Dobie Maxwell's 'Dented Can' Diary: The Down And Dirty

Wednesday October 9^th, 2013 – Chicago, IL

    One of the distinct advantages of the technology age is that there are many more opportunities to receive exposure from targeted groups than ever before. It used to be that comedians would all be fighting for a precious few network television slots, but chances of ever getting one were slim.

    Those chances are even slimmer today with the number of aspiring comedians growing by the minute, but there are more specialized media outlets than ever before that provide a much needed platform for performers to get seen by enough people to be able to build themselves a following.

   More acts than ever can attain enough local or regional recognition to make themselves a better than average living while not being internationally famous, and I find that encouraging. I’d much rather have my followers and cater to them than have to conquer the entire show business world.

   Very few ever did that in the past, and those that did were enormous stars while everybody else struggled in obscurity trying to pound out a living. Now the rules have changed and the odds that anyone will ever be a megastar are tiny. On the other hand, there are a lot more potential niches.

   Today I had an opportunity to be on a show called “The Down and Dirty with Frank Fontana”. It was a lot of fun, but I’m not sure how to describe exactly what it is. It can be seen and heard at www.blogtalkradio.com/diy at 11am Central Time and it’s a hybrid show that’s seen and heard.

   Frank Fontana is a super nice guy, but he is also an expert on home repairs and Do-It-Yourself design projects. He’s very down to earth and entertaining, and the show is a cross between a talk radio show about home repair and a late night TV show like Leno or Letterman that has guests.

   It’s informational, informal and targeted to a specific audience that from what I hear is a rather large one. They’ve started to have comedians as guest hosts recently, and they called Zanies for a list of Chicago acts. I was on the list, and today was my turn to be on as a guest host with Frank.

   The show is an hour, but they pack it with quality content. Frank did an interview with me for a segment, but then had on other guests and I served as his sidekick. I’ve had all kinds of hands on experience with that from my morning radio days, and I thought we worked very well together.

   One of the guests was Reverend Mark Anthony Lord who is the Spiritual Director and founder of Bodhi Spiritual Center in Chicago and he talked about prosperity. We went back and forth and had some funny banter about my whole ‘Mr. Lucky’ persona, and he used it as his starting point.

   There was another guest named John Eskandari of Urban Plantsman who discussed fascinating facts about plants and how to get the most out of them in one’s yard that I found to be interesting beyond belief. I didn’t think I’d fit in this format, but I knew in the first few seconds that I did.

   Everyone was so nice to me that I felt like I’d not just appeared on a show but made some new friends. The producer was a British woman named Cherie, and she set the tone that was constant for the entire experience. It’s great fun being treated like a star, and it also makes for relaxed and fun content. I can see why this program is popular, and I look forward to being on it again soon.