Believe it or not, I like Cousin Brucie
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770 WABC Number 1 ?
- Thread starter Always interested
- Start date
9 PM? Isn't that 3 hours past their bedtime?
Never had the pleasure of meeting Jim Cramer, didya David? 🤣 🤣 🤣
At age 20. While attending NYU, and still living at home with his parents on Ocean Parkway. (That's in Brooklyn, for the non-local readers.)
...was given his walking papers by his PD Rick Sklar.
That contest was actually in 1958, IIRC. By '65 WINS had jettisoned the music and started the 24-hour news wheel.
You're correct. On the rare occasions I happen to stream 1010WINS and hear Mitch holding down a shift, I'm amazed at how good he sounds. Mature, but not old.
Both of whom were first hired in NYC by the late Larry Berger for WPLJ. Another PD who had a golden ear for great talent.
(OT: I had been in touch with Larry not long before his death. He wanted to do a tribute site for WPLJ - New York's Best Rock but he hadn't been well and, sadly, his time ran out.)
Bruce used to host live Rock&Roll shows across the River at Palisades Park in New Jersey, and he often wore that leopard-spots suit for those appearances.
I dont believe it.
I was a Dan Ingram fan and, to me, Brucie was the exact opposite.
From what I've read, Ingram spent significant time preparing his show to make it interesting and entertaining. Brucie just kept repeating the same stuff over and over.
What was the most fun in that era of live personality jocks was when a good PD managed to create "stationality" with a batch of jocks that were, each, very different. The earliest years of WLS, KHJ for several generations of PDs, Sklar's WABC, Jerry Starr's WFUN in Miami were a couple of those stations.
"Stationality" is often ignored because so few PDs were able to achieve it. In most cases, the jocks thought of themselves as soloists with "my show" instead of team players, but each with a different position and skill set that worked together.
At Emmis' Argentina station, I even got the coach of one of the biggest teams that had some of the biggest players come and talk about teamwork to my "team" of show hosts. It was incredible for the staff to talk to the coach who had worked with Maradona and to see how teamwork beats anything else (Maradona was let go by Boca for not being a "team player"!)
That is sort of like I had said, back in 2016, after seeing the Stones, McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters. The Who and Dylan that they just played "the same stuff they always did."
Desert Trip
deserttrip.com
A lot of Cousin Brucie was the feel, the mood, the atmosphere ( I am searching for the word) he created. Listening to Brucie was like, well, doing a line in between each song!
Maybe I missed it. It just seemed to me like "the submarine race watches" over and over.
I was often in the car parked by the beach (enough said) and I still didn't get it. 😏
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When I had a SiriusXM subscription, I listened to Cousin Brucie occasionally, and one of the best segments I heard was when an older sounding woman called in who was lost on some country road and couldn’t find her way back to the interstate. Darkness was coming and she was worried, because there weren’t any houses around and she didn’t know how to use her smartphone to do Google Maps. Brucie calmed her down and encouraged her to call 911, explaining that they’d be able to figure out where she was based on the cell phone towers. She said okay and a few weeks later, Brucie mentioned that the woman was helped out by the police and made it to where she was going. That was much more interesting than hearing him talk about Frankie Lymon or whoever.
However, Ingram himself said that his prep time was no more than about 30 seconds before sitting down behind the mic.
Cats is mouthing off again about acquiring more AM stations on the cheap:
barrettmedia.com
77 WABC Owner John Catsimatidis: ‘We’re Going to Be Buying A Lot of Stations in the Northeast’
"How do you say 'Have check, will travel'?"
barrettmedia.com
What's more likely: Cats buying 3–5 distressed AM stations with no audience (which is probably the best he's going to do) or WRKO's Jeff Kuhner finally going national baybeee?Cats is mouthing off again about acquiring more AM stations on the cheap:
77 WABC Owner John Catsimatidis: ‘We’re Going to Be Buying A Lot of Stations in the Northeast’
"How do you say 'Have check, will travel'?"
That article is stunning in the lack of any critical thinking towards Cats' on-air bluster and hubris. I highly doubt he was even remotely aware of Audacy's plans to lease out 880. No one saw it coming.
I GENERALLY come along for the fun of this board, but man, this is brutal.
As a man of limited (obvious) talent and decades in this business, I can tell you no shift is easy and no planning is a guaranteed home run. Lots of the energy is based upon the seconds leading up to the words (or feelings) you convey. Few of us EVER feel like we delivered our best on-air experience EVER. Most of us berate and beat ourselves up plenty enough.
Same goes for management and even lowly local owners who question their every move in 2025. More on that below.
I have learned that the ONE WAY to epically fail in life is too sit around and trash successes. Lance says no political talk, etc., unless it applies, I think?
But what about just mean comments? Much of the above comments are insulting, simple-minded (of which I am) about old people (which I can relate and even laugh at.) Hell, I wanted to ask if the CUME applied to corpses listening. I get it. It's easy. But, I am way to close in being of the age of being THAT corpse.
Still doesn't give me a complete hall pass. Many of the things said are said by people who have never obviously been in radio.
Trashing GREAT radio names, with pedigree and name recognition, is pathetic and weak. It doesn't lessen them. It weakens YOU.
Even if you don't like Castsimatidis, I bet the man has accomplished a ton more than any of us on this board. He has "made" plenty of money. He has had loyal people working for him for decades in his retail business and other entities. He has managed his way around the absolute rubbish rules of retail in NYC and now has bought some radio stations and has not exactly failed even with the stations. Which, technically, any major corp that has filed bankruptcy HAS failed. And if he is pumping his own money into it, that's his choice. He has also CERTAINLY helped and donated many more dollars than most will see in an entire career full of paychecks.
If you actually work alongside John and trash him on this board, you should walk in and resign or AT LEAST apologize or stop taking his tarnish, horrible money. Don't take the money if you don't respect the man. It weakens you even more than trashing his name in public.
Loyalty matters. Even in 2025. Hell, there's not much else left.
IF you ever want your name to appear on this board in the decades ahead, as a bona fide star, don't talk trash.
Just get to it and get out there and kick some @$$. Then someday, with luck, you may get to read similar mean things about you on this very board.
This board is, or should be, about keeping the spirit of radio alive. No trashing the very people that have kept radio alive.
I am not for prohibiting freedom of speech. Far from it. Can I just ask that WE be better with what we (I can take my own lesson here) all say on here wrapped hidden in this vail of secretcy? Because someone may read some of these comments and was, or is, close too some people being taken down here or elsewhere on RD. And mention it to me or you and you come and see it and go "wow."
*Might I add for a light note that I give you complete power to always harass BIGA. That's the one exception. (Kidding. Mostly.) I don't get to mess with
BigA enough. But, heck, he and David, in particular, have keep this board decidely entertaining for years like Cousin Brucie and Castsimatidis have attempted to do in radio. Love em or not.
Now I feel like a damn old minister preaching on a radio station that someone has turned up loud to keep robbers away.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Love you all. I sign off my old bitchin mans station. WOLD. Wait that's taken.
As a man of limited (obvious) talent and decades in this business, I can tell you no shift is easy and no planning is a guaranteed home run. Lots of the energy is based upon the seconds leading up to the words (or feelings) you convey. Few of us EVER feel like we delivered our best on-air experience EVER. Most of us berate and beat ourselves up plenty enough.
Same goes for management and even lowly local owners who question their every move in 2025. More on that below.
I have learned that the ONE WAY to epically fail in life is too sit around and trash successes. Lance says no political talk, etc., unless it applies, I think?
But what about just mean comments? Much of the above comments are insulting, simple-minded (of which I am) about old people (which I can relate and even laugh at.) Hell, I wanted to ask if the CUME applied to corpses listening. I get it. It's easy. But, I am way to close in being of the age of being THAT corpse.
Still doesn't give me a complete hall pass. Many of the things said are said by people who have never obviously been in radio.
Trashing GREAT radio names, with pedigree and name recognition, is pathetic and weak. It doesn't lessen them. It weakens YOU.
Even if you don't like Castsimatidis, I bet the man has accomplished a ton more than any of us on this board. He has "made" plenty of money. He has had loyal people working for him for decades in his retail business and other entities. He has managed his way around the absolute rubbish rules of retail in NYC and now has bought some radio stations and has not exactly failed even with the stations. Which, technically, any major corp that has filed bankruptcy HAS failed. And if he is pumping his own money into it, that's his choice. He has also CERTAINLY helped and donated many more dollars than most will see in an entire career full of paychecks.
If you actually work alongside John and trash him on this board, you should walk in and resign or AT LEAST apologize or stop taking his tarnish, horrible money. Don't take the money if you don't respect the man. It weakens you even more than trashing his name in public.
Loyalty matters. Even in 2025. Hell, there's not much else left.
IF you ever want your name to appear on this board in the decades ahead, as a bona fide star, don't talk trash.
Just get to it and get out there and kick some @$$. Then someday, with luck, you may get to read similar mean things about you on this very board.
This board is, or should be, about keeping the spirit of radio alive. No trashing the very people that have kept radio alive.
I am not for prohibiting freedom of speech. Far from it. Can I just ask that WE be better with what we (I can take my own lesson here) all say on here wrapped hidden in this vail of secretcy? Because someone may read some of these comments and was, or is, close too some people being taken down here or elsewhere on RD. And mention it to me or you and you come and see it and go "wow."
*Might I add for a light note that I give you complete power to always harass BIGA. That's the one exception. (Kidding. Mostly.) I don't get to mess with
BigA enough. But, heck, he and David, in particular, have keep this board decidely entertaining for years like Cousin Brucie and Castsimatidis have attempted to do in radio. Love em or not.
Now I feel like a damn old minister preaching on a radio station that someone has turned up loud to keep robbers away.
Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Love you all. I sign off my old bitchin mans station. WOLD. Wait that's taken.
Gregg stated: "And honors go to WAXQ's morning host Jim Kerr and evening host Carol Miller, both on NYC rock radio for 50+ years."
Gregg - Nice! What's great about Jim Kerr is he is just as down to earth today as he was the day he came to NYC "as a kid." In a place where the take down and tear down is king, he has stayed his constant course, above the fray. We never hear much negative. He is beyond exceptional in every way. Similar could be said for Bill Lee and Joe Causi. Others too, but relating to the rockish formats.
Gregg - Nice! What's great about Jim Kerr is he is just as down to earth today as he was the day he came to NYC "as a kid." In a place where the take down and tear down is king, he has stayed his constant course, above the fray. We never hear much negative. He is beyond exceptional in every way. Similar could be said for Bill Lee and Joe Causi. Others too, but relating to the rockish formats.
Both of us got those messages that self-destruct in flames in 30" telling us to distract the radio hoardes while the (pick one: Russians, Koreans, Chinese, Iranians, The Borg) plan our conquest.
Dare I say, "I feel your pain?" - #42 (Turning 79 on August 19th. Where did the years go?)
Also people might have forgotten, Cats' WABC took care of Bernie McGuirk when he was down with cancer for almost a whole year of regular income when he barely made a few appearances.
Cats is a tough businessman, he's not going to pay $$$ for something he can get for $.
Just to disclose, I have dealt with Red Apple once before, we were competing for a similar business opportunity.
He took control of the business fair and square.
The vitriol on this board towards him and WABC is quite surprising, but its probably because he leans right and is pro Trump.
Lastly , if this were anyone else, we'd be seeing crowing about how someone took a station from #15 to #8 ish. Now wait and watch, someone will say , but this, and but that , is the reason he took it higher.
Well Soros Jr also has purchased a bunch of stations , lets see how they fare.
Cats is a tough businessman, he's not going to pay $$$ for something he can get for $.
Just to disclose, I have dealt with Red Apple once before, we were competing for a similar business opportunity.
He took control of the business fair and square.
The vitriol on this board towards him and WABC is quite surprising, but its probably because he leans right and is pro Trump.
Lastly , if this were anyone else, we'd be seeing crowing about how someone took a station from #15 to #8 ish. Now wait and watch, someone will say , but this, and but that , is the reason he took it higher.
Well Soros Jr also has purchased a bunch of stations , lets see how they fare.