Born Standing Up - A
Comic's Life
is a warm and very funny account of Steve's
rise and free-fall as a stand up comedian.
It is a colorful chronicle of, as Steve puts
it, "The War Years" that gives us an rare
insight into the life of this talented and
sensitive writer/performer.
On a personal
note, I am extremely flattered that he chose to
end this memoir with a story of our first
meeting at KMPC Radio in Los Angeles.
In doing so,
Steve uses a quote from a chapter in my
book :
I do not know
if my act holds up these many years later. It is
not for me to decide or even think about.
Sometimes I hear or see a piece of an old show,
and it sounds funny; sometimes I don't get it
and can't figure out what the fuss is all about.
I did however, in the course of writing this
memoir, come across routines and adlibs, long
forgotten that made me smile, like this
description of a radio show in the seventies,
remembered by the host Sonny Melendrez.
"Steve Martin
came directly from a recording session to debut
his Let's Get Small album on my show. Before he
left, he got very serious, and I truly thought
we were seeing another side of him. He launched
into a monologue of what seemed like sincere
words of friendship. It took me by surprise,
given the hour of silliness that had just taken
place. 'Could this be the real Steve Martin?' I
thought.
"Sonny
you know, I've listened to you for years, and I
really
feel like you've become my friend. I feel like I
can ask
you this question."
"Sure,
Steve, you can ask me anything."
"What
time is it?"
- from Born
Standing Up by Steve Martin
As an extra
treat, I invite you to listen to Steve tell the
story in this excerpt from the
Audio Book version
of Born Standing Up:
Radio That Still Works
The audio coming
from the radio in this video is actually being broadcast through
this receiver. Ghost radio? Hardly. You see the owner could not stand to listen
to today's radio coming from such a fine piece of vintage artistry, that he
fired up a micro-radio station to play the tune.
As he puts it,
"There's
something that tickles my sense of the absurd to have a computer playing
mp3s of vintage programming driving a mini-transmitter so a 50-70 year old
radio can relive it's glory."
Can radio relive it's glory?
Yes and no.
What we heard in the past belongs to the past. However
the ingredients that made it great are as valid today as when this
1950 vintage Hallicrafters
S-40B radio was
built. Real radio has always been about the moment. Even the pre-recorded
serial programs from the early days of the medium contained a sense of the
unexpected.
Another
timeless glory-element is the simple technique of "wowing the audience."
While the iPod generation may have no memory of glory radio, they can
certainly be wowed by it's sense of theater. It's what makes YouTube go round.
Creativity will never go out of style.
Foremost is the human voice. The person behind the
microphone has always made the difference. Great communicators have always
enjoyed the freedom to do it their way and the permission to grow with the
listener.
What was glorious about the past is the secret
combination that will re-open the vault. Those who use it, will find radio
that still works waiting inside.
I visited the
birthplace of my radio career recently while
visiting my family in El Paso. The tiny cinder
block building at 5300 El Paso Drive is still
standing. Although empty, it serves as a
reminder of my dues paid at KINT 1590 Radio. We
were the little station that could, pulling
numbers that, by today’s standards would
dominate a market. With no budget, a poor
signal, and no night-time presence, we managed
to make it big.
Our secret was
not knowing what we couldn’t do and loving every
minute. Even our interns were fighters.
There was a young
high schooler named Dave Kelly who had the
tenacity of a winner. While his friends were out
playing, Dave was living and breathing every
moment of the radio station. Little did we know
what we were teaching him by our daily
enthusiasm for radio
One day, in the
only room big enough to hold 10 people,
during an important staff meeting, our
owner/General Manager, Larry Daniels, noticed
that Dave Kelly was sitting in the back of the
room.
“Kelly! What are
you, doing here?” he shouted.
“Oh, hi Mr.
Daniels. I was just interested in what was going
on.” he replied in his Leave It To Beaver
voice.
Mr. D took him
aside and gently told that he couldn’t come to
the station anymore. He was getting in the way.
As he was leaving
the building, Dave overheard our receptionist
calling a landscaping company to mow our lawn.
The next day, a Saturday, Mr. Daniels drove into
the parking lot to the sound of a gas mower and
guess who was pushing it!
Dave Kelly loved
radio so much, he had gone to work for the
landscaping company, just so he could be “where
the action was” for him.
From that day
forward, he became a permanent member of our
radio family.
Today, he’s still
in radio, having actually become a business
partner with Larry Daniels in later years and
currently serves as a sales manager for the
Univision cluster in El Paso.
Dave Kelly stands
for everything radio should mean to a
broadcaster. His tenacity and love for our
medium has never let him down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RadioVision
A
local weatherman asked me a question the other day and he was dead serious: "Where do you see local television
and radio in the
next 10 years?"
Good question.
Now, while I don't have a
crystal ball, I do know how a crystal radio works. Radio and television are
two ways to transmit emotion. Both provide a vehicle to stimulate the mind.
Before there was television,
there was radio. Before that, the telegraph and the telephone blazed the
communication trail. All are vehicles and given the progress of technology,
the just Internet is the latest of these vehicles.
So, how will we communicate in
the future? With faster and cooler "vehicles" and it doesn't take a Mensa
member to observe that all media is morphing into one. Nothing shouts this
louder that the iPhone.
It even provides a modern day
telegraph: Instant Messaging.
Now, here's the exciting part
of the this whole equation: While technology is ever changing, our human
needs remain the same. We still, laugh, cry, speak, and communicate as best
we can. In other words, the audience is still using Adam and Eve technology
to receive the latest media. That means we still need human input to provide
human output.
Getting back to my friend's
question: I believe that more and more, we'll be able to use radio like
television and vice-versa. Web cams already let us see radio and we
certainly have the ability to listen to television, even in our car.
Through the web, listeners can now be heard and seen.
Radio programs become TV
productions and new multi-media personalities will have more than their
allotted 15 minutes of fame. This is not unlike what happened to the radio
stars of the 40's who brought their audio wares to television.
The square root of
communication follows the circle of life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thinking Like A Billionaire
CNBC
featured a one hour interview
with Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world who has donated
$31 billion to charity
Here are some very
interesting aspects of his life:
1. He bought his first share of stock at age 11 and he now regrets that he
started too late!
2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3. He still lives in the same, small 3-bedroom house in midtown Omaha that
he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything
he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security
people around him.
5.. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest
private jet company.
6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one
letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the
year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given
his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: Do not lose any of your
shareholder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
7. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His pastime after he
gets home is to make himself some popcorn and watch television.
8. Bill Gates, the world's richest man, met him for the first time only 5
years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren
Buffet. So, he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates
met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of
Warren Buffet.
9. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his
desk.
His advice to young people: 'Stay away from credit cards and invest in
yourself and remember:
A. Money doesn't create man, but it is the man who created money.
B. Live your life as simple as you are.
C. Don't do what others say. Just listen to them, but do what makes
you feel good.
D. Don't go on brand name. Wear those things in which you feel
comfortable.
E. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things. Spend on those who really
are in need.
F. After all, it's your life. Why give others the chance to rule it?'
Great advice from someone who
should know.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The 4 Minute
Commercial
When it came to
selling on the airwaves, Arthur Godfrey was the
master. My mother will attest to that. To this
day she loyally enjoys the tea and soup that Mr.
Godfrey sold her on decades ago. That's the
power of personality.
It's
also the power of freedom. You see, Arthur
Godfrey didn't have the limitations of 30 or
even 60 seconds when it came time to selling his
sponsor's products. Each "commercial" took on a
life of it's own and had the audience laughing
for more.
That
was the 1950's and much has changed since
then.
Or
has it?
When
you stop to think about it, all the ingredients
for success are still with us: personalities who
care about their audience, sponsors who need
listeners to buy their products, and most
importantly, radio. So why don't today's
personalities have the freedom that one of the
greatest broadcasters of the 20th century
enjoyed?
Somewhere along the way, someone got scared.
They were afraid that too much freedom would
most certainly lead to listeners tuning out in
great numbers. Ratings would plummet. It was no
way to run a radio show, much less a radio
station. Let's face it, there will never be
another Arthur Godfrey.
Under today's terrestrial broadcast conditions,
that last statement is very true. Today the
emphasis is on brevity rather than
connectivity.
The
reason there are few, if any major leaguers
today like Mr. Godfrey is because there are no
longer any farm teams. Ask Glenn Beck and Rush
Limbaugh what it was like when they started in
this business and they'll tell you about someone
who gave them the freedom to grow....to learn
what worked and what didn't. Someone who wasn't
scared.
And,
now the good news. The radio farm team is
making a comeback. It's called The Internet.
Somewhere in cyber space at this very moment
another Arthur Godfrey is learning to
communicate. They are learning to savor the
sweet taste of the most magical of all mediums.
Someday soon, they'll be waking the sleeping
listener with a nice bowl of chicken soup.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Imagination
Station
While some may
argue that today's kids have got it made, in
reality, they may be missing out on one of the
most important experiences of growing up:
Imagination.
While
technology is light years away from a short 5
decades ago, what it may not offer is the
inter-active connection between invention and
fantasy.
Take a look at
the video on the left. It was produced in the
early 50's and offered more than the latest
technology at the time. It gave kids the
challenge (and satisfaction) of actually
building the toy (in this case, a radio station)
before playing with it.
Hard
to imagine anyone making their own iPod these
days.
So,
is this young creative experience a thing of the
past? Not quite. Herein lies a tremendous
opportunity. Introducing youngsters to how radio
works can help them to appreciate the wonder of
this incredible medium. In fact, I searched and
found that you can still buy a
Crystal Radio Kit
for about the same price!
When we transfer our
fascination with any industry or invention to a
young person, we pass on the pride and
excitement to be found in any respected
profession. This holds true whether you're a
teacher or a radio engineer.
It's too bad you can't
include your years of "pretending" on your first
resume. I would have had a 7 year head start.
But, then again, I did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
50 Years And
Still Rolling
A media icon an
fellow member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame is
celebrating 50 years on San Antonio radio and
I'd like to take just a tiny bit credit.
You
see, in 1972 when I was program director of KTSA-AM
here in the Alamo City, we were about to
celebrate the station's 50th anniversary and
thus, set out to find every personality who had
graced KTSA's airwaves in the past.
The
man who was unquestionably the biggest name to
fit that bill had retired in the late 60's and
was enjoying life on his ranch. I made it my
mission to find him and extend an invitation to
treat his fans to 2 hours of fun on this special
day.
He
was very gracious and said he'd be happy to be a
part of our on-air celebration.
When
the day came, (a Saturday) it was like he had
never left. The phone lines exploded with loyal
fans who had missed his legendary style. In
fact, things went so well that he didn't want to
stop the show and ended up doing two extra
hours.
The
experience had made this man realize that what
he was born to do was something he could do
forever. He had been bitten...again.
The
following Monday a gift arrived for our owner,
Bernie Waterman, as way of saying, "I'd like to
come back." It was a case of Lone Star Beer.
It
was around that time that Los Angeles was
calling me and I left to accept the job of
programming KIIS with Chuck Blore.
While there were no on-air openings at KTSA, the
"icon" joined the sales force and was very
successful. Still, that's not where his heart
was.
Finally, the opportunity presented itself and he
joined the air staff.
When
I returned to San Antonio in 1985, he was still
on and continues to this day. He is living proof
that what your heart desires and your talent
confirms should not be denied.
Congratulations to Ricci Ware on this
magnificent career and for listening to the
radio in his heart.
The
beat goes on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Smelling The
Popcorn
There's one
thing that's always bothered me about movie
critics: For the most part, they never watch a
movie in the same environment as movie goers.
Often times they sit in a theater all alone or
in their living room watching a pre-release copy
of the film.
Granted, either a movie is good or it's not,
however there is something to be said for the
total experience. When you're sitting in the
middle of a crowed theater and the audience is
reacting with you, it's electric. Movie critics
don't usually experience or write about that.
The
same phenomenon can be applied to radio.
Listening to a morning show in the middle of
traffic is different than what you experience in
the studio. When you've got a day off, and you
happen to be in the car listening to your
competition during your time slot, you get a
totally different perspective of what comes out
of the speakers. Segments you thought weren't
long enough are now way over the time they
deserved. You suddenly realize how many other
distractions you're competing with.
Premiere radio consultant Lorna Ozmon points out
that the mind has 7 slots of perception. For a
commuting listener they can be what they see
directly, peripherally, sounds of outside
traffic, thoughts, how they feel physically, and
even the conversation of a passenger. When you
realize what you are competing with as they
"listen" to your show, you realize how important
it is to make every minute count.
While movie critics can choose to view
films in a moviegoer's environment, we really
can't do the same. However, just knowing you've
got more competition that you thought can help
you to wake up and smell the popcorn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Millionaire
Minds
One of the
services our company provides is helping clients
to get the most out of their media dollars. We
make it a point to monitor success in areas
beyond radio. Often this barometer can offer an
insight that can be translated into success for
our clients and our company.
Recently, Entrepreneur Magazine interviewed people who were
not only doing business on the web via eBay, but
have become millionaires in the process. So what
sets them apart from countless others? Perhaps
their secret lies in the following statements:
·
“I do whatever it makes to make my customers
happy.” – Sells jewelry and sometimes starts
auctions at .99 cents.
·
“I push my business forward on a daily basis. To
a large extent (in my mind) there is no finish
line.” – Sells refurbished computer disk drives.
·
“You have to perform quantitative and
qualitative reasoning to determine what you
sell.” – Sells men's fashions at 40% to 80% below
retail.
·
“We see everyone as our potential client, from a
grandma on the street to Nordstrom.” – They run
an eBay drop off store.
·
“Our biggest motivator is providing our
customers with good service.” –They sell audio
and stereo equipment on the web.
·
“Find a niche, something that you have knowledge
and passion for. And, find good help. You cannot
do everything yourself.” –Sells toy trains.
·
“A lot of the rules of the stock market apply
(to selling on the web) – Don’t flood the market
and don’t show your hand.” – Sells accessories
for cell phones and digital cameras.
·
“We’re in the business of saving our customers
time and trouble.” – Own an eBay consignment
store.
·
“The key to success is finding items that sell
and sell often. If you have 10,000 items listed
and they don’t sell, you’re losing money.” --
Sells iPod accessories.
Keep in mind that these are self-made
millionaires with an average age of 25
years! What I keep hearing in their insights and
in what other successful entrepreneurs often
reveal are two things:
1.
Have the attitude that you will go out of your
way to please each and every customer.
2.
Do your homework. Success that happens by
accident usually does not last. You must have a
why before a when, where, and how.
Every business transaction, from a kid selling
lemonade on a neighborhood street corner to
selling diamonds on the web to selling time on
your station has one thing in
common: Your customer will either be happy and
possibly tell others or unhappy and almost
certainly tell others.
There in lies the secret of millionaires.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Point of Power
II read a powerful
statement this week that speaks volumes about
how to communicate effectively, both on and off
the air. It applies whether you are a
personality talking to your audience, or a
manager communicating to your staff. The
statement reads, "Communication is a transfer of
emotion."
That simple thought can be
the difference between connecting and not
connecting with your listeners.
We can learn from speakers
who use visual aids to present their ideas in
front of a live audience. Presentation
coach, Seth Godin, points out that many
presenters fail miserably when giving a
PowerPoint presentation because as he puts it,
"PowerPoint itself is a dismal failure. The
reason can open your eyes to how to fine tune
your on-air communication."
"Microsoft has built wizards
and templates right into PowerPoint. And those
helpful” tools are the main reason that we’ve got
to live with page after page of
bullets, with big headlines
and awful backgrounds."
Our brains have two sides.
The right side is emotional, musical and moody.
The left side is focused on dexterity, facts and
hard data. When you show up to give a
presentation, people want to use both parts of
their brain. So they use the
right side to judge the way you talk, the way you
dress and your body language. Often, people come
to a conclusion about your
presentation by the time
you’re on the second slide. After that, it’s often
too late for your bullet points to do you much
good.
The same goes for delivering
your thoughts on the air. Your words paint the
picture that you give the right side of your
listener's brain. Lists and facts are just that
without your description and, more importantly,
your emotion. And, just as a live audience would
size you up by appearance and manner, radio
listeners do the same by the words you choose and
how you say them.
More powerful than a list of
bullet points on a screen is a picture that
conjures up an emotion. When you're behind the
microphone, that screen is your listener's mind
and your picture is the story you tell.
Ever had a listener come up
to you and relate a story you told on the air
years ago? That's the power of your word pictures
and emotion.
