Of course, letters and postcards aren’t the only way to send a delightful dispatch to a distant friend… as another Canadian said “the medium is the message” as such, message depends on the medium. As such, choose the medium for your message to evoke emotion and put the story, no matter how brief, in a pleasing context.
In 2009, i made an very off-the-cuff audition show for Vancouver’s then-new, now-defunct “The Shore 104” radio station with the idea create a rather eclectic music and story-telling show.
The “show” was recorded live in one take, no takebacks (though i shoulda/coulda) with John Bollwitt engineering at his West End apartment. Later added an intro bit which kinda got messed up but anyhow,… the project went nowhere as the station struggled out the gates and soon fired most on-air folks and changed format blah blah blah. As such, getting it off the harddrive and into your ears so you can laugh at my cheesiness and rock out to the setlist.
PS some of this music isn’t “podsafe”, licensed etc. but used for demonstration and educational purposes – if issue, please let me know via gravellybeach@gmail.com
Over thirty years at the desk of his very own late-night talk show, multiple generations of fans, the respect of comedians the world over: David Letterman has had, by any measure, an awfully good run.
As with many illustrious careers, Letterman’s humble early shot followed even humbler, earlier shots. Just above, you can hear the 21-year-old “Dave Letterman”’s broadcast from April Fool’s Day 1969 on WAGO-AM, the closed-circuit radio station he helped to found at his future alma mater, Ball State University. Though only a five-minute clip, this recording showcases not just Letterman’s preternatual microphone presence, but his way with the near-psychedelic walls of sound effects, seemingly free-associative speech, and pure wackiness that so came into its own in the late sixties and early seventies. (The Firesign Theater would soon perfect it.) Letterman followers who must know everything — and they certainly exist — should note that, when he calls a delirious-sounding woman in this segment, he calls none other than Michelle Cook, the very first Mrs. Letterman. Though we have yet to learn the identity of Letterman’s Late Show replacement, I feel certain, after this listening experience, that the Letterman of twenty years from now will rise from the ranks of podcasting. Listen out for him; he may not drop colorful phrases just like “horse dentures falling into a rusted howitzer artillery shell,” but you’ll know him when you hear him. Or her.
