Bobby talks to Sharna Burgess on how she found out she was not returning to Dancing with the Stars this season, if she’d ever go back and he gives his theory on why she didn’t return. We also talk to our friend Brent Michaels who is a radio program director in Bakerfield, CA about what he does, how he picks music and Women in country music.
Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This will be a split episode. We will talk to
Sharna Burgess and we'll talk about a lot of things.
We'll talk about Dancing with the Stars this season, we'll
talk about her finding out she wasn't gonna be on
the show this season. Um. Yeah, we'll just kind of
jump into that with her, which I wanted a way
to beat. I could have called her immediate limb and
like talk about it, but I just felt like as
(00:22):
a friend, I would rather not chase the clicks and
also has a little shock by it. But I have
a theory too that one of the reasons why she
didn't get an asked back. So we'll get to her
and just a bit. And also we'll talk to our
friend is a program director in California, and so um,
people often wonder what in the world does a radio
(00:44):
programmer do, and how come they're getting to pick music
and women in country music and what's happen so him
in studio, we'll talk to our buddy Brent, who is
from Bakersfield, California, runs a couple of stations out there,
And so if you've ever wonder what radio program director does,
that's that's what this will be. So UM, I think
I was trying to think about what this podcast is about.
Like if we were just taking a tag it with
(01:04):
a line, I think it would be talking to creatives
and about music. That's basically what we do. We talk
to creative people and then we also talk about music.
Because I was I was talking to Amy has a
great podcast called four Things with Amy Brown, and I said, hey,
nobody knows what your four things are, so what are
(01:25):
they put them on the front of your your image?
And she didn't looks great because if somebody just scrolls through,
they don't know, like what in the heck is four
things and our pictures on there now, which we need
to put my face on the on the logo too,
because otherwise it's just a couple of words. It doesn't
really nobody goes, oh, I not not that it's even
about me, but it just gives you something to remember
(01:45):
and hold on too, because I scoled through podcast on
I Heart Radio and say, oh, let me see what
this is about. And if it's just a word like
it it's like a cartoon graphic that's cool, or like
somebody I'll be like, oh, well that's cool, or like
sometimes people just dress like what their show is about.
So I was talking to Amy check that out Four
Things with Amy Brown. I'm gonna go ahead and get
off of here because I'm about to go see Lauren
(02:07):
Lena and shoot some Dancing with the Star and stuff.
But Sharna Burgess and then our friend Brent, who works
in Baker's field, programs to radio stations, and we'll kind
of catch us up on what a program director does.
How are you doing good? Are you in the bathroom
(02:28):
or what? No, I hang on, I can take your speaker. Yeah,
it's a little better. Okay, what's happening? What are you doing?
Not much? I am just currently buried in acting homework.
Wait what are you doing there? I've got a c
It's a ten minute play. It's called Traces of Memory, um,
(02:51):
and I'm one of the characters in it. And she
is very dark. It's about these two women that meet
on a highway. They're both runaways basically, and she revealed
throughout it that she blew up her house and tied
up her three kids to watch the microwave the gasoline
and it blew up. It's a family moving the family play.
(03:14):
Bring everyone, Bring all the kids. Yeah. I think it's
really made for kids. That's my opinion. You know. Well listen, well,
you and I have talked a bit since the I
mean a couple of times actually, since you didn't get
brought back to Dancing with the Stars. And I definitely
didn't want to hit you up right after it because
for me, I was like what I know for you
and you were like what And I wanted to give
you a little a little breath on it. But then
(03:35):
I saw you on Instagram actually at the show the
other night, I was and I was like, and I
think that's where it's It's such a healthy and now
it's such a healthy thing I think for for you
to be able to talk about because you're just going
now to see your friends. So there is no bad
blood I guess between you and the show. No, there isn't.
There's definitely no bad blood on my side. I you know,
(03:56):
someone made a decision that they didn't want me to
be a part of this season, and that's okay. You know,
I've had an incredible eight and a half nearly nine
years with the show, and they're they're trying to do things,
and they're really trying to revamp it and get it
back so it can last another ten years and I'm
on board with that goal. So for me, there is
(04:16):
much of that was very sad to not be there
because I love my job. Um, I you know, I
don't take it personally, and of course I'll go and
watch because these guys that are there, the cast and
even the crew, everybody is like family to me after
the last eight years, So going back there is still
like going home. Um, and I really love going there
(04:36):
to watch. I've been there for week one and week three.
Yeah that's cool because I say you a note and
I was like, hey, are you working and you were like, no,
I'm just watching, and I was like, oh, that's so
cool that you're just there, because I know it was.
It was uncomfortable for me that you didn't get brought back.
So I know initially the shock for you had to
be like what the like because I think we all
expected you to come back because you didn't know you
(04:57):
weren't coming back. Oh yeah, I had no I had
no idea, but I didn't even have a hint. Not
I don't mean from them, but in myself there was
never a doubt in my mind that I'd be coming back.
I Um, you know, obviously we won last season and
being the reigning champ, you wouldn't think they're not going
to bring you back, but also have been I've been
(05:19):
with them for so long and definitely I feel like
a part of that family, a part of a staple,
I guess you would say, with the show. And we
were all getting text messages about GM may rehearsals and
the things coming up and whatnot, so there was no
feeling of, oh, I might not have this gig, like
I might not be coming back this season. So when
(05:41):
it happened and I got the phone call, it was, um,
it was a shock. I was driving on the freeway
and had to pull over because I couldn't. I just
couldn't process what was happening on this phone call. That
so much sort of shock it was. And the executive producer,
Andrew was the one that told me, and he said
that they just weren't would have partnered me up this
(06:01):
season and that they love me and I'm a part
of the Dancing with the South family and the cast
will be interchangeable now season to season. This will be
happening quite a lot, and he hopes that you know,
next season could be different and whatnot. So it was
an interesting phone call. Um, Andrew is a new EP.
He this is his first season, is taking over it
(06:23):
as a sole EP, and he's got his dreams and
ideas for it. So you know, the only way it's
going to work is if everyone jumps on board and
and believes in his dream too. You know. Well, my
theory now is they knew that I would have been
like everybody loaded up on shar In. It doesn't matter
who she has. I do feel like that was a
(06:46):
part of it. And I think there was almost us
because again way after the fact, because you and I,
as we were dancing, knew nothing about how the votes were.
We just knew we were we weren't in the bottom
two like and every week we were both like, oh boy,
here we go again. And in that moment when they're
calling out the bottoms, we were freaking out every time
because they don't tell you. They didn't tell me anything,
(07:08):
and I worked for ABC and they told me nothing.
And so when it was all over, Um, randomly one
of the executives said, hey, your vote differential was the
highest on the show that it's ever been in the
history of the show. Did the differential between first and
second place we had no idea, and I think it's
better we didn't have an idea because we just we
worked extremely hard just trying to survive by and I
(07:33):
think that because of that that maybe they were going, well,
if we have to break somebody, I think it should
be Sharna this season, because Bobby's a knucklehead and he'll
just tell everybody to load up on Sharna. And I
do think there's yeah, absolutely, because I would have you know,
I would have been right there with you. So now
(07:53):
that we've had a breath, um, do you think if
they asked you back next season or three seasons from now,
you would go back? Um, next season? Possible. It all
depends on where I'm at with other things and what's
going on. You know, I have this exciting twelve months
of being able to try and make some other stuff happen.
(08:13):
Really dive into my acting, dive back into those two
hopeful shows that I hopefully going to make it to
Broadway soon, I'll be back in Australia judging as well.
I I'm excited about the opportunities coming up in the
things in front of me. But if I am available
and they want me, then absolutely I would love to
have another season, because for me, what was super sad
(08:35):
was that I didn't. I didn't know I may not
ever have another season, and after so long, after nearly
a decade, you kind of want to just if you
know it's the last, you want to say for every
moment and thank every single person that has been a
part of that family in that vision with you for
the last, you know, however many years. And um, that's
the one thing that I wish that I did get
(08:57):
to do, and which is also why it's amazing to
go and visit the show. But yes, I mean I
would never say no to it if I was available
to do it, and we we both mutually wanted me
to be on the show, so um, never say never.
I love that shar what do you think? And I
do too. I love it too, And until I went on,
I had no idea anything about it. Honestly, I love it.
(09:18):
I love the people. When I went, yeah, well, I
just love the people. When I went back for the
premiere episode, my favorite people are always the crew, the hair,
the makeup, like the normal folks, because that's like like
I feel like I'm one of them. And to go
back and they were all like, oh, my goodness. It
was so fun for me because it's not the stars
(09:39):
that I'm most like. It's like the people in their
grinding and that day to day and even all the
camera guys, a lot of them came back and they
were like, dude, it's so good to see you. You know,
some of the dancing experts weren't happy to see me
because I'm not like them, but all of you know,
the people that are in putting the putting the time in,
it was so great. Like, I love that show, and
(10:01):
you know, I love the changes that they've made the season.
What do you think about that? I think they've made.
I think the sets beautiful. I think that some of
the the visuals that they've had so far have been
really stunning, and I think they've done a great job
with it. I love that the judges are being harder.
You know, there's more people seeing threes and fours and fives,
(10:21):
because for me, that's at least giving it somewhere to go.
You can't just be throwing out eight from week one
all the time, because then what's really the difference between
an eight, nine and a ten? Once everyone starts improving,
and so I think it's actually great. I think Len's
getting much more technical, and they're really hard on dance content,
which um some people are loving and some people are not.
(10:43):
I think the the rule of having to have more
true to the dance content within the choreography has some
people feeling like it's a little bit lackluster, like it
has less of the pizzas. But also at the same time,
more of that will come throughout the season. So I
think it's going to be hard for people to make
their full assessment of how they feel about all the
(11:05):
changes until you get to the end and you see
how they're letting it build and grow. But I think
they're doing a great job, you know, Like I said,
I want this show to last another ten years. I
want dance to be on television, and so I hope
that fans are responding to it, um positively. You know,
I wouldn't mind. Listen, all the scores are low, but
even the highest scores aren't that high. So it's all
(11:26):
the same right right now. The only difference is you
can actually build up later and get better right because
nobody's getting nines you get rarely are they getting eights.
You remember how excited we were when we got an eighth,
got like once or twice until the very end show exactly.
It's like you want to feel that even as a competitor,
you want to feel that growth, like oh my god,
(11:48):
you gotta you gotta five and then you work in
your way up and when you finally see that eight
and then you finally know, and then that can nearly
makes you paved out, which I think we actually hit
the ground when we got we did. There's a picture
of us sitting on the ground one holy crap. But
at that point, I do think that between you designing
just a really fantastic final dance and them just going
we throw our hands up, like we tried everything we
(12:09):
can to make people not vote for Bobby and they're
still going to vote for Bobby, and Charina like I
feel like it was a mixture of both of those.
When we got our tens, are just like, all right,
we tap out, we give up correat creation of a dance,
and I don't know what else we can do, and
well done, you guys. Yeah, probably it probably was. I
think they did try everything to um, you know, have
(12:30):
us not win, But at the end of the day,
you know, you can't help what the fans wanted, Um,
and I'm not saying there was they had something out
for us that they tried to give everyone a fair
shot in knowing that our voting was so high, but
there was nothing that they could do. And that's something
that's also very different about this season that I'm not
entirely sure everybody knows. But the dances no longer get
(12:52):
to dance to design their dances, you know, I didn't
know that. Every week, You know how much I was
in the creative process, the song, the set, the colors,
the costumes, everything. My brain is built with the team.
Right now, the dancers just get their creative concepts given
to them. They get told what they're wearing, what they
said is, what their song is, what their everything. So
(13:13):
they don't have that creative say in these pieces anymore.
They may do when it gets to the freestyle, I
don't know, because then it becomes their jam. But week
to week, it's no longer Lindsay's creativity. It's no longer
vowels creativity. It's all done for them by the new
creative director that's working on the show. And so I
actually find that really interesting too. Um and I have
(13:35):
no real opinion on it because I'm not in it.
But if I was, I would struggle to give up
that creative also, that creativity and that part of the
dance to someone else, because to me, dances not just steps.
You know, if you're giving me a full piece that's
already done and then asking me to just put steps
to it, it's like giving me your biography and asking
me to write your last chapter. But I know nothing
(13:57):
about you. You know, for me, that just seems just joints,
is sir. But you know, it seems like everyone's still
creating great content anyway. Um, and maybe it's just helps
everything work smoother behind the scenes, you know. I talked
to Lauren Elena a lot, and I tell her because
(14:17):
when you mentioned that, I think when we had breakfast,
you were like, yeah, people aren't as in control as
they were the past seasons. But I would tell Lauren
even then, I said, hey, you have like two spots
for you to act, like for Lauren, for you to
actually take charge, and that is in that live spot
after the dance, Like so much of what we did,
(14:38):
like a big point was was in that spot. Because
they can't control you, they can't control you. That's the
one time. They can't edit your package, and what they can,
they can edit the package and make anything they want.
They can make. You can do the dance, you can
do it, but in that one spot where they talk
to you, you can do whatever you want. And that's
when you have to be you and win America. And
that was the advice that that I would give her
(15:00):
as the person that's not the dancer, as the person
that went out there and was just trying to connect
with humans. And you know, I find it interesting this
season that Lawrence never danced before, and I don't know
why Hannah keeps acting like she's never danced. She danced
for fourteen years and she had ballet for like fourteen years.
That's danced absolutely danced before at at a high level. Yeah,
(15:21):
And she wild it to me that people try and
cover that up like you can't see it, you know
what I mean. Even she's like, well it's not the same, Yeah,
but it's something. And I like Hannah just find um,
I know a little bit, but it's you know, when
they're ongoing, she who have never danced like this before? Yeah,
but you've danced, and so don't even go down that
you don't have to say you danced, or say you
(15:42):
didn't dance. You don't have to talk about that. You're
talking about something else. But don't play the game of
who didn't never danced? You did in your your beauty pageants.
That was your skill, that was your talent. What are
you talking about? You haven't danced. And so yeah, but
I love James Vanderbeek and I love him and m
are together, Um, because I love it. Emma is just
(16:05):
the best, She's just the kindest. And then um, I
love um Kate Flannery. Oh, she's so good. She won't win,
but but she she's going to do better than people think.
She won't win, but she'll do better than people think. Yeah,
I agree. I got a lot of love for her,
especially like on the floor, the way she's just there's
(16:25):
something very lovely and like special about the way that
she moved, and she's just so entertaining. At the same time,
that week one dance she came out and did like
I honestly just couldn't stop smiling while watching her. She's
so such a phenomenal performer. The kill guy seems fake
to me. He seems like the acting. He's an actor
and he always seems like he's acting like he's always Yeah,
I haven't connected to him, Eida, you know what I mean.
(16:47):
I would, I would be on the same page. It's
a good diplomatic answer. I'm like, I'm like, he's fake,
and she's like, well, you know, I haven't connected either
yet at this point, that's a good answer. I like that.
It's good. I saw all And let me do a
little plug here for you where you got your you're
at it on cameo so people can get a video
message from you. Yeah, they can actually just got on
(17:09):
it a couple of days ago. I don't even know how.
I didn't know about this, but I'm actually really excited
to be on that so I can uh any But
everybody wants a message or answer a question or a
little birthday shout out. I'm getting a lot of those,
some anniversary one, which is really sweet. Um. It's a
very cool way to be connected to people and give
a little something, you know. Yeah, I think that's cool.
(17:30):
And so just go to cameo and look up Sharna
and get her to send you a video message and
she'll say, basically whatever you want. I've used Cameo to
get people to send me messages before. I'm not gonna
pay you. I just text you and be like, hey,
send me a free one. But I've I've done that
with people from the office before. I'm like, send me
a cameo. So go and look for Sharna there on
cameo this season, Searna, if you got to pick a
(17:51):
winner a winner this season, who do you have? I
would love to see James and Emma win it, but
I think it may come down between here and Hannah,
and I honestly can't decide right now who it's going
to be. UM. I think that Hannah has a big
fan base. I think she's talented, and I think people
(18:13):
are like you and I hoping that her and Alan
get together. I don't hope that. I don't hope that
at all, Like, no, not you and I get I'm
saying on our seas, yes together, Yes, that's what I mean.
I was like, I don't mean, I don't hope that.
I don't know king you on whether they do or
they don't. Um, And but I think that a lot
of people would love to see that, especially her being
(18:35):
the Bachelor and her on her season and how that ended.
I think they'd love to have the fairy tale happened here,
So who knows if that's what people are going to
vote for and be sort of captivated by. But I
do think that James is the best answer in the competition.
I think he's lovable and I think he's got to
get fantastic partner. So for me, it's going to come
down to the two of them. But if I had
(18:56):
to pick one, I spoke to James. You know, I'm
gonna leave Lauren out of this, although I think she'll
make the finals. Um, I think that she's Her likability
is going to really come through. And as long as
you're on the bottom two, they can't kick you out right,
that's it. They have. The new wrinkle they've added is
you during the bottom two they get to pick who
goes home. And as long as on the bottom through
(19:18):
the bottom two you have a great fan vote and
a pretty good score, you're rocking it. So she's never
danced before, if it just Hannah's got to change. She's
Hollywood Hannah. Now she's got Demmi Levado out there, She's
got She's all Hollywood with all of her like, Hannah
needs to go back to be an Alabama Hannah or
America is gonna go you know, she's changed, it's she's
(19:39):
not for me, because that's a big part of it. Yeah,
I see that. You don't want to see someone change
because of Hollywood. I totally get that. And Vanderbyk is
actually getting nicer as it goes. You fall more and
more in love with them and where you go, oh
he's a fancy schmanci ell a actor. The more he talks,
you go, oh wait, this is a nice guy. So
(20:00):
I'm picking. And if the finals are four people, I'm
going Vanderbeek, Hannah, Lauren, and I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm
gonna put Kaid in there because I just her likability
and that's it. Who's your fourth or third and fourth?
Definitely Lauren. I think she's so lovable and I think
the more and more people get to see her and
(20:20):
know her for sure, and she's honestly talented. Oh yeah,
she's she's an athlete. She moved, she moves relatively in
front of herself and how hard it is to learn.
But when that goes on the floor, she's captivating and
I think she's doing a great job. Who would I
say is going to be the fourth spot Um the dancer,
I don't think the dancer is that likable with with Um.
(20:41):
With Sasha, I think she's just a fine dancer. She's
a pop star, but she's not even the best dancer
on the show, and she's not the most likable. Although
she is kind of likable, I can't put her forth
with you. I think she's likable, and I think she's great,
but I think there are other personalities or more men
rebel if that makes sense. Like, I think she's she's
(21:03):
lovely and I really enjoyed her rumba last week, but
there are other people that, while they may not be
as gifted as her out dancing, they're more memorable for
some reason. Unless she can break through that and find
a way to be um you for people to connect
to her more through the screen than I think that
we might see her go home before the final unfortunately,
(21:26):
because she's sweet and talented. But yeah, Max, I could
actually agree with Kate again. I remember her every week
and I love watching her and she challenged and I
think her partner's doing a great job. I think Pasha
is doing a really good job this season, and I
think we might have the same top four. Well, there
she has star Sharna Burgess Sharna Burgess dot com. But
I want to put in and say, get a message
from Sharna on cameo and she'll probably her dogs and
(21:49):
some of the videos she's probably in like yoga clothes
where she's exposing her middriff. It's all the time, she's
just rocking it. Well, listen, I will. I'm gonna be
back out there a lot obviously once we're we're shooting
all of our stuff all over the country right now.
But when it's l a time me and you time again,
absolutely all right, I need with you. Good talk to
(22:09):
you Francis soon, alright. So something we do here on
this podcast is sometimes we'll get kind of behind the
scenes of well music for sure with songwriters, but even
with radio. And Brent Michael's here, who is the program
director of a couple of stations in Bakersfield. Yes, so
(22:30):
your stations are what we've got the bull N three
that's show you're on, and then also KU's Easy, which
has been a fifty year plus station in Bakersfield. And
how long have you been a radio program director? Only
about three and a half years. Yeah, I thought you've
been doing it for a lot let me, which you're
a compliment by the way, thank you, And how you
(22:51):
run those stations over there, I thought you've been doing
it for a long time. I've been in radio for
about twenty years, and uh just kind of worked my
way up at the station started and part time on
the weekends and work my way all the way up.
I started doing promotions until there was a full time
on airshift and became music director and now program director
of two stations. Wild that's pretty cool. I didn't know
(23:11):
that that elevation happened in the last few years. So
I guess when you became program director. Is that when
we when we went on to Bakersfield. Yeah, right after
I became program director. Kaye's Easy had been there for
fifty years, but we decided to because countries now so diverse,
to start a station that really focused on the newer
(23:33):
brand of country, be more aggressive introducing new artists, and
you and your brand are so synonymous with that that
we thought it was a great fit. So I think
a lot of our listeners wonder, and you know what,
even I do too. Won the world of program director
does because for me, I was I'm gonna get on
the radio and I'm gonna be entertaining, And I don't
(23:54):
want to do the hard stuff, which is what you do.
I don't want to have to make decisions on how man.
I don't want to do to management stuff, which is
what you do. Like you're mostly behind the scenes. You're
on the air too, I am, yes, um, but you're
mostly behind the scenes. So as a program director of
two radio stations, you wake up at the morning and
what time? So I get up every morning a little
(24:15):
before five, because I like, why in the world would
you wake up that earlier if you don't have to
do a morning show. Well, I like to get to
the gym so that way I can help my wife
get kids and everything ready for school. And then I'm
I'm at the office little after seven in the morning.
And then what do you do right when you get
to the office as a radio station program director of
two stations, like, what's the first thing you check on?
So the first thing I do is I kind of
(24:36):
take a look at our music logs for the day.
So for people that don't realize radio stations of all
their music planned out, and the program director just kind
of is ultimately in charge of everything. That kind of
comes out of the speakers. So we make the music
decisions and uh, from there, we just kind of make
sure the music gets played the bigger songs, songs people
tell us they want to hear more often, you know,
(24:58):
songs that are just getting star did you know, kind
of putting that out there in certain times and places.
And so the first thing I do when I get
there is kind of go through the music for the
day and make sure we're all set. Now you bring
up an interesting thing that you get there and you
look at the songs. So I guess, is there a
day of the week where you kind of decide what
that week's playlist ish is going to look like? Yeah,
(25:21):
for us, it's on Thursdays. And so our station also
has what's called a music director, So he also takes
a listen to all the different songs that are out there.
And you know, I just feel one person has so
much bias. You know, I don't know that one person
should be making the music decisions in my opinion for
a station, because everybody likes different things and everybody has
(25:43):
different wants, and so together we sit down every Thursday
and we take a look at all the different songs
that we can choose from for that week, and we decide, okay,
basic based on the number of songs that we're playing
that our current songs at any given time, you know, okay,
we've out one spot to put in a new song
this week or two songs, and so we'll go through that,
and we'll go through the research that people are are
(26:06):
telling us. We have a mechanism for people to go
online and tell us what songs they like and what
they're getting tired of. We go through all that information.
We look at what's streaming, what's being consumed in the market,
you know, so what people are watching on YouTube, what
people are buying, and that's how we make those choices.
So on a Thursday, and we're kind of rewinding now,
on a Thursday, you go in and decide what the
(26:26):
playlist is gonna look like. Now, if I'm right, Because
for a brief amount of time, I was a music
director and hated it because I just was not for me.
I just said, I didn't want to get on a
computer and schedule things. I didn't want to talk to
record labels. I just wanted to be funny. So on
a Thursday, you meet and go these are the songs
that are going to be put in for next week,
and then is there still kind of like a formula
in a program where you go, our most important songs
(26:48):
are these six seven How many powers would you have
for us? We have seven on kuse easy and six
on the bowl. So those six biggest songs are programmed
to play every x amount of time, so boom there
in those spots. So you're not going in scheduling every
song every day. It's kind of a program based on
the songs you pick each week. Yes, we have a
computer program, and most radio stations do they have a
(27:09):
computer program. You sort of tell it, Okay, these are
the most popular songs. These are the songs that are
after that. These are older songs that are still really popular.
And you come up what they call a clock, which
is sort of all the different songs and where they go.
So two or three songs that maybe people aren't as
familiar with yet, don't play all in a row. Spread
them out. It's a good spread them out. So you'll
(27:30):
do the big, big medium one people don't know, then
a big one again. They don't hear two songs in
a row, They're like, what the what was that? Right? Okay,
so you go in in the morning. Now we're gonna
go back to your day of Yes, you've already got
your songs picked for the week. So now you're you're
you're looking at the log to make sure the computer
didn't botch it right and didn't programs with an accidentally
into in a wrong spot right. How long does that take?
(27:52):
About fifteen to twenty minutes. I'll just kind of really
scan through some of that's done the day before, but
just make sure you know we're not having any technical
problems or anything like that. Want to check in and
then uh, from there, it's onto the email box. So
when you're in there, are you monitoring your shows because
you have you know, you have a legendary show at
kuse E z Um. I love those guys by the way,
(28:12):
they're They're always so nice to me when I see them. Um,
at least one of them is. And then uh uh
then there's us obviously. Are you like monitoring those back
and forth to make sure their own issues? I do.
As I drive into work, I flip back and forth
between both radio shows and even I usually listen to
some other shows that are in the market in the city.
(28:35):
Just just to hear what they're doing too. So you're in,
you've made you the logs cool, you've listened to the shows,
you make sure there's no fires. Then what's in the
what's in a program director's email box? So you have
lots of different things. Um, you know, there are three
main parts to a radio station. I always tell people.
There's programming and that's kind of everything you sort of
hear coming out musically in the DJs and that kind
(28:57):
of thing, and even the big voice guy that's like
use right. Yeah. And then there's promotions and promotions kind
of everything you see. So that's you know, the website,
social media contests or social medias. Now, yeah, I've been
so out of that game that I didn't realize that
was part of promotions. Oh cool, you know for us
it is. And with that said, all the different personalities
(29:20):
they are on both stations, Uh, they all have social
kind of commitments and requirements that we have them do
just you know, just so people can kind of see
what goes on behind the scenes or what goes on
in their life and and all that stuff. But um,
so there's promotions and then their sales. The sales is
kind of how radio stations make their money. It's the commercials.
It's the most vital and most annoying part of my job.
(29:42):
And in that order, by the way, most vital part
of the job. I have really learned to embrace sales
and at the same time to go, okay, these are
our boundaries and this is where I can do the
best for you. And it's a balance for me. It's
a big balance, like what can I do? How much
can I do without really jeopard I see the show
because smartly, a lot of clients like I want everything,
(30:04):
all that much you can give me, and I gotta go, oh, well,
I can't give you everything, but why don't we do
this kind of promotion? Um, So it's a balancing act
for me. I can't. I don't know what it would
be like for a program directorcause you have to manage
all the sales through all the day. Right. It's a
lot of the same thing. You know. We want to
do things that our customers are our clients, that people
(30:25):
advertising with the radio station feel they can partner with
us on. But at the same time, you don't want
to do things that will alienate the audience or that
will make the audience tune out. So it is a
balance of trying to find things that you know sound
good for the person advertising, but also don't drive people
away from listening that just don't want to hear boring commercials.
(30:45):
You know, we had an issue today. Did you hear
about the one today Mike at the commercial drawing on
the podcast? Oh yeah, I heard about that, and can
you hear Mike years Okay, so you know I'm very
much too. It just can't be off brand with our show.
Like if it's not something that we would we don't
have to use it. I have to either use it
for me to talk about it personally, I have to
use it as someone close to me has to use it,
(31:06):
or I won't put my voice on it. But that
doesn't mean the show can't run things. But there was
an e cigarette thing on our podcast, and we can
do target analytic polytics now apparently where but on the
digital part, if they know you're I'll just say a
seventy year old dude from the Midwest, they can target
you with specific ads, much like Instagram does it. And
(31:27):
so one of the ads that was running was an
e cigarette ad and I had to reach out and
go this isn't our brand, Like nobody on this show smokes.
I don't feel like that's for me. That's a good
look for the show. And that was a tough decision
because whomever that company has is paying money for that,
and I never want to say no to money because
(31:47):
our job, we're brought in so that the bottom line
looked good for the people that are paying us. And
in my career I've only had to like reach out
about two or three times and never go I don't
I know, almost like a porn shot up. At one point,
it was like, mm, I don't know how I feel
about x x x ding dong, you know, being on
(32:07):
the show, um, and I don't know what they're gonna
do and listen you want to have it. I don't
even know what. I don't know what it was. I
was just getting a lot of complaints about it. Did
you hear the commercial? I never heard it. I just
saw people talking about it. Who like people on text
line calling or so I saw an email about it.
Oh good? Were they like Bobby's right or were they
like stupid Bobby's complaining again? They weren't like that? No?
(32:28):
What were they? Well? I mean I saw initially like
when they were saying what was running is what I saw?
I didn'tee anybody, but based on what you said, Mike's
and um, can you see Mike d And he looks
like a bumblebee today. He's in a yellow ship with
black stripes. And he walked up and I was like,
and he's like, what's what are you doing? Like like
a bumblebee? Dude, he's rocking it though he looks good.
And he's like, can't wear stripes at all because he
wore a black and white striped shirt and he was like.
(32:51):
People were like, uh, like the hamburglar, anything with stripes
because people like compare me to something else, cartoon characters
of thing, I'm a bumblebee, you look like a bumblebee?
A good like a mumble bee? Um? So, okay, you
get your emails, you're dealing with sales, you're dealing programming.
What is that a day you wake up? How many
work when you go in? What are you looking at?
(33:12):
Probably over the course of a whole day, I probably
get a hundred to a hundred and fifty emails. Really
do you ever check out and go? These are my
hours where I'm not going to check my email. I
really should, but I don't because the thing is even
with me, I try, I go, you know what, I
want to check out for a bit. But the problem
is if you check out for a bit, and we
should by the way, we should, we should, we should
(33:33):
set but then we come back to it and there's
like seven hundred you can never catch up well, And
I think part of it is and you're obviously in
a big part of the industry. Our our industry is
seven industry. A radio station doesn't shut off. It's always
going on, it's always happening, and so you always kind
of have to stay on top of things. Do you
ever get with your your personalities and sit down and go, okay,
(33:57):
let's listen to your show and play it back and go,
this is what you can do better, this is what's good?
Do you do though? Still, yeah, we do. They're called
air checks, and so what that is is you sit down,
as you said, with a personality, and you listen to
certain segments of the show and talk about different ways
you can improve or what was great, or you know,
maybe what missed the mark a little bit, what we
can do better next time. But you know, I remember,
(34:18):
as I was kind of getting started in radio. There
were program directors with me would would give good advice
about you know, what's what's going on. In fact, my
first program director now works on our staff and so
it's crazy. He's the person that gave me my first
shot and and now he's on our air staff as
I am, Oh, how the turn tables have turned? And
(34:40):
I'll be honest, I thought that was gonna be awkward
at first, but um, he's he's great. Yeah, yeah, what's
his name? His name is Ken, Ken McCloud. We've we've
been friends for a long time, So shout out Ken.
So you you you play it recording back, which used
to be on cassette tapes now it's just all digital, yep,
and you can be like, all right, this is great,
this is great. Maybe I do this a little better.
Does anyone do that to you since you're on the air,
(35:00):
You know, no, But I wish I had that as
a resource. I do. I I've never had a problem
with trying to get better. I believe that in everything
I did. Check the crap out of you. Well, you
didn't pronounce this vell. I'm the worst speaker in the
like me on radio As a broadcaster. Not very good
me on the radio as a human good, right, But
(35:22):
I would be the worst person to go, you know,
as a you could do better by saying I say
nothing right, no words are right? No, I don't you
do that pull up? Who's mine? Not mine? But you
have great ideas, Uh, it depends what you describe great.
Have ideas that give me in trouble sometimes, okay, so
(35:43):
you work with the personalities. What's kind of the second
half of the day about as a radio station program director?
You know, it's interesting because I've had this conversation with
a couple of people lately. You know, the music and
the radio and the on air shift. I think it's
about a third of what a program director does. And
then the other two thirds is is the other managerial
stuff that we've sort of talked about. Um So, working
(36:03):
with the sales department to help people's you know, commercials
and promotions get on and green lighting some things, sending
some of the things back to work on a little more,
working with our promotions department to make sure we have
the right contests and we're marketing the station in the
right way. Uh. Just dealing with you know, even internal
office politics. You know, and when when people work together
a lot in close confines, sometimes you know, disagreements come up,
(36:26):
and listening and hearing what people have to say and
trying to get people on the same page and really
just just trying to do everything to market the radio
station and and just make the radio station the best
it can be. Him Ike, how much more time do
I have a brand before we In this part of
the interview, you got like another five cool I got
(36:46):
because I got some questions. I'm trying to decide when
I want to what I want to get into it
with them with and not in a bad way. But okay,
let's do this. Let's do the power rankings right now
of contemporary country artists. Okay, um, I was reading website
and they did like college foot ball, Uh it's Country Now,
which is a new um country music blog, and they've
ranked like the top twenty five country artists, which I
(37:06):
thought was pretty bold them to do to rank them,
and so much like college football with Clemsons one Alabama's too.
Whenever we're doing this podcast, who knows what it will
be by the time people hear this, Um, where who
would you rank as number one? Right now? And let's
do this at the same time. We'll both say it.
But let's just say who we're going to say at
the same time, so we're not affecting each other's judgment. Okay,
(37:28):
So I'll go one, two, three, and then we'll say it. Okay,
number one, one, two, three, Okay, solid the two look
because you go Luke Brian go ahead, and and I
would say Luke Combs number two, and I would say
Luke Brian number one, I mean number two. Yeah, they're
both right there. Luke Combs a new number one. He
just he doesn't miss He hasn't missed yet any like
(37:50):
a rocket. And I haven't seen some in my time here.
I haven't seen someone blow up this fast period. He's
the biggest. You're right, Luke Brian is the universe only
big thank you. I've had a lot of something happen
right there. Um, okay, good. So we're gonna go one
and two and i'd go two and one. Good. Okay,
think about it. Now, what would you have whatever for him?
(38:12):
I'll just let you do number three, number three. Who
would you have right now? I'll say Jason Aldan solid
four four. I will say Blake Shelton, m and Blake's
in California a lot. Yeah, we don't see Blake often
here number five and five. Right now, I'll say Carrie Underwood.
(38:33):
People love Carrie Underwood. Carry over and right now, carry over, Mirren,
I think so right now. No disrespect to Baron Man
is great. I like that we're ranking him no, because
there's no disrespect to anyone. People gotta fall no slots,
all right, Look at you, I like I like that
you're making decisions. Um might anything you want to ask him? Can?
I'll tell you Brent. Brent came out to watch me
(38:54):
on Dancing with the Stars set in the crowd. Were
you out there? We hung out? I sat next to Mike. Oh,
you guys did. Yeah, that's fun. That's that's thank you
for having us. By the way, because you're in California,
which is my point, you are two hours behind. What
is it light running our show when it's not exactly live.
They're hearing it when we do it at seven, you're
hearing it in your station at seven, but it's two
(39:15):
hours back. Yes, is that ever an issue? You know?
To some degree? I think it works in our favor.
We we try or I do because I get up
so early as I get up, and once I get
to the gym, before we start the workout, I'll scroll
through social media. It's already see what you guys are
doing on the show, so we can kind of pre promote.
You know, hey, they're doing the draft on this today,
(39:37):
those kind of things, or so and so is making
an appearance on the show today. So it works to
our advantage. Um the one part, I think maybe it's
a disadvantage, and you know, maybe sometimes it happens later
in the morning, I don't hear it. It's harder for
maybe a California listener to call in and get on
the show. But I think with the text thing and
other social media avenues, there's ways they can interact with
(39:58):
the show. But that's probably anything the only drawback that's
a good one. It's a good point to make. And
that's why we don't do national contests where you can
call in, because your people don't have a chance, and
and Mountain people don't have a chance, like a fair
chance because I'm hearing in an hour or two hours later, right, so,
and then another but I think I benefit two of
you guys being behind is when I come in and
do liners. Every morning and cut like before the show
(40:19):
even starts. You've got all my stuff, you know, it's
like you gotta before anybody does, like you know, according
to time. Any Um, we'll end on this. There is,
as you know, and as you are one of the
guys that's really working to combat the issue with females
on the radio and country music. Where do you see
it now and where it's going? Such an open ended question.
(40:41):
I don't want to paint you in a corner. I
go ahead, No. I think two things. One. I think
the comment that to me gets made a lot about
this issue is women don't want to hear women, and
I think that's false. I think women do want to
hear women. I think in certain occasions we have factor
will data that shows they want to hear certain songs
(41:02):
by male artists more at a certain time. But I
think it's also the responsibility of people that put music
on radio stations for for people to hear and discover.
I think it's important for radio to still be a
place where you can find an artist for the first time.
And there's more ways to listen to music now than ever,
between streaming services and watching videos on YouTube and the
(41:24):
radio that you know, if we want to keep up
with with everything else that's out there, we have to
be able to break artists, and we have to be
able to expose artists. And so I do feel that
as a radio programmer, you have a responsibility to get
artists that you believe in out to your audience. And
sometimes it's gonna work. And maybe sometimes you'll love a
song and and your audience doesn't get to it or
(41:47):
love it as much as you do. But I think
it's important that we do it. And so I can't
speak for every radio program director, but but we make
an effort to try to get female artists on the radio,
and just even lately, I mean, I think Ingrid Andrew's
is great. I think Ashley McBride is great. Um, you
know on the Bowl we've we've kind of highlighted all
(42:10):
of the women that you've put onto your class of
twenty nineteen. It's just, you know, we do have a
responsibility to get female artists exposure. And still, you know,
make sure people are hearing the songs from the artists
you know that are male, that are doing really well too.
I think there's a way to do it all. He
(42:31):
has a great voice, how am Mike. He's here talking,
and I know he's talking about stuff that is cool
and relevant. I like it and I'm agreeing with it,
but I just started drifting away, going into God, I
wish I had a voice like that. I've never heard
the mic like pick up, so it's like, like, that's
what a broadcaster ship sound like. Not me, like a
pre pubescent fourteen year old. He's got like three pubicated See,
(42:54):
sometimes I feel I sound to announcery. So I think
there's there's there's gotta be a middle ground. Well, it
ain't us. It ain't. Brent Michael's your name on Twitter
and Instagram is what Let's see. On Twitter it's at
Brent Michael's and then on Instagram it's at Brent Michael's
radio because somebody has Brent Michael so they don't even
(43:15):
use it. But that's like at Bobby Bones on both
of them. The same guy. Hey, there's there, he is. Okay, listen,
thanks for the talk. I appreciate you coming by and
thanks for having me giving us a little feedback behind
the scenes. What happens are my listeners, especially on this podcast,
like to know, you know, what's like a song meeting
like what's that You guys get in a room and
go what do we like? What's the research say? And
you look at other things, not just research that listeners do,
(43:38):
but also what they're doing, not just what they're saying,
what they're doing. And I like that. I think it's
cool that because people go ahead, want did this song
get played? This song from Blake Should's boot song? Warn't
you playing that well because it's not a single. It's
because the record label is not promoting it. They don't
want to played. Then they black Wood like all the
songs played, but the record label focuses on one song
because they know they have a shot to get everybody
to pay attention to one song better than they do
everybody to pay that to eleven songs. And I think
(44:00):
it makes for a concert experience. Now you can go
and you know a specific song versus you know, everybody
knows a couple, but they don't know them all. And
I think that's part of the reason they do it too.
There is a lesson in radio. I don't have the
patients to do any of that. I wouldn't sit and
do sales and I don't have the like you know what,
screw it we're playing classic rock today. Know all those
(44:24):
Freebird all day brand Michael's good to see you by, Hey,
thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
This will be a split episode. We will talk to
Sharna Burgess and we'll talk about a lot of things.
We'll talk about Dancing with the Stars this season, we'll
talk about her finding out she wasn't gonna be on
the show this season. Um. Yeah, we'll just kind of
jump into that with her, which I wanted a way
to beat. I could have called her immediate limb and
like talk about it, but I just felt like as
(00:22):
a friend, I would rather not chase the clicks and
also has a little shock by it. But I have
a theory too that one of the reasons why she
didn't get an asked back. So we'll get to her
and just a bit. And also we'll talk to our
friend is a program director in California, and so um,
people often wonder what in the world does a radio
(00:44):
programmer do, and how come they're getting to pick music
and women in country music and what's happen so him
in studio, we'll talk to our buddy Brent, who is
from Bakersfield, California, runs a couple of stations out there,
And so if you've ever wonder what radio program director does,
that's that's what this will be. So UM, I think
I was trying to think about what this podcast is about.
Like if we were just taking a tag it with
(01:04):
a line, I think it would be talking to creatives
and about music. That's basically what we do. We talk
to creative people and then we also talk about music.
Because I was I was talking to Amy has a
great podcast called four Things with Amy Brown, and I said, hey,
nobody knows what your four things are, so what are
(01:25):
they put them on the front of your your image?
And she didn't looks great because if somebody just scrolls through,
they don't know, like what in the heck is four
things and our pictures on there now, which we need
to put my face on the on the logo too,
because otherwise it's just a couple of words. It doesn't
really nobody goes, oh, I not not that it's even
about me, but it just gives you something to remember
(01:45):
and hold on too, because I scoled through podcast on
I Heart Radio and say, oh, let me see what
this is about. And if it's just a word like
it it's like a cartoon graphic that's cool, or like
somebody I'll be like, oh, well that's cool, or like
sometimes people just dress like what their show is about.
So I was talking to Amy check that out Four
Things with Amy Brown. I'm gonna go ahead and get
off of here because I'm about to go see Lauren
(02:07):
Lena and shoot some Dancing with the Star and stuff.
But Sharna Burgess and then our friend Brent, who works
in Baker's field, programs to radio stations, and we'll kind
of catch us up on what a program director does.
How are you doing good? Are you in the bathroom
(02:28):
or what? No, I hang on, I can take your speaker. Yeah,
it's a little better. Okay, what's happening? What are you doing?
Not much? I am just currently buried in acting homework.
Wait what are you doing there? I've got a c
It's a ten minute play. It's called Traces of Memory, um,
(02:51):
and I'm one of the characters in it. And she
is very dark. It's about these two women that meet
on a highway. They're both runaways basically, and she revealed
throughout it that she blew up her house and tied
up her three kids to watch the microwave the gasoline
and it blew up. It's a family moving the family play.
(03:14):
Bring everyone, Bring all the kids. Yeah. I think it's
really made for kids. That's my opinion. You know. Well listen, well,
you and I have talked a bit since the I
mean a couple of times actually, since you didn't get
brought back to Dancing with the Stars. And I definitely
didn't want to hit you up right after it because
for me, I was like what I know for you
and you were like what And I wanted to give
you a little a little breath on it. But then
(03:35):
I saw you on Instagram actually at the show the
other night, I was and I was like, and I
think that's where it's It's such a healthy and now
it's such a healthy thing I think for for you
to be able to talk about because you're just going
now to see your friends. So there is no bad
blood I guess between you and the show. No, there isn't.
There's definitely no bad blood on my side. I you know,
(03:56):
someone made a decision that they didn't want me to
be a part of this season, and that's okay. You know,
I've had an incredible eight and a half nearly nine
years with the show, and they're they're trying to do things,
and they're really trying to revamp it and get it
back so it can last another ten years and I'm
on board with that goal. So for me, there is
(04:16):
much of that was very sad to not be there
because I love my job. Um, I you know, I
don't take it personally, and of course I'll go and
watch because these guys that are there, the cast and
even the crew, everybody is like family to me after
the last eight years, So going back there is still
like going home. Um, and I really love going there
(04:36):
to watch. I've been there for week one and week three.
Yeah that's cool because I say you a note and
I was like, hey, are you working and you were like, no,
I'm just watching, and I was like, oh, that's so
cool that you're just there, because I know it was.
It was uncomfortable for me that you didn't get brought back.
So I know initially the shock for you had to
be like what the like because I think we all
expected you to come back because you didn't know you
(04:57):
weren't coming back. Oh yeah, I had no I had
no idea, but I didn't even have a hint. Not
I don't mean from them, but in myself there was
never a doubt in my mind that I'd be coming back.
I Um, you know, obviously we won last season and
being the reigning champ, you wouldn't think they're not going
to bring you back, but also have been I've been
(05:19):
with them for so long and definitely I feel like
a part of that family, a part of a staple,
I guess you would say, with the show. And we
were all getting text messages about GM may rehearsals and
the things coming up and whatnot, so there was no
feeling of, oh, I might not have this gig, like
I might not be coming back this season. So when
(05:41):
it happened and I got the phone call, it was, um,
it was a shock. I was driving on the freeway
and had to pull over because I couldn't. I just
couldn't process what was happening on this phone call. That
so much sort of shock it was. And the executive producer,
Andrew was the one that told me, and he said
that they just weren't would have partnered me up this
(06:01):
season and that they love me and I'm a part
of the Dancing with the South family and the cast
will be interchangeable now season to season. This will be
happening quite a lot, and he hopes that you know,
next season could be different and whatnot. So it was
an interesting phone call. Um, Andrew is a new EP.
He this is his first season, is taking over it
(06:23):
as a sole EP, and he's got his dreams and
ideas for it. So you know, the only way it's
going to work is if everyone jumps on board and
and believes in his dream too. You know. Well, my
theory now is they knew that I would have been
like everybody loaded up on shar In. It doesn't matter
who she has. I do feel like that was a
(06:46):
part of it. And I think there was almost us
because again way after the fact, because you and I,
as we were dancing, knew nothing about how the votes were.
We just knew we were we weren't in the bottom
two like and every week we were both like, oh boy,
here we go again. And in that moment when they're
calling out the bottoms, we were freaking out every time
because they don't tell you. They didn't tell me anything,
(07:08):
and I worked for ABC and they told me nothing.
And so when it was all over, Um, randomly one
of the executives said, hey, your vote differential was the
highest on the show that it's ever been in the
history of the show. Did the differential between first and
second place we had no idea, and I think it's
better we didn't have an idea because we just we
worked extremely hard just trying to survive by and I
(07:33):
think that because of that that maybe they were going, well,
if we have to break somebody, I think it should
be Sharna this season, because Bobby's a knucklehead and he'll
just tell everybody to load up on Sharna. And I
do think there's yeah, absolutely, because I would have you know,
I would have been right there with you. So now
(07:53):
that we've had a breath, um, do you think if
they asked you back next season or three seasons from now,
you would go back? Um, next season? Possible. It all
depends on where I'm at with other things and what's
going on. You know, I have this exciting twelve months
of being able to try and make some other stuff happen.
(08:13):
Really dive into my acting, dive back into those two
hopeful shows that I hopefully going to make it to
Broadway soon, I'll be back in Australia judging as well.
I I'm excited about the opportunities coming up in the
things in front of me. But if I am available
and they want me, then absolutely I would love to
have another season, because for me, what was super sad
(08:35):
was that I didn't. I didn't know I may not
ever have another season, and after so long, after nearly
a decade, you kind of want to just if you
know it's the last, you want to say for every
moment and thank every single person that has been a
part of that family in that vision with you for
the last, you know, however many years. And um, that's
the one thing that I wish that I did get
(08:57):
to do, and which is also why it's amazing to
go and visit the show. But yes, I mean I
would never say no to it if I was available
to do it, and we we both mutually wanted me
to be on the show, so um, never say never.
I love that shar what do you think? And I
do too. I love it too, And until I went on,
I had no idea anything about it. Honestly, I love it.
(09:18):
I love the people. When I went, yeah, well, I
just love the people. When I went back for the
premiere episode, my favorite people are always the crew, the hair,
the makeup, like the normal folks, because that's like like
I feel like I'm one of them. And to go
back and they were all like, oh, my goodness. It
was so fun for me because it's not the stars
(09:39):
that I'm most like. It's like the people in their
grinding and that day to day and even all the
camera guys, a lot of them came back and they
were like, dude, it's so good to see you. You know,
some of the dancing experts weren't happy to see me
because I'm not like them, but all of you know,
the people that are in putting the putting the time in,
it was so great. Like, I love that show, and
(10:01):
you know, I love the changes that they've made the season.
What do you think about that? I think they've made.
I think the sets beautiful. I think that some of
the the visuals that they've had so far have been
really stunning, and I think they've done a great job
with it. I love that the judges are being harder.
You know, there's more people seeing threes and fours and fives,
(10:21):
because for me, that's at least giving it somewhere to go.
You can't just be throwing out eight from week one
all the time, because then what's really the difference between
an eight, nine and a ten? Once everyone starts improving,
and so I think it's actually great. I think Len's
getting much more technical, and they're really hard on dance content,
which um some people are loving and some people are not.
(10:43):
I think the the rule of having to have more
true to the dance content within the choreography has some
people feeling like it's a little bit lackluster, like it
has less of the pizzas. But also at the same time,
more of that will come throughout the season. So I
think it's going to be hard for people to make
their full assessment of how they feel about all the
(11:05):
changes until you get to the end and you see
how they're letting it build and grow. But I think
they're doing a great job, you know, Like I said,
I want this show to last another ten years. I
want dance to be on television, and so I hope
that fans are responding to it, um positively. You know,
I wouldn't mind. Listen, all the scores are low, but
even the highest scores aren't that high. So it's all
(11:26):
the same right right now. The only difference is you
can actually build up later and get better right because
nobody's getting nines you get rarely are they getting eights.
You remember how excited we were when we got an eighth,
got like once or twice until the very end show exactly.
It's like you want to feel that even as a competitor,
you want to feel that growth, like oh my god,
(11:48):
you gotta you gotta five and then you work in
your way up and when you finally see that eight
and then you finally know, and then that can nearly
makes you paved out, which I think we actually hit
the ground when we got we did. There's a picture
of us sitting on the ground one holy crap. But
at that point, I do think that between you designing
just a really fantastic final dance and them just going
we throw our hands up, like we tried everything we
(12:09):
can to make people not vote for Bobby and they're
still going to vote for Bobby, and Charina like I
feel like it was a mixture of both of those.
When we got our tens, are just like, all right,
we tap out, we give up correat creation of a dance,
and I don't know what else we can do, and
well done, you guys. Yeah, probably it probably was. I
think they did try everything to um, you know, have
(12:30):
us not win, But at the end of the day,
you know, you can't help what the fans wanted, Um,
and I'm not saying there was they had something out
for us that they tried to give everyone a fair
shot in knowing that our voting was so high, but
there was nothing that they could do. And that's something
that's also very different about this season that I'm not
entirely sure everybody knows. But the dances no longer get
(12:52):
to dance to design their dances, you know, I didn't
know that. Every week, You know how much I was
in the creative process, the song, the set, the colors,
the costumes, everything. My brain is built with the team.
Right now, the dancers just get their creative concepts given
to them. They get told what they're wearing, what they
said is, what their song is, what their everything. So
(13:13):
they don't have that creative say in these pieces anymore.
They may do when it gets to the freestyle, I
don't know, because then it becomes their jam. But week
to week, it's no longer Lindsay's creativity. It's no longer
vowels creativity. It's all done for them by the new
creative director that's working on the show. And so I
actually find that really interesting too. Um and I have
(13:35):
no real opinion on it because I'm not in it.
But if I was, I would struggle to give up
that creative also, that creativity and that part of the
dance to someone else, because to me, dances not just steps.
You know, if you're giving me a full piece that's
already done and then asking me to just put steps
to it, it's like giving me your biography and asking
me to write your last chapter. But I know nothing
(13:57):
about you. You know, for me, that just seems just joints,
is sir. But you know, it seems like everyone's still
creating great content anyway. Um, and maybe it's just helps
everything work smoother behind the scenes, you know. I talked
to Lauren Elena a lot, and I tell her because
(14:17):
when you mentioned that, I think when we had breakfast,
you were like, yeah, people aren't as in control as
they were the past seasons. But I would tell Lauren
even then, I said, hey, you have like two spots
for you to act, like for Lauren, for you to
actually take charge, and that is in that live spot
after the dance, Like so much of what we did,
(14:38):
like a big point was was in that spot. Because
they can't control you, they can't control you. That's the
one time. They can't edit your package, and what they can,
they can edit the package and make anything they want.
They can make. You can do the dance, you can
do it, but in that one spot where they talk
to you, you can do whatever you want. And that's
when you have to be you and win America. And
that was the advice that that I would give her
(15:00):
as the person that's not the dancer, as the person
that went out there and was just trying to connect
with humans. And you know, I find it interesting this
season that Lawrence never danced before, and I don't know
why Hannah keeps acting like she's never danced. She danced
for fourteen years and she had ballet for like fourteen years.
That's danced absolutely danced before at at a high level. Yeah,
(15:21):
And she wild it to me that people try and
cover that up like you can't see it, you know
what I mean. Even she's like, well it's not the same, Yeah,
but it's something. And I like Hannah just find um,
I know a little bit, but it's you know, when
they're ongoing, she who have never danced like this before? Yeah,
but you've danced, and so don't even go down that
you don't have to say you danced, or say you
(15:42):
didn't dance. You don't have to talk about that. You're
talking about something else. But don't play the game of
who didn't never danced? You did in your your beauty pageants.
That was your skill, that was your talent. What are
you talking about? You haven't danced. And so yeah, but
I love James Vanderbeek and I love him and m
are together, Um, because I love it. Emma is just
(16:05):
the best, She's just the kindest. And then um, I
love um Kate Flannery. Oh, she's so good. She won't win,
but but she she's going to do better than people think.
She won't win, but she'll do better than people think. Yeah,
I agree. I got a lot of love for her,
especially like on the floor, the way she's just there's
(16:25):
something very lovely and like special about the way that
she moved, and she's just so entertaining. At the same time,
that week one dance she came out and did like
I honestly just couldn't stop smiling while watching her. She's
so such a phenomenal performer. The kill guy seems fake
to me. He seems like the acting. He's an actor
and he always seems like he's acting like he's always Yeah,
I haven't connected to him, Eida, you know what I mean.
(16:47):
I would, I would be on the same page. It's
a good diplomatic answer. I'm like, I'm like, he's fake,
and she's like, well, you know, I haven't connected either
yet at this point, that's a good answer. I like that.
It's good. I saw all And let me do a
little plug here for you where you got your you're
at it on cameo so people can get a video
message from you. Yeah, they can actually just got on
(17:09):
it a couple of days ago. I don't even know how.
I didn't know about this, but I'm actually really excited
to be on that so I can uh any But
everybody wants a message or answer a question or a
little birthday shout out. I'm getting a lot of those,
some anniversary one, which is really sweet. Um. It's a
very cool way to be connected to people and give
a little something, you know. Yeah, I think that's cool.
(17:30):
And so just go to cameo and look up Sharna
and get her to send you a video message and
she'll say, basically whatever you want. I've used Cameo to
get people to send me messages before. I'm not gonna
pay you. I just text you and be like, hey,
send me a free one. But I've I've done that
with people from the office before. I'm like, send me
a cameo. So go and look for Sharna there on
cameo this season, Searna, if you got to pick a
(17:51):
winner a winner this season, who do you have? I
would love to see James and Emma win it, but
I think it may come down between here and Hannah,
and I honestly can't decide right now who it's going
to be. UM. I think that Hannah has a big
fan base. I think she's talented, and I think people
(18:13):
are like you and I hoping that her and Alan
get together. I don't hope that. I don't hope that
at all, Like, no, not you and I get I'm
saying on our seas, yes together, Yes, that's what I mean.
I was like, I don't mean, I don't hope that.
I don't know king you on whether they do or
they don't. Um, And but I think that a lot
of people would love to see that, especially her being
(18:35):
the Bachelor and her on her season and how that ended.
I think they'd love to have the fairy tale happened here,
So who knows if that's what people are going to
vote for and be sort of captivated by. But I
do think that James is the best answer in the competition.
I think he's lovable and I think he's got to
get fantastic partner. So for me, it's going to come
down to the two of them. But if I had
(18:56):
to pick one, I spoke to James. You know, I'm
gonna leave Lauren out of this, although I think she'll
make the finals. Um, I think that she's Her likability
is going to really come through. And as long as
you're on the bottom two, they can't kick you out right,
that's it. They have. The new wrinkle they've added is
you during the bottom two they get to pick who
goes home. And as long as on the bottom through
(19:18):
the bottom two you have a great fan vote and
a pretty good score, you're rocking it. So she's never
danced before, if it just Hannah's got to change. She's
Hollywood Hannah. Now she's got Demmi Levado out there, She's
got She's all Hollywood with all of her like, Hannah
needs to go back to be an Alabama Hannah or
America is gonna go you know, she's changed, it's she's
(19:39):
not for me, because that's a big part of it. Yeah,
I see that. You don't want to see someone change
because of Hollywood. I totally get that. And Vanderbyk is
actually getting nicer as it goes. You fall more and
more in love with them and where you go, oh
he's a fancy schmanci ell a actor. The more he talks,
you go, oh wait, this is a nice guy. So
(20:00):
I'm picking. And if the finals are four people, I'm
going Vanderbeek, Hannah, Lauren, and I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm
gonna put Kaid in there because I just her likability
and that's it. Who's your fourth or third and fourth?
Definitely Lauren. I think she's so lovable and I think
the more and more people get to see her and
(20:20):
know her for sure, and she's honestly talented. Oh yeah,
she's she's an athlete. She moved, she moves relatively in
front of herself and how hard it is to learn.
But when that goes on the floor, she's captivating and
I think she's doing a great job. Who would I
say is going to be the fourth spot Um the dancer,
I don't think the dancer is that likable with with Um.
(20:41):
With Sasha, I think she's just a fine dancer. She's
a pop star, but she's not even the best dancer
on the show, and she's not the most likable. Although
she is kind of likable, I can't put her forth
with you. I think she's likable, and I think she's great,
but I think there are other personalities or more men
rebel if that makes sense. Like, I think she's she's
(21:03):
lovely and I really enjoyed her rumba last week, but
there are other people that, while they may not be
as gifted as her out dancing, they're more memorable for
some reason. Unless she can break through that and find
a way to be um you for people to connect
to her more through the screen than I think that
we might see her go home before the final unfortunately,
(21:26):
because she's sweet and talented. But yeah, Max, I could
actually agree with Kate again. I remember her every week
and I love watching her and she challenged and I
think her partner's doing a great job. I think Pasha
is doing a really good job this season, and I
think we might have the same top four. Well, there
she has star Sharna Burgess Sharna Burgess dot com. But
I want to put in and say, get a message
from Sharna on cameo and she'll probably her dogs and
(21:49):
some of the videos she's probably in like yoga clothes
where she's exposing her middriff. It's all the time, she's
just rocking it. Well, listen, I will. I'm gonna be
back out there a lot obviously once we're we're shooting
all of our stuff all over the country right now.
But when it's l a time me and you time again,
absolutely all right, I need with you. Good talk to
(22:09):
you Francis soon, alright. So something we do here on
this podcast is sometimes we'll get kind of behind the
scenes of well music for sure with songwriters, but even
with radio. And Brent Michael's here, who is the program
director of a couple of stations in Bakersfield. Yes, so
(22:30):
your stations are what we've got the bull N three
that's show you're on, and then also KU's Easy, which
has been a fifty year plus station in Bakersfield. And
how long have you been a radio program director? Only
about three and a half years. Yeah, I thought you've
been doing it for a lot let me, which you're
a compliment by the way, thank you, And how you
(22:51):
run those stations over there, I thought you've been doing
it for a long time. I've been in radio for
about twenty years, and uh just kind of worked my
way up at the station started and part time on
the weekends and work my way all the way up.
I started doing promotions until there was a full time
on airshift and became music director and now program director
of two stations. Wild that's pretty cool. I didn't know
(23:11):
that that elevation happened in the last few years. So
I guess when you became program director. Is that when
we when we went on to Bakersfield. Yeah, right after
I became program director. Kaye's Easy had been there for
fifty years, but we decided to because countries now so diverse,
to start a station that really focused on the newer
(23:33):
brand of country, be more aggressive introducing new artists, and
you and your brand are so synonymous with that that
we thought it was a great fit. So I think
a lot of our listeners wonder, and you know what,
even I do too. Won the world of program director
does because for me, I was I'm gonna get on
the radio and I'm gonna be entertaining, And I don't
(23:54):
want to do the hard stuff, which is what you do.
I don't want to have to make decisions on how man.
I don't want to do to management stuff, which is
what you do. Like you're mostly behind the scenes. You're
on the air too, I am, yes, um, but you're
mostly behind the scenes. So as a program director of
two radio stations, you wake up at the morning and
what time? So I get up every morning a little
(24:15):
before five, because I like, why in the world would
you wake up that earlier if you don't have to
do a morning show. Well, I like to get to
the gym so that way I can help my wife
get kids and everything ready for school. And then I'm
I'm at the office little after seven in the morning.
And then what do you do right when you get
to the office as a radio station program director of
two stations, like, what's the first thing you check on?
So the first thing I do is I kind of
(24:36):
take a look at our music logs for the day.
So for people that don't realize radio stations of all
their music planned out, and the program director just kind
of is ultimately in charge of everything. That kind of
comes out of the speakers. So we make the music
decisions and uh, from there, we just kind of make
sure the music gets played the bigger songs, songs people
tell us they want to hear more often, you know,
(24:58):
songs that are just getting star did you know, kind
of putting that out there in certain times and places.
And so the first thing I do when I get
there is kind of go through the music for the
day and make sure we're all set. Now you bring
up an interesting thing that you get there and you
look at the songs. So I guess, is there a
day of the week where you kind of decide what
that week's playlist ish is going to look like? Yeah,
(25:21):
for us, it's on Thursdays. And so our station also
has what's called a music director, So he also takes
a listen to all the different songs that are out there.
And you know, I just feel one person has so
much bias. You know, I don't know that one person
should be making the music decisions in my opinion for
a station, because everybody likes different things and everybody has
(25:43):
different wants, and so together we sit down every Thursday
and we take a look at all the different songs
that we can choose from for that week, and we decide, okay,
basic based on the number of songs that we're playing
that our current songs at any given time, you know, okay,
we've out one spot to put in a new song
this week or two songs, and so we'll go through that,
and we'll go through the research that people are are
(26:06):
telling us. We have a mechanism for people to go
online and tell us what songs they like and what
they're getting tired of. We go through all that information.
We look at what's streaming, what's being consumed in the market,
you know, so what people are watching on YouTube, what
people are buying, and that's how we make those choices.
So on a Thursday, and we're kind of rewinding now,
on a Thursday, you go in and decide what the
(26:26):
playlist is gonna look like. Now, if I'm right, Because
for a brief amount of time, I was a music
director and hated it because I just was not for me.
I just said, I didn't want to get on a
computer and schedule things. I didn't want to talk to
record labels. I just wanted to be funny. So on
a Thursday, you meet and go these are the songs
that are going to be put in for next week,
and then is there still kind of like a formula
in a program where you go, our most important songs
(26:48):
are these six seven How many powers would you have
for us? We have seven on kuse easy and six
on the bowl. So those six biggest songs are programmed
to play every x amount of time, so boom there
in those spots. So you're not going in scheduling every
song every day. It's kind of a program based on
the songs you pick each week. Yes, we have a
computer program, and most radio stations do they have a
(27:09):
computer program. You sort of tell it, Okay, these are
the most popular songs. These are the songs that are
after that. These are older songs that are still really popular.
And you come up what they call a clock, which
is sort of all the different songs and where they go.
So two or three songs that maybe people aren't as
familiar with yet, don't play all in a row. Spread
them out. It's a good spread them out. So you'll
(27:30):
do the big, big medium one people don't know, then
a big one again. They don't hear two songs in
a row, They're like, what the what was that? Right? Okay,
so you go in in the morning. Now we're gonna
go back to your day of Yes, you've already got
your songs picked for the week. So now you're you're
you're looking at the log to make sure the computer
didn't botch it right and didn't programs with an accidentally
into in a wrong spot right. How long does that take?
(27:52):
About fifteen to twenty minutes. I'll just kind of really
scan through some of that's done the day before, but
just make sure you know we're not having any technical
problems or anything like that. Want to check in and
then uh, from there, it's onto the email box. So
when you're in there, are you monitoring your shows because
you have you know, you have a legendary show at
kuse E z Um. I love those guys by the way,
(28:12):
they're They're always so nice to me when I see them. Um,
at least one of them is. And then uh uh
then there's us obviously. Are you like monitoring those back
and forth to make sure their own issues? I do.
As I drive into work, I flip back and forth
between both radio shows and even I usually listen to
some other shows that are in the market in the city.
(28:35):
Just just to hear what they're doing too. So you're in,
you've made you the logs cool, you've listened to the shows,
you make sure there's no fires. Then what's in the
what's in a program director's email box? So you have
lots of different things. Um, you know, there are three
main parts to a radio station. I always tell people.
There's programming and that's kind of everything you sort of
hear coming out musically in the DJs and that kind
(28:57):
of thing, and even the big voice guy that's like
use right. Yeah. And then there's promotions and promotions kind
of everything you see. So that's you know, the website,
social media contests or social medias. Now, yeah, I've been
so out of that game that I didn't realize that
was part of promotions. Oh cool, you know for us
it is. And with that said, all the different personalities
(29:20):
they are on both stations, Uh, they all have social
kind of commitments and requirements that we have them do
just you know, just so people can kind of see
what goes on behind the scenes or what goes on
in their life and and all that stuff. But um,
so there's promotions and then their sales. The sales is
kind of how radio stations make their money. It's the commercials.
It's the most vital and most annoying part of my job.
(29:42):
And in that order, by the way, most vital part
of the job. I have really learned to embrace sales
and at the same time to go, okay, these are
our boundaries and this is where I can do the
best for you. And it's a balance for me. It's
a big balance, like what can I do? How much
can I do without really jeopard I see the show
because smartly, a lot of clients like I want everything,
(30:04):
all that much you can give me, and I gotta go, oh, well,
I can't give you everything, but why don't we do
this kind of promotion? Um, So it's a balancing act
for me. I can't. I don't know what it would
be like for a program directorcause you have to manage
all the sales through all the day. Right. It's a
lot of the same thing. You know. We want to
do things that our customers are our clients, that people
(30:25):
advertising with the radio station feel they can partner with
us on. But at the same time, you don't want
to do things that will alienate the audience or that
will make the audience tune out. So it is a
balance of trying to find things that you know sound
good for the person advertising, but also don't drive people
away from listening that just don't want to hear boring commercials.
(30:45):
You know, we had an issue today. Did you hear
about the one today Mike at the commercial drawing on
the podcast? Oh yeah, I heard about that, and can
you hear Mike years Okay, so you know I'm very
much too. It just can't be off brand with our show.
Like if it's not something that we would we don't
have to use it. I have to either use it
for me to talk about it personally, I have to
use it as someone close to me has to use it,
(31:06):
or I won't put my voice on it. But that
doesn't mean the show can't run things. But there was
an e cigarette thing on our podcast, and we can
do target analytic polytics now apparently where but on the
digital part, if they know you're I'll just say a
seventy year old dude from the Midwest, they can target
you with specific ads, much like Instagram does it. And
(31:27):
so one of the ads that was running was an
e cigarette ad and I had to reach out and
go this isn't our brand, Like nobody on this show smokes.
I don't feel like that's for me. That's a good
look for the show. And that was a tough decision
because whomever that company has is paying money for that,
and I never want to say no to money because
(31:47):
our job, we're brought in so that the bottom line
looked good for the people that are paying us. And
in my career I've only had to like reach out
about two or three times and never go I don't
I know, almost like a porn shot up. At one point,
it was like, mm, I don't know how I feel
about x x x ding dong, you know, being on
(32:07):
the show, um, and I don't know what they're gonna
do and listen you want to have it. I don't
even know what. I don't know what it was. I
was just getting a lot of complaints about it. Did
you hear the commercial? I never heard it. I just
saw people talking about it. Who like people on text
line calling or so I saw an email about it.
Oh good? Were they like Bobby's right or were they
like stupid Bobby's complaining again? They weren't like that? No?
(32:28):
What were they? Well? I mean I saw initially like
when they were saying what was running is what I saw?
I didn'tee anybody, but based on what you said, Mike's
and um, can you see Mike d And he looks
like a bumblebee today. He's in a yellow ship with
black stripes. And he walked up and I was like,
and he's like, what's what are you doing? Like like
a bumblebee? Dude, he's rocking it though he looks good.
And he's like, can't wear stripes at all because he
wore a black and white striped shirt and he was like.
(32:51):
People were like, uh, like the hamburglar, anything with stripes
because people like compare me to something else, cartoon characters
of thing, I'm a bumblebee, you look like a bumblebee?
A good like a mumble bee? Um? So, okay, you
get your emails, you're dealing with sales, you're dealing programming.
What is that a day you wake up? How many
work when you go in? What are you looking at?
(33:12):
Probably over the course of a whole day, I probably
get a hundred to a hundred and fifty emails. Really
do you ever check out and go? These are my
hours where I'm not going to check my email. I
really should, but I don't because the thing is even
with me, I try, I go, you know what, I
want to check out for a bit. But the problem
is if you check out for a bit, and we
should by the way, we should, we should, we should
(33:33):
set but then we come back to it and there's
like seven hundred you can never catch up well, And
I think part of it is and you're obviously in
a big part of the industry. Our our industry is
seven industry. A radio station doesn't shut off. It's always
going on, it's always happening, and so you always kind
of have to stay on top of things. Do you
ever get with your your personalities and sit down and go, okay,
(33:57):
let's listen to your show and play it back and go,
this is what you can do better, this is what's good?
Do you do though? Still, yeah, we do. They're called
air checks, and so what that is is you sit down,
as you said, with a personality, and you listen to
certain segments of the show and talk about different ways
you can improve or what was great, or you know,
maybe what missed the mark a little bit, what we
can do better next time. But you know, I remember,
(34:18):
as I was kind of getting started in radio. There
were program directors with me would would give good advice
about you know, what's what's going on. In fact, my
first program director now works on our staff and so
it's crazy. He's the person that gave me my first
shot and and now he's on our air staff as
I am, Oh, how the turn tables have turned? And
(34:40):
I'll be honest, I thought that was gonna be awkward
at first, but um, he's he's great. Yeah, yeah, what's
his name? His name is Ken, Ken McCloud. We've we've
been friends for a long time, So shout out Ken.
So you you you play it recording back, which used
to be on cassette tapes now it's just all digital, yep,
and you can be like, all right, this is great,
this is great. Maybe I do this a little better.
Does anyone do that to you since you're on the air,
(35:00):
You know, no, But I wish I had that as
a resource. I do. I I've never had a problem
with trying to get better. I believe that in everything
I did. Check the crap out of you. Well, you
didn't pronounce this vell. I'm the worst speaker in the
like me on radio As a broadcaster. Not very good
me on the radio as a human good, right, But
(35:22):
I would be the worst person to go, you know,
as a you could do better by saying I say
nothing right, no words are right? No, I don't you
do that pull up? Who's mine? Not mine? But you
have great ideas, Uh, it depends what you describe great.
Have ideas that give me in trouble sometimes, okay, so
(35:43):
you work with the personalities. What's kind of the second
half of the day about as a radio station program director?
You know, it's interesting because I've had this conversation with
a couple of people lately. You know, the music and
the radio and the on air shift. I think it's
about a third of what a program director does. And
then the other two thirds is is the other managerial
stuff that we've sort of talked about. Um So, working
(36:03):
with the sales department to help people's you know, commercials
and promotions get on and green lighting some things, sending
some of the things back to work on a little more,
working with our promotions department to make sure we have
the right contests and we're marketing the station in the
right way. Uh. Just dealing with you know, even internal
office politics. You know, and when when people work together
a lot in close confines, sometimes you know, disagreements come up,
(36:26):
and listening and hearing what people have to say and
trying to get people on the same page and really
just just trying to do everything to market the radio
station and and just make the radio station the best
it can be. Him Ike, how much more time do
I have a brand before we In this part of
the interview, you got like another five cool I got
(36:46):
because I got some questions. I'm trying to decide when
I want to what I want to get into it
with them with and not in a bad way. But okay,
let's do this. Let's do the power rankings right now
of contemporary country artists. Okay, um, I was reading website
and they did like college foot ball, Uh it's Country Now,
which is a new um country music blog, and they've
ranked like the top twenty five country artists, which I
(37:06):
thought was pretty bold them to do to rank them,
and so much like college football with Clemsons one Alabama's too.
Whenever we're doing this podcast, who knows what it will
be by the time people hear this, Um, where who
would you rank as number one? Right now? And let's
do this at the same time. We'll both say it.
But let's just say who we're going to say at
the same time, so we're not affecting each other's judgment. Okay,
(37:28):
So I'll go one, two, three, and then we'll say it. Okay,
number one, one, two, three, Okay, solid the two look
because you go Luke Brian go ahead, and and I
would say Luke Combs number two, and I would say
Luke Brian number one, I mean number two. Yeah, they're
both right there. Luke Combs a new number one. He
just he doesn't miss He hasn't missed yet any like
(37:50):
a rocket. And I haven't seen some in my time here.
I haven't seen someone blow up this fast period. He's
the biggest. You're right, Luke Brian is the universe only
big thank you. I've had a lot of something happen
right there. Um, okay, good. So we're gonna go one
and two and i'd go two and one. Good. Okay,
think about it. Now, what would you have whatever for him?
(38:12):
I'll just let you do number three, number three. Who
would you have right now? I'll say Jason Aldan solid
four four. I will say Blake Shelton, m and Blake's
in California a lot. Yeah, we don't see Blake often
here number five and five. Right now, I'll say Carrie Underwood.
(38:33):
People love Carrie Underwood. Carry over and right now, carry over, Mirren,
I think so right now. No disrespect to Baron Man
is great. I like that we're ranking him no, because
there's no disrespect to anyone. People gotta fall no slots,
all right, Look at you, I like I like that
you're making decisions. Um might anything you want to ask him? Can?
I'll tell you Brent. Brent came out to watch me
(38:54):
on Dancing with the Stars set in the crowd. Were
you out there? We hung out? I sat next to Mike. Oh,
you guys did. Yeah, that's fun. That's that's thank you
for having us. By the way, because you're in California,
which is my point, you are two hours behind. What
is it light running our show when it's not exactly live.
They're hearing it when we do it at seven, you're
hearing it in your station at seven, but it's two
(39:15):
hours back. Yes, is that ever an issue? You know?
To some degree? I think it works in our favor.
We we try or I do because I get up
so early as I get up, and once I get
to the gym, before we start the workout, I'll scroll
through social media. It's already see what you guys are
doing on the show, so we can kind of pre promote.
You know, hey, they're doing the draft on this today,
(39:37):
those kind of things, or so and so is making
an appearance on the show today. So it works to
our advantage. Um the one part, I think maybe it's
a disadvantage, and you know, maybe sometimes it happens later
in the morning, I don't hear it. It's harder for
maybe a California listener to call in and get on
the show. But I think with the text thing and
other social media avenues, there's ways they can interact with
(39:58):
the show. But that's probably anything the only drawback that's
a good one. It's a good point to make. And
that's why we don't do national contests where you can
call in, because your people don't have a chance, and
and Mountain people don't have a chance, like a fair
chance because I'm hearing in an hour or two hours later, right, so,
and then another but I think I benefit two of
you guys being behind is when I come in and
do liners. Every morning and cut like before the show
(40:19):
even starts. You've got all my stuff, you know, it's
like you gotta before anybody does, like you know, according
to time. Any Um, we'll end on this. There is,
as you know, and as you are one of the
guys that's really working to combat the issue with females
on the radio and country music. Where do you see
it now and where it's going? Such an open ended question.
(40:41):
I don't want to paint you in a corner. I
go ahead, No. I think two things. One. I think
the comment that to me gets made a lot about
this issue is women don't want to hear women, and
I think that's false. I think women do want to
hear women. I think in certain occasions we have factor
will data that shows they want to hear certain songs
(41:02):
by male artists more at a certain time. But I
think it's also the responsibility of people that put music
on radio stations for for people to hear and discover.
I think it's important for radio to still be a
place where you can find an artist for the first time.
And there's more ways to listen to music now than ever,
between streaming services and watching videos on YouTube and the
(41:24):
radio that you know, if we want to keep up
with with everything else that's out there, we have to
be able to break artists, and we have to be
able to expose artists. And so I do feel that
as a radio programmer, you have a responsibility to get
artists that you believe in out to your audience. And
sometimes it's gonna work. And maybe sometimes you'll love a
song and and your audience doesn't get to it or
(41:47):
love it as much as you do. But I think
it's important that we do it. And so I can't
speak for every radio program director, but but we make
an effort to try to get female artists on the radio,
and just even lately, I mean, I think Ingrid Andrew's
is great. I think Ashley McBride is great. Um, you
know on the Bowl we've we've kind of highlighted all
(42:10):
of the women that you've put onto your class of
twenty nineteen. It's just, you know, we do have a
responsibility to get female artists exposure. And still, you know,
make sure people are hearing the songs from the artists
you know that are male, that are doing really well too.
I think there's a way to do it all. He
(42:31):
has a great voice, how am Mike. He's here talking,
and I know he's talking about stuff that is cool
and relevant. I like it and I'm agreeing with it,
but I just started drifting away, going into God, I
wish I had a voice like that. I've never heard
the mic like pick up, so it's like, like, that's
what a broadcaster ship sound like. Not me, like a
pre pubescent fourteen year old. He's got like three pubicated See,
(42:54):
sometimes I feel I sound to announcery. So I think
there's there's there's gotta be a middle ground. Well, it
ain't us. It ain't. Brent Michael's your name on Twitter
and Instagram is what Let's see. On Twitter it's at
Brent Michael's and then on Instagram it's at Brent Michael's
radio because somebody has Brent Michael so they don't even
(43:15):
use it. But that's like at Bobby Bones on both
of them. The same guy. Hey, there's there, he is. Okay, listen,
thanks for the talk. I appreciate you coming by and
thanks for having me giving us a little feedback behind
the scenes. What happens are my listeners, especially on this podcast,
like to know, you know, what's like a song meeting
like what's that You guys get in a room and
go what do we like? What's the research say? And
you look at other things, not just research that listeners do,
(43:38):
but also what they're doing, not just what they're saying,
what they're doing. And I like that. I think it's
cool that because people go ahead, want did this song
get played? This song from Blake Should's boot song? Warn't
you playing that well because it's not a single. It's
because the record label is not promoting it. They don't
want to played. Then they black Wood like all the
songs played, but the record label focuses on one song
because they know they have a shot to get everybody
to pay attention to one song better than they do
everybody to pay that to eleven songs. And I think
(44:00):
it makes for a concert experience. Now you can go
and you know a specific song versus you know, everybody
knows a couple, but they don't know them all. And
I think that's part of the reason they do it too.
There is a lesson in radio. I don't have the
patients to do any of that. I wouldn't sit and
do sales and I don't have the like you know what,
screw it we're playing classic rock today. Know all those
(44:24):
Freebird all day brand Michael's good to see you by, Hey,
thanks for having me. I appreciate it.
Host
Bobby Bones
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.