The festive holidays are in our rearview mirror but here’s a little extra gift. It’s something to spark your interest in my upcoming media memoir “Raised on the Radio.”
Setting up this excerpt: It’s a recollection of some of the perks I experienced when producing major market radio shows in Chicago. Lots of fun was had and at little expense to me…
EXTRAS, FREEBIES AND GUESTLISTS Seeing movies, concerts and ballgames was how most of my free time away from radio was spent. The money I paid out for newspapers, books, magazines, cable TV and cell-phone bills all got written off as tax deductions because they were related to my job as a radio producer. Carefully tracking expenditures throughout my time in radio, I used to joke that my whole life was one giant tax write-off.
Good seats at concerts were regularly available and rare was the time I had to pay for my tickets. I got friends of mine and ladies I dated into plenty of big shows. One of the best parts about seeing these shows was enjoying the reactions from whoever I took to the show with me. Sitting 5th row center for free at a Rolling Stones concert was wild and my good buddy Bobbo got as big a thrill out of it as I did. There was the time I treated my friend Bernie to special lounge suite seats with drink service for a Moody Blues concert at Poplar Creek. He was a longtime fan of the band and when they launched into “Tuesday Afternoon” Bernie had tears in his eyes as he thanked me for such a memorable happening.
My favorite places to see concerts in Chicago were the smaller venues like the Riviera, The Vic, Park West and House of Blues. These theatres had the best sound and sightlines. I was often able to get what I called ‘The Lincoln Seats’ in these places. Those were the ones on the raised level to the side of the stage in a private box. I’m just glad I never encountered a bitter John Wilkes Booth at those shows. One time at a Wang Chung concert at the Riviera, I saw some attractive models sitting in a nearby balcony box. They were REALLY hot. In fact, these women were so hot they tore off their bras from under their tops and slingshot them onto Wang Chung’s stage. Next, these ladies flashed their bare breasts to the band. I thought to tell them this was not Mardi Gras in New Orleans and there were no cheap plastic beads to earn, but why spoil their fun?
The “He’s So Cool” factor for concert freebies might be the kick for some people but I appreciated the convenience. No standing in line or going online for tickets, plus VIP parking made life much easier. For me, sitting in skyboxes or other preferred areas never got old. And if a freebie that I wanted wasn’t offered, a quick phone call would be made and usually it was, “Yes, we can put you on that guest list. No problem. See you there!”
Looking back on all the extras that were there for the taking, I think of Ray Liotta talking about the gangster life in “Good Fellas” when he said, “For us, to live any other way was nuts.”
That was my life in radio for a long time and I loved every minute of it!