Join Us As We Welcome In 2020 On WGN Radio!

Tonight from 11PM-5 AM (Or, whenever the Blackhawks game ends) we’ll say goodbye to 2019 and welcome in 2020 as we celebrate the 25th anniversary broadcast of Steve  & Johnnie’s “Cheap Date Life After Dark New Year’s Eve Extravaganza” and we’re planning some serious fireworks to celebrate the occasion!!

Happy New Year!!

Here’s just a taste of what we’re planning.

We couldn’t be happier than to start of 2020 with a visit from a long time friend who is is known internationally as one of the world’s great blues harmonica players, and is a celebrated composer, blues pianist, singer, songwriter, band leader and author, Corky Siegel.

Corky Siegel

Since this is the 25th anniversary of our first New Year’s Eve show, you know we had to invite one of one of our most popular guests who was with us for that first New Year’s Eve party so, joining us, once again, for this special New Year’s show will be one of the featured artists on the PBS Soundstage Special “Cornerstones Of Rock,”  the man who sang lead on many of The New Colony Six’s hit records, Ronnie Rice.

Once again, due to multiple requests, joining us to preview what we can expect in the new year and even read our minds is the world’s only Musical Mentalist, Sidney Friedman.

Sidney Friedman

Returning for the second year and treating us to an in-studio performance will be the River Road Trio.

The River Road Trio

Also helping us usher in 2020 will be two incredible talents who are also two of our favorite people, Josh Solomon and Erika Brett from The Empty Pockets.

Josh Solomon & Erika Brett

We’ll have hourly countdowns from every time zone so, if you nod off for a few minutes, when you wake up, you’ll still have a chance to welcome in the New Year from a different location at the top of every hour.

Just a couple of examples:

At 1AM, we’ll join the street party in Prescott, Arizona for their annual New Year’s Boot Drop.

At 4AM, we’ll join Muriel Anderson at the Royal Lahaina Hotel, in Maui Hawaii and welcome in the new year from Tommy Emmanuel’s Holiday Getaway.

Of course we hope you’ll tune in to 720 AM to see where else we’ll be celebrating and who else will be joining us but, if you’re not in the Chicago area, you can still listen AND WATCH by clicking this link to WGN Radio’s live stream.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And, The Monday Before New Year’s We’re On WGN, Too!

Well, Friday we said we’d be sliding back into the WGN radio studios for the first of a couple of days, so here’s a reminder about the second day.

Actually, it’s going to be a total of three days, but then we never were good at math.

OK, here’s the deal, tonight (Monday, 12/30/19) we’ll be back on WGN radio from 7-!!PM (Central). We’re still finalizing tonight’s game plan, but you can tune to 720 AM to see how it all comes out.

Johnnie & Steve at WGN Radio

Remember, if you’re not in the Chicago area, you can still listen and watch by clicking this link to WGN’s live stream. https://wgnradio.com/on-air/live-streaming/

Hope you’ll join us!

Friday After Christmas On WGN Radio!

Today, Friday, 12/27/19, from 3-7P (Central) we slide back into the WGN radio studios for the first of a couple of days to enjoy and celebrate that post-Christmas/pre-New Years glow.

We’ve just been invited to be a part of The Dick Biondi Film about Chicago radio legend, Dick Biondi, and we’ll spill the details as we talk with the film’s director, Pamela Enzweiler Pulice, and Director of Communications and Marketing, Joseph A Farina.

We’ll share some tips on getting the very best New Year’s Eve photos as we check in with a VERY talented man whose name you may not know, but whose photographs you have seen, Barry Butler.  Barry is an award-winning landscape/cityscape photographer, based in Chicago.

We’ll be treated to an in-studio performance from internationally known, Chicago based, guitar master, Joel Paterson.

Joel Paterson

We’re got a lot more surprises planned, but of we shared all the details now, of course, you wouldn’t be surprised.

We hope you’ll tune in to 720 AM but, if you’re not in the Chicago area, you can still listen AND WATCH by clicking this link to WGN Radio’s live stream.

How About Some Free Christmas Goodies?!?

We thought this might be a good time to post our annual stocking full of freebies from us & the most successful instrumentalist in rock history, Duane Eddy.

First in the stocking, you’ll find an original song Steve recorded at Jim Peterik‘s World Stage studio called “Christmas From The Roots Of Rock & Roll.”

Steve recording at Jim Peterik’s World Stage studio.

Other than drums, Steve played all the instruments you hear on the recording.

Next, you’ll find a collection of original Christmas instrumentals courtesy of our friend, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, Duane Eddy!  We were honored that Duane was nice enough to let us share these free downloads with you.

Duane Eddy

And finally, we get a lot of requests for Johnnie’s Gluten-Free recipes.  As most of you know, Johnnie’s Gluten-Free cookbook is slowly, but surely, making the journey from our kitchen to your book shelf.  However, even before the book is published, since the holidays are upon us, we thought it might be a good time to share the secrets behind just a few of the Gluten-Free goodies that will find their way to our table this Christmas.  Just to whet your whistle, here is a picture of some of the treats that have made our kitchen smell so good.

Johnnie’s Gluten-Free coconut macaroons, fudge, butter almond toffee, mashed potato-peanut butter pinwheels

“But”, you say, “that’s only a picture.  How the heck do I make these goodies?”  Well, to open the stocking, download the free songs and see Johnnie’s video showing how to make these yummy goodies, just click on this link.

Merry Christmas!

Steve & Johnnie

Some New Upcoming Events!

If you haven’t checked out our Events page in a while, you might want to take a look.

We’ve got some fun things coming up and we’d love to have you join us.

Just click this link and all shall be revealed.

Our 2019 Radio Halloween Spooktacular!

This Halloween night, from 7-11 PM, we’ll be co-hosting a special “Friends (Or is it Fiends) & Family Halloween Spooktacular” live broadcast from the studios of WKGC-FM (90.7-FM), in Panama City, Florida!

Turn out the lights and join us and our friends from WKGC for some very scary tales of ghosts and other “children of the night” who haunt the Gulf Coast along with unexplained Halloween legends from other parts of the globe such as Chicago’s Resurrection Mary.

We’ll also be joined by some very special musical guests including Lucky Mud and Woods The Band who will trick and treat us with some in-studio performances.

Remember, if you’re not in the Panama City area, you can listen just by clicking this link to WKGC’s live stream.

It’s Baack!!!

As usually happens this time each year, the closer we get to Halloween, the more requests we get from many of you asking about the Halloween poem that was a part of our show for many years.

Once again crawling out from the depths of Halloween’s past, it’s the return of our Halloween Poem.  It’s a fun “trick” to add to your bag of treats for your little people.

For the uninitiated, this is a poem which, in one form or another, we’ve been presenting on radio and the Internet for several decades.  Honestly, we don’t know the origin of the poem. A listener sent it to Steve many years ago in a galaxy far, far away in the days before him n her became HimNHer.  The positive response to the poem and the fun it can provide, particularly for kids, at a Halloween party resulted in it becoming one of our annual traditions.  And, as Steve’s Dad always said, “Tradition is a fine thing as long as it doesn’t become a habit.”

But, we digress …

OK, here is how it works.  If you’re having some young children over for Halloween, just get them in a dark room and read them this story of a young man who went to school to learn to be a first-class ghoul.  As you’re reading the story, in the dim light, you pass out items that are supposed to be body parts.  Johnnie has put together a list of things you can use to simulate the body parts.  To make the story even scarier, you can play the audio of Steve’s voice reading the poem.

To read and hear the Halloween poem just click on this link.

Again this year, we have to say a huge THANK YOU to Dave Marzullo, one of the hardest working SPIRITS at WGN Radio for jumping through more Internet hoops than you’ll ever know to make our Halloween poem and it’s audio available.

Even in this high-tech world, each year we hear from a lot of people telling stories of the fun they had with the kids and this old school Halloween poem.  Hopefully, you’ll be one of them.