Eckhartz Everyday

*On this day in 2019, I appeared on the Club 400 broadcast to talk about my book, EveryCubEver.

*On this day in 2014, CBS-2 Chicago profiled Eckkhartz Press author Bruce Bohrer. Check it out here.

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?

*July 25 is famous comedy club owner Mitzie Shore's birthday. Comedian Ross Bennett told us what it was like to perform in front of this comedy icon. (Full interview is here)

*July 25 would have been Walter Payton's birthday. He once had a very memorable appearance on John Landecker's show (AUDIO)

*July 26 is Mick Jagger's birthday. Best Selling author James Finn Garner once appeared on the show and had a heated argument with Rick about Beatles vs. Stones. (Full interview here)

*July 26 is also Shane Obedzinski's birthday. Shane was one of the kid actors in the classic baseball movie The Sandlot, and appeared on our show to talk about it. (Full interview here)

*July 27, 2000, the movie Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released. Little Tommy Kaempfer reviewed the film for the John Landecker show (AUDIO)

*July 27, 1919, Chicago was embroiled in a full-out race riot. Author Robert Loerzel came on the show to discuss that horrible day in Chicago history. (Full interview here)

*July 27th would have Leo Durocher's birthday. We have some very salty outtakes from his old radio show with Lou Boudreau. (AUDIO)

*July 29, 1981, Disney on Ice premiers. Little Tommy Kaempfer once reviewed the film Toy Story on Ice for the John Landecker show (AUDIO)

Chili Dog MVP in Wheaton

 

“Chili Dog MVP” Authors to speak at Headlines from History series In-person at Cantigny Park and via Zoom: July 28, 2022

The Robert R. McCormick House at Cantigny Park resumes its Headlines from History series with a presentation by the authors of “Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, the ’72 White Sox, and a Transforming Chicago.”

John Owens and Dr. David J. Fletcher will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 28, 2022.

The free presentation will take place in person at the Cantigny Park Visitors Center (parking $5) and online via Zoom. Those needing a Zoom link must register in advance at Cantigny.org.

REGISTER FOR ZOOM

Co-authors Fletcher and Owens will discuss a unique time and place in baseball and Chicago history, when the arrival of a controversial slugger electrified the city just after the White Sox nearly moved to Milwaukee.

Their recently published book weaves a narrative of Allen, his teammates, broadcaster Harry Caray, and organist Nancy Faust during a more innocent time in baseball, set against the backdrop of Chicago in the 1970s.

The authors will be signing copies of “Chili Dog MVP,” which will be available for purchase at the presentation.

John Owens is an award-winning media professional with more than 30 years of experience as a writer, journalist, producer, director, and videographer.

David Fletcher attended 20 White Sox games in 1972, witnessing first-hand what Dick Allen meant to Chicago. He later became close to Allen and his family, even speaking at the seven-time All-Star’s funeral in 2020.

Read the full article at DailyHerald.com…

From the Writing Archives--Letter from Son's Lawyer

 This week I begin my last week in my 50s. In celebration of that, I'm dipping into the archives every day this week to feature something I've written in the past. This particular piece is a Father Knows Nothing column from 2008. Sean was 6 years old at the time. He is now almost 20. It isn't in the final copy of the book, but it still brings back fond memories for me. 

A letter I expect to receive

Dear Mr Kaempfer:

I represent your youngest son Sean in the matter of Kaempfer vs. Kaempfer, Kaempfer, Kaempfer, & Kaempfer.

My client concedes that his wallet often includes many many more dollars than he should have at any given time, and he understands why this has aroused your suspicions and led to charges of intra-family theft. However, before you and the rest of the parties to this matter continue to levy these unsubstantiated charges, please consider the following…

*No one has ever witnessed my client actually taking money from someone else. Just because your wallet is short $5 and his wallet has $5 extra doesn’t prove a thing. The police department cannot and will not pursue this matter without an eye-witness account.

*My client’s claim of "magical money powers" has never been disproved. The burden of proof here clearly falls on the shoulders of those accusing him of theft.

*My client is quite cute and has been known to receive money from old people simply because of that cuteness.

*While my client has been known to say "finders keepers, losers weepers," this in no way proves that he is picking up any and all change he finds around the house and keeping it. It’s quite possible that he has some sort of a magnetic imbalance in his pocket-area that attracts the coins. Surely medical considerations should be taken into account.

*Has anyone considered that he may have earned that money legitimately? While gambling isn’t technically legal for someone his age, it also isn’t technically theft. Ban his gambling today, and you’ll kill his dream of playing professional Go Fish tomorrow.

*Even if someone were to prove that my client had illicitly acquired a few extra dollars from around the house, isn’t his mathematical development important to you? Keeping track of smaller denominations may be good training for a lesser mathematical mind, but surely adding and multiplying larger denominations will facilitate his mathematical growth. Consider any "lost" money an investment in his future earning potential, which could, in fact, pay for your inevitable nursing home care.

My client is a very reasonable 6-year-old and is willing to forgive and forget any previous accusations without pursuing legal action at this time. On the other hand, a payment in the three-figure range would provide a soothing balm to his pain and suffering.

Respectfully,
Shirley Cheatum
Dewey, Cheatum & Howe, Attorneys at Law

Eckhartz Everyday

 *On this day in 2018, Eckhartz Press and author Richard Reeder released this promotional video for his book 1001 Train Rides in Chicago...

Caddyshack anniversary

42-years ago today “‘Caddyshack” hit theaters… pic.twitter.com/LLUYi2xKTW

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) July 25, 2022

From the Writing Archives--Nancy

 This week I begin my last week in my 50s. In celebration of that, I'm dipping into the archives every day this week to feature something I've written in the past. This particular piece is from my book Father Knows Nothing, Today would have been Nancy's birthday...

It was just an ordinary summer day in 1973.

The old neighborhood was filled with kids. There were a dozen or more kids on my street about the same age as me, give or take a few years, and we played together outside for hours and hours at a time. The games of choice were Spud, Kick the Can, 500, Capture the Flag, and of course, baseball.

On this particular day I was watching some of the older kids play baseball at the park across the street from my house. They weren’t letting me play because I wasn’t good enough, but I didn’t mind. My best friend Stu was allowed to play, and I was lending my support by rooting for him, and chasing foul balls.

“Hey Ricky!” I heard from across the street. I recognized the voice of Stu’s sister Nancy, but I didn’t see her anywhere. “Up here,” she said. “In the tree.”

The tree in the front yard of her house was our favorite climbing tree. The lowest branch was low enough to allow even little kids access. Some of the neighborhood kids could climb nearly all the way to the top, but I was afraid to go that high. It was a pretty tall tree. And Nancy was up higher in that tree than I had ever seen.

“You can see the water tower from up here,” she said.

Now she had my attention. This was a small town with absolutely nothing exciting, but we did have a water tower downtown a few miles away. It seemed impossible to be able to see something of that magnitude from the bucolic confines of our little side street. So I wandered over to take a look.

When I stood at the base of the tree and looked straight up, it seemed like Nancy was a thousand feet in the sky. There was no way I was going that high.

“C’mon,” she said. “You’ve got to see this.”

She was right. I had to see it. So I started climbing, and this tree was made for climbing. The branches were smooth. They were staggered perfectly. They were sturdy. There really was nothing preventing me from continuing my climb except my fear.

I made it past the mid-point of the tree (my new all-time record) and saw something for the first time in my life: the roof of the school across the street. I could see a couple of dodge balls that had been kicked up there–an incredible find. But I still couldn’t imagine that I would make it as high as Nancy.

She was urging me on as I hit the 3/4 mark, but I still couldn’t see the water tower. I saw something else, however. Our Ford LTD was making it’s way down the boulevard on it’s way home from the train station. Inside that car was my dad’s car pool–my dad, our next door neighbor Mr. Reiss, and our backyard neighbor Mr. Walsh. It was my mom’s turn to pick them up.

I knew that car meant the end of my climb because dinner started moments after dad walked in the front door, so I put my fear aside and kept climbing. I made it just beneath Nancy as our car pulled into the driveway, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was; its gold glimmering paint shining from a few miles away. A giant “1917″ was painted on its side, the year our town was founded.

“Can you see it?” Nancy asked.

“I can see it,” I replied.

We could hear the car doors open beneath us, and I couldn’t contain my excitement.

“Dad,” I called. “I can see the water tower from here.”

“Get down from there,” my mom called. “You’ll kill yourself.”

“Look at that,” Mr. Reiss said. “Ricky’s really all the way up there.”

He didn’t sound concerned and neither did my dad, who just told me to come down for dinner.

I never made it up that tree again. A few months later my little brother fell out of it, and one of the neighbors broke her arm saving him from getting hurt. After that, Mr. Page (Nancy & Stu’s dad) enforced a no-climb zone.

We moved out of the neighborhood the next year–all the way to Germany.

The Pages moved away in the mid-80s. By then Nancy was married, and Stu was in the Air Force. Many of the other neighbors eventually moved too, but one constant had always been Mr. Reiss. That era ended a few weeks ago, when he passed away. He had been the last living member of the carpool.

When I attended Mr. Reiss’ funeral, I couldn’t help it, I flashed back to that summer of 1973. I pictured him getting out of that Ford LTD, and looking up at the only tree climbing accomplishment of my life.

Sadly, it wasn’t a long journey back to 1973 for me, because I was already there, ever since Stu called me a few days earlier to tell me that his sister Nancy had also died. She died of ALS the same week as Mr. Reiss. Nancy would have been 50 this summer (2011), 38 summers after she reached the top of the tree.

The neighborhood hasn’t physically changed much; the same houses on the same street in front of the same park. Even the tree is still standing, and if you’re crazy enough to climb it, you can still see the water tower, which was recently repainted.

But you can’t see what I can see.

I can see Nancy. I can see Mr. Reiss. I can see Dad.

And I can see a perfect summer day in 1973.

Eckhartz Everyday

 *Today would have been Walter Payton's birthday. Walter is not only the greatest football player of all-time, he's also featured in the Eckhartz Press books, Records Truly Is My Middle Name, Your Dime My Dance Floor, and Ike and Me.

*On this day in 2014, Bruce Bohrer and Eckhartz Press released this promotional video for his book Best Seat in the House...

*One of the outfielders on the 1972 White Sox was Buddy Bradford. Today is his birthday. He is featured in the Eckhartz Press book Chili Dog MVP.

Hype for Media Notebook

 From the Patch...

Chicago Media Authority, Rick Kaempfer, Recaps Anything and Everything Related to Chicago Media in His Weekly Media Notebook

By K.P. Lynne 

Rick Kaempfer is no stranger to Chicagoland media...a #1 podcast star (Minutia Men and Free Kicks), not to mention a lifetime of professional work in the Chicago media scene, as a producer, radio personality, best-selling author, publisher and more...you name it...Rick has done it! 

Rick Kaempfer has racked up countless professional credits working at WLUP AM, WLUP FM, WJMK FM, and WPGU to name a few. He is the best-selling author of Father Knows Nothing, Records Truly is My Middle Name, The Living Wills, $everance, The Radio Producer's Handbook and Grun Weiss Vor!, media critic at Illinois Entertainer, a freelance magazine and newspaper contributor, and the co-owner of the trending Indie Book Publishing House, Eckhartz Press (with David Stern).

Celebrating 40 years of creative content, Rick Kaempfer has always had his finger on the pulse of Chicago media, who's in, who's out, what makes it tick, and everything in between. 

Rick has filled a void, with a much-needed weekly mashup of media-related tidbits, soundbites, news items, and media personality comings and goings. 

Want to know who's hot and who's not? 

Rick Kaempfer has a nose for the news-behind-the-news and he's sharing it every Friday! 

Check out the weekly media mashup in Rick's Media Notebook! 

https://rickkaempfer.blogspot....

Minutia Men--A Funny Finn

 Our latest episode has dropped. You can listen to it here.

The difficulties of learning American English, tips for avoiding the English heat, Jewish delis, less than observant Scottish cops, and Damone from Fast Times at Ridgemont High floating down a river in Los Angeles. [Ep277]

Cubs Tweet of the Week

July 22, 1934. The Cubs lose to the Phillies in Philadelphia 6-5 when the Phillies score three in the bottom of the 12th against Charlie Root. In the news: Public enemy #1 John Dillinger is gunned down outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago. #EveryCubEver pic.twitter.com/db4jdHgwBQ

— Rick Kaempfer (@RickKaempfer) July 22, 2022

Media Notebook--7-22-22

 

MEDIA NOTEBOOK

A curation of news items about the media from this past week, with a particular emphasis on Chicago…

 

Radio/Podcasts

 

*Marconi Award Finalists

This week the NAB announced finalists for this year’s Marconi Awards. Chicago is represented in a few of the categories. The Drive (WDRV) was named as a finalist for Major Market Rock Station of the Year. Janda Lane’s “Behind the Song” podcast is a finalist for Radio Podcast of the Year (Read my recent interview with Janda here). And the Score’s afternoon hosts Danny Parkins & Matt Spiegel are finalists for Major Market Personality of the Year. Congrats to all of the finalists. A full list of the finalists is here. 

 

*Score 30^th anniversary

On Wednesday the Score celebrated their 30^th anniversary with a live broadcast. They brought back some of the original Score staff. I saw Tom Shaer, George Ofman, and Terry Boers in the pictures. Looks like they did not invite Dan McNeil, which is a shame. He certainly played a big part in the Score history. I did enjoy this video. An introduction of the staff…

Our 30th anniversary celebration wouldn't have been complete if it didn't include a #Bulls-like full lineup introduction ... with plenty of jokes.

Listen on Rewind: https://t.co/o0wJQ5q2sk@ParkinsSpiegel podcasts: https://t.co/NDD7Vurf3e pic.twitter.com/iTIUaPcky8

— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) July 20, 2022

 

*A Tribute to Lin Brehmer

Pete Crozier was Lin Brehmer’s producer for years at WXRT and continues to help with the production of Brehmer’s Lin’s Bin feature. When it was announced that Lin was stepping down from the show temporarily to undergo treatment for cancer, Pete wrote a beautiful tribute on his facebook page. With his permission, I’m re-posting a portion of it here. Read the rest on Pete’s facebook page…

It’s 5:32 a.m.

The morning show started two minutes ago.

The hotline flashes. I answer.

“Yello?”

“Time?”

I look at the recorded open and calculate how long until the mic goes live.

“Fifteen seconds. Talking Heads cued up. Ready to roll.”

“Once in a Lifetime?”

“Yep," I say.

“K. I’m walking to the back.”

I skip out of the studio. As I turn left, and then right, I hear two loud thumps on a metal door.

I kick it open and he comes in, a tattered leather bag in his right hand, a tray of four lattes in his left and the Firesign Theater’s “That’s Not Funny, That’s Sick” album squeezed under one arm.

He hands me the lattes as the open ends and the Talking Heads song starts.

“Sixteen second intro,” he says, a statement not a question.

“Yep.”

He hands me the album and says, “Bill Murray’s birthday. Cart up Mr. Roberts, part one. End with, ‘You should sleep late, much better on your constitution’.”

“Eleven seconds,” I say.

He smiles and says, “Like taking candy from a baby.”

He nudges open the studio door with his hip as I enter a production studio across the hall. I hit a button on the board that brings his voice into my headphones.

“Goooooooooood morning, everybody.”

I think to myself, "Four seconds."

“Take nothing for granted. It's great to be alive,” he says, hitting the post perfectly as David Byrne starts singing, “And you might find yourself living in a shotgun shack…”

Lin Brehmer.

Chicago radio legend and my friend.

 

*Black Information Network

The RAMP Newsletter reported this week that the Black Information Network is now on the air in Chicago via WMFN-AM, branded as BIN 640 AM.  BIN is an iHeart operation, and Tony Coles is the president. He provided this quote to RAMP:

                "BIN brings Chicago the most trusted full-time news network for both local and national news by and for the Black community, and we're looking forward to the network's impact in the community for years to come."

 

*Former Chicago Radio alerts

=Former WLS-FM program Director Michael La Crosse just got a big promotion out west. He is now VP/Programming for IHeart’s seven radio stations in Sacramento.

=Former Kiss-FM (WKSC) weekend jock Nick Gomez is now the 7-Mid jock at WIHT in Washington

 

Media Interviews

The following Chicago media figures are celebrating birthdays this week. If you’ve like to read any of my previous interviews with them, click on their names below. The year I interviewed them is in parenthesis.

July 19—Loop night and overnightjock Terry Gibson (2007) 

July 19—WGN Program Director Todd Manley (2015) 

July 20—Loop/WCKG producer/host Pugs Moran (2012) 

July 21—AM 1000/ESPN/WCKG/WLUP personality and award-winning playwright Spike Manton (2007) 

July 21—River PD and morning personality Danielle Tufano (2014)  

July 22—WLS/Q-101/Loop personality Tim Virgin (2019) 

 

TV/Streaming

 

*Eddie Olczyk leaves the Blackhawks

Good Ol’ #16 was not just a part of Blackhawks broadcasts for years. He was/is simply the best color analyst in the game. Jim O’Donnell explores and explains Eddie’s departure in his Daily Herald column this week.

 

*No charges for Colbert crew

The announcement about the decision not to prosecute came this week. Sounds like it was a no-brainer once cooler heads prevailed. ABC News had the details…

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office said it was not probable a conviction could be obtained and sustained given that the nine arrested had been invited and that their escorts had never asked them to leave the building. Though Capitol Police have refused to provide the names of those who were arrested, a person familiar with the matter provided The Associated Press with a list of nine people who had been stopped by Capitol Police. They included several producers, along with comedian and writer Robert Smigel, the voice behind Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

 

*Netflix loses a million subscribers

You would think that losing a million subscribers in one quarter would be a disaster, but when your projections were that you’d lose twice as many, it softens the blow a bit. Adweek has the details about the exodus, and the new ad-supporter version of Netflix that is coming soon.

*Chris Cuomo’s first interview

The former CNN prime time host has been lying low since he was fired for improprieties earlier this year. The Hill reports that he has agreed to sit down with Dan Abrams on NewsNation next week for his first nationally televised interview.  (Chris Cuomo has also started a podcast if that's your thing)

 

*Canabis ads

You would think that cannabis ads would be legal in states that have legalized weed. You would be wrong. Because pot is still considered illegal federally, the FCC does not allow canabis ads on the public radio or television airwaves. The U.S. House took steps to rectify the situation this week. Radio Ink has the details at the link. The bill still faces likely opposition in the Senate. But I’ve already created the first Cannabis ad. This is a freebie for all of you media mavens…

 

Other Media News

 

*Pulitzer Reaffirms 2018 Awards

Former president Trump was urging the Pulitzer board to rescind their 2018 Pulitzer Prize awards to the Washington Post and New York Times for their reporting on his Russia scandal because he claimed that he had been exonerated by the Mueller Report (which, by the way, explicitly did not exonerate him). After re-examining the reporting that won the prize, the Pulitzer board announced that they are reaffirming the awards. Nothing in those reports has been proven untrue, despite the former president’s claims.

 

*Amazon vs. Facebook

There’s no good guy in this story. Two evil giants are going head-to-head in court. Amazon is suing Facebook because of their Facebook groups promoting/creating fake ratings for amazon products. Techcrunch has the details. Is there a way for both of them to lose?

 

*The Kennedy Center Honors

The 45^th Kennedy Center Honorees have been announced, and it includes Gladys Knight, George Clooney, Amy Grant, Tania Leon, and U2. Here’s the statement U2 released…

                "In December 1980, we made our first trip across the Atlantic to America. We had big dreams then, fueled in part by the commonly held belief at home that America smiles on Ireland. And it turned out to be true, yet again. But even in the wilder thoughts, we never imagined that 40 years on, we would be invited back to receive one of the nation's greatest honors. It has been a four-decade love affair with the country and its people, its artists, and culture. We consider America to be a home away from home and we are very grateful to the Kennedy Center Honors for welcoming us into this great clan of extraordinary artists."

Galway Podcast

Eckhartz Everyday

 *On this day in 2014, Eckhartz Press author Bruce Bohrer appeared on WGN Television to talk about his book Best Seat in the House.

Uwe Seeler

 One of the all-time greats of soccer has passed away, West German star Uwe Seeler. Believe it or not, he once came to Chicago and watched a Green White game (the club my father co-founded) when we were still located in the city. Here's a clip from the German newspaper...

Galway

Eckhartz Press author and Radio Misfits podcaster Brent Peterson (Destination Eat Drink) has a new piece out on his DED website that I recommend. It's about Galway, Ireland. I was with Brent for a lot of this exploration of Galway earlier this year.

Here's the link.

Here's a photo or two from Galway...(Brent and his girlfriend Karen are in the photo with Bridget and I)

Eckhartz Everyday

*Today is Eckhartz Press co-author Spike Manton's birthday. Happy birthday to Spike! He co-wrote the book Patty & The Stump.

Sox in the Basement

Live from the Blue Island Beer Company, Eckhartz Press authors John Owens and David Fletcher on the Sox in the Basement podcast. Listen to it here.

Belle

Talking 'Bout My Generation

From The Patch...

Talking ‘Bout My Generation Released By Chicago's Own Eckhartz Press

William J. Wagner Pens Intriguing Novel Following the Mystical Journey of Pete Townshend's Guitar!

Music-lovers, guitar-lovers and classic rock-lovers...rejoice! 

You won't want to miss this fascinating and imaginative romp, chronicling the life of a guitar, and the lives it touches along the way! 

The book can be pre-ordered today at Chicago's own Eckhartz Press! https://eckhartzpress.com/shop/talking-bout-my-generation/

Summary (Courtesy of Eckhartz Press) 

Talking ’Bout My Generation: The Amazing Journey of Pete Townshend’s Woodstock Special is an imagining of what happened after that guitar left Townshend’s hands.

Woodstock was meant to be the pinnacle of the hippie youth movement—a moment when peace, love, and understanding would prevail—but Pete Townshend, the temperamental guitarist for "The Who", didn’t buy into any of it. Known more for smashing his guitars than preaching free love, he saw Woodstock as a festival of slop that had been marred by rain, LSD, and misguided idealism. 

Yet at the end of The Who’s performance, as a brilliant sunrise broke through thick storm clouds, he couldn’t help but be caught up in the moment. Instead of reducing his guitar to splinters, he held it out like a religious offering and gently tossed it into the crowd.

Talking ’Bout My Generation: The Amazing Journey of Pete Townshend’s Woodstock Special is an imagining of what happened after that guitar left Townshend’s hands. 

Over the course of three decades, the Gibson SG Special touches the lives of an array of colorful characters. The guitar is a symbol of hope, but will it survive it's amazing, sometimes harrowing journey? And will it ever be reunited with Townshend?

About the Author

William J. Wagner is an award-winning writer and editor who’s been at it for thirty-plus years, mostly in Chicago. He has written for everything from Sports Illustrated to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and also is the author of a book about the Chicago Cubs titled Wrigley Blues. In his spare time, Wagner likes to play guitar. He owns a (but not the) Gibson SG.