Thanks to Dane Neal, Corky Siegel, Ernie Watts, Patrick Crispen, WGN Radio’s Chief Engineer, Bill Murdoch and you for the terrific start to our Memorial Day weekend!
The fireworks were plentiful!
Steve’s view of the Navy Pier fireworks.
And, if you’d like some fun fireworks for your ears, the podcast is now posted. Just click on this link to hear how everything exploded.
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
This year WGN radio is carrying the Indianapolis 500 and, for whatever reason, some people have whipped themselves into a dither about this race, or any race for that matter, being on the radio. Most of these are the same people who have no problem listening to baseball, football, hockey, soccer, or any of a number of sporting events on the radio even though most of them are available to watch on some channel.
I’ve got a few thoughts about this.
Full disclosure: In the late 60s and early 70s, I was very fortunate to spend several years working in Indianapolis for Fairbanks Broadcasting, the company who owned, what was then, the flagship station for the “Greatest spectacle in racing,” WIBC-AM. During that time I worked with and developed lasting friendships with two broadcast legends, Sid Collins (“The voice of the Indianapolis 500”) and Lou Palmer (“The voice of victory lane”). It was also during those years that the Indy 500 broadcast rivaled Paul Harvey‘s broadcast as the most listened to IN THE WORLD!!
While I had been a fan of the race before, that experience along with many visits to “the old brickyard” to see the race, in person, cemented my love of the Indy 500. Every year, Johnnie and I can be found watching AND listening to the race. We were genuinely excited when it was announced that WGN radio would be carrying the race this year. So, yeah, it’s a fair point to say I’m biased in favor of the race.
Her & Him did a road test of the 1998 Indianapolis Pace Car.
Having said that, ANY sporting event broadcast is enhanced or diminished by the broadcasters covering it, regardless of what form of media the broadcast is on. If the announcer is doing their job well, you’ll get backstories and insights during baseball and the rest that enhance your listening and/or watching experience. Look at the number of people at Wrigley Field listening to the Cubs broadcast while they are AT the game. The same is true of the Indy 500.
I know this little rant isn’t going to convince some, but I just wanted to put it out there because, my experience with the Indy 500 RADIO broadcast has been that IT’S GREAT RADIO! If it’s not your cup of tea, turn the dial. But, if you stick around, you’ll be joining millions of listeners in a Memorial Day weekend tradition that really is something special.
By the way, since you’ve stuck around this far, as your reward, here’s a little bit of WGN Radio/Indy 500 trivia. The first major broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 took place in 1924 on Chicago station WDAP. Just a few days later, WDAP’s call letters were changed to WGN.
And now you know “the REST of the story.”
Stay safe,
Steve
We had an absolute blast Saturday night hanging out with Joe Nosek and Oscar Wilson, of the Cashbox Kings, on WGN Radio.
HimNHer with Joe Nosek and Oscar Wilson of The Cashbox Kings.
The podcast is now posted so, if you missed the show or you’d like to hear it again, just click this link. By the way, don’t be surprised if you hear an additional “Easter egg” in the podcast.
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
Quite often, to keep our minds off the slings and arrows of outrageous potholes that are so plenty-full on DuSable Lake Shore Drive, while he drives, she clicks the vistas along our route. This past weekend, they were doing their best to impress.
So, of course, we had to share a few with the class.
Even at night, this is one of the prettiest drives of any big city.
And the closer you get the more it inspires smiles.
Even crossing the lower level bridge has its charms.
It’s easy to see why Batman liked this route.
Once we arrived at our appointed destination, because of the NCAA Tournament, not surprisingly, last Saturday night’s show started a little later than we’d planned.
Our monitor’s screen, we could see that, in the newsroom, Steve Ruxton was ready and waiting … and waiting … and waiting.
A very patient Steve Ruxton.
But, once it was showtime, we got to hang with Patrick Crispen, Roger Badesch, Mike Himebaugh and more, so we thought it was worth the wait.
Patrick shared some of his AI Imaging results with us and we thought you might like to see some of them.
This is what AI Imaging thinks is a United Airlines plane. Among other things, notice the spelling and only one engine and … well, we don’t think we’ll be flying it anytime soon.
And, here are various AI Images of a Chicago landmark you may have heard of.
AI likes The Tribune Tower.
At 2AM, before we left, we had to take one last look out the window.
Even in the wee hours, with hardly anyone around, what a beautiful city!
If you missed any of the show, or if you’d like to hear it again, the podcast is now posted. Here’s the link.
As always, thanks for hanging out with us.
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
Due to a late Blackhawks game, we wrapped up St. Patrick’s Day weekend with a really short “drive-by” show on WGN Radio.
With a 1AM start time, we thought we might see a bit less traffic on our Midnight ride to the studio, but we still had a lot of company as we closed in on Chicago’s downtown.
Talk about the city that never sleeps!
Things finally thinned out a bit as we segued onto the lower level of the drive and got closer to our destination.
One solitary car on the lower level. Wonder where he or she was going.
Once we landed at the WGN Radio complex, we settled in and got ready for our mini-drive by.
That’s Gabe Salgado in the WGN Radio newsroom.
It may have been a short show, but it sure had a lot of twists and turns and they’re all available in the podcast. Here’s the link.
As always, thanks for hanging out with us on the air and online.
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
Just a little sharin’ o’ the green from our house to yours on this St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
On St. Patrick’s Day, in 1975, Steve was riding on the WLS Musicradio float sitting up on top next to Yvonne Daniels. On the front of the float are Bob Sirott and John Landecker. In the middle row that’s Fred Winston sitting next to Tommy Edwards.
All of the above are gifts from our wonderful listeners. The tiny tea set came all the way from Ireland.
Under the tree is the Illinois Lottery lucky leprechaun next to the pot of gold.
Everything from Beanie Babies to Trolls decorate tree #2.
The smiling Irish lass in the upper right hand corner of the collage above is Steve’s Mom, Mary Elizabeth Carroll, who was born on St. Patrick’s Day.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
As we got ready to fast forward our clocks ahead one hour to Daylight Saving Time we filled the hours by driving to the WGN Radio studios and, once there, “wound up” introducing you to some wonderful food that’s made in Chicago along with the history behind it, got a showbiz report from Gino Salomone, shared some pre-Oscar show picks from brother Lee, demonstrated AI Voice Cloning with Patrick Crispen and a whole lot more.
It was spitting rain as we closed in on Chicago’s downtown and the drops on our windshield enhanced an already pretty view that we happily soaked up.
A little rain, but a lot of pretty!
Once we settled in to the “friendly confines” of the WGN Radio complex, we began the show, as we usually do, with a “round robin,” checking in with all the usual suspects.
One of our favorite “usual suspects,” Gabe Salgado, who mans the news desk in the wee hours.
Then, it was on to our first guests, Monica Eng and David Hammond, authors of “Made In Chicago Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites.”
While our show was packed, David and Monica were our only in-studio guests and it was a genuine treat to meet them.
HimNHer with Monica Eng and David Hammond.
We think they had a good time, too. Although … we’re not sure Monica wants to repeat the experience of having her first sip of Malort anytime soon.
Monica meeting Malort.
The rest of the show just flew by so fast that by the time we wrapped up at 2AM it was 3AM!!
If you’d like to rewind and hear how it all played out, just click this link.
Now, where did we put the instructions for setting the clock on the microwave?
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
Our apologies for lagging behind on posting podcast links to this blog. Because we know not everyone who follows this blog follows us on Facebook, Twitter or our other social media sites, even though we post podcasts on those sites, we do our best to also post them in this space. But, now and then, we get a little behinder in our work, so this post will be a podcast twofer!
First up, our Feb. 26th show.
We knew our first show back in Chicago, on Sunday morning Feb. 26th, after our visit to the Panhandle would be a short one, but the Chicago Blackhawks game going into overtime made it even shorter. “The Musical Mentalist,” Sidney Friedman, made the moments we had left mystifying and entertaining.
Sydney Friedman working some jellybean magic!
Just point your browser right here to hear some of the fun.
But, Wait! There’s More!
Second up, our March 4th show.
Him with new headphones and Her with Andrew B., our producer, on the other side of the glass.
A HUGE thank you to Jessica Radloff, Shannon MacDonald, Patrick Crispen, Susan Rakis and our usual suspects for making our first show in the month of March so much fun.
Our March 4th show on ran the gamut from Girl Scout cookies to computers to The Beatles to The Big Bang Theory and behind the scenes TV stories to … well, since the podcast is now posted, just click this link and hear for yourself.
As always, thanks for hanging out with us!
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
Our 2nd WGN Radio show from Florida is in the books! This time, fortunately, there were no technical problems, just a ton of fun with a lot of great guests.
Once again we were broadcasting from Studio 812, in Lynn Haven, Fl. This is a state of the art recording studio that is used to hosting musicians and singers but, thanks to our friend Tom Hoots, it was reconfigured to accommodate our needs for a radio broadcast.
Johnnie during a commercial break at Studio 812
This past Saturday night we slid back into your radio speakers with a combination of new and old friends.
Two of our, Panhandle based, in-studio guests were …
Amy Hoyt, news anchor for WMBB-TV, in Panama City
Steve, Amy Hoyt & Johnnie
and
Crook Stewart, Tour Manager for Crosby, Stills & Nash.
Steve, Crook Stewart & Johnnie
As the night progressed, it did become obvious that not everyone was as used to our “Life After Dark” lifestyle as we are.
Johnnie going over show notes during a newscast while Tom Hoots grabs a quick 40 winks.
Along with Karen Morris (Host of “The Mix” on WKGC-FM), Tom Appel,(Publisher of Consumer Guide), Caleb Jordan (Gulf Coast State College Instructor), Ed Marszewski (President of Chicago’s Marz Brewery) and the usual suspects back in our Chicago studios, this crew made this week’s Saturday night adventure a lot of fun for us and, hopefully, for you, too.
In case you missed it or if you’d like to hear it again, the podcast is now available, so just click on this link to hear it.
As always, thank you so much for being a part of our adventures on the air and online.
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
In spite of some weather related technical problems, we had a great time Saturday night (2/11/23) during our first live broadcast from Studio 812, in Lynn Haven Florida.
Studio 812 is roughly a half hour drive from our Panama City Beach home and, because it was a windy, rainy, night, our trip across the Hathaway Bridge was, as Bob Collins use to say, “a character builder.”
Our windshield wipers did their best while Steve drove and Johnnie took pics.
When we finally got to our Lynn Haven destination, along with Studio 812’s Tom Hoots, we connected with our crew at the WGN Radio studios, in Chicago, to go over our show’s “game plan.”
Tom Hoots and Steve doing a pre-show check. (Photo: Michael Lister)
Along with the usual suspects, our special guest was New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Michael Lister, who is celebrating 25 years of his acclaimed John Jordan “Blood” mystery thriller series and the release of his first single, “A Certain Age.”
Johnnie, Michael Lister & Steve
“A Certain Age” is Michael’s beautiful, heartfelt tribute to Dave Lloyd, an extraordinary talent and human being who Michael, Tom Hoots and the two of us were fortunate to know and count as a friend.
Michael Lister’s video of “A Certain Age.”
Due to a Chicago Blackhawks game, we had a short show so, if you blinked and missed it or, if you’d like to hear it again, the podcast is now available, just click this link and it’s all yours.
Stay safe,
Steve & Johnnie
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