Sixty Second Soapbox

Monday March 24th, 2008 - Chicago, IL

My Mondays are the busiest day of the week and I like it. It gives me a feeling of major accomplishment and starts weeks off on a high note. I made my train this morning but my foot hurt all the way to the train station. I left early so I wouldn’t have to do any running because I don’t think that would be very smart right now. I want to allow the cut to heal.

I don’t think it will be a hassle for too long but I nicked it at just the right spot where it bled a lot and now it hurts when I walk because it rubs against everything but I won’t let a little thing like that bother me. I’ve had way worse problems than this to get over and I’m just going to forget about this and focus on everything else I’ve got going on. It’s a lot.

The WLS spot went pretty well today and it was significant because I got to finally do a ‘Sixty Second Soapbox’ bit. That was my big claim to fame at the Loop and it was a nice daily forum to let it rip. People liked it and I still get requests for it when I’m at Zanies.

I did it on a new station and it didn’t get the reaction it did on the Loop but at least I got a chance to do it. That’s the hardest thing. Jerry will give me a shot to keep it going and it will be a good discipline to me to have to keep writing them. Once a week is much easier than every day and if I do it right I can film them and get them seen. It’s a branding thing.

If I can be ‘the guy who rants about current events’ in the mind of the public that’s not a bad thing. I will be able to put it on websites and that will get hits to my site. I eventually would like to rant as the King of Uranus but for now this is a good start. I know I can do a quality job because it’s all about the writing. It packs a lot of punch and fits my rhythm.

That’s the perfect fit for the internet and I need to use that to my advantage. Who’s got time to watch a whole movie or a sitcom? I sure don’t. But I do have a minute to watch an idiot who talks fast go off on something that I agree with. I think I can keep building on a concept that has already been successful. This was very popular when it was on the Loop.

Now I have yet another thing to put on my plate but this one is worth it. Even if I get to only put it on the station’s website and not on the air I’ll be happy. For now. I will build a following and have some time to get some in the bank that are timeless so that if someone does like it they can go and listen to a bunch of them and maybe put them on their ipod.

The best feature of this is that I am pretty good at coming up with them quickly so when a current topic comes up on a weekend I can be ready with a soapbox for Monday’s show. This is part of my life long process of paying dues and not a lot of people could do that. If I can get the reputation of being an ‘Andy Rooney with an attitude’ it will help me a lot.

I also hosted the new talent showcase at Zanies downtown. That’s the other half of what keeps me so busy on Mondays. This particular show was especially good as the audience and comedians were both very sharp. I just sat back and watched and all I had to do was a plate spinner’s job to keep the whole thing going. With a night like this that was too easy.