Late Summer-Early Fall-State Fair Throwback-Bob Davis Podcast 748

Late Summer-Early Fall-State Fair Throwback-Bob Davis Podcast 748

Every year where I live when the leaves start changing, it’s State Fair Time. Moreover for Minnesotans this is the passage from summer to fall. Time for some thoughts about the Minnesota State Fair and a throwback to audio from a fair many years ago in Late Summer-Early Fall-State Fair Throwback-Bob Davis Podcast 748.

Our State Fair Is A Great State Fair

These days our State Fair is still a great State Fair but it has become more a community celebration than a farm convention. The Minnesota State Fair wasn’t always a food fest.

My First State Fair

Sure the Midway is still there with it’s carneys and rides but the tone of the fair is different. My first state fair was a far different fair than 2018’s.

Recording At The Fair

Especially relevant is an audio project I embarked on with three friends back in the day. We spent ten days interviewing and recording raw sound on tape. The result is a piece of audio that now feels like a faded photograph from the 80’s.

Back In The Day At The Race Track

Remember when the fair still had a race track? Machinery Hill in all its glory? Finally, in those days there were lots of breakfast nooks where fair goers and fair workers convened at 7 in the morning. Who remembers the ‘Epiphany Diner‘?

To be sure change is the one constant in life. Minnesota State Fairgoers for the first time to the fiftieth still love the fair, in spite of and because of the changes.

Himalaya Throw Back

In conclusion join me for some thoughts about the current fair, and a trip back in time to a fair long ago in a galaxy far far away. Hard to believe but, back in the day people talked different. They rode the Himalaya, checked out the bearded lady and the race track. And we have it on tape.

Sponsored by John D. Scott Personal Injury Attorney at Hoffman Hamer and Associates and Reliafund Payment Processors

Late Summer-Early Fall-State Fair Throwback-Bob Davis Podcast 748

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Podcasting Meets Broadcasting-Bob Davis Podcast 744

Podcasting Meets Broadcasting-Bob Davis Podcast 744

Suddenly broadcasters have discovered podcasters. These days that means broadcasters will soon be telling podcasters how to do what they do. Is that a good thing? In Podcasting Meets Broadcasting-Bob Davis Podcast 744.

Doing Radio Is Pure Joy

In the first week of August 2018 I got a chance to do some fill in at the legendary WCCO Radio in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. My experience was rediscovering the pure joy of doing radio. The takeaway for a podcaster is how different the two mediums are. If you know how to do it, radio is pure joy.

Podcaster And Broadcaster

Furthermore after 40+ years in the radio industry and almost ten years of podcasting I am uniquely qualified to wax poetic on the differences, good and bad. Podcasters and broadcasters will enjoy Podcasting Meets Broadcasting-Bob Davis Podcast 744.

All About Show Prep

First and foremost the prep work required to do a good radio show is off the charts compared to a thirty or forty five minute rant in a podcast.

Moreover to pulling all the elements together for a news talk show, for me, means reading. Hundreds of pages of news stories. Not scanning my smart phone. Reading everything you can find written in any particular news cycle. Yes, you end up throwing most of it away but you come away with granular information.

Deep Dive Of Podcasting Won’t Work On Radio

For me, podcasting is an opportunity to go deeper into the psyche. It means sharing ideas in a format you probably would never be able to make work on the radio.

Digital Disruption

Finally broadcast is being disrupted by digital. Broadcast will evolve though. Radio isn’t going away. Neither is podcasting. Fact is podcasting and broadcasting are two different mediums. Most noteworthy is radio’s penchant for formula and formats and it’s desire to force those ideas on other creative communities.

In conclusion authenticity is probably the most important thing for both broadcasters and podcasters. A short story about Aretha Franklin and Atlantic’s Jerry Wexler provides a little background on how to handle talent.

(Editor’s Note: I mentioned two legendary recording studios in this podcast. I called it ‘Studio City’ but it’s Sound City and Muscle Shoals. Also here’s some info on the legendary Atlantic Records.)

Sponsored by Water Butler Water Purification Systems

Podcasting Meets Broadcasting-Bob Davis Podcast 744

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Remembering Art Bell-Radio Stories-Legends-Podcast 714

Remembering Art Bell-Radio Stories-Legends-Podcast 714

Radio legend Art Bell passed away on Friday, April 13th 2018. Bell’s show, Coast To Coast, was creative and unique. Time to talk about Art’s impact on me and reminisce about radio in Remembering Art Bell-Radio Stories-Legends-Podcast 714.

All Night Wonder

Many stayed up all night to listen to the show. Who got any work done when we stood around talking about Martians, ghosts, aliens living in the hollow earth or The End Of The World?

Saving AM Radio For A Time

These days, radio has become a wasteland of partisan political operatives shouting, cajoling, attempting to persuade. Many broadcasters have given Rush Limbaugh credit for ‘saving AM Radio’, and he certainly deserves his props. On the other hand, many forget that Art Bell probably had as much to do with resurrecting the AM Band for a short time during the 1990’s. For a kid from Chicago who spent summers sitting on the front steps all night listening to the radio, that meant something.

Creating A World You Could Never Forget

Furthermore, it isn’t the political shows I will remember from the past twenty years. It’s the Art Bell shows. The guy from Area 51. Father Malachi Martin. Gary North. Ed Dames and every other crazy person on that show. You knew it was nuts to believe this stuff. But when you’re rolling through the wastelands of Wisconsin at three in the morning, struggling to pull in a thousand watt AM station out of Rice Lake, it seems real. Because Bell was so good at creating a world where anything was possible and probably true.

For radio people, the ability to create a new world, using only spoken word, is truly significant.

The Broken Down Radio Station On The Edge Of Town

Art Bell had a big impact on me because he brought me back to my roots. The radio station in a corn field. On the edge of town. A single tower blinking red in the wilderness. The possibilities endless.

When The Guy On The Radio Was Your Best Friend

So it’s time to tell some stories. A tribute of sorts from someone, like many, who never knew Art Bell. As a listener we felt we he was our best friend. A throw back to the DJ’s of the 1960’s and 1970’s on the big AM stations in the big cities. Or to struggling to pull in a radio station with a big signal in a far away city.

A Voice In The Night

Most noteworthy is the fact that the experience of listening in the night is gone. Replaced with artless and amateur You Tube Channels predictIng the end of the world.

Making Magic

It is good to remember the magic that Art Bell created as a guide for podcasters. I doubt seriously radio will ever be able to accommodate a talent like Bell again.

Sponsored by Reliafund Payment Processors and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul

Remembering Art Bell-Radio Stories-Legends-Podcast 714

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