CJazzPlus debuts September 28 September 18, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Internet, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Radio.add a comment
On September 28, I will launch a new Live365 instrumental music station doubling as a weekly show: CJazzPlus. It’s contemporary jazz plus traditional jazz, jazz fusion, latin jazz, instrumental pop, and new age.
CJazzPlus will be on the air Tuesdays at 1PM Eastern and Pacific, with encores Thursdays at the same times. A given month’s shows will air a final time on the last Saturday of that month. Check back here for times.
Not all sub-genres will be played on each show, but I think you’ll like what you hear.
(Cross-posted on the new CJazzPlus blog page.)
9/27 UPDATE: Shows will now premiere Tuesdays at 2PM Eastern and re-air Thursdays at the same time. A given month’s shows will not re-air at on the last Saturday of that month, but will re-air on weeks when there isn’t a new show.
Fan phone call! September 1, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Comedy, Internet, Interviews, Jazz, Media, Music, Personal, Pets, Photography, Radio, Sports, Technology, Travel, TV.add a comment
Since March, I have been a semi-regular viewer of Alison Rosen’s weekly internet show, Alison Rosen is Your New Best Friend, on the website UStream. One of the segments on her show, which streams through a webcam on her laptop, is Fan Phone Call. Phone numbers e-mailed to her by fans are taken out of a pot at random. The lucky fan is then called. If there is no answer, Alison leaves a funny voicemail and picks another number. If there is an answer, she interviews the fan. I e-mailed my number in March but it was never picked. So, I e-mailed it again on August 1.
This Sunday, my number was finally picked. You can see the call here. Scroll ahead to 27:40. I also recorded my end of the conversation in Adobe Audition with my mic in hand. I later mixed Alison’s end and my end together. Here’s the end result.
As you listen or watch, keep the following in mind:
- I bear no malice toward WCWP or any of the management. I have nothing but fond memories and best wishes. I’ll have more on my Homecoming show in a later post. (9/25 UPDATE: The show is not happening, but I will be at Homecoming. 10/16 UPDATE: I’m not going, but should be on hand for WCWP’s 50th anniversary next year.)
- I didn’t notice that Alison and her friend Dustin Goot were referring to the former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater as they were pressing me on my departure from the station.
- I was speaking generally when I said I’ve stormed out of places in the past, later coming back and apologizing. It comes with having Asperger Syndrome. I may regret writing this publicly.
- As you’ve seen in a few concert recaps on this blog, I do take pictures of street signs, highway markers, and exit signs. I used to have Hagstrom’s New York City, Western Suffolk, and Eastern Suffolk atlases. Now, I only have a recent Nassau atlas. With sites like Mapquest and Google Maps with printable directions, there’s less of a need to rely on atlases.
- Despite the heat, I kept my word and went for a walk 20 minutes after the call.
Long Island Radio & TV Day 2010 April 19, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Music, News, Personal, Radio, TV, Weather.2 comments
Saturday, for the second year in a row, I was on hand at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts for Long Island Radio & TV Day, presented by WCWP and the Long Island Wireless Historical Society. Last year, I didn’t show up until around 12PM. This year, I was there from start to finish. As a result, I saw more speakers, met more people, and took nearly twice as many pictures.
So, let’s take a trip through the day in pictures.
The north entrance:
The lobby:
The exhibits began in the lobby…
…and continued in the Atrium:
I wish I remembered Morse Code. I typed something into the bugs below…
…but I don’t know what.
Jay Elzweig’s exhibit:
WRHU:
Dawn-Marie Feiler and Angelica Ayroso worked the Telecare table:
I spoke to them a few times; they were very nice.
Connie Currie:
The WCWP exhibit:
Bill Epperhart, 1948-2000:
Kevin Jeffreys, 1949-2008:
Chloe from WBLI:
Bill Tynan speaking with voiceover talents Mike Pollock and Peter Rofé:
There were four lectures in the Patrons Lounge. The first was “Emergency Communications: The Role of Amateur Radio,” with Jim Mezey of W2KFV:
Next, “Woodstock Radio & Me” with Pete Fornatale, an alumnus of WFUV-FM and WNEW-FM; currently hosting “Mixed Bag” on ‘FUV:
Pete also signed copies of his book, “Back to the Garden: the Story of Woodstock.” Here, he poses with Bill Sobel:
Rick Mide speaking with Pete:
In the lobby, the South Shore Syncopators recreated a 1930s radio broadcast:
Back in the Lounge, the third lecture: “The Theremin: the history of the first electronic music instrument,” with Kip Rosser:
Kip speaking about the instrument’s inventor, Professor Leon Theremin:
The last lecture was by Professor Herb Norman: “I Love a Mystery: A look back at the great radio mysteries”:
Among the mysteries discussed, and excerpts used, “The Shadow” and “Lights Out”:
Clay Cole, of “The Clay Cole Show,” was also at LIR&TV Day. He signed copies of his bestselling book, “Sh-Boom!: The Explosion of Rock ‘n’ Roll (1953-1968).” Here he is with Russ “Famous Amos” DiBello and Anita Bonita:
WNYG alum Ron Roberts and Howie Zeidman also spent a few minutes with Clay:
Bill Mozer:
Throughout the day, Glen Cove High School’s GCHS-TV operated a live webcast for the LIR&TVD website:
Except during interviews, an overhead camera focused on the heart of the Atrium:
(Did you notice me above the word “Radio” taking a picture of the monitor?)
Interviews were conducted by Maura “Bernie” Bernard. The guests were former “American Idol” contestant, and C.W. Post alumnus, Bryce Larsen:
Tracy Burgess and Lisa Ritchie:
Clay Cole:
Roger Luce of WBAB-FM, an alum of WCWP:
Don K. Reed of WCBS-FM:
And Eliot Goshman, yet another WCWP alumnus:
Here, we see engineer Cary Breiner, Bill Mozer, director Howie Zeidman, and NJ Burkett:
NJ speaking with Cary, Mitch Lebe, Bill Diehl of ABC News Radio, and John Von Soosten of Sirius XM:
Bill Dillane poses with Anita Bonita and Famous Amos:
Lisa Ritchie, Keith Allen, Anita Bonita, and Famous Amos:
Bill Sobel poses with Fresh 102.7’s Robin Marshall:
Ted David was next:
WLNY TV 10/55 anchor Michelle Imperato introduces herself to John Bohannon; David Plotkin of 1010 WINS:
John Leisher of WCBS 880, Ted David, Bill Diehl:
WLNY meteorologist David Weiss, Michelle Imperato, camera operator Joe Marcus:
Anita Bonita, Big Tom Lawler of WMTR, Famous Amos, Mike Erickson:
Jim Cutler shoots an interview with Ted David…
…and another with Jamie Mazzo:
I was also interviewed. I hope I made sense in it.
Michelle’s TV 10/55 co-anchor Richard Rose (center, in front of Ted) was also there:
Jerry Barmash interviewed Bill Mozer for his website, NY Media Examiner:
A tour of WCWP:
Back at Tilles…
We conclude with pictures I appeared in. We start with fellow radio fan Andrea Wiener:
My fellow WCWP alumna, Jamie Mazzo:
Mitch Lebe:
Roger Luce:
Jim Cutler:
Don K. Reed:
Anita Bonita:
Don “The Record Handler” Tandler:
Keith Allen:
And Robin Marshall:
Thank you to everyone involved. It was a lot of fun. See you next year.
NOTE: If I made any mistakes or left information out, let me know in the comments and I’ll update as soon I can. Thank you very much.
4/20, 12:45 AM UPDATE:
4/22 UPDATE: Jerry Barmash’s recap is up. I’m in it:
Mike Chimeri is a two-nights a week jazz host at C.W. Post’s WCWP. He is another person who circles the calendar each year for the LIRTD.
“I love it. It’s interesting to learn about the history of radio…and the history of wireless communication,” Chimeri said.
He also enjoyed meeting the amateur radio enthusiasts, along with the professionals from radio and TV.
All of that is true.
12/18 UPDATE: Today, I was saddened to learn of Clay Cole’s sudden passing. He will be missed.
Cause and Effects; 4/7/13 UPDATE: Drew’s side of the story, What took me (Mike) so long February 6, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Books, Game Shows, Media, TV, Weather.add a comment
5/16/19 UPDATE: I wrote a long overdue follow up after watching Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much.
Terry’s side of the story
4/7/13 UPDATE: Drew’s side of the story comes later in this post.
Terry Kneiss, a Double Showcase winner on The Price is Right in December 2008, sent me the following e-mail (with permission to quote him here) on Wednesday:
I just got word from my publisher that the book “Cause and Effects: The Amazing Story Surrounding the ‘Perfect Showcase Bid’ on Television’s #1 Daytime Game Show” is available to buy online for pre-order. The website is www.perfectshowcasebid.com. Publisher is Langdon Press out of [Minnesota].
That perfect showcase bid led to an unenthusiastic reaction from host Drew Carey. At the time, I didn’t understand why he reacted that way, but I defended him nonetheless:
I believe he was simply in stunned disbelief and shock. Not everyone handles that situation by yelling and screaming. Drew has had the yelling, screaming reaction before, but he is far from perfect. If you want Drew to be wildly enthusiastic every time, you’re going to be disappointed. Clearly, many were disappointed by this. If you want to stop watching “The Price is Right” because Drew isn’t enthusiastic enough for your taste, it’s your choice. But there are plenty of people like me that support Drew and will continue to watch.
I now feel that Drew thought Terry was playing him and the TPiR staff like fools, the same way Michael Larson did on Press Your Luck in 1984. But I could be wrong.
Cause and Effects will showcase, pardon the pun, Terry’s side of the story. On the book’s website, there is this introduction:
My name is Terry Kniess as in the guy who hit The Price Is Right Showcase on the nose — last done in 1973! That earned me a “double showcase!” Oh, and you pronounce Kniess like “niece”, as in ‘my niece hit The Price Is Right showcase just a few weeks after I did!’ But is this a simple story of incredible luck? Or is this the tale– as so many members of the press are asserting — of a diabolical scheme perpetrated by a family of evil geniuses? Well, it all starts with a dog.
My vote is “a simple story.”
Terry is a retired meteorologist and has his own weather website.
2/10 UPDATE: Terry has supplied me with an excerpt from Chapter 15: “Pegging the Stranger Meter, or Just a Series of Coincidences?”:
If there is any reason to believe in a conspiracy theory, it’s because of the strange but true coincidences between the show she (my niece, Jodi) was on and the show I was on. Let’s review:
1. Her show aired exactly one month to the day after the one I was on.
2. She sat in the same seat I did.
3. Her fiancé, Tom, sat in the same seat as my wife, Linda.
4. Both Jodi and I were among the first four contestants called to “Come on down.”
5. Linda had to tell me my name was called. Ton had to tell Jodi her name was called.
6. She got up on stage with the third prize up for bid. The same with me.
7. We were both in the first Showcase Showdown. The Showcase Showdown is when the contestants spin the big wheel at the end of the first half and second half of the show.
8. Her first spin was $.95. My first spin was $.90.
4/7/13 UPDATE: Drew’s side of the story
Last week, Pop My Culture podcast co-host Vanessa Ragland was one of three guests (one of them recurring) on voice actor Rob Paulsen’s weekly Talkin’ Toons UStream show (formerly itself a podcast). My curiosity was piqued enough to search for the series on iTunes. As with the Nerdist podcast three years ago, The Price is Right host Drew Carey was on Pop My Culture last year.
About ten minutes in, Drew recalled Kneiss’ double showcase success (without naming him). And similar to that show, he was deadpan while lamenting the situation. Drew said there was a diehard TPIR fan that sits in the front row. The fan knew what the prices of prizes were because they were, at the time, recycled. “I don’t care what that f***in’ guy said,” Drew intoned. “He got it from the guy in the front row ’cause we have it on tape.” He went on to say the fan did that “out of malice to give everybody the exact price and kinda screw over the show.”
Drew wasn’t the only one to say this. Carrie Grosvenor said the same thing at About the day it aired!:
Apparently, according to the message boards at Golden Road, one of their regular members was in the audience on the day this show was taped, and had been shouting out pricing answers throughout the show. This isn’t unusual in and of itself – anyone who watches the show knows that the audience does this, and that contestants look to these shouted answers for guidance. However, in this case, the audience member, who calls himself “Ted” at Golden Road, is an expert on pricing these items and has some experience giving correct dollar amounts away to contestants. If you watch the show again, it’s very clear that contestant Terry was looking directly at a single person in the audience for help.
In Drew’s Pop My Culture appearance, he noted that TPiR now changes up the prizes and prize features regularly so the prices will be different each time. Terry Kneiss’ “simple story of incredible luck” may be simpler than I originally thought, but the show’s new practice make his story unique. His on-the-nose success may never be duplicated.
What took me so long?
You may be wondering why it took so long for me to update this post with that information. First, I wasn’t as big a Price is Right fan as others and as big a game show fan as I used to be. Second, I gave up watching the show in 2011 when George Gray was made the permanent announcer. Forgive me, but George has an exaggerated delivery and I couldn’t stand hearing it. That’s another thing Drew brought up on PMC: fans that don’t like the changes to the show. With my radio background and as a fan of voice acting, this is the only change that I don’t like. It makes me wish that Jim Thornton could double his announcing his duties and work TPiR in addition to Wheel of Fortune. But like my desire for FOX Sports to go back to using unique themes and cues for the sports they cover, neither George nor FOX’s practice of using NFL cues for more than just NFL coverage are going anywhere. So, I just need to accept both unpleasant situations and move on.
FBN finally comes to Cablevision! November 19, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Media, Personal, TV.add a comment
At long last, after two long years, the Fox Business Network is finally coming coming to Cablevision.
Talking Biz News writes (h/t Inside Cable News):
Fox Business Network is expected to announce Thursday morning that it has secured an agreement with Cablevision Systems Corp.
The deal will expand the business network’s distribution by nearly 3 million subscribers in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area.
Fox Business will be available to Cablevision subscribers on channel 106 thought the provider’s Optimum-branded communications system.
The last major expansion for the business news channel occurred in December 2008, when it struck a deal with Charter Communications to expand its presence in the Midwest and Northeast regions to nearly 200,000 homes.
It’s also in HD on channel 772, which I just put on as I write this post. I thought this day would never come, but here we are. It looks great so far.
11/26 UPDATE: FBN release (h/t The Imus Times):
Cablevision (CVC) and News Corp.’s (NWSA) FOX Business unveiled an agreement Thursday that will make the business news channel available to more than three million additional households in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The deal takes effect Thursday and lands FBN on Cablevision’s channel 106 and in HD on channel 772. Cablevision operates the largest U.S. cable cluster and is in more than 4.7 million households and 600,000 businesses in the New York metropolitan area.
FBN is now available in more than 50 million homes.
“We’re pleased to welcome Cablevision as our newest FOX Business affiliate and look forward to providing the essential and up-to-the-minute breaking business news to the greater New York area,” Tim Carry, FBN’s senior vice president of affiliate relations, said in a statement.
The new agreement will expand FBN’s reach into New York’s surrounding area, including Long Island, Westchester, Fairfield and Bergen counties.
“We are pleased to make FOX Business Network available to our iO TV digital cable customers in both standard definition and HD,” John Trierweiler, Cablevision’s senior vice president of product management, said in a statement.
The announcement comes just over a month after FBN, which launched in October 2007, began simulcasting radio personality Don Imus on the channel.
Thursday Night Jazz fill-in aircheck October 30, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Airchecks, Jazz, Media, Personal, Radio.add a comment
Last night, I filled in for Martin Phillips on “Thursday Night Jazz” on 88.1 FM WCWP.
Here is the aircheck of the show.
And here are pictures of me that I took with the 10-second self-timer on my camera:
Thursday Night Jazz this week! October 25, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Personal, Radio.add a comment
This Thursday, October 29, on 88.1 FM WCWP, I’ll be filling in for Martin Phillips on “Thursday Night Jazz.” The show airs live from 10PM to 1AM ET. I worked on my playlist last night and made a few edits to it today. It should be a fun show with songs spanning 50 years; from 1959 to 2009.
See you Thursday.
11/1 UPDATE: You can hear the show’s aircheck in this post.
2009 Alumni Show one week away! September 26, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Personal, Radio.add a comment
One week from now, I’ll be hosting my yearly alumni weekend radio show on WCWP. In addition to the info I provided three weeks ago, I’ll be live from the WCWP Homecoming Dinner. It will be my first solo remote broadcast.
Here is a promo I cut for the show.
10/3, 9:23 AM UPDATE: Alumni weekend is being simulcast on myWCWP. Click on either the Windows Media Player or Quicktime logos to listen to the stream and see the webcam, which is on throughout the weekend.
2009 Alumni Show! September 3, 2009
Posted by Mike C. in Jazz, Media, Personal, Radio.add a comment
I’ll be back on WCWP during the upcoming alumni weekend. You can hear me Saturday, October 3 – Homecoming Day – from 7PM to 9PM Eastern. This will be my fourth alumni weekend show.
I’ve already made the playlist. There won’t be an interview this year, but we do have some great music lined up. That lineup includes recently released music from Spyro Gyra, the Rippingtons, guitarist Chuck Loeb, and flautist/morning radio personality Alexander Zonjic. Listen in October 3 to find out the rest.
10/3/09 UPDATE: Over alumni weekend, the station Alexander Zonjic worked for, WVMV-FM, flipped formats. As a result, I’ve removed the “morning radio personality” link.
MikeChimeri.com 
Bold & Fresh Tour at Westbury! January 22, 2010
Posted by Mike C. in Commentary, Media, News, Personal, Radio, TV.3 comments
Tomorrow night, Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck’s Bold & Fresh Tour kicks off at the Capital One Theatre at Westbury. The show sold out only days after tickets went on sale. The same can be said for all other venues on the tour:
Actually, as I type, the early Pasadena show still has tickets available, but I doubt that will be true much longer.
The Norfolk show will be simulcast live in movie theaters across the United States. For more information, check the Bold Fresh Tour website.
On the website, the tour is billed this way:
I will be at the Westbury show tomorrow night. It’ll be the first time I’ve seen either O’Reilly or Beck in person. It should be great.
I’ll update this post after the show.
1/23, 10:55 PM UPDATE: The show was excellent.
The start of it was delayed about 15 minutes because some radical protesters wouldn’t allow cars into the parking lot. Traffic was held up during that time, resulting in a long stationary line of cars, including me and my dad, from the parking lot entrance to the Northern State Pkwy. exit ramps in both directions. After the delay, the parking lot was full and attendants made us park in a neighboring lot.
Just as we got to our seats inside, the show began. We were four rows from the stage and four seats from the aisle where Glenn and Bill walked to and from the stage.
Glenn came out first, dressed casually with a mic attached to his ear. He spoke for 20 minutes. After that, it was Bill’s turn. I knew he was 6’4″, but I had no idea how tall that looked up close until tonight. Bill was in a suit and tie and held a wireless mic.
Then, there was a 20-minute intermission, during which, I tried in vain to get to the concession stand because the lobby was packed.
Following the intermission, both Bill and Glenn sat in chairs and interviewed each other while the stage revolved.
There seemed to be more Glenn fans than Bill fans, but that’s okay.
I’m happy to report there weren’t any hecklers during the show.
1/25 UPDATE: Dave Marcus had his own recap yesterday in Newsday. Bill replied to the recap tonight on “The O’Reilly Factor” in the Talking Points Memo:
FOXNews.com Video
FOXNews.com Transcript
BillOReilly.com Summary
The tour website links here for info on the movie theater simulcast. It’s live this Saturday at 8PM Eastern with an encore replay next Tuesday at the same time. Three Long Island theaters will carry the simulcast live: Port Washington Cinemas, Farmingdale Multiplex, and Island 16: Cinema de Lux in Holtsville. Farmingdale Multiplex and Island 16 will also carry the encore along with Westbury Stadium 12.
1/26 UPDATE: The following viewer e-mails were read on “The Factor” tonight:
Bob DeFliese, Garden City, NY: “Bill, my wife and I attended the Bold Fresh tour show at Westbury and your talking points was spot on. Newsday distorted what happened. Neither you nor Beck made any political play for the Republican Party. You were fair, entertaining, and informative.”
Bridget O’Shea Burns, West Springfield, MA: “Bill, my husband and I drove down to see the Bold Fresh show. You and Beck have great on-stage chemistry and I was quite surprised how funny you guys were.”
Bill’s response: “Well, I appreciate the good review, Bridget. Glad it was worth the trip. By the way, the Bold Fresh show [in Norfolk, VA] is playing at nearly 500 movie theaters this coming Saturday night. Check the theaters out on the website BoldFreshTour.com. BoldFreshTour.com.”
Marissa Singer, Farmingville, NY: “O’Reilly, I know Beck teased you about wearing a suit during the show, but I thought you looked dashing.”
Bill’s response: (grinning): “Well, Beck is just jealous, Marissa. We all know that. Thanks for coming to see us.”
Thank you, Bill and Glenn, for such a great show. Thanks also to those that have checked out this post after I linked to it in the comment thread for this post at Olbermann Watch.
1/27 UPDATE: Thanks further to those that were referred from Johnny Dollar’s Place.
1/29 UPDATE: Tonight’s Talking Points Memo and At Your Beck & Call segment flashed back to last Saturday’s show at Westbury.
The Bold Fresh site has news regarding the Norfolk show tomorrow:
As a result, the movie simulcast site said this:
2/3 UPDATE: Excerpts from the simulcast Tampa show were shown Monday night on “The Factor”:
I’m hoping the simulcast is released on DVD or Blu-ray.
8/2 UPDATE: Bill and Glenn returned to Westbury on Saturday night. I was not there, but plenty of people were. It was another sold out event. Mediaite’s Steve Krakauer and Glynnis MacNicol were among the crowd and have their take on the show here and here.
The following e-mails were read tonight on “The O’Reilly Factor”:
Marilyn Fulton, Kings Park, NY: “O’Reilly, attended the Bold Fresh tour at the Westbury Theatre. Loved it. You and Beck are a great team.”
Bill’s response: “Well, I appreciate that, Marilyn.”
Gail Fischler, Bellmore, NY: “Saw the show at Westbury. You were hysterical, O’Reilly.”
Bill’s response: “In a humorous vein, right, Gail? I wasn’t literally hysterical, was I? I don’t think I was, but…never know what that word means.”
I’ll answer that: it was indeed a humorous vein. Bill was joking, of course.
1/22/11 UPDATE: The simulcast of last year’s Bold Fresh Tour event in Tampa is now available on DVD!