Latest / Classic Metal Show / They Sat Through Months of Shadoe Steele’s Weird Interviews… Then Did This to Him (2008)

Transcript

They Sat Through Months of Shadoe Steele’s Weird Interviews… Then Did This to Him (2008) · Classic Metal Show

0:52
SPEAKER_03: You've got a lot of love from Shadowsteel, too.
0:56
SPEAKER_03: Oh, I know, and I'm bringing that up right now, as a matter of fact.
0:59
SPEAKER_03: I actually have a Shadowsteel update for you this evening.
1:05
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
1:06
SPEAKER_03: And...
1:09
SPEAKER_03: Kind of interesting.
1:10
SPEAKER_03: Audio updater?
1:12
SPEAKER_03: No, about where he's been, what he's doing, and all that kind of stuff.
1:15
SPEAKER_03: Is he not still at XM?
1:17
SPEAKER_03: He's no longer in radio at all.
1:20
SPEAKER_03: No shit.
1:20
SPEAKER_03: No shit, but I got all the skinny on it.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: All right.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'll be very interested in that.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: I listened back to that this week, though.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: You sent it to me?
1:29
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
1:30
SPEAKER_01: So fucking funny.
1:31
SPEAKER_03: I know.
1:32
SPEAKER_03: I saw a few comments about that I'm a bounder and a curr.
1:37
SPEAKER_03: That I come off so nice, but I'm actually a bounder and a cur.
1:42
SPEAKER_03: I just loved your Lemmy question.
1:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
1:46
this band was formed by Lemmy Ian Kilmeister in 1964 when he
1:50
first joined a band
1:51
SPEAKER_01: called Hawkwind.
1:52
SPEAKER_01: And then he was in the...
1:54
SPEAKER_01: Shadow, what do you think about car stereo sound?
2:02
SPEAKER_01: I was like, what the hell?
2:04
Yeah,
2:04
I actually got a Twitter message today about how did I keep
2:08
such a straight face?
2:11
SPEAKER_01: I tell this story all the time.
2:14
SPEAKER_03: How did I not break up over reading that?
2:17
SPEAKER_01: Correct me if I'm wrong.
2:18
SPEAKER_01: I know how I did was because I had to keep turning the mic off.
2:22
SPEAKER_01: Right.
2:23
I had to turn the mic off on this side every time you started
2:26
asking a question.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: Because I knew what was coming.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
2:31
Did you have to do it the same way the other side when I kept
2:33
kissing his ass?
2:34
SPEAKER_03: No, I actually was.
2:36
I just was actually in that frame of mind because this was
2:38
something you and I
2:39
SPEAKER_03: prepared for for a week.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: Dude, I couldn't.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: I remember when we did it.
2:44
SPEAKER_01: And every time you would say shadow, I was immediately at click.
2:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:48
SPEAKER_01: I knew I was going to start laughing.
2:50
SPEAKER_03: Right.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: And you would, you know, you know.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: Speaking of looks, Barry.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: Right.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: Barry was formed in 1838.
2:58
I went through every Wikipedia page about every question I was
3:02
going to ask,
3:03
SPEAKER_03: and I had it all written down.
3:05
SPEAKER_03: Everything was fact-based.
3:08
SPEAKER_03: And then I asked a question that was totally unrelated.
3:11
SPEAKER_01: It was so good.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: So even even hearing it,
3:16
I'm going to imagine that most people don't understand the full
3:19
gist of it.
3:20
SPEAKER_01: Right.
3:21
You would have to go back and I'll post more of them up there
3:24
in the in the archives every week.
3:27
SPEAKER_01: But there's 10 of them at least that we did.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: Shadow used to be on a podcast called the Mad Pod podcast.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:35
SPEAKER_03: Mad Pod.
3:36
And that was Shadow's thing was he would recite all these
3:40
stupid facts and
3:41
You know,
3:42
this album was AOR top whatever in 1963 from January 1st to
3:49
January 17th.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, he had all these stats.
3:53
But then he would ask questions that were not related to what
3:56
he was statting about.
3:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah,
3:58
because you're led to believe he's leading up to a question
4:01
about a certain record
4:03
SPEAKER_03: or an album or something.
4:05
SPEAKER_03: And then he asked something totally unrelated.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
4:07
SPEAKER_01: So we did that to him.
4:09
SPEAKER_03: Right.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: Or you did.
4:11
SPEAKER_03: I did, yeah.
4:12
SPEAKER_01: You did it.
4:13
Every time he got pissed off,
4:14
that's when I would jump in and just kiss his ass.
4:16
Yeah,
4:17
you'd ask him personal questions and how interested you were in
4:20
him and this and that.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: He's such a legend, and it was an honor to have him on the show.
4:26
SPEAKER_01: Just.
4:27
that was me and you i don't know if it's at our finest or our
4:30
worst or i don't know
4:31
but we were just so stoked that that shadow agreed to be a part
4:35
of the show i still
4:36
remember when i made that happen and i called you and i said
4:40
guess who we're
4:40
interviewing and you were like you named off like a bunch of
4:43
bands or whatever i
4:44
was like no shadow and you were like get the fuck you were you
4:50
didn't i don't even
4:51
SPEAKER_01: think you believed me yeah
4:54
SPEAKER_01: And then when it came to fruition, I showed you the emails and whatnot.
4:57
SPEAKER_01: I was like, oh, look at this.
4:58
SPEAKER_01: This is really going to happen.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
5:01
SPEAKER_01: And then we did, what, 40 minutes with them?
5:03
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we did.
5:04
SPEAKER_01: It was quite a lengthy interview.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: To me, it's still my favorite interview we've ever done ever.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was pretty crazy.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: And even when we finished it, me and you just laughed and laughed.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
5:17
SPEAKER_01: For probably another 40 minutes.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: We, like, recapped.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: Right.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: Good stuff, man.
5:24
SPEAKER_01: You know what his real name is, don't you?
5:26
SPEAKER_01: It's not Shadow Steel?
5:27
SPEAKER_01: No.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: I did not know.
5:29
SPEAKER_01: His name is Dennis.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: Dennis?
5:32
SPEAKER_03: Dennis.
5:33
SPEAKER_03: Did not know that.
5:34
SPEAKER_03: His name is Dennis Miklasizik.
5:39
SPEAKER_03: Oh, Jesus.
5:40
SPEAKER_03: It's M-I-C-O-L-A-C-Z-Y-K. Oh, boy.
5:46
SPEAKER_03: Dennis Miklasizik or something like that.
5:48
SPEAKER_03: That's actually his real name.
5:50
i'm glad he went by shadow steel exactly we would have never
5:54
done anything with the
5:55
dennis michael isaac show yeah i would have never even looked
5:58
at that twice sure
6:00
but i i will give you an update later in the show and let you
6:03
know where he's where
6:04
he's at and what he's doing all right i'm anxious to hear that
6:08
actually you're uh
6:09
SPEAKER_03: you're gonna be surprised all
6:26
SPEAKER_03: He has interviewed everyone from Michael Jackson to Billy Joel.
6:29
SPEAKER_03: He's caught up with one-hit wonders such as Falco and Marsha Griffith.
6:33
And he's heard every week on KRZ-FM when he hosts his widely
6:37
popular Saturday Night
6:39
SPEAKER_03: Live at the Oldies radio show.
6:41
SPEAKER_03: Most people might not know about NEPA's own Shadow Steel,
6:44
SPEAKER_03: as that his work is heard not only here in this region,
6:48
SPEAKER_03: but also around the nation and parts of Europe.
6:51
He is an international DJ,
6:52
heard on the Westwood One Radio Network and even on the BBC.
6:57
steel says the success of his work is simply reflective of the
7:00
time he puts into it
7:02
landing big interviews with some pop music's biggest names is
7:05
no easy task nor is
7:07
it easy to track down a one-hit wonder who's been out of the
7:10
limelight for decades
7:12
SPEAKER_03: but steel says he enjoys all of it and he enjoys bringing such insightful
7:16
conversations to those that tune in welcome to the classic
7:20
metal show shadow my
7:21
SPEAKER_03: friend
7:22
SPEAKER_00: Chris, thank you so much for having me, and I look forward to this.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm very appreciative that you called.
7:27
Well,
7:27
Shadow,
7:29
you as an interviewer and as a broadcaster,
7:33
35 years,
7:34
my friend.
7:34
SPEAKER_02: That is nothing to sneeze at.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: You better believe it.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: And every day, as a matter of fact, today is no different.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: I try and do about seven interviews a week,
7:42
SPEAKER_00: some running the full 45 minutes,
7:44
SPEAKER_00: some running five to ten minutes,
7:46
SPEAKER_00: depending on how the brevity works.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: As you all know, Chris, some of these artists...
7:52
SPEAKER_00: If you ask them what time it is,
7:53
SPEAKER_00: they'll tell you how to build a clock,
7:54
SPEAKER_00: and others are one-word answers,
7:56
SPEAKER_00: yes or no.
7:57
So you can never judge how an interview will go unless you've
7:59
interviewed the person before.
8:02
SPEAKER_02: Right.
8:02
SPEAKER_02: Well,
8:03
SPEAKER_02: Shadow,
8:03
SPEAKER_02: I have noticed that over the course of time throughout your career,
8:10
everything from checking your work with the MAD podcast through
8:13
knowing your career
8:14
SPEAKER_02: as a fellow radio broadcaster,
8:17
that you've spanned the musical globe interviewing folk singers
8:22
and rock singers
8:23
SPEAKER_02: and metal singers.
8:24
SPEAKER_02: Shadow, how did you get your start 35 years ago?
8:27
SPEAKER_00: I was very lucky.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: In this area, there was a public TV station called WVIA.
8:32
I was,
8:33
let's see,
8:33
it was 1973,
8:35
so I was around 15 years old,
8:38
15 and a half.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: I just had working papers at the time.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: It was a pretty big frequency, too.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: It was 89.9 on the FM band, and they had about a 25,000-watt signal.
8:48
WVIA,
8:49
they still have an FM and a television station in the
8:52
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area.
8:53
SPEAKER_00: I was very lucky enough.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: to doing news,
8:57
SPEAKER_00: news,
8:57
SPEAKER_00: weather,
8:57
and sports on a couple of programs at night which were very
9:01
well popularized.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: I was on a program called Mixed Bag,
9:06
which I learned a lot about everything from rock to pop to folk
9:09
to country to jazz
9:11
SPEAKER_00: to even classical as they played classical during the daytime.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: And then a program right after that called All That Jazz.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: So Mixed Bag ran from 8 until 10.
9:20
All that jazz ran from 10 until midnight Eastern time on this
9:23
89.9 FM signal.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: And the person who hosted it knew quite a bit as well.
9:28
SPEAKER_00: I learned from this person, his name was George Graham.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: He has since retired in the area,
9:34
SPEAKER_00: but again,
9:35
he ran the gamut of everything from rock to pop and learned a
9:39
lot about jazz,
9:40
SPEAKER_00: from the standard jazz artists such as the Miles Davis
9:44
SPEAKER_00: era,
9:45
SPEAKER_00: you know,
9:45
SPEAKER_00: with Sketches of Spain and Kind of Blue,
9:47
SPEAKER_00: two of the most infamous albums of all time.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: Right now,
9:49
SPEAKER_00: for the newer age jazz folks,
9:51
SPEAKER_00: like the Pat Metheny's,
9:52
SPEAKER_00: the Chick Corea's,
9:53
SPEAKER_00: the Art Blakely's,
9:54
SPEAKER_00: the Grover Washington's.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: So it was a pretty good learning curve in progress for those four hours.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, when you do it five days a week, that's 20 hours a week.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: It's a pretty good educational background.
10:05
SPEAKER_03: Sure, Shadow.
10:05
SPEAKER_03: You mentioned Pittston, Pennsylvania.
10:07
SPEAKER_03: Pittston is the midpoint city between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.
10:12
SPEAKER_03: Named after the famous statesman William Pitt,
10:15
the city was laid out in 1768 and settled about 1770 and was
10:20
incorporated as a
10:21
SPEAKER_03: borough in 1855 and was characterized as a city in 1894.
10:27
SPEAKER_03: Shadow, do you think car stereos sound better than home stereos?
10:31
SPEAKER_00: I think home stereo may sound a bit better,
10:33
SPEAKER_00: but I think it's actually made better as an engineer myself.
10:37
I think it's made better by the ambiance of the atmosphere in
10:41
which you're listening to.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: I think that's why HD radio,
10:45
SPEAKER_00: the way it is right now,
10:46
SPEAKER_00: has caught on to some point,
10:48
but I really don't think that HD radio will ever really get off
10:52
the ground,
10:52
SPEAKER_00: no pun intended.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: It's more or less a home listening device.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: In the car, it really doesn't matter about the ambience.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: I think people just want to hear music for music.
11:02
SPEAKER_00: And I think that the channels within the channel for HD radio,
11:06
SPEAKER_00: I really at this point in time don't think it's really going to fly.
11:09
SPEAKER_02: Well, Shadow, that brings up an interesting point, too.
11:12
And I think you are one of maybe the best guys outside of Lee
11:16
Abrams to actually
11:18
SPEAKER_02: speak on this because you have,
11:20
SPEAKER_02: you know,
11:21
SPEAKER_02: your hands and feet in basically all of the mediums.
11:24
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you're clearly tied in with...
11:27
with the satellite radio and terrestrial radio and internet
11:30
radio through the podcasting world.
11:33
SPEAKER_02: Which medium do you see as the future of radio?
11:37
SPEAKER_00: I see in this order, Chris.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: I see conventional terrestrial radio still maintaining its own.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: I see podcasting following that,
11:45
SPEAKER_00: the ability to download and to archive a podcast,
11:49
SPEAKER_00: a radio broadcast,
11:50
SPEAKER_00: and to play it back at your own time,
11:53
SPEAKER_00: on your own means,
11:54
SPEAKER_00: at your own leisure.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: And then I see satellite radio as a very, very distant third.
12:00
I'm very thankful to be affiliated with both terrestrial and
12:03
also satellite radio
12:04
SPEAKER_00: as well as podcasting.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: But I think that right now,
12:07
SPEAKER_00: with the economy the way it is,
12:09
SPEAKER_00: and I thought this even before the economy,
12:11
SPEAKER_00: this is a very big point,
12:12
SPEAKER_00: Chris.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: The bottom line is, will you pay for a service that you already get free?
12:18
No one can answer that except the person who mails out the
12:20
invoice for their Sirius
12:22
SPEAKER_00: or their XM satellite bill every 30 or 31 days.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: That's the problem with satellite radio.
12:27
SPEAKER_00: And we all know right now,
12:29
SPEAKER_00: because the headlines in the paper prove this,
12:31
SPEAKER_00: if these two are not allowed to merge,
12:34
SPEAKER_00: neither one will be fluid enough to survive.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: That's the problem.
12:38
It's a great incentive for XM and Sirius to be in all the
12:44
General Motors cars,
12:45
Fords,
12:46
Chrysler.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: You get one year of free service.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: Wonderful.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it boosts up those numbers.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: It boosts up the bottom line.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: It puts all these companies in black.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: because you see how many subscribers they have to their service.
12:58
But time tells in one year when that free service,
13:02
when you buy a new vehicle,
13:03
runs out.
13:04
SPEAKER_00: Will these people pay to renew that subscription?
13:07
SPEAKER_00: And in most cases, the answer is no.
13:10
SPEAKER_00: Again, will you pay for something for the most part?
13:13
SPEAKER_00: You get for nothing.
13:14
Quite frankly,
13:14
I really don't need eight channels of soundtracks in my car.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: I'm not really in my car all that much.
13:21
It requires all these different morning shows and these
13:23
different Oprah Winfrey channels.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: And I really don't need the Margaritaville channel from Jimmy Buffett.
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Again, the niche market, but it's very expensive.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: With cable television, people compare it to cable, but it's not true.
13:35
SPEAKER_00: Cable television,
13:36
SPEAKER_00: for the most part,
13:37
SPEAKER_00: gives you a lot of choices in programming,
13:38
SPEAKER_00: but it also gives you crystal clear reception.
13:42
I don't think there's anything wrong with the reception of FM
13:44
terrestrial radio if
13:46
SPEAKER_00: you're in your own listening area,
13:47
SPEAKER_00: quite frankly.
13:48
So cable TV,
13:49
which they always compare to satellite radio,
13:51
I think it's apples and oranges.
13:52
SPEAKER_03: Well, you mentioned podcasting, Shadow.
13:55
A podcast is a series of digital media files which are
13:59
distributed over the
14:00
Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media
14:04
players and
14:05
SPEAKER_03: computers.
14:06
The term podcast like broadcast can refer to either the series
14:10
of content itself or
14:11
SPEAKER_03: the method by which it is syndicated.
14:14
SPEAKER_03: The latter is also called podcasting,
14:16
SPEAKER_03: and the host or author of a podcast is often called a podcaster.
14:20
SPEAKER_03: Who are you for for the election this November, Shadow?
14:25
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, I'm at this point really mixed.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: We had the pleasure of having Hillary Clinton.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a real Clinton fan.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: I'm certainly not a Barack Obama fan.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: I think...
14:38
SPEAKER_00: I think at this point right now,
14:39
SPEAKER_00: I think I will go with John McCain only as a default position right now.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: I'm really not a fan of either,
14:46
SPEAKER_00: although I switched about 15 years ago from Democratic to Republican.
14:50
SPEAKER_00: My folks have always been staunch Democrats.
14:53
SPEAKER_00: But about 15, 20 years ago, I switched to the Republican ballot.
14:57
SPEAKER_00: And I do vote every time.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: I think this is a very critical election.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: I think that John McCain...
15:04
Again,
15:04
although I'm not a fan,
15:05
I think he will succeed in the election this November.
15:10
SPEAKER_02: Now,
15:11
SPEAKER_02: Shadow,
15:11
SPEAKER_02: while we're talking about politics a little bit,
15:15
SPEAKER_02: I have to ask you as a true veteran,
15:17
SPEAKER_02: and as we said before,
15:18
SPEAKER_02: 35 years broadcasting,
15:23
SPEAKER_02: do you feel a responsibility,
15:25
SPEAKER_02: I guess is the right way to put this,
15:28
SPEAKER_02: to maybe stay somewhat vague at times with certain topics,
15:33
SPEAKER_02: such as politics,
15:34
because of the staunch influence that a person like yourself
15:38
would have on the
15:39
SPEAKER_02: voting public?
15:41
SPEAKER_00: Not at all.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: I think, Chris, because I think I voice my opinion right or wrong.
15:46
SPEAKER_00: I think that I make myself a little more human,
15:49
SPEAKER_00: a little more down-to-earth by voicing my opinion.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: I try not to be vague, actually.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: And I think by the same token,
15:55
SPEAKER_00: if I heard,
15:56
SPEAKER_00: say,
15:57
a network news anchorman such as Brian Williams from NBC or
16:01
Charles Gibson from
16:02
SPEAKER_00: ABC,
16:02
SPEAKER_00: if they were backing an opponent that I wasn't backing,
16:06
SPEAKER_00: by them backing a different opponent,
16:08
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it would make me switch.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: or even think about it one way or another.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: I think that I have it predetermined whose points I like.
16:15
I think I have it predetermined the actual prowess of the
16:19
person and he or she's
16:21
SPEAKER_00: ability to carry him or herself.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: I don't think it really matters,
16:25
SPEAKER_00: and I really like to offer my opinion on who I like in the primaries,
16:31
SPEAKER_00: who I like in the actual polls in November.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: No, I don't think that matters one bit or another.
16:36
I'm really glad to give you my choice,
16:37
and if you don't agree with it,
16:38
that is your choice.
16:40
SPEAKER_02: I couldn't agree more, Shadow.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: Look at your screen right now.
16:44
SPEAKER_02: If you're tired of the hide-and-seek games with big tech,
16:48
SPEAKER_02: where links disappear and episodes get throttled,
16:52
SPEAKER_02: I've got the fix.
16:53
SPEAKER_02: I'm Chris Akin,
16:55
and it's time for me to show you how to take back your access
16:59
to the Classic Metal
17:00
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18:23
SPEAKER_02: Well, Shadow, one of the...
18:26
SPEAKER_02: One of the things that you're working on right now,
18:28
SPEAKER_02: one of your,
18:29
I don't know if you would call this a pet project or where
18:32
exactly that you list
18:33
SPEAKER_02: this,
18:34
but one of the things that Wendell and myself are most
18:37
interested in and we catch
18:39
SPEAKER_02: it every single time,
18:40
SPEAKER_02: you know,
18:40
SPEAKER_02: we have it subscribed to our iTunes and stuff,
18:43
SPEAKER_02: is the MAD podcast.
18:45
SPEAKER_02: And the MAD podcast, the thing that is so appealing to me is,
18:50
SPEAKER_02: is not only the realm and depth that you put into each interview,
18:56
SPEAKER_02: but the wide spectrum of artists.
18:58
SPEAKER_02: I mean,
18:59
SPEAKER_02: I believe it was last week or in the last couple of weeks,
19:01
SPEAKER_02: you had Gordon Lightfoot not too long ago.
19:03
You had the late Kevin Dubrow and Donna Summer and,
19:07
I mean,
19:07
just a bunch of them.
19:09
SPEAKER_02: And, you know...
19:10
SPEAKER_02: where do you get all of your musical knowledge?
19:13
SPEAKER_02: I mean,
19:14
SPEAKER_02: it just seems like when you,
19:15
when you go into like the Donna Summer interview or Gordon
19:19
Lightfoot or whomever,
19:21
SPEAKER_02: you are so well versed and ready.
19:23
SPEAKER_02: I mean,
19:23
SPEAKER_02: you know,
19:23
all the exact dates and times that songs were number one and on
19:27
what charts and
19:28
SPEAKER_02: whatnot,
19:28
SPEAKER_02: where do you get,
19:29
SPEAKER_02: um,
19:30
SPEAKER_02: all this knowledge?
19:31
SPEAKER_02: Is it just from being in the business for so long?
19:33
Yeah,
19:33
to be honest with you,
19:34
Chris,
19:35
it's from being in the business a lot.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: Um,
19:38
SPEAKER_00: The real bottom line is,
19:39
SPEAKER_00: and again,
19:41
SPEAKER_00: believe me,
19:41
SPEAKER_00: if there's one thing I never do is pat myself on the back,
19:44
SPEAKER_00: but I try and know more about these people than they know myself.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: The greatest compliment they can give me when we hang up and say,
19:50
SPEAKER_00: wow,
19:51
SPEAKER_00: I've never had an interview like this.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: You were really prepared.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: You didn't ask me if I were a color, what kind of color would I be.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: You didn't ask me these Barbara Walters-type questions.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: If I were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?
20:04
SPEAKER_00: And the common denominator, probably out of seven out of ten interviews,
20:07
SPEAKER_00: is the interviewee always says to me,
20:10
SPEAKER_00: it's like,
20:11
SPEAKER_00: wow,
20:11
SPEAKER_00: I had no idea on those chart positions,
20:14
SPEAKER_00: how many weeks it was adult contemporary,
20:16
SPEAKER_00: how many weeks it was Billboard Hot 100,
20:18
SPEAKER_00: how many weeks it was Top 40,
20:20
SPEAKER_00: what was the run?
20:22
SPEAKER_00: They don't even remember the labels on some of their songs.
20:24
And I really try to dive in and delve in via the Billboard
20:28
charts and also when
20:29
SPEAKER_00: available the Cashbox charts,
20:32
SPEAKER_00: which went out in the early 1970s,
20:33
SPEAKER_00: 1973 or 1974,
20:33
SPEAKER_00: I believe,
20:36
and take a random poll of the chart positions through the Joel
20:39
Whitburn publications.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: Joel Whitburn out of Wisconsin,
20:43
SPEAKER_00: Monomi Falls,
20:43
SPEAKER_00: Wisconsin,
20:44
SPEAKER_00: was very lucky enough to ink a deal about maybe 15,
20:47
SPEAKER_00: 20 years ago with a billboard.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: and get all of their charts out of the archives.
20:51
Before that,
20:51
people were merely guessing at what chart positions these songs
20:56
were.
20:56
SPEAKER_00: You would think back of a big song,
20:58
SPEAKER_00: anything back to the 60s,
20:59
SPEAKER_00: 70s,
21:00
SPEAKER_00: and automatically think that it's number one.
21:02
Until we really looked at these charts that were in the
21:04
archives of Billboard for
21:06
SPEAKER_00: all these decades,
21:07
SPEAKER_00: and you say,
21:07
SPEAKER_00: you know what?
21:08
SPEAKER_00: I heard that song a million times on my local radio station.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: It really behooves me to look.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: And see, that was only number 35.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: That wasn't even a mid-chart.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: It was a real fifth, as we say in the business.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: So it was a combination,
21:18
SPEAKER_00: I think,
21:18
of the charts and also the information that I have known from
21:21
reading biographies
21:22
SPEAKER_00: and all that.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: And also it was the great in-depth insight of James Donnelly,
21:28
SPEAKER_00: who started MadPod.com in this area and now is in the San Francisco,
21:33
SPEAKER_00: Northern California area,
21:34
SPEAKER_00: to really carry these interviews from all walks of life.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: And here's the other deal, to answer part two to your question, Chris.
21:41
SPEAKER_00: A lot of these interviews,
21:42
SPEAKER_00: too,
21:43
SPEAKER_00: I work these interviews,
21:44
SPEAKER_00: as you mentioned,
21:45
SPEAKER_00: and you were very astute to notice this as well.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: A lot of these interviews are so broad-based.
21:50
They are all over the gamut,
21:52
mainly because of the many stations they're carried on.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: Say,
21:57
SPEAKER_00: for example,
21:58
SPEAKER_00: if you were a very alternative rock station,
22:01
SPEAKER_00: cutting-edge,
22:03
SPEAKER_00: AAA,
22:03
SPEAKER_00: playing nothing but active adult rock,
22:07
SPEAKER_00: and then you had an oldie show on,
22:09
SPEAKER_00: you would be really reticent to carry the Barry Manilow interview.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: That's the bottom line.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: Barry Manilow gave me his first interview back in 2000.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: He did it in 13 years.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: But would an active, a AAA adult rock station carry that?
22:22
SPEAKER_00: Not at all.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: By the same token,
22:24
An easy listening station or an adult contemporary station
22:28
would really be reticent
22:29
SPEAKER_00: to carry my interview with Don Dockin.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: There's just no possible way.
22:33
So I have to run the entire gamut from a British artist such as
22:36
Tony Burroughs,
22:37
who did all of the one-hit wonder groups such as the
22:40
Brotherhood of Man and White
22:41
SPEAKER_00: Plains and The First Class with Beach Baby,
22:44
right down to the big stars like Neil Diamond and Barbra
22:47
Streisand and Billy Joel,
22:48
SPEAKER_00: who you mentioned.
22:49
So it's got to run the gamut or I think you'll really be
22:52
short-lived in the business.
22:53
Well,
22:53
Shadow,
22:54
you mentioned your partner,
22:56
James Donley,
22:57
also known as J.A.
22:58
SPEAKER_03: Donley.
22:59
He's a prominent figure and a visionary in broadcasting and new
23:03
media podcasting
23:04
SPEAKER_03: and pod safe music.
23:06
SPEAKER_03: He also was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
23:09
SPEAKER_03: with musical roots.
23:10
SPEAKER_03: Donley started a multi-track recording at the age of seven,
23:14
SPEAKER_03: and with his interest in music,
23:15
SPEAKER_03: film,
23:15
SPEAKER_03: and television,
23:16
Donley was the youngest station manager at the time for his
23:20
college radio station,
23:21
SPEAKER_03: WKRC King's College.
23:24
SPEAKER_03: Shadow, do you think marijuana should be legalized?
23:28
SPEAKER_00: At this point in time, I do not.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a fan of taking,
23:33
SPEAKER_00: quite frankly,
23:34
SPEAKER_00: I may sound like a stiff,
23:35
SPEAKER_00: but I don't even take prescription drugs for a headache.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: I think that the ramifications at this point in time by legalizing it,
23:42
SPEAKER_00: I think would outweigh the benefit.
23:44
SPEAKER_02: Well,
23:44
SPEAKER_02: Shadow,
23:46
SPEAKER_02: when you look back throughout the 35 years of history that you have,
23:51
SPEAKER_02: I mean,
23:52
SPEAKER_02: clearly there's always ups and downs in a broadcaster's career,
23:57
SPEAKER_02: and a lot of people seem to point to the disco era as a down point.
24:02
SPEAKER_02: For you, you basically rode that wave out.
24:06
SPEAKER_02: What was your impression of that era?
24:08
SPEAKER_02: And looking back on it, do you think that it was adequately received?
24:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm probably one of the biggest disco fans in America,
24:17
SPEAKER_00: Chris,
24:18
SPEAKER_00: and probably have every single 12-inch single that ever came out,
24:21
from the first ones being The Hustle and Rock Your Baby by
24:25
George McRae on TK back
24:26
SPEAKER_00: in 1974,
24:28
SPEAKER_00: right up until the waning days of disco in the early 1980s.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: And I think it was a format all to its own.
24:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm a big fan of disco.
24:35
I think disco has a miraculous place,
24:38
an incredible place in music culture,
24:41
just like doo-wop.
24:43
SPEAKER_00: And doo-wop is regarded as one of the highest formats of all time,
24:47
SPEAKER_00: albeit only in some of the major markets.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: I mean, doo-wop didn't play in Florida.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: It didn't play in the panhandle of Oklahoma or Texas.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: It played in Los Angeles.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: It played in New York, in all five boroughs.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: It played in Philadelphia.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: It played in parts of Chicago.
25:00
So I think disco was extremely important,
25:03
and it spawned an entirely new underculture.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: Studio 54 is in New York City.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: Right across the street and down the block was Plato's Retreat.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: It spawned a counterculture from the music itself.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: The problem was that, as has been said many times, disco killed disco.
25:21
SPEAKER_00: When we started getting into the disco fight Star Spangled Banner,
25:24
SPEAKER_00: the American public and the record-buying public at the time said,
25:27
SPEAKER_00: enough is enough.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: Everything is just the same type of 4-4 rhythm.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what eventually led to the demise of disco.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Disco, on the other hand, I love to do disco from a ratings standpoint.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: And we do a lot of research on my program.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: We're consulted by strategic research.
25:45
SPEAKER_00: The songs are tested for audience testing.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: All songs are tested in the realm of familiarity to the audience.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: They're tested in regards to burn.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: Does it have high burn or the audience is sick and tired of hearing it?
25:59
Just because somebody calls every week for its raining men by
26:02
the Weather Girls
26:02
SPEAKER_00: does not mean that 99% of the audience wants to hear that.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: It's that 1%,
26:07
SPEAKER_00: or as they tell us,
26:08
SPEAKER_00: the 1% of 1% that folks call a radio station,
26:13
SPEAKER_00: call a network,
26:14
SPEAKER_00: email or write in to hear their favorite songs.
26:18
the masses or the 99% who don't call you have to please them
26:21
and you cannot play
26:22
the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald the American Pies the
26:25
Stairway to Heaven all
26:26
these songs which are absolute classics but are quite frankly
26:29
burned out on most of
26:30
the oldie stations and oldie networks in America so you have to
26:33
look at that disco
26:34
does not do well when it's back to back with disco my research
26:39
shows that about two
26:41
SPEAKER_00: disco records per 60 minutes is about as much as the audience
26:46
can tolerate so to do a four or five hour non-stop disco show
26:51
is music suicide
26:52
disco has a great place i think it's a turntable type of a
26:56
format a disco to be
26:57
quite honest with you again a lot of stations make that mistake
26:59
they think that a
27:00
disco show is a party show not true two records per hour it's
27:04
that two records at
27:06
SPEAKER_00: the most in an hour is more than enough it's a rock and roll society
27:11
They say you should never look back,
27:14
but I've never been good at following orders.
27:17
SPEAKER_02: I'm Chris Akin,
27:18
SPEAKER_02: and while most of you know me for the radio and the interviews,
27:21
SPEAKER_02: I've got a past that would make social justice warriors' heads explode.
27:27
My latest book,
27:28
and other things I should not say,
27:30
isn't a self-help manual.
27:32
SPEAKER_02: It's an autopsy of the years 1986 to 1990.
27:37
SPEAKER_02: Four years of sex,
27:38
SPEAKER_02: booze,
27:39
and absolute chaos while I was serving in the military in Korea
27:44
and California.
27:45
I'm talking about stories that stay buried in the back of your
27:49
memory because
27:50
SPEAKER_02: society tells you they're wrong and ugly.
27:53
SPEAKER_02: Well...
27:54
SPEAKER_02: I don't live in fear of my past.
27:56
SPEAKER_02: Every filthy,
27:57
SPEAKER_02: calloused,
27:58
SPEAKER_02: and ridiculous moment in this book actually happened,
28:01
SPEAKER_02: and I'm damn proud to share it.
28:03
SPEAKER_02: If you're easily offended, keep walking, pal.
28:07
But if you want to see what happens when you pack a lifetime of
28:10
dangerous living
28:11
SPEAKER_02: into just four years,
28:13
head over to Amazon.com or just go to the link in the
28:18
description and grab yourself
28:20
SPEAKER_02: a copy today.
28:22
SPEAKER_02: Both middle fingers are up and the truth is right here.
28:25
SPEAKER_02: Get some CMS, uncensored.
28:28
And other things I should not say is the book and it is sure to
28:32
offend and sicken
28:34
SPEAKER_02: and make you laugh like you never have before.
28:38
SPEAKER_03: Well, Shadow, you have a very impressive resume and background.
28:42
You hold a bachelor's degree in aerospace and engineering and a
28:46
master's degree in
28:47
SPEAKER_03: electrical engineering from Duke University of Durham,
28:51
SPEAKER_03: North Carolina for the past 20 years.
28:53
You've managed space divisions within the aerospace satellite
28:57
engineering industry,
28:58
SPEAKER_03: working with both CBS and NBC television networks,
29:02
including MSNBC in Syracuse and New Jersey and New York City
29:06
and AT&T Global
29:07
Satellite Systems at the former World Trade Center before
29:11
turning a weekend hobby
29:13
SPEAKER_03: into a radio now podcasting direction.
29:17
SPEAKER_03: Shadow, what are your thoughts on Alan Freed?
29:22
SPEAKER_00: I think he,
29:23
SPEAKER_00: much like James Donnelly,
29:25
SPEAKER_00: was a visionary,
29:27
SPEAKER_00: Alan Freed,
29:28
SPEAKER_00: and I'll tell you,
29:30
SPEAKER_00: that was the golden era.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: And how circular,
29:34
SPEAKER_00: how cyclical is life,
29:37
SPEAKER_00: Chris,
29:37
SPEAKER_00: when we're back again fighting the FCC in the ways of payola and plugola,
29:43
SPEAKER_00: again at the hands of the former New York state governor,
29:47
SPEAKER_00: Elliot Spitzer.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: Life is really a circle.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: And Alan Freed,
29:52
SPEAKER_00: who did nothing more in those days than what radio stations do now,
29:57
SPEAKER_00: was severely punished and banned from the business,
30:00
SPEAKER_00: just like a lot of folks lost their jobs over the past couple of years.
30:04
SPEAKER_00: Again, is pay-for-play wrong?
30:08
SPEAKER_00: Again, that's a question only people in the business can answer.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: And they tell us,
30:12
SPEAKER_00: they,
30:13
SPEAKER_00: being the FCC and their mandates,
30:15
SPEAKER_00: they tell us that pay-for-play is wrong.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: Well,
30:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm kind of mixed about that.
30:20
I'm fortunate that playing oldies,
30:22
I don't have to worry about pay-for-play.
30:24
SPEAKER_00: But who's to say that this song will not be a hit anyway in the future?
30:28
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
30:29
SPEAKER_00: is a company,
30:30
SPEAKER_00: a record company,
30:31
SPEAKER_00: a record label like Capital or WIA or Sony,
30:34
by them giving 100 pair of concert tickets to a very
30:37
hard-to-get concert in
30:39
SPEAKER_00: exchange for adding a song a couple of weeks early,
30:42
SPEAKER_00: is that wrong?
30:43
SPEAKER_00: Especially when the 100 pair of tickets benefit the audience?
30:47
SPEAKER_00: The 100 pair of tickets are given out over the year,
30:49
SPEAKER_00: over the couple of months,
30:51
SPEAKER_00: to promote a concert,
30:52
SPEAKER_00: to promote a song,
30:53
SPEAKER_00: to promote whatever.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: It's not like the person getting the tickets is putting them on eBay.
30:58
SPEAKER_00: So is pay-for-play wrong?
31:00
SPEAKER_00: Again, in the sense of the word, I guess it is.
31:03
I fail to see the real drastic life-or-death importance of
31:08
these folks on a witch
31:09
SPEAKER_00: hunt for pay-for-play.
31:10
And again,
31:11
as we always say,
31:13
I think there's just a lot more important issues
31:16
for the FCC and for the record labels and the attorneys for
31:19
these different states.
31:20
I think there's a lot of more important things that they should
31:22
be addressing and
31:23
working on and then worrying about where 10 pair of concert
31:27
tickets go in exchange
31:28
SPEAKER_00: for playing a record.
31:30
SPEAKER_02: Exactly, Shadow.
31:31
SPEAKER_02: Well,
31:31
SPEAKER_02: Shadow,
31:32
SPEAKER_02: you know,
31:32
SPEAKER_02: obviously we do a show called The Classic Metal Show,
31:36
SPEAKER_02: and we feature on what is termed classic metal,
31:38
SPEAKER_02: or,
31:38
SPEAKER_02: you know,
31:39
SPEAKER_02: basically hard rock with a bit of melody and edge.
31:42
And clearly your path and our path crosses here and there on
31:46
certain artists,
31:47
SPEAKER_02: you know,
31:47
SPEAKER_02: Dokken and Quiet Riot,
31:49
SPEAKER_02: etc.,
31:50
SPEAKER_02: that I know that I've seen that you've interviewed,
31:51
SPEAKER_02: and I'm sure you've probably interviewed everybody within the industry.
31:54
Now,
31:55
one of the arguments that we have on our show with the
31:59
listeners is that...
32:01
SPEAKER_02: The current era of big bands,
32:04
it seems like the older bands have really made a resurgence
32:09
lately with events like
32:11
Rock La Homa or your Judas Priest or your Black Sabbath coming
32:16
back and doing big
32:17
SPEAKER_02: numbers,
32:17
SPEAKER_02: Iron Maiden.
32:18
SPEAKER_02: But there's nothing following it.
32:21
There's no new wave where throughout history there's always
32:24
been the next wave of
32:26
SPEAKER_02: huge bands coming along to unseat the veterans.
32:31
SPEAKER_02: Do you think that the era of major bands,
32:36
major arena-selling type bands in the hard rock world is going
32:41
to soon become a
32:42
SPEAKER_02: thing of the past?
32:43
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's a great question, Chris, and you're right.
32:47
Again,
32:48
I think I go back to two questions ago when I say that life is
32:50
cyclical.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: We go back now again to the era of the one-hit wonder.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: Every band coming out fits a very important criterion,
33:00
SPEAKER_00: and that is they provide a couple,
33:03
SPEAKER_00: underline a couple,
33:05
SPEAKER_00: of great radio hits for the label,
33:07
SPEAKER_00: and by the same token,
33:09
SPEAKER_00: the label only looks for one CD,
33:11
SPEAKER_00: one full-length album,
33:12
SPEAKER_00: whatever.
33:13
So they do as much for the record label as the label does for
33:16
the person.
33:17
SPEAKER_00: The days,
33:17
SPEAKER_00: as you mentioned,
33:18
SPEAKER_00: this is a perfect example to bring in this,
33:20
SPEAKER_00: and you'll remember this very well.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: 1989, 1990.
33:23
SPEAKER_00: The days of standing in line at 12.01,
33:28
SPEAKER_00: a minute after midnight,
33:30
SPEAKER_00: to buy a copy of the Guns N' Roses,
33:32
SPEAKER_00: Use Your Illusion Volumes 1 and 2,
33:34
SPEAKER_00: they're gone.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: They're gone forever.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: There is just absolutely no artist loyalty whatsoever.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: with the younger generation anymore.
33:42
It's more hip to carry around a burned CD in your CD holder
33:48
than it is the actual
33:49
SPEAKER_00: jewel case with a professionally made CD in it.
33:52
SPEAKER_00: It's the bottom line.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: The days of the big group, the days of the
33:57
SPEAKER_00: Even the smaller groups,
33:58
SPEAKER_00: as you mentioned before,
33:59
SPEAKER_00: Kevin DeBrow is glad that we run that interview when the man passed on.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: We had Dee Snider on.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: Dee Snider also has a career in radio.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: We had Alice Cooper.
34:07
SPEAKER_00: Alice Cooper is reinventing himself once again.
34:11
SPEAKER_00: It's amazing.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: Cat Scratch's Fever.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: Ted Nugent, again, another radio aficionado up in Michigan.
34:18
I think that these guys will keep what's left of the vestiges
34:21
of their big classic
34:23
SPEAKER_00: bands alive for a show such as yours and for a show such as mine.
34:27
SPEAKER_00: But I think those days, I don't think we'll see those ever again.
34:30
I think we have to enjoy the memories and make them last as
34:33
long as we possibly last.
34:35
SPEAKER_03: Excellent, Shadow.
34:36
SPEAKER_03: Well,
34:36
SPEAKER_03: we admire the fact that your career has spanned 35 years,
34:40
SPEAKER_03: and we wish you many,
34:41
SPEAKER_03: many years.
34:42
SPEAKER_03: The Classic Metal Show has been airing for over 12 years now.
34:45
SPEAKER_03: It was first broadcast in January of 1996 on an Akron,
34:49
SPEAKER_03: Ohio station,
34:51
SPEAKER_03: 88.9 WSTB,
34:53
SPEAKER_03: which was managed by station manager Bob Long.
34:56
SPEAKER_03: Shadow, do you think reality TV actually depicts reality?
35:00
SPEAKER_00: Not at all.
35:01
SPEAKER_00: Reality TV depicts reality TV.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: And I think, once again, there's the cyclical part about it.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: When reality TV came on, the ratings were astronomical.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: Now we have just so many shows.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: Every channel,
35:16
SPEAKER_00: even the oldies' channels,
35:17
SPEAKER_00: if you will,
35:18
SPEAKER_00: quote-unquote,
35:19
SPEAKER_00: like TV Land,
35:20
SPEAKER_00: even they're picking up on reality shows.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: The George Foreman thing.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: I see VH1 and MTV now going to simulcast.
35:26
SPEAKER_00: I want to work for Diddy.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: I think it's a bit of...
35:31
SPEAKER_00: It's a bit of pop culture with the latest names in the business.
35:35
SPEAKER_00: I think this too in time will pass.
35:38
SPEAKER_00: The thing is,
35:39
SPEAKER_00: is that a reality show,
35:40
SPEAKER_00: as much as you think of me being in the television business,
35:42
SPEAKER_00: know this.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: A reality show is a lot cheaper.
35:45
There's that magic word when it comes down to the bottom line,
35:47
being in the black.
35:48
It's much cheaper to put on than to develop a 30-minute or a
35:53
60-minute sitcom.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: That's the bottom line.
35:55
SPEAKER_00: It's cheaply done.
35:56
SPEAKER_00: They're cranked out very, very easily.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: You take four cameras.
36:00
SPEAKER_00: You take four cameras into somebody's house.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: You shoot about 12 hours worth of video, and you put the best 45 minutes.
36:06
SPEAKER_00: That's what people want to see.
36:08
SPEAKER_00: They want to see reality television.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: But it's not reality.
36:11
You can't tell me you have four cameras following you around
36:14
all day long and
36:15
SPEAKER_00: you're going to act the same way.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: It's impossible.
36:17
SPEAKER_00: That's anti-human nature.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: It cannot happen.
36:20
So I think it's a big cost prohibitive discretion right now to
36:26
put on major productions.
36:28
Gone are the days when the networks ran major full-length scale
36:32
miniseries such as
36:33
SPEAKER_00: Roots and Wheels and things.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: It's a really cheap
36:36
SPEAKER_00: entertainment medium.
36:37
And it's obviously catching on because every one of your 200
36:41
cable channels has
36:42
SPEAKER_00: some type of reality show on it.
36:44
SPEAKER_00: Even right down to the arts and entertainment channel.
36:46
SPEAKER_00: That used to be a classy channel.
36:47
And now they're running the same type of pop schlock as the
36:52
MTV's and the VH1's and
36:53
SPEAKER_00: the VH1's classics.
36:55
You've heard me grill your favorite rock stars for 30 years on
36:59
the Classic Metal
37:00
SPEAKER_02: Show and Chris Akin Presents.
37:02
SPEAKER_02: Now it's time to put me to work for you.
37:06
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
37:07
I am officially on Cameo and I'm bringing that same unfiltered
37:11
high octane energy
37:13
SPEAKER_02: to your personal messages.
37:15
SPEAKER_02: No fluff, no corporate scripts, just the raw truth.
37:19
SPEAKER_02: Whether you need to roast a buddy for his terrible taste in music,
37:23
SPEAKER_02: wish a fellow metalhead a brutal birthday,
37:26
SPEAKER_02: or get a personalized shout-out that actually has some grit,
37:30
SPEAKER_02: I have got you covered.
37:32
SPEAKER_02: Stop sending boring cards.
37:34
SPEAKER_02: Send a message they'll actually remember.
37:37
SPEAKER_02: Head on over to cameo.com and just do a search for my name,
37:42
SPEAKER_02: Chris Akin,
37:43
SPEAKER_02: A-K-I-N.
37:44
SPEAKER_02: Let's make something legendary.
37:46
SPEAKER_02: Get some CMS personalized.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: Well,
37:49
SPEAKER_02: Shadow,
37:50
SPEAKER_02: speaking of reality TV-type subjects,
37:54
SPEAKER_02: one subject that you broached on a mad podcast,
37:58
SPEAKER_02: I'm thinking it was about a year ago now,
38:00
SPEAKER_02: but it was one of my favorites that you've done,
38:03
SPEAKER_02: was when you boldly tackled an interview with Patty Boyd,
38:09
SPEAKER_02: who's best known for being married to Eric Clapton and George Harrison.
38:15
SPEAKER_02: When you were doing that interview,
38:17
did you have a sense of nervousness to really go after the
38:20
tough questions since
38:21
SPEAKER_02: she clearly,
38:23
SPEAKER_02: you know,
38:23
she has one of those lives that is very much reminiscent of
38:26
like a Yoko Ono in a
38:28
SPEAKER_02: lot of people's minds as far as,
38:30
SPEAKER_02: you know,
38:30
SPEAKER_02: what she did to the music.
38:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a great question, Chris.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: And yes,
38:35
SPEAKER_00: as a matter of fact,
38:37
SPEAKER_00: I felt,
38:37
SPEAKER_00: to be totally honest with you,
38:38
I felt much more at ease if I were speaking to the artists
38:44
themselves rather than
38:45
SPEAKER_00: to the Patty Boyd
38:47
SPEAKER_00: type of, or Yoko Ono, she's been on the program quite a few times.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: And Yoko has become a friend.
38:52
SPEAKER_00: Patty, boy, that was the first and only time.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: That was a very special limited deal.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: I was one of five stations literally drawn out of a hat.
39:00
SPEAKER_00: Again, being in this business, as you all know, Chris, is 99% luck.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: It is all timing.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: I could take the high road and say that,
39:07
SPEAKER_00: you know,
39:07
SPEAKER_00: I'm on all these stations,
39:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm on for so long.
39:09
SPEAKER_00: That means nothing.
39:10
SPEAKER_00: It means absolutely nothing.
39:11
I take the higher when I say that it absolutely comes down to
39:15
being in the right
39:16
SPEAKER_00: place at the right time.
39:17
SPEAKER_00: I think we all know that.
39:18
SPEAKER_00: She was a great interview.
39:19
SPEAKER_00: I looked so forward to doing that interview.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: And she was nice.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: And yes, you're right.
39:24
SPEAKER_00: I try not to ask the same questions, what you have for breakfast.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: Nobody really cares.
39:28
SPEAKER_00: I want to try and ask the questions about the personal life.
39:31
SPEAKER_00: However, I was somewhat restricted.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: A lot of folks will say, well, why didn't you ask this?
39:36
SPEAKER_00: Well,
39:36
SPEAKER_00: you know,
39:37
SPEAKER_00: if you thought about me asking that,
39:38
SPEAKER_00: don't you think I thought about asking that?
39:40
There are a lot of restrictions I can and cannot ask to some of
39:43
these artists,
39:45
and you couldn't get too personal about that because she would
39:47
move right along.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: And in fear of her terminating the interview,
39:51
I wanted to keep it more or less generic and keep her on for
39:53
the entire 25 minutes.
39:55
So it's better to have her on for 25 minutes and not ask what
39:59
kind of cologne her
40:01
husband wore than it was to lose her after seven minutes with a
40:04
hang-up call.
40:05
SPEAKER_02: I agree totally, Shadow.
40:07
SPEAKER_02: That would have been the worst, to have them actually hang up.
40:11
SPEAKER_02: Now, Shadow, 35 years in broadcasting, you've done everything.
40:17
There's nothing really that you have not achieved in the
40:20
broadcasting world.
40:21
SPEAKER_02: You've done it in satellite medium.
40:23
SPEAKER_02: You're doing it on the Internet.
40:24
SPEAKER_02: You've done it in FM.
40:26
When do they open the doors and put up the bronze bust of
40:29
Shadow Steel in the
40:30
SPEAKER_02: Broadcaster Hall of Fame?
40:32
SPEAKER_00: Well,
40:32
SPEAKER_00: I'll tell you,
40:33
SPEAKER_00: and I always say this,
40:35
SPEAKER_00: with the run I've had,
40:36
SPEAKER_00: if it ended tomorrow,
40:37
SPEAKER_00: I would be very,
40:38
SPEAKER_00: very disappointed.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: But I would thank everybody.
40:41
SPEAKER_00: You can't say, well, if it ended tomorrow, like, no problem.
40:43
SPEAKER_00: No, you know what?
40:44
SPEAKER_00: Anybody who says that is an absolute fool.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: If it ended tomorrow, I would really, really be sad.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: I have a lot of work left to do,
40:51
a lot of folks that I've been working on for years and years
40:54
that I would like to
40:54
SPEAKER_00: get on.
40:55
SPEAKER_00: I would like to get on for just personal reasons.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Again, a lot of the folks that I interview, I have no interest in.
41:01
SPEAKER_00: That's the funny part about it.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: But the audience does.
41:04
And,
41:04
yeah,
41:05
I know it sounds really contrived,
41:06
but I do a lot of this for the audience.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: The audience wants to hear some of these artists.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: The Marcia Griffiths,
41:12
SPEAKER_00: who you mentioned,
41:13
SPEAKER_00: the Electric Slide,
41:14
SPEAKER_00: one of the biggest dance crazes of all time.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: You think I really wanted to talk to Marcia Griffiths?
41:18
SPEAKER_00: She turned out to be an A interview.
41:19
SPEAKER_00: She was fantastic.
41:20
But again,
41:21
not someone I would really go after who only has really one
41:23
hit.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: Although in Jamaica, she has about 10 albums.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: Another person who's huge.
41:28
So there are a lot of folks that I go after that are big
41:31
elsewhere that aren't big
41:32
SPEAKER_00: here and vice versa.
41:33
SPEAKER_00: But I don't think my work is quite done yet.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: But again, with the great luck, again, I say luck,
41:38
SPEAKER_00: The great luck and timing I've had,
41:40
SPEAKER_00: if it ended tomorrow,
41:41
SPEAKER_00: it would have to end tomorrow,
41:43
SPEAKER_00: and I would move on to something else.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: I would be sad, but, you know, nothing lasts forever in this business.
41:48
SPEAKER_00: And,
41:48
SPEAKER_00: you know,
41:48
SPEAKER_00: to be at one radio station,
41:50
SPEAKER_00: one radio station for 22 years,
41:53
SPEAKER_00: that,
41:53
SPEAKER_00: my friend,
41:53
SPEAKER_00: is 22 lifetimes,
41:55
SPEAKER_00: Chris.
41:56
SPEAKER_03: Well,
41:56
SPEAKER_03: Shadow,
41:57
we appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to
42:01
talk to us here on
42:02
SPEAKER_03: the Classic Metal Show.
42:03
SPEAKER_03: Calling live from Pittston,
42:05
SPEAKER_03: Pennsylvania,
42:05
SPEAKER_03: we've got the great broadcaster,
42:08
SPEAKER_03: legendary Shadow Steele,
42:10
SPEAKER_03: right here on the Classic Metal Show.
42:12
SPEAKER_03: Shadow,
42:12
is there anything else you want to tell the fans here on the
42:16
CMS Radio Network,
42:18
SPEAKER_03: which was established in 2006?
42:21
Well,
42:21
I'd like to thank,
42:22
first of all,
42:22
you,
42:23
Chris,
42:23
and Wendell,
42:23
for having me on.
42:24
SPEAKER_00: It's been a hot point of my career when I can offer.
42:29
SPEAKER_00: When for a change, I'm the person being interviewed.
42:31
That's what I think is one of the greatest coups of my
42:34
professional career when
42:35
SPEAKER_00: you're calling me to ask for my opinion.
42:38
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say that I think radio,
42:40
SPEAKER_00: for the most part,
42:40
SPEAKER_00: for the next at least 15 years,
42:42
SPEAKER_00: this is a prediction,
42:43
SPEAKER_00: I think radio will pretty much carry on the way it has been.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: There's no really big monumental major changes.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: I think satellite radio can fit in very well.
42:51
SPEAKER_00: I think when it meshes and both providers combine,
42:55
SPEAKER_00: I think it will have longer legs to go,
42:58
SPEAKER_00: probably another decade or so,
42:59
SPEAKER_00: again,
42:59
SPEAKER_00: depending on customer and client demand,
43:02
SPEAKER_00: depending on the price of things,
43:03
SPEAKER_00: quite frankly.
43:04
SPEAKER_00: I think we can all benefit from,
43:06
SPEAKER_00: you know,
43:07
SPEAKER_00: the person,
43:07
SPEAKER_00: let's face it,
43:09
SPEAKER_00: people out of the demographic really don't know what podcasting is.
43:13
SPEAKER_00: I think that all types,
43:14
all genre of the media can fit in and work well over the next
43:18
10 to 15 years,
43:19
SPEAKER_00: but
43:20
SPEAKER_00: To be honest with you,
43:20
SPEAKER_00: over the next 10 years or so,
43:22
SPEAKER_00: I think I see pretty much complacency in the way of technology.
43:25
SPEAKER_00: I don't think we can do really much more right now.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: I think we have most of this information,
43:29
SPEAKER_00: most of this data at our fingertips,
43:32
SPEAKER_00: and it's out there to be chosen by whoever wants to do it.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: Most of the media formats have already been developed.
43:42
I think right now that they can only be strengthened or some
43:44
will dissolve in time.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: But I think the next 10 years, I see the course pretty much set straight.
43:50
SPEAKER_03: Well, we appreciate it once again, Shadow.
43:53
SPEAKER_03: And where can people find out about Shadow Steel?
43:56
Well,
43:56
you can go to our main website at 985krz.com and just click on
44:01
the DJ page there as well.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: That's our local flagship area in the Wilkes-Barre,
44:05
SPEAKER_00: Straton,
44:05
SPEAKER_00: Pennsylvania market,
44:07
SPEAKER_00: number 69 market.
44:08
SPEAKER_00: And again,
44:09
SPEAKER_00: I've been very,
44:10
SPEAKER_00: very lucky there,
44:11
SPEAKER_00: and I'm extremely lucky to be on your program,
44:13
SPEAKER_00: Chris.
44:14
SPEAKER_03: Well, thank you, Shadow.
44:15
SPEAKER_03: And,
44:16
SPEAKER_03: well,
44:16
we're going to wrap up this interview with our traditional
44:19
classic metal show
44:20
SPEAKER_03: question.
44:20
SPEAKER_03: We started asking this question in 2004.
44:23
The first recipient of the question was Michael Sweet of the
44:27
band Striper.
44:29
SPEAKER_03: Well,
44:29
SPEAKER_03: we always ask the question about the band Motorhead,
44:32
which was established in 1974 by Lemmy Ian Kilmeister along
44:38
with Fast Eddie Clark
44:39
SPEAKER_03: and Filthy Animal Taylor,
44:41
SPEAKER_03: and they released their debut release in 1977 just entitled Motorhead.
44:46
SPEAKER_03: Shadow, how has Lemmy from Motorhead influenced your career?
44:51
SPEAKER_00: I think he blazed a trail where no person went before.
44:55
SPEAKER_00: I don't really necessarily...
44:57
SPEAKER_00: think that folks have to be widely accepted by the public.
45:01
SPEAKER_00: I think when you do something different, I think you're an innovator.
45:05
SPEAKER_00: I think you're a pioneer.
45:07
SPEAKER_00: And I have to give you all the respect in my heart,
45:09
SPEAKER_00: professionally and personally,
45:11
SPEAKER_00: for going outside the box,
45:13
SPEAKER_00: as they say,
45:13
SPEAKER_00: and doing something where no one has gone before.
45:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm a pretty big Motorhead fan, of course, at
45:17
SPEAKER_00: It has really not too much of a place on a real top 40 station.
45:22
SPEAKER_00: You know,
45:22
playing Motorhead next to the Partridge family wouldn't be a
45:24
really good segue,
45:25
SPEAKER_00: as you can imagine.
45:26
SPEAKER_00: But, I mean, the group is fantastic.
45:28
SPEAKER_00: I think they will outlive all of us.
45:30
SPEAKER_02: Look,
45:30
SPEAKER_02: everybody,
45:31
SPEAKER_02: I have spent 30 years in the loudest rooms in the world,
45:35
SPEAKER_02: and I can tell you one thing for certain.
45:38
SPEAKER_02: I've got zero time for weak coffee or woke nonsense.
45:43
SPEAKER_02: Guess that's actually two things I don't care for.
45:46
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45:50
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45:51
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45:56
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45:58
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45:59
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46:05
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46:07
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46:13
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46:14
SPEAKER_02: or the massive high-caffeine kick of brutal awakening,
46:18
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46:24
SPEAKER_02: Stop supporting the bland beans of companies that don't stand for you.
46:29
SPEAKER_02: Head over to blackoutcoffee.com right now.
46:33
SPEAKER_02: Use my code, which is in the description, for an exclusive discount.
46:36
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46:38
SPEAKER_02: It's time to wake up unstoppable.
46:42
SPEAKER_02: Blackout Coffee, folks.
46:43
SPEAKER_03: Fuel for Patriots.
46:45
SPEAKER_03: Get yours now.
46:47
SPEAKER_03: Excellent, Shadow.
46:48
SPEAKER_03: Well,
46:48
SPEAKER_03: Shadow,
46:49
SPEAKER_03: once again,
46:49
we appreciate you taking the time out to talk to us here on the
46:52
Lowly Classic Metal
46:54
SPEAKER_03: Show.
46:54
SPEAKER_03: We're not worthy, as the folks at Wayne's World would say.
46:58
SPEAKER_03: And as a tradition here,
47:00
SPEAKER_03: Shadow,
47:00
we're going to let you pick a closing tune to take us out of
47:03
this interview.
47:05
SPEAKER_00: I would like to hear Twisted Sisters.
47:07
SPEAKER_00: We're not going to take it.
47:08
SPEAKER_00: That's a great song.
47:09
SPEAKER_03: Any particular reason you like that song?
47:12
SPEAKER_00: I think it moves along and it brings back memories of the early 1980s,
47:16
SPEAKER_00: 1983 to be exact,
47:18
SPEAKER_00: Twisted Sister.
47:20
It was just one of those songs that was really on the fringes
47:24
of being banned at
47:25
SPEAKER_00: the time and relegated only to being played after 7 p.m.,
47:29
SPEAKER_00: 7 to midnight shift.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: Look at these things.
47:31
SPEAKER_00: They windowed.
47:33
SPEAKER_00: They stymied.
47:34
They pigeonholed these songs back then because the restrictions
47:37
were so tight.
47:38
SPEAKER_00: I know we're not going to take it.
47:40
And whether it's become a classic used in women's liberation
47:44
commercials on
47:45
SPEAKER_00: television,
47:46
I think it's a great juxtaposition to show how these classics
47:50
have been restricted
47:51
for so long and have finally come out of the box right now to
47:53
breathe on their own.
47:55
SPEAKER_03: Excellent, Shadow.
47:56
SPEAKER_03: Well, here it is.
47:57
SPEAKER_03: This is Twisted Sister,
47:58
SPEAKER_03: a New York bass band established in 1974 with their 1984 hit,
48:04
SPEAKER_03: We Are Not Gonna Take It,
48:05
SPEAKER_03: exclusively here on your classic metal show.