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Instrumental Invasion, 5/11/22 May 12, 2022

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Travel, TV, Video.
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The May 11 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over three days: the first hour on March 21, the first segment of the second hour on the 22nd, and the last two on the 23rd. Pickups were recorded on April 22 and May 2, the latter of which incorporated a new liner by WCWP/LIU Post alumnus Travis Demers.

The playlist was created on March 20 with annotations and the talk break script draft on the 21st.

For the second time in three weeks, speed compression was involved. The last talk break was sped up to 98% (except for the pickup) to keep the segment as close to 18 minutes as possible. This was after removing extemporaneous tidbits, which I also had to do for the last talk break of the first hour.

One tidbit I removed was about the music video for “Mornin’” by Al Jarreau, billed only as Jarreau:

In the show’s last talk break, while back-selling “Shandling” by Ken Navarro, I referenced “This is the Theme to Garry’s Show,” the theme song for It’s Garry Shandling’s Show:

My talk-up for the short “Funky Song (SC-55)” by Anders Enger Jensen ended in rhyme: “This is Anders Enger Jensen with ‘Funky Song.’ It isn’t very long.” That was a reference to this moment on Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza:

I swapped out the 1984 and earlier segment for an extra 2017 to present, something I haven’t done since December 29, as four new albums came my way before working on this show.

Guitarist Wayne Bruce’s appearance on “95 North” by Kim Waters allowed me to make up for my oversight last June 23. Coincidentally, tomorrow’s blog post has photos taken on I-95 north in New York and Connecticut. (5/26 UPDATE: Here’s the post.) Kim had the Maryland portion of the interstate highway in mind for “95 North.”

I didn’t mention on-air that May 11 marked 28 years since my first “radio show” with my cousin Chris. He held a Talkboy cassette voice recorder and I held a Panasonic microcassette voice recorder. 11 years after that – May 11, 2005 – The Mike Chimeri Show returned to WebRadio WCWP, six days after ending the original The Instrumental Invasion on WGBB. He’ll be introducing me at the 2020-21 WCWP Hall of Fame Ceremony exactly one month from last night, on June 11.

Click here to download the May 11, 2022, aircheck MP3 or listen below:

Instrumental Invasion, 5/4/22 May 5, 2022

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, TV, Video.
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The May 4 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded from March 14 to 16, two segments per day. Pickups were recorded on March 19 and 21, and April 22.

The playlist was created on March 13 and annotated on the 14th. The talk break script was drafted before the first two segments were recorded, and before and after recording the third segment on the 15th.

My line in the intro was in reference to this:

From the debut of Stupid Human Tricks

On February 1, the Late Show with David Letterman YouTube channel was revived as a David Letterman archive channel (billed as “Letterman”). The channel is primarily made up segments from all three of Dave’s shows – The David Letterman Show (“the morning show”), Late Night, and the Late Show – and remembrances by surviving staff – including directors Hal Gurnee and Jerry Foley, and writers Merrill Markoe and Gammill and Pross. Despite Dave’s left-wing political bent, explicitly expressed over his last decade on the air, I have a fondness for him and his shows. I was fortunate enough to attend a Late Show taping with my dad Bill in December 2004, and to have met Hello Deli proprietor (and hidden camera subject) Rupert Jee four years earlier, as seen on this blog’s People I’ve Met page:

5/17 UPDATE: Since my Netflix account has been paused for over a year, and due to the potential politics of a given episode, I forgot that Dave continues to have an interview series on the platform called My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.

But enough about all things Letterman. 6/9 UPDATE: That sentence took on a new meaning yesterday when I unsubscribed from the channel. I grew overwhelmed by the frequency of videos that I felt compelled to watch, and they posted two politically-fueled videos in two weeks: one from 2013 (Republican senator-shaming Stooge of the Night compilation), one recorded yesterday (bashing the governor of Florida after Dave’s sister wrote to him). Oh, well. It was a fun few months. I’ll always have “doppity-doh” and “Ball, Get Out of My Nachos.”

I didn’t mention it on the air, but four of the songs in the first hour are the latest in a line of songs played on the show that were excerpted in local forecasts on The Weather Channel in their day:

There was so much information I did share that I didn’t use many alumni liners, but no speed compression was required for talk breaks. For the first time since January 12 (only acknowledged in the playlist), I swapped the Ted David and Bruce Leonard liners for the start of the last two segments.

Not only did the show have plenty of organ, but also many James Taylor alumni, leading up to Chuck Loeb‘s cover of “Mean Old Man.”

Coming in and out of “Dees Blues” by the Roger Kellaway Trio, I subtly referenced a suggestive meme.

“Run Your Race,” Ken Navarro‘s tribute to Eddie Van Halen, was first played on October 6, recorded before learning it was a tribute (in this livestream).

“Gotta Get Up” by Adam Hawley was on the smooth jazz radio charts at the time of recording.

Here is the video for the Bob James Trio’s cover of “Rocket Man“:

Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

8:18 AM UPDATE: Whoops, I guess last week’s show wasn’t the last with the “no relation to” bit. I accidentally left one in at the top of hour 2.

Instrumental Invasion, 4/20/22 April 21, 2022

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Photography, Radio, Travel, TV, Video.
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The April 20 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded on March 1 (four segments) and 2 (two segments), the latter occurring before my guest reading stint. Pickups were recorded on the 4th, 8th, and 24th.

The playlist was created on February 26, but not annotated until the 28th, after which the talk break script was drafted.

I forgot to plug the video of “Angela” by the Bob James Trio that was recorded as they recorded:

The session was recorded as video and the Dolby Atmos audio from it was extracted for MQA-CD players. The version of “Angela” you heard on the show was ripped from the CD with regular audio, which is good enough for me.

Coincidentally, the day I started recording this show, Ken Levine (“la-vyne”) wrote a remembrance of Taxi, the series for which Bob wrote the theme. Ken and his writing partner David Isaacs went on to work with some of the Taxi staff – such as the Charles Brothers and Jim Burrows – on Cheers and its spin-off Frasier.

The Shilts anecdote after playing “All Grown Up” referred to his May 2012 show at Houndstooth Pub. Last night was the first time I mentioned the prank.

A few days before the show aired, I finally learned how to properly say Maynard Ferguson‘s first name: “may-nard,” not “-nerd” like for football players Brad and Don. Unfortunately, it was too late to correct the mistake, but rest assured it won’t happen again.

Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

Audiobooking 7 March 26, 2022

Posted by Mike C. in Animation, Audio, Audiobooks, Baseball, Books, Comedy, Commentary, Drama, Film, Football, Health, History, Internet, Media, Music, News, Personal, Politics, Radio, Rock, Sports, TV, Video, War, Wrestling.
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Another year of audiobook listening is in the books. I’m still an Audible member and use each month’s credit on a new book, but throughout my membership, there will come a time where I pay $35.88 to buy three extra credits. I listened while exercising, running (or walking) errands, doing household tasks, and at bedtime.

I even listened to one book on YouTube rather than Audible. Find out which one as I list the audiobooks I listened to since last year’s Audiobooking post:

  • Apropos of Nothing by Woody Allen – It’s sad that the abundance of Woody haters made him feel compelled to passionately, and rightly, defend his character through most of the book.
  • Talking to GOATs: The Moments You Remember and the Stories You Never Heard by Jim Gray (with guest voices including Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Tom Brady, and Snoop Dogg) – GOAT is an acronym for “greatest of all time.” – Vin was recorded over the phone while Bob and Tom were on Zoom via their webcam or phone. You can tell by the audio quality. – I remembered where I was during the moments Jim recounted, especially the Pete Rose interview. Jim didn’t deserve the grief he got. I’m glad he and Pete are on good terms these days
  • Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard (read entirely by Robert Petkoff) – This was certainly enlightening. I had no idea the mob’s tentacles ran so deep, or that they had a boss in Tampa, of all places.
  • On the House: A Washington Memoir by John Boehner (“bainer”) – This was one of three books I returned. – The early stages of Speaker Boehner’s book were more of, apropos of the previous book I listened to, hits on his enemies. I mean verbal ad hominem attacks, not murders.
  • Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling by Jim Ross with Paul O’Brien (read by Jim; Vince McMahon’s foreword and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s afterword read by R.C. Bray) – I bought this with my On the House return credit. – Both Slobberknocker and Under the Black Hat have an instance of “at the end of the day.” I had yet to encounter that in Black Hat when I published last year’s post. – I watched many WWE documentaries on Peacock in my first two months as a subscriber (before “at the end of the day” fatigue made me quit watching what was left). I now realize that for all WWE-sanctioned media, you are required to say “-E” instead of “-F,” even when referring to the WWF days. Only clips can show the old logos and utterances of “-F” or “Federation.” Slobberknocker didn’t have that requirement, but Black Hat did. – I met Jim and Jerry Lawler at New York Comic Con in October.
  • How Y’all Doing?: Misadventures and Mischief from a Life Well Lived by Leslie Jordan (or should I say Leslie Alan Jordan?) – How can you not love Leslie? – I saw little of him on Will & Grace, but enjoyed him on The Cool Kids and enjoy him on Call Me Kat. – He’s worth following on Instagram.
  • Just When I Thought I’d Heard Everything!: Humorous Observations on Life in America by Charles Grodin (1934-2021) – Compilation of radio commentaries, but newly read (in 2013) for the book. – Wow, was this poorly edited. So many flubs were left in. I don’t know how I made it to the end
  • Sunshine Girl: An Unexpected Life by Julianna Marguiles (“margh-u-leez”) – I have seen little of Julianna’s work outside of the 1997 live episode of ER, but I enjoyed learning about her. – I was watching Friends on HBO Max at the time I heard her book, and it was neat seeing her older sister Alexandra (referenced in the book) recur on that show.
  • Mayor Kane: My Life in Wrestling and Politics by Glenn Jacobs (a.k.a. Kane) – Like Talking to GOATs, I remembered where I was at the time of some of the events Glenn recounted from the period when I was a wrestling fan. – “-E” instead of “-F” – In pro wrestling terms, I was a mark early in my fandom and Isaac Yankem, Glenn’s first WWE character, genuinely scared me. So, I was surprised that he hated the character – The Fake Diesel angle began on Monday Night Raw on September 23, 1996, two days before my sister’s bat mitzvah. – Early Kane scared me, too. – Glenn’s position as mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, would be known as county executive in most other regions. I was unaware of county executives going by mayor until I heard a public address announcement by the “mayor of Broward County” in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on March 5, 2019, while waiting in the JetBlue terminal for a flight back to JFK. (See photos from my trip here.) – I didn’t enjoy Glenn’s libertarian commentary toward the end, but at least it’s on my side of the political aisle, and he didn’t attack anyone like Boehner did.
  • Five Minutes, Mr. Byner: A Lifetime of Laughter by John Byner with Douglas Wellman (read by John) – I had better luck with John Byner than with John Boehner. – Long Island represent! Byner grew up all over Long Island, including Bohemia and Merrick. (Since Bill O’Reilly’s book, and Brian Kilmeade’s later, aren’t memoirs, I didn’t/don’t acknowledge they are also from Long Island. Bill’s from Levittown and Brian’s from Massapequa.) – I forgot John’s last name at birth was Biener. Unlike the Biener Audi folks, the phonetic spelling John legally adopted is how his family said it; like my last name, people kept mispronouncing his, calling him “Beaner” or “Beans.” – I don’t remember if he brought up playing Gurgi (and Doli) in The Black Cauldron, but I watched it on Disney+ a few weeks ago, as I work my way through (most of) Disney’s theatrical animated releases in chronological order. – Just as I prepared to published this post, I learned of The Super Bob Einstein Movie documentary on HBO Max. Bob created Super Dave Osborne for The John Byner Comedy Hour and would later appear on John’s Bizarre series and his own show, Super Dave.
  • Past Imperfect: The Autobiography by Joan Collins – Originally published in 1978, revised in the mid ’80s to include her Dynasty work, recorded in 2021. – Maxwell Reed was her husband, but I came to hate him just as much after listening. – I thought back to Slobberknocker as Joan referenced Bill Watts, obviously not related to Cowboy Bill.
  • Tropical Attire Encouraged (and Other Phrases That Scare Me) by Alison Rosen – Free with my Audible membership – Each chapter ended with an impromptu commentary by Alison and after finishing the book, there’s podcast-esque commentary by Alison and her husband Daniel Quartz. – I became a fan of Alison during her days as a guest on Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld, proudly supporting the original livestream (UStream) incarnation of Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend. It was an honor to be the Fan Phone Call one Sunday evening in 2010; I listened to some episodes of the podcast version that continues to this day, but haven’t heard an episode in quite a while. – I’ve since gravitated toward podcasts by Gilbert Gottfried (with Frank Santopadre) and Ken Levine. – Listening to this book made me nostalgic for the halcyon days before politics drove a wedge into everything.
  • My Inappropriate Life: Some Material Not Suitable for Small Children, Nuns, or Mature Adults by Heather McDonald – Written and read in the days of Chelsea Lately, which again, I didn’t see much of, but I knew of the regular panelists and staff, including Heather.
  • The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism by Tucker Carlson – I can’t stomach his Tucker Carlson Tonight commentaries anymore (too dour, goes after right-wingers I like), but I was willing to buy The Long Slide. – After an introduction lamenting the way things were at the time of publication (summer 2021), the rest of the book is made up of past columns with present-day prologues. To that end, it was edited better than Charles Grodin’s audiobook.
  • You Look So Much Better in Person: True Stories of Absurdity and Success by Al Roker – I’ve been a fan of Al’s since his days at News 4 New York (WNBC), and thoroughly enjoyed his journey. – “You look so much better in person” was a well-meaning, unintentionally backhanded compliment someone gave him in Rockefeller Plaza one time on Today. Don’t ever tell anyone that.
  • Parenting for the Digital Age: The Truth behind Media’s Effect on Children and What to Do About It by Bill Ratner – There are occasional references to Bill’s career, but it’s mostly parental help, as the title indicates.
  • Oh, Nothing…: An Audio Collection of Stories and Memories from Alan Sues by Alan Sues (“sooz”) (1926-2011) – Since the book’s price was $9.79, I bought it that way rather with a credit that costs an additional $1.17 if bought with three ($11.96 x 3) or $5.16 with the monthly credit ($14.95). – Again I say as the title indicates, this is less of a book and more of an interview or one-on-one conversation. – There was so much more to Alan than his days on Laugh-In.
  • The Beauty of Living Twice by Sharon Stone – I felt deep empathy for Sharon as she recounted all that she’s endured. – Left-wing politics comes up throughout, but I made it to the end.
  • Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo by Jo Koy – “Josep!” – Jo’s brother reminded me of my late uncle Carmen, who also suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
  • After Mixed Plate, I encountered the second book that I had to disappointingly return for left-wing political reasons. I prefer not to name it or its author (and co-author), but I will say that they were also born and raised on Long Island.
  • Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography by Billy Connolly – I started listening just after I had finished watching Billy in the final season of Head of the Class on HBO Max, and earlier this week, I heard him in Pocahontas on Disney+. – Like Jimmy Johnson, these days, Billy lives with his wife in the Florida Keys.
  • Bad Republican by Meghan McCain – Double entendre: “bad” because she’s not conservative enough and she and her family hate [the 45th president], and “bad” merely as a Republican. The latter “bad” is how her former co-hosts of The View perceived her. – Three audio clips are used: two of her father Senator John McCain and one of her impassioned eulogy at his memorial. – One “at the end of the day”
  • God Bless This Mess: Learning to Live and Love Through Life’s Best (and Worst) Moments by Hannah Brown – Vocal fry galore! – Felt nothing when she won her season of Dancing with the Stars and didn’t get along with her dance partner Alan Bersten (only referred to by his first name) – That admission, with about an hour left in the book, let me to make my third return of the year. I was so distraught, having wasted my time supporting her (even though I thought she didn’t deserve to win that season!), I couldn’t finish my workout on the morning I heard that part.
  • Dear Hartley: Thoughts on Character, Kindness, and Building a Brighter World by Jedediah Bila – Speaking of former hosts of The View, Jedediah’s Dear Hartley is a series of hopeful letters (chapters) to her currently-toddler son. – Each “letter” ends with “I love you more than life, Mama.”
  • Kind is the New Classy by Candace Cameron Bure – One “at the end of the day” – Hey, three The View ex-pats in one year! – While Candace spoke positively of her co-hosts in the book, since she was still on it in 2018, she has since admitted her experience was as bad as Meghan’s.
  • Based on a True Story: A Memoir by Norm Macdonald (1959-2021) – Yes, the first “d” is lowercase. – This is not a nonfiction memoir, but a fictional novel “based on a true story.” – It’s the story of egomaniacal Norm and his timid sidekick Adam Eget (“e-ghit”), intertwined with confessions from the supposed ghostwriter of the book, voiced “splendidly!” by Tim O’Halloran.
  • Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher (1956-2016) – Before my animated theatrical journey began on Disney+, I watched all nine episodes of Star Wars (the Skywalker Saga) in episodic order. After finishing the original trilogy, I watched Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, a documentary produced by Carrie’s brother/Debbie’s son Todd, on HBO Max. Then, I decided to buy this audiobook and three of the next four below. – Left-wing politics, but through a 2008 lens
  • Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher (1956-2016) – A chronicle of Carrie’s experience with ECT (electroconvulsive therapy) treatments – It includes another hater-facilitated defense, this time of Michael Jackson. Good.
  • The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher – She talks about her experience making the original Star Wars trilogy and shares diary entries written during filming of the first one (Episode IV). – The diary entries are read by her daughter Billie Lourd. – Ends with modern-day dramatizations of fan encounters at conventions, which Carrie referred to as “celebrity lap dance(s),” a term she also used in Bright Lights.
  • The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family by Ron and Clint Howard (foreword written and read by actress Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron’s daughter) – This is a real memoir about Ron and Clint’s youth and the lives of their parents Rance and Jean Speegle Howard. (I thought it was “Spiegel” as I listened since I have a friend with that last name.) – I’ve since heard Clint in The Jungle Book and two Winnie the Pooh shorts, via The Many Adventures of…, on Disney+. – This was temporarily the longest audiobook I’ve ever listened to, surpassing I’ll Be Back Right After This by Pat O’Brien.
  • My Girls: A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie by Todd Fisher – Todd’s memoir and point of view of the events chronicled in Carrie and Debbie’s books, which are occasionally excerpted – Todd says “two thousand and” for 2001 and beyond, even for 2010 and beyond. – He kept saying “in the end,” but I’ll take a million of those over one “at the end of the day.” Bravo, Todd. – Only five minutes shorter than The Boys
  • The Masked Man: A Memoir and Fantasy of Hollywood by Tom Wilson – This is the book I listened to on YouTube. Tom posted chapters to his channel daily over three weeks in January. – Like Norm’s book, there’s a fictional aspect (“and fantasy of”). You don’t really think Clayton Moore followed him around like a shadow, do you? – I made a playlist of all the chapters, but you may buy on Audible if it’ll clear your conscience.
  • The President and the Freedom Fighter: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Their Battle to Save America’s Soul by Brian Kilmeade – A book about the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass
  • But Enough About Me: A Memoir by Burt Reynolds (1936-2018) with Jon Winokur (read by Burt) – Burt lists many of the people that helped shape his life. – I don’t know if it was the frailty of age, but Burt’s delivery was mostly whispered. – I’m thankful to Burt for reminding me of Sally Field’s verbatim acceptance speech when she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, her second, for her role in Places in the Heart, and how it alluded to her previous win for Norma Rae. Read about that in her Wikipedia entry.
  • I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!: and Other Things That Strike Me as Funny by Bob Newhart (abridged) – The book is from 2002, so Bob’s speech was still clear and his voice wasn’t high. – Bob’s signature routines are sprinkled throughout. – I’ve since seen Bob in The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under on…guess where?
  • Coreyography by Corey Feldman – Empathy strikes again as my heart ached for what he and Corey Haim endured as children. – I have a hunch I’ve heard his father Bob Feldman on some David Benoit albums, but maybe it was a different Bob Feldman. – Corey, too, set the record straight on Michael Jackson. – Yeah, he was in one of those animated theatrical films I saw on Disney+ (that’s where): The Fox and the Hound.
  • Who I Am by Pete Townshend (“town’s end”) – Even longer than The Boys: 17 hours and 56 minutes. I still have around four hours left, but it’s quite an adventure. – The title is a play on his song “Who Are You?” for The Who.

As I crafted this post, adding one book at a time, I had no idea how many books I had listened to: 34, plus three that I returned! That far exceeds the amount of books in earlier posts.

Until next year’s “Audiobooking” post, happy listening.

Instrumental Invasion, 1/12/22 January 13, 2022

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Art, Audio, Comedy, History, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Philanthropy, Radio, TV, Video.
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NOTE: This post concludes with remarks on the passing of Bob Saget.

The January 12 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded from November 23 to 25, 2021. The first segment was recorded on the 23rd, the next three on the 24th, and the last two on the 25th, Thanksgiving. Pickups were recorded on the 25th, 27th, and 28th, with an additional pickup on December 14 to accommodate a shortened final segment. The other five had no wiggle room and remained 18:30 in length.

The playlist was created on November 21 and annotated on the 22nd, followed by the script draft.

I had South America, particularly Brazil, on my mind after watching a documentary on Disney+ called Walt & El Grupo about Walt Disney’s 1941 trip, with a group of studio artists, to South America. Then, I watched the two films inspired by the trip: Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros. The combination of watching those and listening to a DAT transfer of an extended of “Life is Like a Samba” by David Benoit, which was on a 7″ EP, are the reason I played the album version of the aforementioned song, “Cabana Carioca” by Spyro Gyra, and Cedar Walton‘s cover of “Aquarela do Brasil,” a.k.a. “Brazil.” And while determining how to pronounce vocalist Jerri Bocchino’s last name, since she sang the “Life is Like…” refrain, I was led to her website where she goes by Jerri Bo Keno. That’s how: “bo keno.”

I continued my tradition of playing a different version of a song I played the week before. Last week, I played the original Nelson Rangell version of “Dancing with Ivy,” and this week, it was the song’s writer Jay Rowe‘s version on his debut album, A Dream I Had.

“Wayman” by Steve Cole, “Still In Love” by Marc Antoine, and “Just Can’t Resist” by Oli Silk were all played for the second time. The first two were singles at the time of recording while the third song, like “Chrome Explosion” last week, was used to fill out the segment.

This was the second week in a row where the first song of the show was from 1979 and by a guitarist, and where the third song was by The Crusaders.

I was unaware of bassist Will Lee‘s Uncle Will nickname until an Instagram post by Bob Saget on October 28. I first used it on the Christmas show a few weeks ago. The reason for this anecdote is the unexpected passing of Bob this past Sunday. I saw a post by him that morning, thinking nothing of it, and was blindsided when I saw this post from actress Khrystyne Haje at the top of my feed around 8PM. I was ready to go to sleep, but couldn’t for about two hours. How could I with shocking news rattling around my brain? How could anyone, especially those that knew him personally?

Bob’s media friends, like Rich Eisen, suggested fans donate to the Scleroderma Research Foundation in his honor. Bob became involved with SRF after the disease took the life of his sister Gay. I made a donation before airtime last night, and I’m happy to report that thousands more have done the same.

As for last night’s show, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

Instrumental Invasion, 12/15/21 December 16, 2021

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Rock, Technology, TV, Video.
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The December 15 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded its entirety at my remote location on November 1, immediately after annotating the playlist and drafting the script. The playlist was created the day before, on Halloween (October 31). It’s the fastest turnaround from creation to completion since the July 14 show, which was created, annotated, and script drafted on June 2, and recorded on the 3rd.

To play it safe, I applied the denoise filter to all talk breaks, except for the pickup I recorded from home which is the first time I noticed how echoey my room is.

Back at home, I was a few days into re-digitizing my DAT and analog cassette recordings of The Mike Chimeri Show on WebRadio WCWP and the original The Instrumental Invasion on WGBB. Those shows were fresh on my mind during recording, as was Full House, a show from my youth, which I was four seasons into on HBO Max. Hence, “you got it, dude!,” and allusions to my early radio shows and its lead-ins: Jay Mirabile (2001-02) and Ryan Grabow (2003). It’s too bad that the stock laugh that The Nanny ran into the ground – as noted in the October 27 post – was used first by Full House starting in season 7. That laugh again:

Torture.

For the second time in the last four weeks, I swapped out the 1984 and earlier segment for an extra 2017 to present. I also opted to list release dates for 2021 releases instead of billing them as “all-2021 segments,” which I’ve overdone. One of the 2021 songs was the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio‘s cover of “Careless Whisper” by George Michael. Bill McClintock did a great mashup that combines the backing track to George’s version with the vocals from “Love Gun” by KISS. Watch:

This was the second week in a row with a song from David Benoit‘s album, Here’s to You, Charlie Brown: Great Years! This time, I cited the accompanying TV special, which was the last Peanuts special on CBS before ABC took over broadcasting rights. What I didn’t mention is rights now belong to Apple TV+ and PBS.

As for the December 15 Instrumental Invasion, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

Instrumental Invasion, 11/24/21 November 25, 2021

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Animation, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Politics, Radio, TV, Video Games.
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The November 24 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded one hour per day on October 4 and 6. I chose not to record on the 5th due to insomnia the night before. Recording was done on my laptop at my secondary location, but with my spare Audio-Technica AT2020 mic connected to my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 that I used at home before receiving a new mixer for Christmas. The mic stood on a boom for three years under the false hope of conducting an interview with a house guest. Accepting reality, I brought the mic and interface to the other location to use with my laptop. I’d finally achieved a universal sound with the same mic model in both locations. The only problem is I noticed a hum on my talk breaks, which I determined was from the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Apparently, I had gotten used to the hum and forgot it existed. I know now to turn off the lights before recording.

Pickups were recorded from home on October 8 and 21. Segments were also remixed on the 21st down to 18:30 or close to it.

The playlist was created on October 1 and annotated on the 2nd. The script was drafted before recording on the 4th.

To accommodate all the new music I received, I replaced the 1984 and earlier segment with a third 2017 to present segment.

This was the first show with a new Dan Siegel liner in mind. Segments from the previous four shows featuring his music were retrofitted to include the liner.

In addition to new music by Dan, the show also marked the debut of the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio after his music was sent my way for airplay consideration. I said the title of the song I played “Girly Face,” a la Arnold Schwarzenegger, in reference to his phrase “girlie men.” The phrase was co-opted from the Hans and Franz sketch on Saturday Night Live, in the same manner that “cheese-eatin[g] surrender monkeys” was co-opted from an episode of The Simpsons.

I averted an error when crafting the second segment of hour 1, but missed the one in hour 2’s second segment. Thinking I had 3:50 available rather than 2:50, I selected “Watch Your Step” by Chris Geith. I realized the error during the October 6 recording session, replacing it with “Nocturnal” by Lisa Hilton. You’ll hear Chris’s song next week.

I’ve been meaning to end a show with Gerald Albright‘s cover of “Crazy” for a while, but it never fit. There was finally time for it this week.

Little did I realize that the penultimate song of the night, “Looking Ahead” by Bill Heller, would get the music video treatment the day after I finished recording. Here it is, with all musicians except for the percussionist (Paula Atherton is featured in the thumbnail on flute):

I didn’t mention on the air, but it was my parents’ 44th wedding anniversary.

Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

8:45 AM UPDATE: I made another mistake that I didn’t notice until listening to the aircheck. When drafting the script, I mistook the first “i” in Dan Feiszli for an “r,” leading me to call him “Dan Ferszli” while back-selling “Full Sail” by Lawson Rollins.

Instrumental Invasion, 11/3/21 November 4, 2021

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Audiobooks, Books, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, Weather.
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The November 3 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was recorded over four days: one segment per day on September 14, 16, and 17, and three segments on the 15th. Pickups were recorded on September 18 and October 21. You can tell what time of day I recorded based on the sound of my voice.

The playlist was created on September 12 and annotated on the 13th, followed by the script draft.

As I noted at the top of hour 2, I was inspired to play the Bob James Trio version of “Billy Boy” after hearing John Byner recall, in his memoir (I ducked away from the mic while shouting the title), that he sang it in a school play. I said “Billy Boy” twice while talking it up to reflect the first lyric:

Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?

I had no idea in mid-September how timely Chris Standring‘s rendition of “Autumn in New York” would be. Seasonable autumn/fall temperatures arrived Monday night with daytime highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s and 40s.

A technical glitch during the second segment of hour 2 made this the second show in three weeks where the last segment got cut off before its natural end; 1:33, in this case.

Click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

Instrumental Invasion, 10/27/21 October 28, 2021

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio, TV.
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The October 27 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the latest show recorded over three days. Two segments were recorded on September 7, three on the 8th, and one on the 9th along with pickups. Additional pickups were recorded on October 21 while shortening segments to 18:30 or close to it. The plan worked as the last segment was not cut off toward the end.

The playlist was created on September 6 with annotations carrying into the 7th followed by the script draft.

I had to replace a song in the second hour’s second segment. I originally planned on including Will Donato‘s cover of “Play That Funky Music,” but didn’t realize I only had the digital version of the album it appears on, Universal Groove. Not knowing who played what, outside of Will on saxophones, I swapped it for “Easy Does It” by fellow saxophonist Darren Rahn. I did have the CD version of his Talk of the Town album to reference.

The audio for my talk breaks sound different because I forgot to switch the hard limit setting back to light. I had it set on medium to record audio via HBO Max. The Nanny was one of many 1990s sitcoms to repeatedly insert two stock laughs, both by a tenor male. The first laugh is a guttural “ha!,” the second is this:

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa!”

That godforsaken laugh, and its shorter duration sibling, was used upwards of three times in every episode from the second season on. It’s more irritating than “kind of,” “sort of,” and “at the end of the day!” I returned to it after a month of watching Head of the Class, but the laughs reared their ugly head and I quit during my second episode back and don’t plan on re-returning. It’s a shame because the scripts are hilarious and Fran and Maxwell do ultimately link up and, in the finale, have twins. Even Niles and C.C. are paired up, to the chagrin of Daniel Davis. In place of The Nanny, I’ve been watching Full House. The stock laughs debuted in 1994-95, which was the last season of Full House. So, I’m hoping I don’t hear it then. (11/17 UPDATE: Whoops, I’m wrong. It debuted in the 1993-94 season of Full House! So much for that show.)

Anyway, click here to download the aircheck MP3 or listen below:

Instrumental Invasion, 9/22/21 September 23, 2021

Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Audio, Comedy, Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio.
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The September 22 Instrumental Invasion on WCWP was the second straight recorded over three days: one segment on August 8, three on the 9th, and two on the 10th.

The playlist was created and annotated on August 7 before the last two segments of last week’s show were recorded. The script was drafted on the 8th before recording this week’s first segment.

This was another show with segments containing songs 8 or more minutes long and only two songs in a segment.

I began the second hour with a Bob Hope catchphrase, “but I wanna tell ya,” and ended it with Edward R. Murrow‘s sign-off, “good night and good luck.” My use of the latter was to extend the last talk break so that I’d hit the post for “Day One” by the Jeff Lorber Fusion. This was the second week in a row where the Fusion closed the show.

As I noted after “Kari” by Bob James and Earl Klugh, the song was sampled on “Bob Ross Goes to Hollywood” by Birocratic:

Click here to download this show’s aircheck MP3 or listen below: