Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Rewarding Radio

Sunday August 26th, 2012 – Kenosha, WI

   It’s taken more than four years, but I’m starting to really feel The Mothership Connection radio show on AM 1050 in Kenosha, WI take shape. We had another super solid show tonight, and the vibe is getting stronger every week. This is the right team, and it feels like the right time as well.

   When the show started, we were on for two hours on Sunday afternoons. I still can’t believe we did that, but that’s when the station had an opening. I think it was from 2-4pm, and it wasn’t easy to fill those two hours as I recall. There were plenty of rough patches, but we stumbled through.

   My partners then were Jimmy Novack who is now part of the ‘Jimmy and Jen’ morning show on sister station 102.3 WXLC in Waukegan, IL and Stu James who works at 95.1 WIIL which is literally in the next room from WLIP. He’s the promotions director and a solid air talent as well.

   We had a lot of fun for a few months, but life got in the way and eventually both of those guys had to move on and make a living. Stu’s commitment to WIIL took too many hours and he didn’t want to tie up his only day off working for free at the smaller sister station. I totally understood.

   Jimmy needed a gig, and the full time morning show came up at WXLC so I didn’t blame him either. I would have done the same thing, and there weren’t any harsh words exchanged by any of us. That’s how the radio game works, but I wanted to keep the show going so I stayed with it.

   We evolved from an afternoon show to an evening show, and that was absolutely necessary. It just isn’t spooky talking about werewolves and ghost encounters when the sun is up. Moving into the evening slot needed to happen, but I still was very shaky as a host and two hours felt like two months on certain nights. It took a lot of effort to stay with it through the rough spots, but I did.

   Several people have come and gone through the years, but that’s to be expected on a small show on a small town station. No offense to anyone, but it is what it is. That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to do the show, because it totally is. That’s the main ingredient that kept us all coming back.

   Now I feel it’s time to make a run for some money. Fun is great, and I love to grab as much of it as my legal limit, but that doesn’t pay any bills. We took fun as far as possible, now it’s time to get paid. I think I’ve definitely earned it. The show has evolved from two hours of hoping we could fill the time to four hours of solid programming where we can’t fit everything into the mix.

   What a fantastic problem that is. We have to work hard to squeeze everything we can in each week but we still have plenty left over. I’ve grown to become a much better talk show host, and my partner Greg DeGuire has a geek quotient that’s off the charts. That’s a very good thing, and he is THE perfect co-host for a show like this. After years of trial and error, it’s coming together.

   That’s exciting, and I really feel a positive energy brewing with people who are associated with the show frequently like Mary Marshall, David Lee Hendrickson, Karen Uchima and quite a few others. I feel like the conductor of a big band, and we’re finally starting to put out quality music.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary

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