Straight From The Mouth
The Morning Mouth's December Interview with Mikey
(Reprinted by permission; Copyright © 2005 Talentmasters Inc.)
This should be interesting. Take us from your start in radio to
now?
I went from Tucson to Salinas-Monterey to San Jose to Rochester, NY, to
San Luis Obispo, CA, to San Diego to San Jose to Dallas to San Jose and then
returned to San Diego last year.
Who else is on the show?
My producer Eddie -- he's been with me for years. We first got together in
Dallas in 2002 at KEGL. My newsgirl Sky. Sound effects guy, Sean and phone
screener, Boston Rob.
Any reservations about following Stern in San Diego?
Not at all. This was my second trip to KIOZ. Remember, I was the night guy
here for 9 years. Back in San Jose we were starting to make good progress, so
this move seemed like a logical choice.
And the numbers prove this decision a good one for Clear
Channel?
We went from #1 in our first book to an even stronger #1 in our most
recent trend. Like a 9 to a 10 something in 18-34 persons. We do well with
women, too. We don't do strippers, lesbians, etc. That's not us at all.
Following Stern, was there a concerted effort to do something
different?
No. Not at all. I had no agenda. My whole act dealt with personal changes
in my life.
Which were?
Being saved, becoming a Christian.
When did this occur?
In San Jose. I've always had a spirituality and a belief in Christ. But I
had a lot of personal things happening in my life that led me to invest more
into my faith. What's interesting, until that point, I had never experienced
the kind of success I've enjoyed since that point. Before that time, I was on
the air trying to be something that I'm not. You know, this rude, shocking,
mysogynist kind of jock. In fairness, I had some success doing it, but
nothing like now.
Is it the content that drives your success?
Absolutely! The content now is the difference between Seinfeld and Andrew
Dice Clay. Obviously, there are a few people who find Clay very funny, but
that's not the whole room.
So it's more than morning drive, it's morning driven.
Absolutely.
Is your conversion part of your show's brand?
Absolutely. It's not like people listen just for that reason. We're just a
show with a host who happens to be a born again Christian. And every kind of
person is represented on the show. Our newsgirl is borderline atheist. At the
least, agnostic. Eddie is Catholic. Everyone is different idealogically and
politically.
Let's talk material. You received an entertainment award at this
year's MSBC. What was the bit?
That was the Star Wars Stunt. We sent Boston Rob out with a megaphone to
shout out the plot of the new Star Wars film to a bunch of trekkies who had
been camped out awaiting the premiere. Once they figured out what was going
on, you can just imagine the audio.
Other stuff?
We have a girl on the show named Ashlee. She's this kind of airhead.
Do you want me to print that?
Yeah, we say that on the air. She does this bit called "Low I.Q., High Q.
We give her a word and she has to use it in a sentence. It's hysterical. She
never knows how to use the words. If it's more than two syllables, it's at
best iffy. It's even funnier to hear what she (thinks) it means. She's on the
air before us and was playing Aenema from Tool and calling it enema.
We also do a bit with her called tone-deaf karaoke. We have her singing
with her iPod on and she's horrific. Worst singer ever. It's outrageous
(listen at mikeyshow.com). The deal is, we play clips to listeners and they
have to try deciphering what song she's singing. It's amazing.
Also there's Tyrone and Tortilla. Here, we take some of our "B" list
guests who want to be interviewed and we put them on with Tyrone and
Tortilla, a black guy and a mexican guy. The guests think they're going to
have a normal interview on the Tyrone and Tortilla show. Obviously, they're
both idiots and ask ridiculous questions. They also always try to paint the
guests as racists (which they never are)and the really funny part is hearing
them defend themselves. This is extremely popular.
I hear you're quite the cook.
Oh yeah. All I ever watch on TV is the Food Network and ESPN.
So then you have to have a secret burger recipe?
I do as a matter of fact. Dice up port-a-bella mushrooms. They have lots
of moisture. Mix them with the hamburger meat. They'll keep the moisture and
flavor in the meat. As for seasoning, I go with the 75-25 method: 75%
homemade, 25% store-bought. In this case, the 25% would be like a little
package of Lipton onion soup mix, freshly ground pepper, little bit of kosher
salt, just a tiny bit of onion or garlic powder and of course the mushrooms.
You'll get unbelievable burgers.
I'm seeing Mikey's Restaurant in your future.
Aw man, if I weren't on the air, that would be it.
A bit anyone reading this would be foolish not to try. The 28 Hour Show.
I've said this at Morning Show Boot Camp for years and I don't think anyone
else has done it, but it's huge. We've realized so many new listeners as a
result of this show, it's amazing. Here's how it works. No music, no
commercials, 28 hours of just your show. And we literally schedule 28 hours
of material. It's a lot of work, but it works. And you can get guests around
the clock. Trust me, it's huge.
Read previous Morning Mouth interviews.
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