s something about hanging out with other writers. I have found that collaborating is a great experience. Four of my books are co-written, and they wouldn’t have been nearly as good if I had written them by myself.

Q: What is your role within the Chicago Writers Association?What special projects have you worked on?

A: My job on the CWA board is publishing our yearly writers journal. I’m the only publisher on the board, so I suppose it was an easy choice to have me handle that. I’m also very connected to the Chicago media after being a part of it for so many years, so I help make connections when we need speakers or publicity.

Q: What’s your favorite quote?

A: It’s not from a book, it’s from a song. I’ve been saying it to my kids their whole lives. At first I said it pompously on purpose, as if I was going to dispense important wisdom, which instinctively caused them to roll their eyes. I live for their rolling eyes. That’s my fuel. But now I’ve said it so often, I’ve grown to actually consider it profound. It’s this: “Life…is a highway, and I’m going to ride it all night long,” (Tom Cochran). Sounds ridiculous I know, but think about it. Life is all about the journey. You never actually reach your destination. But if you ride it all night long, you’re going to see some incredible things. Like kids rolling their eyes.

Q: Any advice you would give to any new aspiring writer? What do you want them to know that you wish you had known when you began your journey?


A: Write as often as you can to improve your craft. It almost doesn’t matter what you are writing. I wrote commercial copy for years and it helped me learn to economize my words.

As for ‘what,’ I didn’t know. I had no idea how difficult it was to get published. I consider it a blessing in retrospect. It allowed me to keep on writing without always thinking, “How can I sell this?” or “I’ll never sell this.”. I know myself well enough to realize I never would have finished a few of those early projects if I knew what awaited me when it came to selling them. Finishing those never sold projects taught me so much. Because of that, when opportunities arrived later in life, I was ready to pounce on them

Wendella

Went on a night boat trip down the Chicago River last night with my sister for her birthday. Some incredible views. Sometimes it's important to remember this is in your own backyard...

Monday, September 09, 2019

Love Reign O'er Me

Took the family to the Who last night at Alpine Valley. Lawn tickets were only six bucks, so I figured, what the heck?

It was a great show, highlighted by this great song. When the piano solo finished, the rain actually began to fall on us. Incredible moment. Gave me chills.

Kid Catches *Two* Foul Balls in One At-Bat

Minutia Men--Brexit, Beatles, Bacon, and Ballplayers


In this week's episode, former Sox slugger Eric Soderholm tells us the funniest Jimmy Piersall story ever.

Listen to it here.

Oktoberfest

The best Oktoberfest in the area is always the first one--on Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. Bridget and I went out there on Saturday night (along with our friends Dane Placko and Dave & Michelle Stern) and had a great time. Best beer ever.

Blue Village Vinyl

Great time at Blue Village Vinyl. Saw some old friends, made some new ones, and talked about one of my favorite subjects: Rock and Roll. Thanks to everyone for making us all feel welcome. Bobby Skafish was thrilled to see his old buddies Wendy Snyder and Jimmy Mac McInerney. (Their son Michael also performed)

Friday, September 06, 2019

Bobby Skafish in Westmont



The box of new Bobby Skafish books arrived for Saturday’s signing at Blue Village Vinyl in Westmont (2-3pm).

Your copy of the book is awaiting your purchase Saturday. Bobby will happily sign it for you.

Free Kicks--When Worlds Collide

In this week's episode I tell the story of my meeting with Premier League announcer Arlo White.

Listen to it here.

Thursday, September 05, 2019

Chicago Radio Ratings

From this morning's Robert Feder column. The new radio ratings are in. Not many surprises here...

1. WTMX 101.9-FM hot adult contemporary, 5.7 (5.2)
2. WDRV 97.1-FM classic rock, 5.4 (5.4)
3. WVAZ 102.7-FM urban adult contemporary, 5.0 (4.9)
4. WBBM 780-AM/WCFS 105.9-FM all news, 4.8 (4.8)
5. WLIT 93.9-FM adult contemporary, 4.5 (4.3)
6. WSCR 670-AM sports talk, 4.1 (3.8)
7. (tie) WKSC 103.5-FM Top 40, 3.8 (3.3); WLS 94.7-FM classic hits, 3.8 (4.0)
9. WXRT 93.1-FM adult album alternative, 3.5 (3.8)
10. WKQX 101.1-FM alternative rock, 3.4 (3.0)
11. (tie) WBMX 104.3-FM classic hip hop, 3.1 (3.3); WSHE 100.3-FM adult contemporary, 3.1 (2.8)
13. WOJO 105.1-FM Mexican regional, 3.0 (3.1)
14. (tie) WBBM 96.3-FM Top 40, 2.9 (3.0); WRME 87.7-FM soft rock oldies, 2.9 (3.1)
16. (tie) WBEZ 91.5-FM public radio news talk, 2.8 (2.7); WGN 720-AM news talk, 2.8 (3.0);
18. WUSN 99.5-FM country, 2.6 (2.8)
19. WGCI 107.5-FM urban contemporary, 2.5 (2.8)
20. WLS 890-AM news talk, 2.1 (2.2)
21. WLEY 107.9-FM Mexican regional, 2.0 (1.9)
22. WPPN 106.7-FM Spanish adult contemporary, 1.9 (1.9)
23. WEBG 95.5-FM country, 1.6 (1.6)
24. WVIV 93.5-FM Spanish contemporary, 1.5 (1.4)
25. WMVP 1000-AM sports talk, 1.4 (1.5)
26. WERV 95.9-FM classic hits, 1.1 (1.3)
27. WCKL 97.9-FM contemporary Christian, 1.0 (1.5)
28. WMBI 90.1-FM Christian ministry, 0.9 (0.8)
29. WFMT 98.7-FM classical, 0.8 (0.8)
30. WSSR 96.7-FM adult contemporary, 0.6 (0.3)

Wednesday, September 04, 2019

Let the Hype Begin



Rick at Wrigley

Had a thrilling night at Wrigley. Beautiful weather. Cubs won. And I got to meet my all-time favorite soccer announcer, Arlo White (who threw out the first pitch and sang the seventh inning stretch)



Tuesday, September 03, 2019

New statues

It was the third of September, a day I'll always remember

Tim Virgin

The September issue of Illinois Entertainer is out and features my interview with WKQX afternoon man Tim Virgin.

You can read it here.

Staged Photo

You know that iconic photograph of the Rockefeller Center workers having lunch on a steel beam way above ground? The Washington Post has the real story behind that photo today.

I had no idea.

Family Wedding

Had a great time in Richmond Virginia over the weekend attending a family wedding. Back on the job full time this morning...

Friday, August 30, 2019

This is unbelievable

When Worlds Collide

My favorite soccer announcer will be appearing on behalf of my favorite baseball team today...

What happens when Trump takes on Fox News?

This is what happens...



Of course Hannity later re-inserted Trump's private parts, but for a few minutes there, it was coitus interuptus.