B105, Cincinnati TV or VP?
Proving that absolutely no one knows who the vice presidential candidates are, The Big Dave Show, B105, Cincinnati set out to have some fun with a street game called “TV or VP?” Dave was armed with a list of men who’ve served as vice presidents for our great country, and another list of famous TV characters. You have to love this intersection of politics and pop culture. It’s an easy way to do political humor without every being political and polarizing. What aides the fun factor of this audio is that Dave recorded all of these at a local concert, just before the show. The benefit in doing this is that everyone he talked to was in a good mood because of the concert, thus guaranteeing he’d have usable audio for the show.
The challenge in breaks is to reach certain benchmarks: are we in the cycle for pop culture (because we live in this very clickable world), are we being honest and real with the audience (because they can smell a phony a mile away), are we having fun (listeners want to have a good time). Back during the GOP convention when everyone was talking about Melania Trump, Michele Obama, and Hillary Clinton, The Cruz Show, Power 106, Los Angeles, played the game “F, Marry, Kill” where Cruz went around the room asking each cast member who of that trio they’d sleep with, get hitched to, or off. Everyone assigned something different to each person (conflict = comedy). What hooks the audience is the edgy question – they not only are getting to know the cast by how they answer, they’re answering it in their heads, too.
What’s it like for a mother to leave her kid for the very first time, and leave the kid with the father? Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston explored the topic. Karson’s wife, Lana, was going out of town for the very first time for a girls weekend after their young son, Barrett, was born. How would Karson “perform” as a father, alone, for the very first time? Lana puts Karson on notice in several areas: how the kid will be dressed, getting him a haircut, having a poker night at the house around their son. Radio is really easy – tell me a story (Lana leaves town for the first time), then make it come alive in the details so conflict appears, producing a highly relatable dialogue affording the best chance for natural humor. No bit, just real life talk. The bonus and what makes this sparkle, is getting Lana on to add perspective as the mom and instigate more conflict so this really shines, keeping the attention of listeners throughout.
With the passing this week of my very good friend, Dave McKay, from Dave and Veronica, WQYK, Tampa, I wanted to honor him with our weekly audio post of an all-time favorite. I loved Dave because he had the biggest heart and always (!) put everyone of us in the team over himself. Dave was an immensely hard worker, very creative, and never adverse to getting stuff done. The number of contacts he had in his cell always astounded me – we’d come up with an idea for a local celebrity and Dave would make the call to make it happen. There are a slew of segments I could post to celebrate Dave, but this is one of my all-time favorites. Not only for its creativity, but for the sheer balls it took to pull off. We hatched an idea to get a local mayor to do the Vincent Price poem at the end of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as a Halloween bit. Dave shows up unannounced at a Meet the Mayor Town Hall and convinces a handler to let him ask his question last. What happens is one of the most fun things we ever did – it’s edge of your seat silliness as listeners wait to hear how the mayor will react and if Dave will get thrown out. I’ve included other breaks Dave did which I believe are fun, innovative, and memorable so you can hear his genius and the talent of his team (Pen of the Day, interview with Garth Brooks,and his mom’s outgoing voicemail). Dave McKay had one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever known – to his listeners, coworkers, teammates, and his community. There was never a time after we stopped working together when we talked that he didn’t thank me for all I did for him. I always thanked him back, because he made me a better person and a better talent coach. I’ll miss that dude. Hope you enjoy these.