U.S. Phenomenon with Mario Magaña
Welcome to "U.S. Phenomenon" with Mario Magaña, a riveting podcast that dives deep into the unexplained and the extraordinary. Join Mario, the host as he explores the most intriguing paranormal events, alien encounters, and mysterious sightings across the United States. With his unique blend of real-life experience and passion for the unexplained, Mario brings you thrilling stories and expert insights in every episode. Whether it's alien abductions, ghostly apparitions, or cryptozoological creatures, Mario's engaging storytelling will captivate and keep you on the edge of your seat. Tune in to "U.S. Phenomenon" and embark on a journey into the unknown that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew.
U.S. Phenomenon with Mario Magaña
Bob Rivers: Radio Legend's Legacy
We pay tribute to radio legend Bob Rivers with special guests Joe Bryant and Spike O'Neill, exploring Bob's extraordinary 25-year career and lasting legacy in Pacific Northwest broadcasting. Bob's former colleagues share intimate stories that reveal why he was more than just a radio personality—he was a true innovator whose authentic approach to radio transformed the medium.
• Bob's insistence on quality and authenticity in everything from song parodies to live interviews
• How the Bob Rivers Show evolved across three radio stations while maintaining its core identity
• The complex production behind the scenes that made the show sound effortless
• Bob's creation of "Bob's Garage" where famous bands recorded, including Blue Öyster Cult and Ozzy Osbourne
• The kindness Bob showed to everyone from engineers to sales staff
• Bob's Radio Hall of Fame induction where he insisted the entire team be recognized
• How Bob mentored others even in his final days
• Joe Bryant's transition to teaching broadcasting and continuing Bob's legacy
• Spike O'Neill carrying Bob's approach into his current talk radio career
Join us as we celebrate the extraordinary life and career of Bob Rivers, whose final on-air words—"be good"—perfectly captured his essence as both a broadcaster and human being.
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Welcome to US Phenomenon, where possibilities are endless. Put down those same old headlines. It's time to expand your mind and question what if? From paranormal activity to UFOs, bigfoot sightings and unsolved mysteries, this is US Phenomenon?
Speaker 2:From the Pacific Northwest in the shadow of the 1962 World's Fair, the Space Needle. Good evening, good morning, good afternoon. Wherever you are on God's green earth, I'm your host, mario Magana. This is a special episode of US Phenomenon. We pay tribute to the legendary Bob Rivers, a pioneer, a true pioneer of radio, a master of parodies who kept us all entertained and inspired for decades. His iconic voice, that sharp razor wit, has left an incredible mark on the airwaves, on all of us who had the opportunity and privilege to listen in.
Speaker 2:But we're not going to do this alone. Joining us for this incredible tribute is one extraordinary voice who was a part of the magic that was the bob river show. I am thrilled to welcome joe bryant, who is shaping the future of radio as an instructor at kmih and as in inspiring the next generation of broadcasters as we dive into the unforgettable memories, the, the behind-the-scenes stories and the impact of Bob's incredible career. So grab your headphones, crank the volume and let's celebrate the legend himself, bob Rivers. Welcome back, welcome to US Phenomenon, joe Bryant, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Hey thank you.
Speaker 3:Mario, and it's great to see you even on a video screen. It's been a while.
Speaker 2:It's been such a long time. Like joe, you know everyone's had their opportunity. I know that on our affiliate radio stations, uh, across the platform, our, our flagship station, I know that, uh, john carlson had the opportunity to have you guys, to have you on the show. Um, for those who may be listening and driving around, and there's so much about Bob that from cross-pollination, from dial to dial, from one dial knob to the other, where you guys were at such a young age, coming up through the 90s, doing the KISW stuff, I mean more of kind of more shock jockish, then, right, you know, giving away not cars but maybe females.
Speaker 3:I thought what do you remember those bits were well now I'm a teacher, so I don't know how much in depth I want to go into my early life, but no, I'm only kidding. Uh, we did a bit called when a girl wins day, uh, so we gave away away a girl every Wednesday for several years and it was basically a dial, a date. You would uh introduce a girl and, um, then they and also it was great because I, my job back in those days was to do a ton of things and one was answer the request line. So every Wednesday, uh, we had a girl that would answer the request lines because basically we would introduce her, she would say what she's looking for in a guy and then she would start taking calls and then, if she found one that she thought she could handle, uh, you know, going out and having a dinner or a coffee or a concert or something with then we would send them out on a date and I think that's, you know, that stuff we did in the early 90s. I think it's probably even done better these days by guys like jubile who, you know, took it to the next, uh, next level, um, but yeah, that was one thing we did.
Speaker 3:We, bob definitely came into seattle to shake things up and, and I don't know if we were, we were shock jocks. Maybe we were mild shock jocks, you know, and uh, and I appreciate you saying we were so young, because I don't ever feel like I was too young doing this, but I guess, compared to where we are now, um, uh, I started working with bob in 1990 and I that was nine years after I graduated high school, so I was kind of slow to coming into professional radio. Bob has literally been talking on the radio almost since he could walk and he had his first professional job, I think when he was 14.
Speaker 2:So he was a true radio guy for sure you know, in my experience of running into him at the very the like literally end of his broadcast of of the, the, what, what everyone would call back then was uh, the 95.7 kjr, 95.7. Uh, the sunshine on the back of your car sticker, um, just for me to come in as a broadcast engineer then was the complexity of the show was so dynamic on how you guys would do things. There was you guys had a very large, like a lot of moving pieces and at that time in my broadcast career I was like, wow, this is a lot, you know, having pedro and luciana, you know, in one room doing audio and things of that nature. To me, when you look back at it and if, for those who are, uh, fans of the broadcast, it had very much a, a feel of like a howard stern where you had a lot of moving parts, like howard does uh. Back in those days where you had a lot of moving parts, like Howard does uh. Back in those days where you had audio clips that were dedicated that they, you know you had a team working.
Speaker 2:You guys all had a like an integral piece of the cog to make that show so dynamic, because it wasn't just a, you know, you know fart and poop jokes, where it was like there were jokes, but there was so much complexity to this show that I don't think people really can appreciate. You know, you listen to it it's like, oh yeah, that was a great show. But the moving pieces, joe, were just quite interesting to me, that there was this complexity. It wasn't just, you know, turn on the mic and go. You know, yes, there was some of that. But the complexity of the behind the scenes, to appreciate what bob was able to, you know, to paint the picture of, which isn't done as much as it once was.
Speaker 3:Maybe it is on podcast platforms but you just don't see it anymore because of how radio has really changed over the last, you know, 10 years yeah, well, uh, we were doing really a national kind of show to our local audience and at some points we did we're syndicating to other places, but but bob never, never did anything halfway and he always went big. And, yes, humor would. If you're going to describe our show in one word, I think it would be funny. But also with that is quality. And uh, he worked very hard to uh with song parodies and our bits and our guests and everything. We put a ton of preparation in there. We didn't just go in there and open the mics especially me I don't figure myself to be quite as quick-witted or maybe even smart as Bob and Spike, so I came in a couple hours early every day just to research our guests and to get ready for what we did. And you mentioned Pedro and Luciana. They really were just amazing producers. Producers and really in those years of our show, uh really were probably our best as far as uh putting consistent content out there and they would work really tirelessly. Luciana would pursue a guest, you know, until she got the guest we would say we want to talk to this guy and she would make it happen. So so it was an ensemble show with tons of moving parts, and I think the reason you don't see it so much now.
Speaker 3:Well, it's money. Um, you know, there, it's hard to justify the salaries for six to eight people. Uh, to do a radio show, especially a local one, you have to be like howard or somebody that is, uh got a really huge national brand to be able to afford to pay everybody. Sure, but bob kept it going and, uh, in fact there were several times when, uh, there was talk of cutting somebody, including myself in the early 90s.
Speaker 3:Uh, kisw, we got a new guy come in and he says I envision a show with two voices. I think three voices is a little too much. I think that joe guy is probably talks a little slow and we could probably get rid of him. And bob said well, if you get rid of him, you're going to get rid of me. That'll save you a lot of money, I guess. So I got to stay and Bob kept the team together. We switched stations a couple times and part of the reason we did switch was in an effort to make sure we could keep the band together and keep our show intact and do it the way we wanted to do it.
Speaker 2:And do it the way we wanted to do it and what's so incredible about that is that Bob was able to continue to evolve and change. You know, as times do, and I know that a lot of people are not comfortable with change. The evolution of the Bob River Show, you know, as we talked about, you know, maybe doing, you know, giving away someone as a date, which you look at it now and it's like you guys were ahead of your time. Let's, let's, let's, be honest. I mean, people are on dating apps swiping left and right and you guys were just helping people out. You know. And the evolution and change of of the bob river show to, to move to different stations, from a kisw to a kzok to a 95.7 KHR FM, the evolution, I mean it was just every time I came in I very you know, still very young in my broadcast engineering career then intimidated. I was like, wow, this is a lot.
Speaker 2:But never was Bob rude to the staff, people that assisted him, always great, very kind. Um gave great insight. Um, he knew what he was missing. If he, if there was something missing I remember there was, there was processing and and he was right there was something wrong with the processor. I believe the processor was missing, one of the caps had blown out, but he could hear it. I couldn't hear it but he could. He was like there's something wrong with this processor and sure enough, we put the new processor in and boom, there it was. It was fixed.
Speaker 2:But he was always willing and able to give insight, but not like a lot of of the old school radio um talent where they abuse the engineering staff. That was never bob's ammo, always a kind individual, uh, very receptive to new ideas and new trends and things of that nature. Never did I, ever, and I've worked with some talent and I'm, and especially talent that was like nationally syndicated. I was like who are you guys? It just, and regards to them being, you know, not gracious to, you know, to the engineering staff because it is a team and I believe that bob knew that it took every integral little piece to make the puzzle work and that's what made that show so great well, you bring up two, two, I think, key things.
Speaker 3:number Number one as far as, uh, us, uh, our show evolving. We got older and so did our audience. As you mentioned, in KISW it was a hard rock station. We were in the middle of the, the grunge universe, when Nirvana and Pearl Jam and all that was going on. We were, you know, doing big rock concerts and our audience was going to big rock concerts and so were we. And we literally had our kids on the radio. I mean my daughter, the minute she was born.
Speaker 3:The first thing I did was call into the show President's Day of 1999. And so we got older, we became parents, we got married, and that's me and Spike Bob came here, married him with kids. So our KISW years were definitely different than KZOK. We went from a hard rock station to a classic rock station, which suited actually the tastes of our audience better, because that's the music that our generation, my generation, grew up with. And then, after 10 years there which, uh, in hindsight, I think we could have probably stuck around there because kz, okay, hasn't changed much, uh, musically and everything but yeah, um, business was business, and we wound up at kjr and and, from a branding standpoint I. I will say right now that wasn't so great, because when we got there they were calling it oldies and it's like wait a minute, we're old, but we're not that old right right.
Speaker 3:So so quickly after we got there, that's when they went to classic hits. I think they started calling themselves classic hits. So that's kind of how we evolved was just the aging process and we took a lot of people along with us. As far as the sound and how Bob treated people engineers, salespeople, and you know this, mario, you've worked in radio a long time there's usually a little bit of attention and friction in the building. Sure, you've got your talent, then you've got your engineers, you've got your salespeople, you've got your people who are assisting the salespeople or whatever. Right, and sometimes and I'm not going to say any specific names, but there are some talents that can be a little prima donna and think that they're what makes the whole thing happen and they're the most important part of any radio station. But Bob was very quick to point out to us no, without these other people we don't have jobs. The guy out there getting the casino contract is the guy paying your salary. You should be going to those lunches and helping him make his deals. The engineer that is coming in here to fix your microphone is the guy making you sound good on the radio. You better be darn nice to him, because that's what's going to make the show successful. So we treated everybody, and that is our listeners too. Uh, if with no listeners there is no show. So.
Speaker 3:So bob was really, and I. It wasn't just for business, he just also happened to be a really special guy who was curious about other people and he he found, you know, interest in everybody. So that's kind of the philosophy that we did our show by and I think that's why we got to do it for 25 years at a high level. And it also buys you a little grace. If you do have a, a down rating month or something and you know, people are more, more willing to give you a little benefit of the doubt. If you're a good guy, you're doing good things in the community, you're treating everybody right.
Speaker 3:So that's uh. It was not only the right thing to do, but it was good business to be. Uh with young engineers like yourself, to make sure. And as far as the technical side, he was a recording engineer as much as he was a radio personality. I mean the song parodies he did, especially in the beginning, before we had all these wonderful things like Pro Tools. I mean he was making them from scratch in a 24-track recording studio one drum kick, drum beat at a time. So he knew sound at a time. So he knew sound and and I still remember a lot of instances where he would be diplomatic but he would get frustrated when somebody would come in there and try to tell him something was working when it wasn't because he knew.
Speaker 3:You know that it wasn't and, uh, sometimes he could get a little, a little uh worked up about that, I know, but that's all because he wanted to put out the best show he could and it's's funny because you know you guys had moved into a brand-new studio at 95.7.
Speaker 2:That was a brand-new studio, moving from 351 to 645 Elliott Avenue, which has now completely changed under the iHeart umbrella. They have really modified and changed from what you remember the studio to be to a very concise, 9,500 square feet under 10,000 square feet of broadcast space including shared workspace. Quite interesting what they have done at iHeartRadio. And, being a broadcast engineer and working for KOMO TV and Sinclair selling to Lotus Communications where this radio show sits on its flagship station KVI, we needed to look at what the opportunities were for these other studios to be more concise, to be profitable. In these footprints and I always said I was like you got to take a look at iHeart's space. What's interesting when you go back and I know one incident where Bob was like no, that microphone processor is out I go back and I think about this and I didn't think about it then when they were doing the move to 350, from 351 to 645, there was a lot of cut and go where a lot of the gear was reused in the new location. As a broadcast engineer, that's a lot of work. That is a lot of work. And now, looking back, I laugh and say, yeah, bob had a great year for hearing things that maybe one of us might have missed. Uh, and it is. It is. It's difficult in back in those days where things were a little more trim in regards to having the, the equal, you know the gear that you wanted to make sure you had on standby to make sure we're like, okay, we're, we're gonna rob peter to pay paul, but um, in, in that instance I do recall Bob having that knack and that ear to hear something was wrong and he was sure right. There was something wrong with that processor, a talented gif, very much like a Butch Figgs who you think about? The 24 tracks of producing Nirvana and things of that nature. Those parodies are quite special because that was a lot of work for you guys to do, for Bob to do back in the early days. Like you said, joe, that what goes into those parodies, the writing, the comical pieces, it just they're great pieces that will live in in time for for for all of us to enjoy.
Speaker 2:Um, as, as things had changed for you guys and I, I still remember to this day, the very last day you guys broadcasted in uh, the iheart studio at uh, kjr 95.7. I think at that point they were changing to the jet. Is that right they were? They were making that format switch. Um, it was. Uh. It was quite interesting because you, you knew that bob was ready. I was that right, is that? Was that? Is that how I remember that? It wasn't a push out, it was what was a retirement. Was I I it vague to me on that piece?
Speaker 3:well, well, first I want to go. I'll start back. Where you started was, uh, with the move from, uh, from one elliot studio, the other, which you probably know a lot more about than me, but I do know, when we were hired by clear channel now iHeart we were under the impression that we were going to be broadcasting from the Ackerley building or whatever it's called these days. We thought that's where we were heading to and apparently there was a deal with Seelig, with the owner of the building, where they either lost their lease I think it was some big tech company wanted to take the whole building, so so they had to quickly move. So they had this morning show to sign on and no studio really to put us in. So I do know the engineers worked 24 7 to basically build a radio station, uh, you know, down the street where we wound up being, and I and I'm guessing that it was done pretty quickly and maybe some corners were cut, so I think there were some inconsistencies in that studio, but it was a radio palace. I'd never been in such a nice studio it was. It was big, uh, they even had a couch for our guests to come, and you know, and it was just a an amazing facility, but I think, just like a new house or or anything, it had some. It had some quirks and inconsistencies, but you guys were were awesome to work that out.
Speaker 3:As far as our last day goes, uh, it wasn't. I don't know if I'd say it's voluntary. Um, yeah, basically what happened and we get back to once again the dynamics of the business had changed. Our contracts were going to be up at the end of that year and you've seen this a lot lately. A lot of good radio people don't have jobs. It has absolutely nothing to do with how good they are or anything, it's just economics. We were a very expensive show and while we were doing good in the ratings, there were other shows that were doing good as well, and a lot of the advertising dollars had gone out of radio and into digital anyway.
Speaker 3:So we definitely got to leave on our own terms. In fact, we got to say goodbye for like a month. Some people don't even get to say goodbye. Sometimes you sign off and you're getting ready to go home for the weekend and they bring you in and they say by the way, give us your keys, you're done. This big dude here will escort you out of the building, We'll mail you your stuff. I've seen it go that way.
Speaker 3:That wasn't the way it went for us. We got to take a victory lap, we got to say goodbye to our audience and on that last day, when Bob said his last words which were words his mom always told him and I thought it was as good of advice as you could have for anybody he signed off with the words be good, and that was it. The words be good, and that was it, just be good. And then we hit the button uh to go into the next element, and that's when the 95.7, the jet, was born. Uh, that very moment, the moment we signed off, was when they flipped the format uh to the jet. And, and as far as I know, I think it still is the jet, or I haven't checked lately. I know jody is still sitting right where we left her. Her and bender are doing a great show, sure, in that same studio and uh, new studio.
Speaker 2:They're in a new studio in the same building oh, so they're in a different studio now.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, and uh and uh. And so she stuck around, spike stuck around for a while, they put him on the uh, on the uh sports station and he did some sports talk and basically they told me and Bob, thank you for your service, have a great day. By the way, we're going to keep paying you. So I felt a little bad that they weren't keeping me, but in hindsight I felt pretty good that I got several months of being paid well to do nothing. And then, um, you know, and then I found this wonderful career, uh, as a teacher and mentor, uh, to the radio and, you know, entertainers of the future.
Speaker 3:So it all worked out, um, but no, it wasn't by choice. I think we would have continued the show a little, a little bit longer, but the climate, uh, business climate, was not there and I heart uh did not envision spending that much money to put one local radio show on the air. And and now all the companies are in education and in media and in everything, everybody is trying to figure out how to do things cheaper, you know, and do more for less, and that gets back to sometimes you skip a little on quality and you know that's just the way that went.
Speaker 2:It is very true when you say that less is more or more is less. It is very true when you say that, uh, less is more or more is less. I mean the, the, the, the. You know like, did radio, you know, video, really kill the radio star? It was really ppm killing and these are things that people in the who are driving like what are they? What is he talking about?
Speaker 2:Uh, just a rating system, I feel had really changed how broadcasting was done. They're like you got to be concise, you got to talk during these times and I don't know that to be true, because you know we did see other pioneers like you guys BJ Shea being able to break the mold of, continue to do long form content, like you guys did on your show. Yes, you were playing songs, but there was more, there was more, there was more spoken word than there was songs in these shows. You know, breaking that barrier of these rating systems that you know I don't to this day, I, you know, I, I, I bet you know I have my own personal opinions in regards to that stuff.
Speaker 2:Now, in late, once you guys were done with the radio show and you guys were essentially what everyone calls on the beach, or retired, semi-retired for Bob, or retooling yourselves, you going into the industry of teaching, being able to teach the next generation of broadcasters entertainers a broadcast broadcasters entertainers. When you what was, what was something that you guys did that? That, when you guys took that break, were you guys still trying to retool, to do podcasting? At that point, what were you guys doing to to continue to keep the band together, besides doing the, the shows and things of that nature, like the, the parody shows that have spiking the impalers?
Speaker 3:Well, bob was done. I mean, for all practical purposes he signed off and he meant it, at least at that time he sold his place in North Bend and bought a maple syrup farm in Vermont and he thought that he'd done enough because he had a heck of a career before he even came out this way. He was on in Boston and on in Baltimore. I mean, like I said, he'd been doing radio way. He was, uh, on in boston and on in baltimore. I mean, like I said, he'd been doing radio since he was 14. Uh, he'd made a good living at it. He uh, you know, he had enough, uh, money that you know he really didn't need to work and he would continue to under the right circumstances. I think, um, but he, it's kind of like, if you're getting paid, I won't give the exact numbers, but say you're getting paid a. I won't give the exact numbers, but say you're getting paid a hundred thousand to do something and then they want you to do it for 30,000. The numbers were much bigger than that. But it's hard for you to get motivated and say, yeah, I want to keep coming to work for that. But that's the way the economics of the business works. So he said he was done. Spike and I were like, wait a minute, wait a minute, don't be done, we're not done. And so Spike and I for a while we had a few meetings and there was talk about us continuing as partners. But really Spike's the one who kept his nose to the terrestrial radio grindstone and, like I said, he stayed on and was on sports radio and he was hopeful that he might even get to continue with that company and I was applying for jobs that I was not even getting callbacks for, I mean some radio jobs, and I'm like, wait a minute, I'm way qualified to do that. I was still at time spokesperson for a local casino and I had a couple of accounts.
Speaker 3:So I started a creative services business and did some voice work, although my voice um, at that time too very bad timing. I got a growth on my throat and had to have vocal surgery. So I lost my gig with Muggleshoot Casino because my voice went out and so a lot of my side money went away. And I even applied to be an assistant park ranger for the city of Bellevue. And I go man, I can't even be a park ranger. But then I looked back on all this. You know about the time my unemployment was running out and I was going to actually have to get serious about looking for a job. I was even thinking about retraining uh for another career. Completely Sure, and uh, somebody sent me a Facebook message and says here's your next job. And it was to teach radio on Mercer Island. And I'm like, well, I can't be a teacher. Heck, I was barely a barely a student. I mean, I, my degree is from National Broadcasting School. And she's like, well, that's what they want you to teach is radio. So I uh applied and got the job. I found out later I was the only one who applied, so that made it a little easier to get the gig, probably, um, but that's how, how I uh evolved to what I'm doing now. And and uh, you know it was uh. It was uh not something I ever set out to do, it's just something I did.
Speaker 3:So as time went on, bob, I think, decided he missed being an entertainer. He, he didn't want to just sit in vermont and make maple syrup. And as technology got better, uh, to do things like we're doing now. Uh, he's like, hey, there's no reason. I, you know, we can't jump online together, have some fun and podcast every once in a while.
Speaker 3:So so I guess that was probably, oh, five years or maybe more than that now, but over the last few years he was very active, um, broadcasting, making songs. Even to the last weekend we were working on songs, uh, just, uh, you know, five days before he died and we may still get some out summer or done than others. But uh, he, he decided, I think, that he missed it and that it wasn't just a job for money, uh, so we started doing it kind of for fun, and he continued to. Uh, I've got 170 kids in my radio program, so I, I got, I got about as much radio as I can handle now, but there's nothing I love more than jumping on with you, like we're doing now, or or jumping on with bob, and so that's where. That's where, uh, we kind of left it, so the band never was really together, but we did love to reunite and we're always were together as friends and really family beyond friends.
Speaker 2:Bob and spike are my radio brothers and always will be so um, a tremendous career that bob and you guys had, uh, in the pacific northwest uh, 25 something years in the market, um, not something that you're going to see anymore. I mean, for those who have been in the market. There's probably still a handful that are here, uh, that may hit those benchmarks a bender, a jubile, and that pretty much ends those types of local-type talent that are locally here, that may have those types of careers like a Bob Rivers being in a market for 20-something years. Something that I think that doesn't get talked about from the behind the scenes and I think this was great by my former instructor at Green River Community College was the fact that Bob was able to, in the tragic passing of Jim Catman, come in and fill in without like he did this, fill in uh without like he he did this. He came in and became a part of the green river college to help out.
Speaker 2:You know one of his. You know you know someone who had been a part of the show to give back to the community. I was like why is even? I was like wow, bob's doing that. I was like that's awesome. I'm like why is bob doing that? Um, but if you knew Bob, you understood why Bob did these things? To give back to the community. I know that you had more of a closer connection with him in those states. What was when Bob would share these? If he shared anything about the Green River experience to you, were you able to take any of that and bring it to the KMIH level?
Speaker 3:Were you able to take any of that and bring it to the KMIH level? Well, first of all, you got to know a little bit about Campy Jim Campman, because the reason Bob did that was to honor Campy, and Campy was the best and I don't think there would be a Bob Rivers show the Seattle version without him and I don't think there would be a Bob Rivers show the Seattle version without him. When Bob came to town, campy was our news person and a radio veteran. This guy had been in Seattle and he was the man. I don't know if he ever got a chance to work with Campy or knew much. You probably knew him at Green River, right? That's right. Yes, so he's just the best guy in the world. In fact, he married me. He was the officiant at my wedding and I was sitting around KISW one day and he asked me how the wedding plans were going and I said, well, pretty good, campy, but I don't have anybody to do a service. You know we don't really go to church. You know we are people of faith, but I don't have a particular minister and stuff. I said I just want somebody that'll do a good job, that knows me a little bit and that'll, you know, we'll, we'll make it cool. And I said somebody like you. I said, how about you be our minister? And he's go. Well, how did I do that? So I showed him how to get ordained as a minister.
Speaker 3:And then campy went on to marry several people, but me and my wife were his first and I was, uh, we're still together, campy, so it's working good, uh, but anyway, um, even though campy had left our show, several years before, once again in a business decision, somebody decided those guys need a girl to talk to. There's too many guys on that show. And so campy went to be an instructor at green river eventually and had a very sad and tragic end to his life, just in an accident. And so bob just went in and I thought, tom, out there at green river. He wrote a piece recently that explained it really well. Um, campy left classes, classes, you know, that needed a teacher. And Bob was like, well, I can do that, I've got the time. And then he wound up doing that for a while.
Speaker 3:Now I never, you know, I always think about me as well. I'm the guy teaching people radio. Well, bob was teaching people radio, you know, way before I ever was, and while there's not any curriculum, so to speak, from Green River, you know, before I ever was and while there's not any curriculum, so to speak, from green river, you know, I don't know exactly what him and campy taught, but I have my suspicions and since I'm the guy who learned, you know, from them I'm teaching it's really the jim campman bob river school of broadcasting is what I'm teaching here and campy. But, and there probably would be no, no career for me without campy, because when I was an intern, you know, he came up to me and he really gave me my first really spotlight role on the radio, uh, kind of even almost before bob, because he said you know downtown, he said you know it's uh, people get tired of hearing the news. He says Fridays, people want to just do something, you know, a little more relaxed and fun. He said you like to fish? How about if, instead of me doing the news at seven o'clock, I'll give you that time and you do a Friday morning fishing report? And I think, campy, two things Number one, he's given me a chance. Number two, that's one less thing he has to do every friday makes his day a little easier.
Speaker 3:So I started doing fisher reports, uh, thanks to camping, and that led to me, uh, getting the known as a fisher, fisherman, fisher person, I guess now in the 21st century. And uh, so uh, it started with me talking about where to catch fish. Then people would start calling in and telling me where they to catch fish. Then people would start calling in and telling me where they were catching fish. Then they would start inviting me to go fishing with them because they knew that I'd brag about it on the radio. And then it worked its way up to where guides started calling me and I was fishing with some of the best, best guides in the world. And then it worked into a thing to where the sales guys started selling it, sell maybe sell, sell.
Speaker 2:maybe sell yeah we were.
Speaker 3:We were going to Alaska with me and Alan White, the drummer for yes. We flew into uh, tenneke Springs, alaska, to take listeners fishing and Heineken sponsored it. So one plane was me and Alan and then another plane was just cases and cases of Heineken. And we showed up in this little city in Alaska and a whole town celebrated because we came with the beer and you know so. So that was all from campy giving me a minute of time on the radio. It had turned out that it took me to new zealand and alaska and all over the world fishing just from that minute. So campy was that kind of guy. And then the reason bob went to green river really was to honor his work. But tom had always uh, tom krause, for those who aren't aware with uh the whole story. Tom had always invited us out to be guest speakers. He'd come in. You know, we always had an affinity for kgrg and we also got a ton of our interns and talent from there and pedro and pedro being the number one guys yeah, luciana being one.
Speaker 2:Uh, speaking of that, not that gender roles are typically talked about on our radio show, but I know that our next surprise guest may talk about this on his uh 12 to 3 show. It is my pleasure to welcome from cairo radio uh, the midday host, uh, spike o'neill. Let's add spike.
Speaker 5:Welcome, spike to the show man hi guys, sorry for my uh for my tardiness and thank you so much for the invitation. I really do appreciate that before me before we change topics. So tell me about the time jameson whiskey took us to ireland. Joe, we, we have had such a amazingly blessed run of experiences and interaction with people and audiences. It's an absolute, absolute gift.
Speaker 3:this is the time of year I always think about that, uh, about the trips to ireland, and spike took even more than me, but what, what a great time that was. I got to go a couple times and and people don't know this about the jameson, but john jameson was a radio guy and he was a really big into radio, uh, you know, in Europe. So he would fly in the top shows from all over the world and me, bob and Spike would sit there in a whiskey distillery with a show from Tokyo, a show from London, a show from Paris, and what a blast that was.
Speaker 5:Yeah, what an experience.
Speaker 3:Spike and I got to do a lot of travels together over the years on the radio stations dime. We got to cover the the olympics in norway one year and uh did a lot of a lot of fun stuff, that's for sure I'm still waiting for mine from you know these ufos and bigfoots to get like a piggyback ride on a bigfoot you're gonna be the first guy, mario, they're gonna come adopt, adopt you just to silence you.
Speaker 2:It's like don't be talking about this stuff. We don't want people to know. Sure no pleasure, Spike, to have you come on and I know that we've crossed paths over the years and being able to catch you do your show and to have such a successful career, to transform your career from spoken word radio to doing sports, spoken word radio to now doing intellectual talk spoken word radio.
Speaker 5:It's a reach, but thank you. I mean, let's be honest.
Speaker 2:And then what you do for the University of Washington and getting to see you not Joe so much, but it's good to be able to see people that you've worked with in the business. Joe and I were just talking about some of the experiences, even being a younger, greener engineer in those times when you guys were at 95.7, how we were talking about how Bob had this ear and you know Bob was. We were joking about the equipment when you guys first moved into that building at 356.45. The Ackerley building was the palace of all palaces that you guys never moved into. That building at uh 350 645. The ackerley building was the palace of all palaces that you guys never got to work in. Um, that place was plush. I mean, that was the ackerley's did it right. I mean they spent no expense. The the building was great. Now, not so much for the other building because I was like man, this is it was great it was great.
Speaker 2:No, don't disrespect to I heart radio, but they had to move so fast to get you got everyone moved in. And what I was explaining to joe was the intricacies of what you guys did for for a radio, for one radio show for four hours, was incredible. I mean, every little moving cog of the piece, luciana pedro, with different sound bites, you know, jody doing her thing, you doing this, joe doing this. I mean it was kind of like when you look at the big picture and if people remember watching like the howard stern show and watching that e-show, that's kind of what it looked like in the studio in this, in this cockpit of what bob was masterfully doing.
Speaker 5:You know behind the controls sitting there, right, you know the way we configured the show from a logistics point of view, bob was. Bob put himself on one side of the console and he literally had all of us arrayed around him so he can make eye contact with anybody at any moment and conduct. He would conduct voices like a, like someone conducts an orchestra. Um, and you're right he would. He knew he had a great ear, brought things in and out, and somebody asked me this week what was one of bob's greatest um attributes? Um, and I think first joe would agree, the, the recognition of talent that he could surround himself with.
Speaker 5:But his timing and I say that jokingly, but Bob would see somebody who wanted to be in our business and he would, of course, have time and place for anybody who wanted to take part. He would be able to recognize what their greatest skill was, their greatest asset and something they could bring to the show, and that's what they got to focus on. Bob would never make you do things you didn't want to do. He'd find somebody else that wanted to do that and supplement the cast with somebody who had a passion for that particular element of what he was bringing in, so that everybody did it to the fullest of their abilities and everyone loved what they were doing and I think that really he cooked that soup together better than anybody I think that's ever done. The job before was gathering people and getting the most out of them.
Speaker 2:What do you take back when you look over the 25 years of being in during the Bob Rivers show, the KISW, the KZOK days? What is one thing that has stuck out to you over the years that has just been like that, one thing that you cannot like wow, this was something that I will, will live with me forever, but I would like to share that with others oh, you mean like a particular instance that captured everything.
Speaker 5:We? Um, thanks a lot. Small question, easy breezy. Um, I prepared for that question. I'm kidding, um, you know it's, it's funny, I would have to. I'll give you two answers.
Speaker 5:One is a much more overarching element of how Bob did things was the authenticity with which you engage with an audience, and that went for everything we did, every minute we got to do on air. Because that's what and you know people always say, oh, be authentic, you got to be authentic. That is what has people relate to you and engage with you and depend on you for their daily commute or whatever it might be, whatever time they were able to give you to share a little bit of their life with our lives. And that's what makes people. I remember the time when Joe did this, when Joe had that guy on and you and Joe, I was at a phone booth and Joe, you know we come brought up to a phone booth with Joe. Or you know I remember when your wife got real ill with the birth of your youngest. I remember when you had cancer. You know when we shared our true selves with people. They could relate to it and they remembered it and they engaged with it and they cared about it. People still come up to me today.
Speaker 5:I remember the time you tracked down your daughter's stolen phone and got it out of a homeless guy's tent at midnight on a Sunday night. I mean, you know, cause we weren't making stuff up, we were just living our lives to the fullest and and realizing that you know, we, we, we did the same things. Everybody else did Not. Everybody got to go to blah, blah, blah or do this or do that.
Speaker 5:We got some amazing experiences, but they all had a life that they could relate, because we talked about our families and we talked about our experiences together. We talked about our relationships with each other and the things we did going through our daily lives that the audience could relate to, going through their daily lives. To pick one moment that really stood out to me that I'll never forget there are so many Robert Duvall came into the studio one day and you know when you, when you, when you get to meet the, the icons of of entertainment and music, like we did um, robert duvall came in the studio. He was promoting a little movie about um the uh, fandango or not fandango? Um, the tango, the tango.
Speaker 3:Yeah, whatever the Argentinian dance. Yeah the tango.
Speaker 5:Yeah, flamingo or tango. And I apologize, but he came in because he and his wife made a movie about the dancing and just because I knew it was going to meet Robert Duvall and I was a huge fan, I brought in my copy of Lonesome Dove on DVD. I wanted to get him to autograph it right, and I literally took his breath away, because he's in this media tour and you know how it goes, mario. They come from station to station and they give you the eight minutes you've got and they've asked the same questions a thousand times. I headed Mr Duvall, my copy of Lonesome Dove and he literally stopped dead in his tracks and for a good 20, 30 seconds he started misting up. He goes. This is the most fun I ever had in my career making a movie. He goes. We got to actually be cowboys for months and live on the plains and sleep in tents and ride horses and rope cattle. And seeing that, my appreciation of his work brought back some of the greatest memory that he ever had in his career making a project. I'll never forget that. That was just hit me like a thunderbolt. Or or watching booker t play uh, you know play live in the studio sitting next to us. You know the things we got to sit front row with over the years. It's just oh, oh.
Speaker 5:Watching bloister cult, my very first band I ever saw in concert when I was 15 come to bob's house and set up. That's just before we had a full-blown bob's garage recording studio at home. Yeah, you're talking about bob. Got made it, made it sound, got got it perfect. Um, the the guitars were were in bob's living room and mic'd up the the bass was in bob's bathroom and mic'd up. The drums were in the garage. Mic'd up the singers were in a different room. So you could get a good, a good geographical sound mix is the only way to record this. But to watch these, these legends of live music, o Ozzy came to Bob's house. Paul Rogers, robin Trower, you name it the bands who came through town that we were able to meet and sing backup on records, on these Bob's Garage recordings with. So it's like, oh my God, what an experience.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to remember at the end, when you guys were, I think, didn't Bob, I'm, I'm? I think marty hadfield was the only engineer that was like allowed to go to to bob's house to work on I? I think he may have had a mobile student, he may have done some mobile stuff, I don't remember. I'm trying to recall and I'd have to ask marty hadfield on that piece, but I remember there was times where I think that marty had gone out there a couple times to assist bob's house. Yeah, to help out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, on a couple things well he, he set bob up because weather bob lived out north bend and, uh, they wanted, and this was now a lot of people, especially with the pandemic you know, started broadcasting from their house.
Speaker 3:But it was a pretty new thing then and and they were like, okay, if it gets snowy, we don't want to lose bob, we want to be able to broadcast from home. So marty went out there and set up a, you know, basically a remote broadcast studio so he could do his show from his house, which then every time bob, I'm feeling so good, maybe we should stay at home. He started getting a little bit more of those days, um. So he had that. But he also had a full-blown 24 track recording studio with a trident 80 board and I mean, you know stuff that any band would be proud to record in. So word got around. Um, you know that here's this band would be proud to record in. So word got around. You know that, here's this guy out here with this amazing stuff. And, by the way, if you go out and record a song at his house, he'll talk about you like crazy and you'll sell out your, your little casino shows.
Speaker 3:And that's the way Bob's garage started with blue oyster cult. They were the first, and a friend of mine, brad Zirkle, another guy rest in peace, brad wanted us to go out to bremerton. Blue oyster cult was having a show at some hotel or something out in bremerton, blue oyster cult would play. Just, they played tirelessly everywhere yeah, I still do. And bob said I'll go to their. They want is to go to an in-store record signing to promote it and get people out there. Bob said I'll go to their record signing if they'll come to my house and play in my garage. And Brad said okay, let me see what I can do. And sure enough, that's the way that whole thing started.
Speaker 3:And then after that, brad and Carl Pennington, who still promotes shows in town they started bringing in bands like the outlaws and fog hat and these, oh my god yeah, yeah these classic rock bands, nazareth and all this stuff, and that's where it started, uh, recording out at bob's house these bands, and then the local bands, and I mean big local bands like you know, uh melvin's and uh queens reich, and stuff started one grunt truck and goodness and grunt truck, yeah, goodness, and and that kind of started going.
Speaker 3:And then, as far as in that, what really it all kind of transpired into and you probably helped with a lot of these, mario in our last years we had live music just about every friday. At the end of the show we would finish it off and at the car, the subaru studio right they built us an in-building studio for bands.
Speaker 3:That's right right and we were getting people that I'm still huge fans of. When they were, I mean, the first radio shows that der Trucks or Lucas Nelson, Willie's son and you know, we were some of the first that they'd ever had live radio exposure. And now they've gone on to do great things. Aaron Jones the first time, and he wrote a really nice tribute to Bob. First time Aaron ever got any attention on the radio was from us, and I saw him playing in a little show and said, man, this guy's amazing.
Speaker 5:And I yeah, joe brought him into us, that we were all like holy cow, yeah, and aaron's gone on to.
Speaker 3:You know he's tours the world now, um, but but live music was always something we were all fans of, and and it was something also that transcended formats. You know, even though we're on a rock station or a classic hit station, rachel at Jazz Alley would bring us a Turo Sandoval or Stanley Jordan, and you know these jazz legends. Al DiMeola, one of my favorites ever, you know, comes in and plays live and, like Spike said, I'm sitting as close to Al DiMeola as I'm sitting to my wife at the dinner table watching him play and just in awe. And that's where you guys on the engineering front came in really handy. Phil Van Loo at KZOK did a ton of great work for us to make those things sound good and make them happen, and that was once again just going above and beyond anybody's expectations. And one thing that made our show really special, I thought, was the music element.
Speaker 2:You know, when you talk about that, it became a thing where a lot of radio stations we need to have one. Everyone needed to have their little niche or their little own live performance studio place, the iHeartRadio studio thing that Carter Subaru had sponsored, or even for Lotus Communications. When we were moving the stations, as I was the chief engineer, we were looking at a space within the building. When, at that point, I mean, they moved into a, you know, they went from a palace at, you know, como TV at Fisher Plaza or Como Plaza, moving into a 10,000-square-foot building on Lower Queen Anne, next to you know wherever it is now. We built a space so that they could have live performance studio. You know, have a live performance.
Speaker 2:In case, you know, one 101.5 wanted to have a guest in it, and I attribute to this because everyone had a little, uh, you know, a performing studio space. You know, move in. You know 99.9 k. You know kz okay, which is now part of the iheart family. Um, it's just interesting to hear those evolutions. That though and let's not get it twisted that was.
Speaker 2:There was a lot of work that went into those shows oh yeah, you know yeah I mean those what the listener, and behind the scenes what goes into you know, putting the sound checks and things of that nature like a live concert on the radio and you know people just driving around just like, oh my god, this is awesome. But the the blood, sweat and tears from everyone, from staff, to get these things built so that someone can appreciate it. And I think that's the one thing that, um, that I can appreciate about bob him giving the grace to engineer the engineering staff at for me at that point, um, to be grace, you know, had the gracious kindness and and not to treat me or abuse me like a lot of talent has. Now, I'm not saying spike or joe, that you guys were like that, but there were other talents in this market that I had.
Speaker 2:You know I took a whipping for um, yeah, yeah you just didn't get that from bob and bob was always kind and just you know. Thank you for your help today. You know we're gonna get it right. I know we're gonna get it in the page earlier when I said that.
Speaker 5:You know he was um. He recognized that everybody had a hand in making the show the best it could be and he saw that he wrecked. Of course with engineering. He was making records as passionately as he made radio from his first time on the air Back in the 80s in New England when he made his first Twisted Christmas album and he made his first song parodies. He fancied himself a recording artist. He wasn't kidding around. He wasn't just some radio guy who could write jokes and make it sound funny, he was a recording artist.
Speaker 5:Joe talked about the studio at Bob's house. Bob knew that to make a record that sounded exactly like the beach boys you had to have the right, you know compressor on the vocals. You had to have the right microphones. You had to play it through the right amplifiers he had. He would scour the world buying pieces of vintage gear because I want to make this one record by herman's hermits and it was recorded into this microphone. He bought microphones from Abbey Road Studios. Wow, because we love making Beatles records. Remember those, joe, the telephone that he brought in. You bet he bought them from Abbey Road.
Speaker 5:He bought a piece of gear online and this was like as the internet was just coming of age and it opened the world up to Bob's pocket. Basically, bob bought a piece of gear online from some guy that didn't realize who it was did or initially didn't know it was just a piece of gear he wanted. It turned out to be pete townsend. Oh wow, he'll buy studios, yeah, from. He'll buy and, and. And bob calls and makes a phone contact.
Speaker 5:Lady was this one says, oh, what's he bought? Now, you know, or he was buying something from bob, actually, I think, or what's I forget, I'll go with that. Bob got me an autograph from pete townsend. He says, yeah, do me a favor, have a throw on an eight by ten autograph to spike from pete, because pete spike's a big fan. I mean the guy. The guy stopped at nothing and there was nothing. No bridge too far to make it the absolute best radio show, live production, recorded piece of art. Bob. Bob cared, you're right, his ear was everything in his nothing was too, was a bridge too far to get to get it to be the very best.
Speaker 2:And it showed we know that you're still on the radio um yeah, yeah so let me ask you what was your favorite frequency? Oh, my favorite um I guess your favorite time of, I guess of the show, yeah no, no, that's, that's a great question.
Speaker 5:Um, it's, that's really hard because you know you never forget your first. You know someone flashing their boots, um kisw. We were the morning rock show when grunge exploded. Yeah, you know, we got to. We got to hang with all those guys you know, from alice to pj, to a sound garden.
Speaker 5:You know I remember having a movie premiere and sitting right in front of dave grohl at a movie when nirvana was just just got signed. You know, I mean the things we got to do. And then with kz okay, then it was the music that we grew up with that were walking through the doors of our studio every day, you know, and and the, the staff that we got to work with, from katie faulkner to slayton to dan wilkie to gary crow to robin and manor, that we shared studios, walls with the people in this town. And when we, when we finally got to um, when we got to kjr um and we you know the beauty of KJR, and I'm trying to find something nice to say about these guys because they have kind of buried me twice. But, that being said, no one buries Spike.
Speaker 5:Thank you. They fully embraced and they kept trying to find a way to make it work in an evolving radio world to cater to. To cater to bob's, um needs to do this I don't want to say demands, but needs to do the show right. You know, when they told bob to thin the staff, bob's like I can't thin the staff. We, you know this, we need everybody that does this. Everybody does an integral part of what we do, you know. And like you said to building us the carter subaru studio, or to making sure we do, you know, and like you said to building us the carter subaru studio, or to making sure we could, you know, making sure we could accommodate our audience. Sure, you know, um, but it's funny because I mean now, now I get to do um three hours of talk radio and you know, bob, it was fun. And it's funny how things come full circle, because when we were doing music and we evolved from music to talk while we're still at KISW, yeah, and Bob had an itching to do more than just bits and songs and whatnot.
Speaker 5:And Dory Monson at Cairo was a dear friend of Bob and they collaborated and communicated on a lot of different things and Dory told him that he should come be a talk show host. And Bob got his feet wet doing fill-in shifts at Cairo and then brought Joe and I in and Dory told Bob and Bob knew this. But Dory said if you're a talk show you're not subjected to the popularity of the music. You control your destiny. You control the value you bring to a station.
Speaker 5:So over a two-year period we went from eight songs to six songs, to four songs, to two songs, to none, and it took us two years to stretch our legs and evolve our skill sets. So Bob had the patience with all of us to teach all of us how to do long, going from three-minute breaks to seven-minute breaks, to 25-minute breaks, to a four-hour talk show, and they gave it. You know Dory started that at Cairo with Bob. So now I get to do all talk radio. And you mentioned Green River earlier. Before I jumped on you were talking Green River Community College and KGRG.
Speaker 2:Today is rock everyone.
Speaker 5:There you go. One of the people that came through our doors at the radio station from KGRG was Today is rock everyone. There you go. One of the one of the people that came through our doors at the radio station from KGRG was Charlie Harder. Yeah, you know, um, and at the end of my run, when I had been kicked to the curb the final time um and I was, I had transitioned. I was doing advertising sales, you know, and um, and at this point I was driving to Portland every week to sell TV commercials in Portland.
Speaker 5:Wow, and I was doing a podcast with Bob who, even though he was, you know, already diagnosed and taking his treatments for his cancer, knew that he wanted to share with an audience taking his treatments for his cancer, knew that he wanted to share with an audience. We were doing podcasts and I'm beating my brains out and beating my car into the ground, driving to Portland every week to sleep in a tent in a KOA campground in Portland just so I could stay three days in a row to sell TV in Portland. I finally had. It was too much and it wasn't paying the bills which really mattered, and I came on Bob's podcast and said I can't, I can't do it anymore. I gotta, I gotta, I'm just, I've done it first off. Radio is about. You need to be loved. That's why we're on the radio. We need to have people tell us how wonderful that we are and how much they love what we do in sales. It's like you know, you don't have 125 rejections a week. You're not trying. Um, I said I just can't do it anymore. And charlie harger heard the podcast at cairo and went to brian uh, brian bucklum, my pda, and said we should bring this guy in for some guest hosting. I guess toasted for about two weeks and they gave me a full-time shift. Um, and, and and bob was a regular guest when, and then, when Dory passed at the Christmas a couple three years ago now, they put me on noon to three with the first partner.
Speaker 5:It didn't really work out with Jack Stein and I, but Bob would come on once a week and we would bring Bob on to do a little segment every week on our show, because we would get all hopped up and bothered on various topics of the day and Bob always had a very even-handed both sides. You know, it's all going to work, Don't worry, don't stress it, it's not the end of the world. It's just the end of the week. Relax, you're going to be fine. He had that mentality and he literally would mentor Jack and I through the time we were trying to build a show together.
Speaker 5:When it didn't work with Jack, I got a new partner. I had some faith in me and brought Jake Skorheim on to work with me and we've been doing it about six months now and Bob would listen. He air-checked me. I swear this sounds crass, but Bob would listen. I got a call a week before we lost Bob. He's air-checking me from his deathbed. I swear to you. He says look, you guys sound really. You're getting really good. You're doing this, but give Jake a little more time to do this and don't be so quick to blah, blah, blah. He said you know it's not about having a debate. He said it's not about winning the debate, it's about having the debate. And if you can't see the other person's point of view, if you can't even acknowledge that they've got a genuine, you may disagree with it. If you can't acknowledge that they've got a genuine point of view that they truly feel and believe in, how are you going to convince them that you can't at least recognize where they're coming from.
Speaker 5:And this was the last months, weeks, days of Bob's life. He still wanted to give back to the industry that he loved and he gave everything to. You know, that's who Bob was. So my favorite stop along the way. I can't tell the difference between working with Bob and Joe at KSW or KGOK or KJR. It was still. We were like in this bunker of love, if you will, where we, no matter what the outside influences, were sales management, program directors, consultants. We had a Bob had a program director or consultant I'm not going to name the guy, joe. Bob had a consultant. Tell Bob to fire Joe, he didn't get it. And Bob laughed in his face and he's like if you don't get what downtown joe brings to this radio show in this city, you are in the wrong business because you do not get what makes radio radio sure.
Speaker 2:And bob always saw that and found that and encouraged that and stood up for that you guys had an opportunity as we get close to wrapping things up here from the pacific northwest. Uh, we, we take a pause to to not talk about conspiracies and you know Sasquatches and abductions. I'm a believer.
Speaker 3:I love Sasquatch. By the way, I'm a believer buddy. I was a big fan of the Bigfoot Information Center in the Dalles, oregon, and I got a lot of Sasquatch books in a box somewhere, mario. So I'm still looking for the guy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, me as well, and I wonder sometimes how many people have been got by Sasquatch as we get close to wrapping things up. You guys had an opportunity to see your brother, your comrade, your family member go into the Radio Hall of Fame. What was that like to go to be a part of that?
Speaker 5:Well, joe, do you want to? You want to? Well, first off, I'll let Joe speak. Let me say this real quick when Bob was inducted in the Radio Hall of Fame, bob insisted that he not go in as a solo artist. Bob insisted to the Radio Hall of Fame that we go in as the Bob Rivers Show, with acknowledgement and entry for everybody who was on our show, and we're officially listed in the Radio Hall of Fame as the Bob Rivers Show. So that to me, that recognizes the body of work that Bob put together and asked us to come along for, but also is the consummate example of why bob rivers is in the radio hall of fame yeah, and that's what I I think was so special is, you know, because they were talking about putting bob rivers in the hall of fame.
Speaker 3:He's like no, no, no, I couldn't have done this, uh, without a lot of other people. So I want it to be the show. And bob also wanted all of us there and he said we'll fly you out, no expense to you. I want you there when I accept this award on behalf of us all.
Speaker 3:And he took not only spike and I, but mora and casey and pedro and luciana, and you know he invited Eric and yeah, yeah, Eric and, and he even invited others that were unable to make it, but he, all the core people that at least for the last 10 years of our show or so had had been there. He wanted, he wanted us to be there and uh, he often reminds me. You know well, you're in the radio hall of fame now. Bob had, I think, enough of a career that he could have been in the radio hall of fame even before he met me and spike he. He was amazingly successful on the east coast but he made that a a kind of a team award, so so that that was super special.
Speaker 3:And I saw a list a consultant uh put out in january that it escaped me until now but when I was looking through things about bob and he talked about the most influential uh people ever in music radio and what made them trailblazers and uh, I don't can't recall everybody on the list, but it started at wolfman, jack and casey casem and tom joiner and mark and brian and kid craddock and and at the end of the list it was bob rivers and he talked about, you know, the uh that he thought originally bob was more of a song parodist, but after he started hearing our show and realizing that, like Spike mentioned the authenticity and the things, the curiosity because Bob was the most curious guy around, he wanted to know everything about everything. And so to see Bob's name on the list with Wolfman Jack and Casey Kasem, it's like okay, that tells you what kind of impact he had. And the fact that he would share the glory with us and uh and uh, you know, make us part of that was pretty special to me. And and then he sent us all a nice plaque, uh to. I have.
Speaker 3:I have one hanging in my radio uh studio here at mercer island high school so the kids can look at that and go, okay, this is what I want. And then I have one hanging in my basement and I do get a little emotional just thinking about you know what a great guy he was, uh for always wanting to share the glory. I didn't want to share all the money sometimes, but he shared a lot of that too.
Speaker 3:And getting back to where my favorite spots were. I agree with Spike, I couldn't pin one down. But I will say I had so much fun at KISW because it was new but I was barely making a living wage because I started as an intern and it wasn't until we moved to KZOK. Cbs was a great employer and they really paid us tremendously fair wages. And you know Kerry Curlop and Lisa Decker and the people who saw the value in what we did perhaps more than anybody in our careers. They hired us away. I loved those years at KZOK but I also loved KISW. And then in the end, just to work at KJR was so special.
Speaker 3:And I know you said Akralis was a palace and that was a quick, hastily put together studio. We were in. It looked like a palace to us. I mean the original, original kisw. There were literally we were sharing it with rodents. I mean I had a, you know, a rat run across my foot one day. I mean it was, you know, it was getting pretty run down. And then when we moved, uh, from there we were in what they call the tin cans, the spam cans up there, you know, in uh, metropolitan park, yeah, yeah so, uh, and then dexter kzok was very nice, but but I thought, as far as the studio goes, the stuff you guys built out mario was was great.
Speaker 2:I wish I'd been to the ackerley building, but uh, yeah you know, yeah, the ackerley versus the the 645, they were like night and day. The 645 was a great uh facility state of the art, one of the first uh wheatstone uh large projects that you know wheatstone had done. For those who are um, these are digital consoles that um using Ethernet over IP to get audio to and from rooms Very still new at that time but it was like one of the largest you know halls for Wheatstone. And now I look back and I'm like man, things are way different.
Speaker 5:Yeah, we have Wheatstones in every closet at Cairo. You can broadcast that whole thing from anywhere in the building.
Speaker 3:I've got a 30-watt channel. But I've got a wonderful Wheatstone board I can show you right over here. I mean we're running Wheatstone even at the high school level now and I believe Voxpro is owned by Wheatstone as well.
Speaker 2:Too right, I think that's right.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So, as we wrap things up from the Pacific Northwest, I so, as we wrap things up from the pacific northwest, I want to thank both you guys for taking the time to hang out to share bob's stories. Um, uh, you know my crossing with bob. I did, uh, yeah, I mean I was just a little broadcast engineer, um, but I've always, I've always wanted to be on the radio. I mean that was, that was why I got on. You know that's why I?
Speaker 2:got into the business, going to KGRG, and I thought this was important to me to share that piece, that microscopic piece of my crossing with a tremendous individual who was compassionate about everything that he touched, if it was from making maple syrup to doing broadcasts, to parodies.
Speaker 2:What a special individual who was kind to give time to people who wanted his time but to share.
Speaker 2:Like you know, listening to everyone you know over who has shared their thoughts, you know listening to everyone you know over who has shared these their thoughts, from Tom Evans to Randy Lane, who I work with on a regular to keep this show in line, and I think that Randy has really done tremendous things for myself to make sure that I am able to to be a you know, to be a partner, to be able to share my stories without being like I'm not worthy of it, but to to continue to grow.
Speaker 2:And I think that's one thing that I, that I learned about Bob, was, even though I may have been from afar, there was a lot of things that I was putting in the, in the, in the toolbox, in that bag, so that I would be able to use those, because if you're not imitating someone in the business, as someone who said Gary Bryan always said he's like if you take something from somebody else, you're doing something right because you're learning from somebody else's craft. And that was one thing that I loved about Bob was that there was so much complexity to your guys' radio show that no one really had an idea that really was going on. It just sounded good right as a listener.
Speaker 4:What's a duck analogy, joe with a duck.
Speaker 5:No, the duck glides across the water, smooth as glass. You can't see any effort below the surface. The feet are going a thousand miles an hour.
Speaker 3:That's how bob did radio and you mentioned, uh, continue to grow. Mario. That was bob. He was a lifelong learner. I mean, we all learned a ton from him, but he was always looking to learn from others, and not just in radio. I mean flying he. He had a fear of flying. He got over his fear of flying to the point where he became a pilot and you know, and flew blueberries. He decided he liked blueberries. He never did anything halfway. He started a blueberry farm, and I don't mean just a few blueberry plants, I mean lots of blueberries, honey, maple syrup, recording, um, everything he did.
Speaker 3:He was a lifelong learner and I think that's one thing we can all take from Bob is be curious and learn. I'm a teacher, but I do a lot more learning around here with these amazing young people. Uh, they teach me about as much as I teach them, and I think that's one thing we can all uh, none of us know at all, and the minute you do think you know it all is the minute you're gonna see whatever you're doing decline. Your show's gonna get worse and you know. And so so, being curious, being a lifelong learner, being good to people, um those are all things that bob was was really uh accomplished at and the lessons that I think uh everybody uh can take something away from uh on the way he lived as we wrap things up, I just want to thank you both.
Speaker 2:Uh, joe, uh, tremendous success over there at uh. What I would when my stint was there, it was hot jams uh radio back in those days um yeah, it felt good to blow up a format.
Speaker 3:I killed hot jams I mean I never got the chance, you know, to uh and it was fine. But it was kind of a hit radio format. It was great.
Speaker 2:But I'm really proud of you, joe, for what you've done for that community, for mercer island high school. I am very jealous to be a an alum of kgrg to see such a program that is does not really exist anymore, that there are a lot of students that should be alumni, that should be giving more to that uh, to that program. And I, I, joe, thank you so much for being the person to continue to pound the pavement in a small little high school radio station, to continue to evolve and to to bring that next chapter. So, thank you, joe, spike, uh, continue to go kick ass over there at the Mighty Cairo.
Speaker 2:I know that there are radio stations out there that are that are suffering, that aren't as successful. It's good to hear that there are still local talent like yourself out here doing their thing. And, as I told Joe earlier, before we got on the radio show, I wanted to kind of bring you guys together and I know that you're on another radio station but like how Jimmy Fallon and Kimmel and all those guys you know will go through the TV sets and they're like oh, I'm over here and then I'm on ABC and you know NBC, and that's what I wanted to do. And I think Bob was someone who transcended across the dial in the Pacific Northwest and to give him this time is a complete honor. I wish I would have had more time to spend with him and at the end I I mean my, my last vivid memories were being in the studio, because I was told you need to be in there in case, joe, that he goes rogue and I'm like bob go rogue.
Speaker 2:I barely knew bob and I'm like I just didn't think that was bob's you know ammo and I was like, okay, I'll be in the studio, but make sure he hits the button. You know this. These are things that don't get talked about. You know the ugly of radio. And that was never him. He was just, yeah, just beautiful in that piece. Thanks, buddy. Before we leave, I want to leave with a little piece of Bob's voice on the show here. So let's take a listen to a piece of Bob Rivers on 95.7.
Speaker 6:You wonder who those are. It was your love that pulled me through yesterday. You wonder who those are. Those are the original Sons of Thunder. When you hear the Sons of Thunder story, the original Sons of Thunder will play live today in the Carter Subaru Live Theater and that's in the 9 o'clock hour. They're talking about their life project. Joe and I were talking about these guys. Famous past they had and then they disbanded. And now are they back together or just doing a reunion thing?
Speaker 4:They're back together. They are doing a reunion. They want to make a movie is what they want to do, to tell their story and to have a big concert. I believe one of them has some health issues now and they would like to make sure movie is what they want to do to tell their story and to have have a big concert. I believe one of them has some health issues now and they would like to uh make sure the story gets told, make sure so they were teenage preacher kids.
Speaker 6:By the way, uh, being the son of or daughter of a preacher man, uh well, there's songs about that it's probably, in some ways, an interesting life, in some ways not an easy life. Did they sing on that Rolling Stones song you Can't Always Get what you Want or did they just tour with the Rolling Stones?
Speaker 4:Well, what happened is their dad was a local preacher here in Seattle and they got so good that word started getting out about these kids as two black kids, two white kids.
Speaker 6:Four kids.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and they were teenagers at the time, think, uh, 17 to 20, something like that. Well, the stones and stevie wonder went out on this big tour in the early 70s, which was kind of unheard of, because in the early 70s it might be news to younger people, but there were tensions between black and white people.
Speaker 2:Tension between black and white yeah, there still are, but this was isn't that still, to this day, something that, uh, the tension is there. Um, bob was an amazing individual, someone who was able to be an amazing puppeteer uh, master that's a great way to put it.
Speaker 5:You know some conductors, conductors, kinder, come on. Yeah, maybe I Come on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe I leave maybe the puppeteers more for like a, a T man or someone of that nature who was like oh, my God yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um, as we wrap things up, I want to thank you guys again for your time. Uh, joe uh, continued success. If you need anything from me, where to get a hold of me, spike. Thank you again. So much for your time as we, my pleasure, my friend, as we wrap things up from the pacific northwest, I'd like to thank our guest, uh, from my entire team, which is very small myself, uh, sophia magana, uh, mark christopher and myself, mario magana, be sure to look up at the sky, because you never know what you might see. Good night,
