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KOPN 89.5 FM Columbia, Missouri |
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Midnight
Country with Woody Adkins Keepin' Real Country on the Radio and on the Web! |
Dad Misses You Bronco March 16, 1998- November 19, 2005 |
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Woody's Weekly Wonderings
WWWs Archives 2005
Note: Be sure and check the pdf file for WWWs features not yet implemented into this page.
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October 18, 2006 Lite Edition Printable .pdf to share with a friend. It has been one of those weeks. If you listened to the show I was obviously frustrated with the response or lack there of during the Membership Drive. As I said on the show I am going back to the drawing board. I need to try and figure out why I can't seem to motivate regular, longtime listeners to support the show. We ended up not doing too bad and so I hate to make major changes. Yet a lot of the support came from people who rarely or ever call the show, not those I consider regular, longtime listeners. There are two changes I have decided to make. I am going to discontinue WWWs and the Spotlight Artist portion of the show for the time being at least. Both are very time consuming and in the case of WWWs, very expensive to produce. I feel I could better spend both my time and money on other aspects of the show. Thanks for understanding. Remember It is never too late to support the show and to do your part to keep real Country on the radio. The amount is not the point, the thought is. Have a good weekend, Woody |
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October 11, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Well did you enjoy Hank this week? Hank Locklin that is. I had a couple people at least say they weren't familiar with him. Another listener said he was glad we were spotlighting Hank. I'm glad Ron suggested I spotlight him sometime. Fortunately I had 16 of Hank's songs, yet there are a lot more artists like Hank I should spotlight, but I just don't have enough of their material. As I always say though, we do the best we can with what we have. I know there are a lot of CD's I should buy that I haven't yet. It just seems other show related expenses take priority sometimes. Things like keeping the web site fees paid, printing/postage expenses and making payments on my KOPN pledges. I was talking to a listener this week about him wanting to make another pledge. He said he might have to pay it off over time. I said I could relate to that, since I am always working to pay mine off. He seemed surprised that I also pledge to support the show, but it is true. There may have been one time during recent drives I did not pledge since we had met and surpassed our goal, but most times I am digging deep in my pockets just as I ask each of you to do. As you know KOPN wants to cut back to only two Membership Drives a year. I think this is a great idea and I hope we are able to reach our goal of $75,000 this time so this can happen. There would be several advantages to this, most notably for you though, the fact we would be cutting back by a third the amount of time we spend asking for your support each year. After every Membership Drive I am blown away by the faithful support of so many MC listeners. In recent years we have done a great job of meeting or exceeding our goals during MC. I have faith we can meet our goal again this time. The MC goal for this Drive is $500. If memory serves me right we have exceeded this amount at least once before. The thing that is different is we only have one show to raise it during this time. I still believe we can do it though, I hope.  I really don't know how to appeal to you to support the show. Several of you have supported the show financially, others never have. I hate to come on too strong since those who have faithfully supported the show will think I am preaching to them. The ones who have never supported the show may just get irritated, ignore me and not even tune in this week. I don't know how to put a price on the show. I don't know what the show means to you. I don't know what it is worth to you. Perhaps I have dreamed up in my head that the show is more important to you than it really is. If you pledged $40 a year to the support the show that would be 77¢ a week. If you pledged $20 a year to the support the show that would be 39¢ a week. Is the show not worth that to you? If not…well I don't know what to think. Perhaps I should cut back on the time and energy I put into the show. Please understand I know some people cannot afford to support the show even at 39¢ a week. I am not asking anyone to deny themselves of things they need. Yet I can't imagine that this is the case for everyone who listens on a regular basis but has never supported the show.Nothing in life is free. Commercial radio is not free, we pay for it with the time we spend listening to commercials and with the dollars we spend at advertisers. Think we don't support the advertisers? Perhaps we aren't aware we do it on a conscious level, but we still do, otherwise why would advertisers spend billions of dollars on something if it didn't work? The bottom-line for commercial radio is making money, for both the station and the advertisers. Why do stations change from your favorite style of music to some god awful rock or rap format? Money! Why do Country stations play this Pop stuff (I'm resisting using a stronger word for it) and call it Country? Money! Commercial stations are "for-profit" stations, they are in the business they are in to make money and the more money they make the better. So if x% of people like listening to Classic/Traditional Country, but a greater percentage likes this Pop stuff, they are going to play the Pop stuff. Why? Because the more people listening means advertisers will be willing to pay bigger bucks to reach more potential customers. Of course then the station makes more money. Just from writing this I've almost convinced myself I should switch to Pop Country on the show, except I DON'T like that crap (oops), it ain't Country and I'll be damned if I am going to spend 5 ½ hours at the station every week for free playing something I don't like! I've said it before, MC to me is not first about me being on the radio, it is first about real Country and radio then is the perfect medium for me to share this real Country with you. KOPN on the other hand is a "non-profit" station, meaning money that comes in goes to pay expenses incurred from operating the station. There is nothing left over to go into anyone's pockets. Decisions are not made based solely on how many people listen to a show or how much money the show raises during Membership Drives. I am sure these are factors at some level, but not the primary factors involved in the decision making process. Diversity of programming and access to the airwaves for diverse types of programming is the primary concern of a Community, non-profit station like KOPN. Does everyone at KOPN like or agree with everything that is on KOPN? Heck, no! Yet the same station that affords others the freedom to express their views via music or talk also gives me the opportunity to do the kind of show I do. Community radio is truly unique. I look forward to the day when Midnight Country's goal is a cinch to reach and I can afford to donate on other shows in addition to MC. As I have been listening to KOPN this week during the drive I have been tempted several times to call in and pledge on other shows. These were not necessarily shows playing a type of music that I love like I do Country or shows expressing view points I completely agree with. Yet the opportunity to be a part of something so special makes me want to support multiple shows on KOPN, not just my own. Maybe someday I will win the lottery and will be able to do this. Of course it might help it I played the lottery. As you listen to the show this week I ask you to consider how blessed we are to have a station like KOPN. Think about the differences between KOPN and Commercial stations. Remember nothing is free. The freedom to do a show like Midnight Country comes with a price. Yet when this price is shared among many each person's share in not that great. Do you value Midnight Country? Do you realize how unique the show really is? No one at the station tells me what to play or not play. No one says "That is too Country; we're going to lose the teenage girl audience, play Shania Twain, Big n Rich and Rascal Flatts." NO one, I repeat NO one at the station has ever told me what to play on Midnight Country. Do you think I could do a show like Midnight Country at a Commercial station? I seriously have my doubts. I am not anti-Commercial radio, I listen to it myself. I am just hoping you can see there is a difference, how this difference makes it possible to do a show like MC and how important it is that you support the show so we can continue "Keepin' Your Country Real One Song At a Time."During Membership Drives we usually focus on pledges of $40. If $5 or less is all you can afford please know that any amount is greatly appreciated. It really is the thought that counts and pledges of all amounts add up. If you are out there thinking "Boy I love Midnight Country, but I just can't afford $40", just calling to let me know how you feel about the show will make my night regardless of the amount you pledge, if you are able to pledge at all. I've said this before but I think it is worth repeating. None of the money raised during the Membership Drives goes to me personally. Also none of the money goes to expenses I have chosen to incur doing the show, such as the web site and mailings. All money goes to the station to pay its expenses. My point being, I do not stand to profit financially and so my only motivation is my desire to see Midnight Country and KOPN continue doing what we're do week in and week out. It looks like I'll have to finish my Colorado trip story next week.  Merle Haggard will be this week's spotlight artist and as you know we will be mixing in a bunch of Merle throughout the entire show! Don't miss it and don't forget we will still be playing your requests, in addition to taking your pledges of support. Have a good weekend and I look forward to hearing from each of you Monday morning, Woody |
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October 4, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Where was I? Oh yeah, on the way to Denver! I'll continue my story from last week in a bit. It was another great show this week, I think at least. I never know for sure unless I hear from you that it was a great show. I can dream up all kinds of notions in my head that aren't in sync with reality. I suppose I've yet to see a week when I've had as many calls as I'd like. The calls were steady this week, but several repeat callers made it seem like I had more calls than I actually did. Don't get me wrong I love hearing from you more than once during the show, but I also like hearing from everyone at least once during the show. Anyway there seems to be a fine line between doing my own thing, if people like it fine, if not fine and being too dependent on people's feedback/approval. I was watching Imus in the Morning this week. Don Imus is a radio personality whose show is simulcast on MSNBC. He was talking about how he has done his own thing, been true to his own ideas and the result has been a successful show, this in spite of the fact he said you only hear from or get feedback from 1% of your audience. I'm paraphrasing, but I think this is the jest of what he was saying. I still wonder about that other 99%, what they are thinking or if they are even out there. Sometimes I wonder if the more I try to get people to call the more people resist calling. It was nice having my friend George hang out with me during the show. I've known George for 12+ years I would say. He visited the show once before years ago. George, of course, is my friend who recently lost his mom. Losing your mom is tough. It was twenty-two years ago Sept. 28 I lost my mom Betty. I've now lived longer without her in my life than I did with her in my life. Perhaps having lost both my parents is part of the reason I feel such a need to hear from you all every week. Hopefully I can continue to internalize more of that approval I crave. Maybe I shouldn't be so open in here, who knows. I figure there is always someone who approves of what I do and someone who thinks it is the craziest thing they've ever heard of. Oh well, nonetheless it is good to have good friends like George who I can show my dark side and know he will still be my friend. Now back to the trip, after finding my guardian angel "Bronco" in Limon, CO, my sister Colene and I headed for Colorado Springs. We had trouble figuring out when we actually started seeing the mountains, sometimes the clouds seemed like they might be mountains. Once we arrived though there was no doubt we were on the edge of the Rockies. My sister's mother-in-law had a perfect view from her house of Pikes Peak and the mountain range running to the north of it. She later took us on a tour of the Air Force Academy. It was pretty impressive and bigger than I thought it would be. As best I can recall I had seen it from a distance when I was a boy, but this time thanks to her military pass it was up close and personal. I took a bunch of pictures, you never know if you will ever be back to somewhere like that again. I sure like having a digital camera, I would have broke the bank if I had bought film for all the pictures I took on the trip. I think I took over 550 altogether. Of course I will only print a few of those, the rest I can view anytime of the ol' 'puter.During the day on Saturday I drug Colene kicking and screaming to the mall to shop for Broncos' souvenirs. Actually that is not true, she went willingly. I'm not sure I would I have such been a trooper had the tables been turned. Before going shopping though we did go to the Focus on the Family Visitor Center, so the entire day wasn't spent just on my mission, just most of it. I was in hog heaven to say the least. Earlier in the trip I was starting to worry there might not be much Broncos stuff to choose from, wrong! I think I showed some restraint and didn't buy everything I would have if I were rich. I even came home without one item I had my heart set on buying. I wanted to get a lightweight Broncos' jacket, but I could never find one that suited me. Of course if I were rich I would have bought one of each, but at $40-100+ you have to show restraint when you are a poor redneck like I am. There was one I did like except it had a hood and I don't do hoods. Hoods mess up my hair and you could tell from the picture last week I don't look too great with messed up hair. I know what some of you are thinking, but I'm going to ignore that for now. I did buy several cool items though and I think they will tide me over until my next trip. I can always buy stuff on-line, but clothes I prefer buying in person. One of the items I bought didn't make it home though, I'll share about that in a bit. Saturday evening Colene's friend Mary and her daughter Elaine took us on quite a sightseeing tour of the mountains. Thankfully Elaine knew her way around, it would sure be easy to get lost. Just because you could see Colorado Springs in the valley wouldn't mean you could easily find your way back down there. Elaine took us up into Cheyenne Canyon where we saw Helen Hunt Falls. It was sure pretty up there. Fortunately Elaine had good brakes and lots of patience since she kept stopping so I could take pictures. We also went to the Garden of the Gods and saw the kissing camels rocks. I'll try and include pictures from this drive in the future. It was good to see Colene's friend Mary again. If everyone was as nice as she is, well the world would be a much better place. So people from my past I'd just as soon never see again, Mary is not one of those people. I think she knew I was the same 'ol Woody even if I have grown up, out and let me hair grow a bit. Sunday morning had been 28+ years in coming. Colene and I got to Invesco Field at Mile High more than two hours before the game. Getting off the Interstate and finding parking was a breeze. Colene had decided to not go to the game. She thought it would be kind of silly to spend all that money just to watch the people. I teased her later that the drunks around me in the game were less obnoxious than the ones she saw in the parking lot. Apparently one of the guys parked in front of us was thrown out before halftime because he was drunk and threw up two times in the stadium. I think she would have been more impressed with my fellow Broncos' fans had she gone to the game. Fortunately I was able to keep my bratwurst and Diet Coke down and I was able to see AND remember the whole game. I've run out of room again this week. Rather than to condense my story I will continue it next week. I still have to tell you about the game and how one of my souvenirs didn't make the trip back to Missouri. Hank Locklin will be the spotlight artist this week. Next week during the Membership Drive it will be Merle Haggard.Have a good weekend, remember I always look forward to hearing from you, Woody |
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September 27, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I remember my mom Betty had a saying when we would return home from a trip "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." I would say I could certainly relate as I returned from my trip to Colorado. I must admit though I think I could call a cabin up in the mountains of Colorado my "second home", particularly if I had good heat, satellite internet and season tickets to the Broncos. Still it was good to get back home. I missed my girls, Kelly, Mear, Goldie, Sarah and of course my boys Darth and Sergey. Before I even left Colorado I was calling Kelly telling her we need to go out there next year.The drive really wasn't as bad as I expected. It helped sharing the driving with my sister Colene. She was making the trip anyway and had asked if I would like to go along to help with the driving and then as a bonus to see Denver. The BIG bonus, of course, was when we figured out a way I could go see a Broncos' game too. The scenery on the west side of Kansas was much more beautiful than I remembered it. People kept taking about how boring the drive would be out in that neck of the woods. Actually "woods" does not really fit this situation since there were not a lot of trees, except around towns and houses. I assume they had been planted. I would say if I were building a house out in the middle of the prairie I too would plant a bunch of trees. Anything to break the wind a bit. Goodness, it was windy let me tell ya. I think if I lived out there I might have to seriously consider cutting my hair or at least start wearing it in a ponytail. Colene and I got conflicting stories from the people we asked about the wind. Some said it was always that windy, others said it was windier than normal.There were signs all along the way advertising interesting things to see. I think a person could spend 2-3 days just sightseeing along I-70 in Kansas. My dad Harold wouldn't have known what to think of me taking hundreds of pictures on the trip and being quite the "tourist". He used to get frustrated when we were on family vacations and I would sleep rather than enjoy the scenery. I guess I have matured (hopefully) and my interests have changed as I have aged. Two of the many highlights of the trip occurred in Limon, CO about a hundred miles over the state line. I was anxious to start to checking out Broncos souvenirs and so we stopped at a tourist trap so to speak. I had been disappointed the night before at Wal-Mart in Goodland, KS where I had seen very little Broncos' stuff. So needless to say I was ready to see some orange and blue. At this store in Limon I thought I was going to be disappointed again, but before discovering the Broncos' section in the gas station I found something even more special. On the counter of the souvenir store there was a display of guardian angel dog ornaments and much to my delight there was a Golden Retriever just waiting for me. Needless to say I bought it and then hung it from the sun visor in Colene's pickup so my guardian angel "Bronco" could keep us safe and enjoy the trip along with his dad. Surprisingly I decided to hold off on buying any Broncos' souvenirs, waiting to see what I would find in Colorado Springs and Denver.After leaving the store Colene and I stopped at Arby's for lunch. You will never believe what I saw as I got out of the pickup. There was a woman walking two dogs and one of them was a Golden Retriever! Lunch had to wait and so I went out and asked to pet the Golden. I told the woman about Bronco and how I had lost him to cancer. She said her Golden had a tumor on its leg and she feared they might be facing the same thing with her. I asked if I could take a picture and then of course showed her the guardian angel ornament. If it hadn't felt like Bronco was with me up to this point in the trip, it certainly did from then on. As much as I hate to do this I think I should wait and continue the rest of my story next week. I'm already running way behind this week with writing WWWs and there are other things I need to talk about. On a side note, who ever said that cats are not loving and affectionate were dead wrong. Mear is wanting to snuggle really, really bad and she does not understand Dad has a deadline and cannot type very well with one hand. I feel really bad but I will try to make it up to her later. It was great being back doing the show live this week. Several people said the recorded show sounded fine and that if I hadn't said anything on the recording, no one would have known it wasn't live. Anna Rose said it sounded better than when I am there "live". She is either the world's biggest joker or just brutally honest. I was surprised to hear she didn't take advantage of her week off from keeping me awake all night, but was up for the entire show. Harold and Justin in Moberly said they were up for all of it too. Roger said he had even recorded most of it as well. Maybe I should take off more often. It was good to be back though and to hear from everyone. Thanks again to Sheryl Clapton for playing the recorded show for me. Be sure and tune in on Tuesday mornings from 2:00-5:30 AM and check out Sheryl's show. Being up at the station for me inspired her to do a show again! Be sure and call and thank her for helping me out.This week I want to spotlight Alan Jackson. I tell you what if it weren't for Alan, George Strait and a very few select others mainstream Country would be completely gone to hell. I look forward to playing Alan's songs destined to be Classics and cuts from his Country Gospel CD. It should be a great show. We're getting down to the wire, the KOPN Membership Drive will be in full swing on the October 16th Edition of Midnight Country. So I just have two shows between now and then to ask for everyone's support. The station encourages us to pull out all the stops and to do our very best shows during the Membership Drives. I've been thinking a lot about that and have decided to spotlight one of my all-time favorite artists and to go ahead and let you know who it will be. I am also going to do something else different, I am going to spotlight this artist throughout the entire 5 ½ hour show! So instead of say twenty songs by this person spread throughout the first 3 hours, I will play around forty of their songs over the course of the night! Who will it be you ask? Merle Haggard, who else?! I know this may sound weird, but I wish I were in your shoes and had a show like Midnight Country to listen to and support. I'd be calling the DJ every week, encouraging them to keep on keepin' on and promising to support the show by telling people about it and by pledging what I could come Membership Drive time. Yet I am not in your shoes and so being so close to and so involved in doing the show I think I sometimes forget how cool it must be to turn on the radio at Midnight every Monday morning and to hear the music being played. I hope when the day comes that when I no longer do Midnight Country there will be a show like it on KOPN I can listen to and support. I lost, actually had 3/4's of a KOPN Membership blow off of my head at the Broncos' game, a story I will share next week. Is $40 a year, .77¢ a week really too much to ask? Maybe it is, I don't know. I know I blow .77¢ several times a week and don't even think twice about it. Hmmm, I'm getting stressed out and can feel my blood pressure going up and the drive is still a ways off yet. Have a good weekend and make my "real world" a happy one by calling me Monday morning, Woody |
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September 20, 2006 Lite Edition Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I'm back! This week's WWWs will be another "Lite" Edition. If I wrote a full one I would probably end up running behind getting the show ready for this week. From what I've heard the prerecorded show came off without a hitch. Anna Rose thought it sounded better than when I am "live". I don't know if she was joking or not. You can never tell about Ann Rose. Hopefully it sounded okay on your end. I'd like to know what you thought. Thanks for understanding the need to play a prerecorded show. I suppose if I were rich I could have flown back after the game and done the show. Of course if I were rich this would not have been my first trip to see the Broncos. It was a fun trip and great to finally see the Broncos in the person. I'll have lots of stories for you next week. This week's Spotlight Artist will be Bobby Bare.
Have a good week, I look forward to hearing from you this week ,
Woody |
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September 13, 2006 Lite Edition Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Gone west, will write and send money when I can. Well, at least part of that is true. I have gone west and will write a longer WWWs next week. As for the money I may need you to send me some, hopefully I won't blow all my money on Broncos' stuff. Anyway I am heading out Thursday morning and will be back Monday night after the Chiefs vs. Broncos game in Denver on Sunday. This obviously means I won't be back in time to do the show this week. Early Wednesday morning I recorded what I think will be a pretty darn good show. Sheryl Clapton, who used to follow me on KOPN, will be hanging out at the station playing the CD's for me, though you will would never know it if I hadn't told you. Hope you all are doing okay. Keep me in your prayers, not sure the Good Lord is too concerned about the Broncos winning, but I would like to make back in one piece so I can keep on keepin' your Country real.
Have a good week and Anna Rose it is okay to go to bed early this week ,
Woody |
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September 6, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Just as I was sitting down to write WWWs Mear lay down on my arm and started to knead, now I need to call Anna Rose to see how long I need to bake the bread. Mear says "Hi", she and Goldie are both doing fine. They talk about Bronco a lot. Goldie misses playing with Bronco's tail as he ran through the house. Mear just came back; I think she might want to start another batch of dough. What would I do without my two girls?Speaking of girls, I'm looking forward to spending some time with my gal Kelly on Saturday. We are planning to go see James Hand at Knuckleheads in KC. I was hoping we could get him here in Columbia. It may be just as well it didn't work out. I would be stressed beyond words worrying about the turnout. I don't think I need anymore stress at this point. It should be a fun trip. We plan on eating supper at Bates City BBQ with my friends Randy and Lana. I just learned over the weekend that Randy has been battling cancer for the last year and a half. I feel horrible I had not stayed in better touch and was not aware of what has been going on. He said he had thought about calling me, but it would have just been bad news. It will be good to see them and for them to meet Kelly. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping I can pull off going to see the Broncos. I will go to Colorado regardless, but if I can't find someone to cover the show I will have to go earlier in the week. I have put a request on the KOPN programmer's e-mail list asking for someone to hang out at the station and play a prerecorded show for me. No one has volunteered so far. I can't say as I blame them. Who wants to hang out at the station for 5 ½ hours with nothing to do but fill out paperwork, take meter readings and switch CD's once an hour. Add to that having to listen to Country Music and me talk in the process. I don't know what to do if no one offers. I may have to offer to pay someone to play my prerecorded show or just let them play whatever they want. I'm probably too damn picky and protective of the show. It may not matter to anyone but me, but I want people to know what to expect when they turn on KOPN at Midnight on Monday morning. I have extremely high expectations of myself. I always shoot for perfection, though I know I'll never hit it. If I don't strive for perfection though I feel like I have no right to ask for your support come Membership Drive time. Someone could say "How can you expect us to support the show when you only delivered real Country Music 51 weeks this past year? Taking off to go see the Broncos, good grief, obviously MC is not much of a priority to you. Why should we support the show?" Well if I have to, I'll eat the cost of the ticket and not go. Midnight Country is very important to me, if that isn't obvious then I have failed miserably. It was nice having my sister Gelene on the show this week. It was fun recalling when I was a boy and we would "play radio". Those were the good ol' days. Though I know why I didn't, I sometimes wish I would have gotten into radio long before six years ago. If I had been doing radio earlier in my life Dad would have gotten to hear me on the air. I still think about the times I would be at home and would get up in the middle of the night. Dad would be sitting in his Lazy Boy with the radio on. I miss Dad. I'm glad Gelene suggested I play "Almost Home" this week in memory of him. All night Gelene and I were looking forward to going out to breakfast after the show. I knew Lucy's was still closed from their recent fire. I suggested we go to the Bull Pen Cafe. As we were just about there I got to thinking "I bet they are closed for Labor Day." Sure enough no one was there. Thankfully IHOP was open. Okay, so pancakes aren't on my diet, but I did use "some" sugar free syrup. I have to keep my strength up, it is hard work pushing that computer mouse around. I probably burn most of my energy during the show yakking on the phone and on the air. The days are sure getting shorter and the temperatures are slipping. In just over two months it will have been a year since Bronco died. I was telling my friend Randy from Blue Springs about Bronco's passing. He said "Boy he was sure a great companion." Randy lived in Denver for awhile; his oldest son Brook was born in Denver and is a big Broncos fan. Hopefully I will know by Saturday whether I have someone to cover the show. Then I can tell Randy about my going to the game the next weekend. He will think that is cool. When I lived in Kansas City I turned Randy on to Mizzou Sports. Now I live in Mizzou's backyard and he knows more about what is going on with the Tigers than I do. He still can't understand that one. So what's going on in each of your lives? Several of you I hear from, others it has been awhile. When I don't hear from you I started to worry along a couple lines. First, I worry that something has happened and you are not well. I was so thankful that when Eleannor passed away her daughter Judy called the station to let me know. I may not always hear though and that worries me. The second road my mind goes down when I don't hear from you is that I have let you down in some way. I know I don't get to every call early in the show. I know I sometimes don't e-mail people back as quickly as I should. I worry I have disappointed you in the music I play. I know some weeks the playlist isn't always as diverse as it could be. Some Classic Country artists I spotlight have some pop leanings in some of their music. So I know sometimes the other songs I choose to go with the spotlight artist's material may make the whole first three hours seem too pop. Never hesitate to give me your feedback and as always I love playing your requests. Midnight Country really is an interactive show. The more people who call, the better I think the show ends up being. I know at least it is a lot more fun on my end and I think it shows when I am having fun.I got a call Monday afternoon from June, she isn't always able to call during the show, but is always listening. She said she really appreciates the show and the job I do with it. I know that isn't an exact quote, but the general idea of what she said. It is sometimes hard for me to remember compliments word for word. I suffer from a disease called "yeahbuts." I don't think you will find yeahbuts in the dictionary or any medical journals, but it is very serious and very real nonetheless. It is at its worst when people like June are saying nice things about me. I don't think it is a hearing issue per say, since I hear criticism with perfect clarity and can remember every word for years afterwards. It could be a form of ADD, an inability to pay attention to what is being said. It could also have some elements of Schizophrenia, it is like there is a voice that sounds like my own saying "Yeah but…" every time someone says something nice. "Yeah but the computer messed up on me, I should have seen it coming." "Yeah but I missed pronounced the name of a town where an artist was born." "Yeah but I didn't get a request on as soon as I should have." "Yeah but I was short with a caller, I should have played another song, kept talking to them, instead of saying I needed to talk on the air." The list is endless. Of course yeahbuts is not a real disease and I am in no way making fun of serious mental illnesses such ADD or Schizophrenia. I think you get my point though and perhaps you can relate. Thank you June for your kind words even if I don't remember them all. Well wish me luck finding someone to cover the show on the 17th. It is not too late to tell your friends, neighbors and family about the Johnny Cash Tribute. It should be a good show and will be even better if I hear from all of you . Have a good week and don't do anything I wouldn't do, Woody |
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August 30, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I enjoyed both Freddie Hart and Freddy Fender as the Spotlight Artists this week. I think it works out okay to spotlight two artists. We have done this a few times now. I think it is better to do that than to not ever spotlight someone because I don't have enough of their music to spotlight just them. At the other extreme are artists like Johnny and Waylon who I have an abundance of and whose music we barely even get started playing when we do an entire 5 ½ hour show! I think we do a pretty decent job all things considered. If KOPN were a fulltime Country station you would expect us to have more to choose from. Even with all the Country KOPN does have I think it is still safe to say the majority of what I play is from my own collection. You probably get tired of hearing me talk about KOPN Membership Drives and supporting Midnight Country. Yet did you know there is a way you can support the show that won't cost you a dime, only a little time? As you know on Sept. 11th we will be having our 4th Annual Johnny Cash Tribute. These types of special shows are the perfect opportunity to tell people about Midnight Country. How is this supporting the show you ask? Well the more people who are listening the more people there are who I can ask to consider supporting the show during Membership Drives. Then if everyone does their part the burden will not be too great on any one person or persons. I know as you tell people about the Special and the show in general some will react with a look that says "Are you nuts? I'm never up that late!" Yet there may be someone out there who would love to have a show like MC to listen to. I know Midnight Country has meant a lot more to people than I may ever know. Eleannor and the Ol' Clark Outlaw both come to mind. Eleannor died of cancer on Thanksgiving night 2003. I like to think MC brought her some peace during her final days. The Ol' Clark Outlaw loved listening to the show. He might have appeared to have a tough exterior, but nothing made his night more than sending an Ol' Gospel song out to his mom. I know of one current listener whose sister is dying of cancer. She has told me how much the show means to her as she deals with the pain of watching her sister die. She mentioned the songs about Jesus have been particularly comforting to her. The show really isn't about money to me, though, of course, it takes money to keep the station on the air. The show is about touching people's lives with a style of music so many people, myself included, can relate to. So yeah maybe more people listening would mean more potential supporters of the show, but it would also mean more hurting, lonely people would have an opportunity to find some comfort in an old Country song. If I were wealthy I would make a deal with KOPN. I would say "What is your goal for my show? Whatever it is I will donate double that amount, then with your permission I won't even mention the Membership Drive on my show." Of course that is just a fantasy, I'm not wealthy. On the other hand perhaps it is better to ask you to support the show. I know from experience when I have had to work hard to get something I have placed more value and pride in whatever it was than when something was just given to me. This is no doubt true of Midnight Country for me. If I ever do get a day or evening time slot I will value it much more than had I walked in and started out during the day or evening. Of course I think there is a place for both a day/evening show and the existing show. The night time show fills a place in people's lives a day/evening show wouldn't. I hope when it is all said and done, when Midnight Country is no more, that people will have fond memories of the show. I hope people will look back and say "That show really meant something special to me, it filled an important place in my life, it made the nights a little shorter and a little less lonely." So think about it, even though financial support is vital to the show, perhaps your telling someone about the show will meet a vital need in their life. All I ask is that you support the show anyway you can, you'll be proud of the results and feel good about what you have accomplished.Speaking of someone who discovered the show at night. It was great visiting with Ron on the show this week. Someday down the line you may tune into KOPN and some amateur wannabe DJ will be visiting with a guy named Woody Adkins who did a show on KOPN for twenty years. You will then recall years before that night when the tables were turned and Woody was the amateur wannabe DJ stumbling around talking to the Legendary Ron Lutz. Of course this unnamed amateur DJ won't be as lucky visiting with me, since I won't ever be considered a legend, but hopefully by then I will at least be a little less tongue tied than I sometimes get when talking to Ron. I greatly value, more than Ron will ever know, the conversations he and I have on the show. So when we do visit I always try to keep him on the phone as long as I can. Thank you Ron, thank you so much.My friend George and I were at Country Kitchen Tuesday evening shooting the bull and feeding our faces. As we were paying and getting ready to leave a lady commented on the new George Jones t-shirt I was wearing. I asked her if she is ever up late and when she said she is, well of course you know the rest of the story. I didn't have any cards on me so I wrote the web site address and KOPN 89.5 FM on a matchbook. I hope she checks out the web site and then the show. I have no idea where the summer has gone, in fact I have no idea where the last 43 years have gone. I used to get annoyed when I would hear the saying "Time sure flies the older you get", but the older I get, the more it makes sense. As you know I am a Denver Broncos fan, in fact I have been since 1978. Boy that sounds like a lifetime ago. Anyway how I ended up a Broncos' fan is discussed in earlier WWWs so I won't repeat it here. Awhile back I mentioned to you I would be going to Colorado sometime this summer with my sister to help her with the driving on her trip. She had asked me knowing I might like to see Denver, home of the Broncos. I only recall seeing from a distance one time the old Mile High Stadium and I have never seen the Broncos play in person. We have been planning to make the trip during the week so I wouldn't miss a show. We finally narrowed it down to leaving on Sept. 12th, after the Johnny Cash Tribute. I made the mistake of looking at the Broncos' schedule and then I made a second mistake of telling Kelly the Broncos would be hosting the Chiefs the Sunday after I was there. Since then Kelly has been urging me to take advantage of being in Colorado and to go to the game. She knows how big of a Broncos fan I am, she even said "Bronco would want you to go." So I'm seriously thinking about trying to pull it off. It means I will need to prerecord a show and find someone willingly to hang out at the station all night to play it. It also means I won't be there to play your requests that night. As best I can recall I have never planned ahead of time and then taken a week off from doing the show. The times I have missed have always been last minute decisions, once due to a minor car wreck on the way in to do the show. I took another week off following the death of my step mom Virginia and again when the Ol' Clark Outlaw died. When Bronco died I took two weeks off. Life is flying by, I think I should probably take the time to stop on smell the Rocky Mountain air and see the team I named my boy after. When you divide the cost of the ticket by 28 years it really won't be that much. I'll keep you posted on what I decide to do.This week I will be spotlighting Reba, focusing primarily on her early material. Should be another great show. Don't forget to tell everyone you know about the Johnny Cash Special! Have a good weekend and tune in to hear Anna Rose's current favorite "Little Rock" ,
Woody |
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August 23, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. It felt weird not writing a WWWs last week. I've had busier, more stressful weeks, but for some reason last week just got away from me. I usually get it started on WWWs early in the week even if I don't finish it until later in the week. Last week neither happened. I sometimes wonder how important WWWs are to you all. I know one reader has kept all the WWWs she has received in a notebook. Another reader suggested I stop writing them altogether or at least cut back. I suppose writing them benefits me as much and more than it benefits anyone else. I guess I'll keep on keeping on. As I mentioned on the show Kelly and I went to the Missouri State Fair last week The weather was just right, not too hot or too cool. Kelly enjoyed the exotic animal petting zoo. I saw a shaggy sheep and felt at home. We saw the Budweiser Clydesdales as they got ready and then took off throughout the fair grounds. It was so funny; after they lifted the Dalmatian up onto the wagon he went to the back and lay down. I got a good picture of him. Once they started moving he stood up. Kelly enjoyed the crafts building, I enjoyed the opportunity to get off my feet while she looked around. I bought a Broncos' ring in the commercial building. A couple years ago I had bought a Broncos' license plate for my truck window. We ate supper before going into the concert. I thought the food was rather pricey. I had a $6 tenderloin I could have had at Lucy's for $4 and Lucy's would have been bigger. Kelly said "They have a captive audience in here, you don't have much choice, pay it or go without." I'm just glad I don't drink anymore. I think I saw beer in the concert was over $4 and the size it was would have taken me all of 30 seconds to drink. I tell you what, we lucked out with our tickets. I had not bought them ahead of time because I wasn't sure it was going to work out to go. When we got to the fair grounds we stopped at the ticket booth. I expected our only choice would be in the grandstands. The woman said they had just had some 5th row, center section, track seats released. I figure some hotshot pop Country station had some left over or something. Anyway I was pleasantly surprised. It would have been hard to even get seats that good the day the tickets went on sale. I gladly paid the extra $8 to have such good seats. Let me tell ya I do have my priorities right, I might complain about a $6 tenderloin, but when it comes to seeing a real Country artist well $25 is pretty darn cheap. Now I'm sure if George had known we were there he would have had us sitting on the stage. I hear ya, "Yeah right Woody, what fantasy world do you live in?" It doesn't hurt to dream I guess. The reality of being on the 5th row was good enough for this redneck. It was funny, after we sat down a young couple came by our row looking for their seats, they kept looking and double-checking their tickets. Like us they had just bought their tickets earlier that day and could not believe their seats were that good. Pam Tillis put on a good show. Kelly really enjoyed her. Kelly was impressed that two of her musicians were females. I got some decent pictures of Pam, but for some reason most of my pictures of George were pretty dark. There has to be some setting on my digital camera that would have taken better pictures. I tried not to stress out about it, but to just chill out and enjoy George. He put on a great show. The couple behind us who had obviously had a few of the $4+ beers kept yelling "Sing He Stopped Loving Here Today." It was getting rather annoying and so I was glad when he finally sang it. I'm not sure what they thought the odds were that he wouldn't sing it. Perhaps they just wanted him to hurry before they passed out. Of course if I still drank I would have made them look like they were whispering. After all "He Stopped Loving Here Today" is my all time favorite song. For years I wanted it played at my funeral. I just hope Kelly doesn't break my heart or I might have to put it back on my list. The song is, I must admit, rather depressing, but in the past I've spent more than one night on Depression Avenue.I think the thing that impressed me most was how many young people were at the concert. Why Nashville thinks teenagers only want to hear that pop Country I do not know. As we were leaving I told a kid who was probably about 13 or 14, "When you are my age you will be able to say you saw George Jones." I continued and said "Now that was real Country, Big and Rich ain't Country." I'm sure he thought I'd had one too many of those $4+ beers. Well the James Hand concert here in Columbia didn't materialize. It means another trip to Kansas City to get my real Country fix. Hopefully one of these days we'll start getting more of the artists I play on the show here in Columbia. Kelly and I were talking about how cool it would be to get George Jones here to play at Jesse Auditorium. I think I will need a little more pull and a few more connections than I currently have to see that happen. This week I want to spotlight two Freddie's, I mean Freddy's, wait that ain't right, well never mind, one is spelled "ie" and the other "y". I think it has been years since anyone had spelled my name Woodie, I just wish people would spell Adkins without a "t". Anyhow I want to spotlight Freddie Hart and Freddy Fender. I really don't have enough Freddie Hart to spotlight him by his self, so I figure what the heck, let's spotlight two Fredd…ie…y's. Remember you may have to waste your days listening to pop Country, but you sure don't have to waste your nights listening to it, at least not Sunday night, Monday mornings. Have a good weekend, remember I love to hear from you all, it makes my night ,
Woody |
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August 16, 2006 Lite Edition Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Been a very busy week, lots to write about, but ran out of time to write it. Tuesday Kelly and I went to see George Jones at the fair. It was a great time. I'll talk more about it in next week's WWWs. Wednesday I went to my friend George's mom's funeral. Keep George, his dad and family in your prayers. I learned Wednesday that Johnny Duncan had passed away, another great Country artist gone on. Johnny will be our spotlight artist this week. Have a good weekend and give me a call Monday morning, Woody |
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August 9, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Is it just me or does it seem rather strange that I was playing a request for "Crazy" by Patsy Cline as we went off the air at about 2:53 AM this week? If you were still listening at that time you no doubt wondered what the heck happened. No it wasn't the computer this time. The transmitter kicked off and we were no longer sending out a signal. I wasn't able to get it turned back on so I called the General Manager David Owens and woke him up . David went to the transmitter and discovered we had lost power there. David called and waited for Boone Electric to come out. Two hours later we were back on the air just before 5:00. Apparently a coon had shorted us out, poor guy. I was talking to Ron on Monday afternoon explaining what had happened; of course he knew from experience what had most likely happened. He made the comment "Why do these things keep happening during the best show on KOPN? Why doesn't it happen during one of those shows that play all that racket?" I had told David about the computer acting up again earlier in the show this week, he said "You seem to be a magnet lately for technical things to go wrong; it must be because you're able to deal with it." It gets frustrating to say the least. This week the phones were busy right up until we went off the air. In fact I was talking to a caller who I'd not heard from in a while when I said "Man, I've got to go, the transmitter just kicked off!" Please know I had no way of knowing this was about to happen or I would certainly have let you know before hand.
This reminds me of something that happened a few years back when I was running the air board during NPR's Diane Rehm Show. Anyway this particular day the transmitter kicked off and I immediately called the transmitter to try and turn it back on. As I was doing this though another line was ringing so I hung up and answered the call. The listener said "I sure wish you would have given us some warning before you cut into a very interesting interview and started playing music." Depending on where you live you may have heard other stations bleeding through when we went off the air Monday. So what the guy most likely heard was the Stephens College station bleeding into our signal path. I politely, but perhaps sounding a little irritated told the gentleman "I am not playing music, the station is off the air and I can't get it turned back on while I am on the phone with you." So if between Midnight and 5:30 AM you ever start to hear something besides real Country you can bet one of three things have happened. First, someone has broken into and taken over the station, second, the transmitter has gone down and you're hearing another station bleeding through or third I have lost my mind and started playing Pop Country. They say just because you are paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't really out to get you. I'm starting to wonder. Perhaps there is a Pop Country Mafia who has infiltrated the KOPN computer and is trying to wear me down until I give up and start playing Big and Rich. Ron has another theory; he said the computer seems to always act up during his favorite songs. He thinks perhaps the computer is paying him back for all the times he has said bad things about computers. There must be some kind of conspiracy going on, I'm just not sure why or who is behind it.
Boy it is staying hot ain't it? Goodness! I think my electric bill is trying to compete with my gas bills during the winter. I hope it cools off for Friday and next Tuesday. Friday evening I am planning to run up to Mexico and attend the Little Dixie Shrine Club's 2nd Annual Bluegrass and Country Festival. I was hoping to announce it a few more times on the show this week, but I'm glad I did the two times I was able to. It really was unusual how I ran across the ad. I was eating lunch at my local grocery store's deli and on the table was a copy of the Twin Rivers Trading Post paper. To be honest with you I had never heard of it before. Now my brother Dean knows all those papers since he is always keeping his eye open for farm machinery, but I rarely pick them up. I tend to like to keep busy and so with no TV to watch like when I eat at home I thought I'd flip through this paper. Of course the word "Country" catch my eye. As for next Tuesday if the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise, Kelly and I are planning to go to the Missouri State Fair. I actually think we could still make it even if the creek does rise. It would take a heck of a rain to flood the Missouri over I-70. George Jones and Pam Tillis will be playing that night. I saw George at the Montgomery County Fair a few years ago. It will be nice to see him again.
As you know Tuesday was Election Day here in Missouri. My brother Dean was running in the Primary for Adair County Clerk on the Republican ticket. Adair County includes Kirksville, Novinger and my official hometown of Brashear. Growing up it was strange we had a Kirksville phone and a Brashear address. We were about an equal distance from the two. Though Dean didn't win I know he gave his opponent a run for their money. Way to go Dean! Now that the election is over I have a little story to tell. Back around the 4th of July I was talking to my niece DeeAnna, Dean's daughter. They were making preparation for a couple of parades Dean was going to be in. I said I wasn't sure I should come up and be in the parades. I said I didn't want to hurt Dean's campaign since people might judge him by his redneck, hillbilly, hippie of a brother. I could just see me being the next Billy Carter or Roger Clinton. I was just kidding around with her, but ya never know. I guess it would be cool to have a beer named after me like Billy Carter did. I can just see it though, people would get pulled over and say "It is all Woody's fault" or come home drunk and said "Woody got me drunk." My goodness, on second thought I'm not sure it would be so "cool", I already feel responsible for things I had nothing to do with.
I hope the computer issues may have been resolved. I talk to David and we decided to try using a computer I had here at home in addition to the one I normally use. Hopefully this second computer can handle some of the tasks and not overwhelm the original computer. We'll see, keep your fingers crossed. This isn't a long-term solution, but will hopefully buy us some time until the station gets a new computer for the air room. Something had to be tried since the computer has been acting up on several people this week. This week I will be spotlighting Ricky Skaggs. I will be focusing primarily on his Country material, but no doubt some of what Ron selects and what I play with be pretty Bluegrass. Most weeks we play a few songs that are more Bluegrass than Country, but this week it may be a few more than normal. I crack up when I hear BG Brown on the High Lonesome Sound playing Bluegrass versions of songs I have always thought of as Country. Thanks for sticking with me through thick and thin. One of these days my hair will turn completely gray from all the worrying I do trying to pull off a decent Country show. I hope some weeks you feel like we have succeeded in our mission. Have a good weekend, maybe this week I'll scrap the computer and use my uncle's pen ,
Woody |
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August 2, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I would say there is little doubt that summer is in full swing. It sounds like the whole country is burning up. I hope everyone is keeping as cool as you can under the circumstances. I was thinking I would take some time off and run up home this week, but with this heat wave I changed my mind. I want to get back to nature and hang out on the farm, but I don't want to be miserable in the process. Okay so I've become a citified redneck. With AC it is kind of hard for me to remember from one year to the next how hot it was. Anna Rose was talking this week about one of the summers in the '30's being so hot. It must have been hot for her to remember that long ago. I can't even remember last year. I was pleased with the way the computer performed this week. I was prepared for the worst. I suppose if I hadn't been prepared it would have then acted up on me. It sounds like the station is serious about getting a new computer for the air room at some point fairly soon. I can't wait for that to happen. It is easy to take things for granted when they are working. I must admit though I have learned the most about computers when they have acted up. I kind of enjoy troubleshooting them, but prefer not having to do so during the show. I had two more first time callers this week. One guy sounded like he might have some connection with the station. The second guy from Holts Summit works over night and said he just discovered the station/show. Both callers made requests that were right in line with what I normally play. I tell ya people out there are starved for real Country. A big helping of everything from the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers to George Strait and George Jones is just what the doctor ordered. I think the grand spread we lay out every week can't help but attract the starving masses who have been trying to stay alive on this watered down soup that is being passed around as being real Country. I just wished I could figure out how to get the word out to even more people. I guess I needn't worry, the sweet aroma of real Country with float through the air and bring them running to the Ol' Midnight Country Café. I think the best thing I can do is to just keep doing what I'm doing.It was good to hear from June and Charles this week. It sounds like it isn't any cooler over by the Big Muddy. Frank from Boonville received a subliminal message from the weather forecast I read. 101 kept popping up as a forecasted high or forecasted heat index reading. He took that to mean I should play some Highway 101. Of course I gladly played them for him. Frank is a faithful listener to the show and always has such encouraging words to say like "Keep doing what you're doing Woody." It means a lot. When Ron called he said he had a trivia question for me. I thought to myself "Oh no, I'm about to show my ignorance to my teacher." The question was "Where is Highway 101?" I said California and fortunately got part of the answer right. It actually runs from the Canadian border through Washington and Oregon into California. Ron mentioned a DJ named Eddie Hill who had written a song called "Highway 101." Eddie was a DJ on WSM one of the country's best Country stations, second of course to KFAL when Ron was there. As you recall from my talking about being a Denver Broncos fan, growing up I always hated the Dallas Cowboys. I never thought in all my life I would say this but I would really like to go to Dallas in September. No it isn't to see the Cowboys and no my Broncos won't be playing there. I just got an email forwarded from the station about an event going on down there on Sept. 26-27, 2006. It is the first annual Classic Country Broadcasters Convention. I know Ron there is no "first annual", I'm just typing what they wrote. I don't know much about this yet, but it sounds pretty cool. I know I probably can't pull off going, but I would like to find out more about it. One line in the e-mail caught my eye "Organizers invite those involved in the classic country music industry to participate in this groundbreaking endeavor." I think I might qualify as being "involved in the classic country music industry". I don't think most people trapped in a burning building whose lives are hanging in the balance care whether the fireman trying to save their life is a volunteer or paid fireman. I know many of you appreciate being rescued by this ol' volunteer DJ from the everyday Country shows. I told Kelly about it and she said "You should go, you would enjoy it!" We'll see, I might make it for the 25th Annual Convention. Heck I may not live that long, maybe I SHOULD go this year. Well I'll see ya all later, I guess I'd better start walking now…I'm back, dang it is too hot out there, I didn't even make it to the corner. I don't profess to be much of a "food" cook in any way, shape or form, but last night I did take time to sample the "grand spread" we cook up for you every week on MC. Often I am too busy cooking up new recipes in the Ol' Midnight Country Kitchen to even enjoy what I am cooking. Last night though as I was going to sleep I listened to the show recording. Often I find it hard to make myself do this. I get frustrated when all I hear when I listen are the mistakes I made. Yet I am slowly but surely starting to cut myself a little slack. Last night as I was listening I said to myself "Not bad Woody, I can see how someone might enjoy listening to the show." I found myself wanting to pick up the phone and call the show, so it must have been pretty good. I know there are a million ways we could improve the show, but from listening I think we are at least on the right track. I just hope the light I see is the end of the tunnel and not another train.This week I want to spotlight "The Voice" Vern Gosdin. I find it rather surprising I have not done this sooner. Vern is one of my favorites. Unfortunately I don't have tons of his music, but I think I have enough to give you all a decent serving of his material. Boy it seems I am using a lot of food analogies this week, I wonder what is up with that? Could it been my subconscious reminding me Anna Rose hasn't baked up any her delicious banana nut bread for a while? Hint, hint…I'd even buy the bananas for ya. I really should be more subtle I suppose, but if you had eaten Anna Rose's banana nut bread you would be dropping hints too.Fall will be here before you know it and with the Fall another KOPN Membership Drive. The station has decided to go from three Drives a year down to two. This meaning the goal per drive has greatly increased and will be $75,000 in October. I don't know yet what MC's goal will be, but I would say it is safe to say it will be significantly more than in the past. As many people as I sometimes think listen to MC reaching our goal really shouldn't be a burden on any one person. Of course some weeks I think it is just Anna Rose still listening late into the show. I'd hate for her and I to have to come up with the whole amount. Seriously though, be thinking about what you can contribute and yes there are many ways you can support the show besides giving financially. Every new person you tell about the show could potentially become a supporter. PLEASE let me know if you would like MC business cards, flyers or brochures to give to those you know who love real Country. Also don't forget the squeaky wheel gets the oil, have you let the station know you miss the Daylight shows?Have a good weekend, tune in Monday morning for the voice and the wannabe voice, Vern and Woodrow ,
Woody |
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July 26, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I probably shouldn't admit this but a thought crossed my mind a time or two during the show this week. The thought was "This is ridiculous, I'm just going to go back to playing CD's, if I don't have someone's request with me they'll have to wait until next week." It seems like it is becoming a broken record, talking about computer problems here in WWWs. I'll be glad when I can afford a laptop and just bypass the station's computers. I found some consolation in the fact the computer was continuing to act up later on Monday for other people. At least I now know it wasn't just something I was doing. There is talk about replacing the station's computer I use to do the show; hopefully it will be sooner than later. I apologize for the disruption to the show these computer issues have caused. Some of the problems I should have prevented, not all of them I could. It is hard to go in prepared for every possible thing that can go wrong. Let me explain how I do things and why it is hard to make a seamless switch midstream. Prior to going in to do the show I select between 85-90 songs to play. All of these songs are on a piece of computer equipment called an external hard drive; they are there along with another 20,000+ songs. If I didn't take requests I could just take in the 65+ CD's that contain the 85-90 songs I intend to play. Yet I do take requests and believe that by so doing it makes the show much more enjoyable for both the listeners and myself. So if I didn't use the computer I would really need access to 1,000+ CD's in order to assure I could play as many requests as possible. If I had to sort through 1,000+ CD's it would be virtually impossible for me to talk on the phone, take requests and play a different artist every song. The thing I like about using a computer, when it is working correctly of course, is this; I can have the phone in one hand, the computer mouse in the other hand getting requests ready to play without ever having to hang up or ignore the phone or even leave my chair. Of course when the computer does go down it is hard to proceed without it being rather obvious. So the only real solutions to preventing the disruptions would be to either not take requests or lug all 1,000+ CD's into the air room every week. As frustrating as it is when the computer acts up, I don't really think either of these solutions is practical. For now I'm tired of talking about it; of course I won't stop thinking about it. Two, count 'um two first time callers this week! One caller said she had just discovered the show, the other caller said he had been a long time listener, but had never called before. Ain't that cool?! It made my night let me tell ya. It was great as always to hear from all the regulars as well. As excited as I get when I have a first time caller, I get even more excited when a first timer becomes a regular caller. A recent first timer called again this week and one of this week's first timers called later in the show. All further proof that what Ron said was right "You have a lot of people listening son." The show might have ended a long time ago without the consistent encouragement of the legendary Ron Lutz. I think someone above was looking out for me when Ron decided to make Midnight Country the first radio show he ever called. Thanks Ron.George sounded pretty darn good this week. It is easy to take him for granted. I just wish more mainstream Country artists would remain as true to Country Music as he has. Late Saturday night, early Sunday morning I watched a show on VH-1 about the history of Heavy Metal. Something I found interesting was their discussion of the different phases Heavy Metal has gone through. Apparently there is Heavy Metal that is considered to real, original Heavy Metal, then bands came along, glamorized and watered it down. After a while some new bands started doing what is considered to be real Heavy Metal again, winning the praises of real Metal fans. There were a lot of obvious parallels to the phases Country Music has gone through. I suppose every genre of music has a similar story. I'm not sure sometimes that I have a real good grasp of what Country Music is and isn't. I know some of what I consider to be good solid Country like Waylon and Willie was not considered Country enough when it first came out. Perhaps in twenty years a DJ like myself will think Big & Rich, Rascal Flatts and Shania Twain are good solid Country. I have no problem with all styles of music's right to exist. It just goes back to the old illustration about McDonalds, if I order a Big Mac, don't give me a Burrito Supreme. I wonder sometimes if a lot of Country acts aren't using the smaller arena of Country as a steppingstone into Pop and Rock. If they can build up a following in Country it will be easier to catch the ear of record executives in Pop or Rock. When I was younger it seemed this scenario was sometimes played out in Gospel Music. I don't know that this is necessarily wrong, you just feel used by artists you have followed when they make a major change in their music.I suppose the whole music business all boils down to $'s. I would think an artist would realize careers are too short to not play the style of music they really love. Of course you just assume the original music an artist does is what they really love, but this may not be the case. Money isn't everything, if it were I would have quit MC a long time ago since I don't get paid to do the show. If I didn't love the music I play on MC I sure as heck wouldn't stay up all night playing it. You can tell what you really love to do by looking at the things you gladly do for free. There are some jobs that you couldn't pay me enough money to do. Doctors might make a ton of money, but if I were a doctor I would find it hard to pull myself out of bed to go in and face another day at the office. It wouldn't be worth all the money in the world to me. Yet I gladly do for free something a doctor can't do and that is bring some peace of mind to their patients who might listen to my show. It really does take all kinds to make the world go 'round.It seems like this summer has flown by, where does time go? I prefer the heat to the cold of winter. I guess that may have something to do with getting older. I suppose that is why a lot of people choose to retire in the south, Florida, Texas, Arizona, etc. My girlfriend Kelly lived in Tucson for many years. She flew down there last week for a visit. While the temperatures were at or above what we were having, she said it didn't feel as hot with the lower humidity. She misses Tucson and all her friends down there, but one good thing is her best friend is moving to Memphis TN. So they will be able to visit much more often. I just wish her friend was moving to Nashville. Oh well, Nashville ain't what it used to be, at least a lot of the so-called Country they keep pumping out. I would like to go back though, it has been awhile. I've been by but not in the Country Music Hall of Fame. I would like to spend a day there. Perhaps I can drop Kelly off at Memphis and head east for a few days.Hope all is well with all of you, June hasn't called in a while, but I'll bet she is still listening. She hates to wake Charles up by using the phone. We just need to get Charles to take a nap on Sunday afternoons and stay up all night too. Anna Rose keeps me on my toes. She tends to shoot pretty straight with me. She pointed out she didn't like a woman singing a man's song. I had just played Heather Myles' version of Charley Pride's classic "Kiss An Angel Good Morning." This week I want to spotlight Dolly Parton. We are repeating some artists who we have spotlighted before, but even as we do this we will continue to spotlight first time artists too. With some artists like George Strait and Dolly I have more than enough material to choose from. Other artists I barely have enough of to spotlight. We do the best we can with what we have. Have a good weekend, tune in Monday morning and keep your fingers crossed that the computer will cooperate ,
Woody |
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July 19, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. It sure is hot, I hope everyone is keeping cool. I guess it is that time of year, huh? If it weren't for air conditioning I would be complaining a lot more I suppose. I don't see how people survived before AC. Of course there was a time before people had fans let alone AC. I've told this story before, but I like telling it. The story is my family didn't even have fans until the summer I was born. I guess being pregnant with me was more than Mom could handle without some man made breeze. I guess you don't miss what you've never had. Most people these days (myself included) would freak out if they had to give up their AC &/or fans. Heck I can remember driving John Deere's without an umbrella, let alone a cab and AC! Now that was a looong time ago. I can hear some of ya now, "Heck I remember not even having a tractor, I'd plow for days on end behind a team of mules." Yeah I know, I didn't have it so rough. Most of the really hard work was history by the time I was old enough to help on the farm. Piling hay consisted of sitting in the AC pushing levers and listening to FM Stereo. I did have one job that no machine made any easier. I used to clean out farrowing houses for my brother Dean. Only half the roof would open and after awhile your knees couldn't take it so you just sit down in the stuff. As I was doing this I dreamed up all kinds of ways I would have designed the buildings different if I had been building them. You might have heard me talking on the show about how when Bronco was still alive I always like the hot weather because it gave me an excuse to keep him inside with me. I think he liked keeping cool, but sometimes he seemed bored staying in. On really hot days my next-door neighbor Susie would ask where Bronco was. I would tell her he was inside and she would say "Well that's good, it is too hot for him to be outside" and then in the winter she would point out how it was too cold outside for him. Of course Susie always missed seeing Bronco when he wasn't outside. After Bronco died I gave Jack and Susie a couple pictures of Bronco so Susie can always see him. When I bring Bronco up Susie always says "I miss Bronco, I used to look out and see him everyday, everyday I tell ya." I want to say a BIG "Happy Birthday" to two members of the MC Family. Mildred celebrated her birthday on Sunday and her daughter Missy's birthday was Tuesday. I'm not sure how this works, but I'll bet if you asked either one of them they would say they are 39 and holding. How a mother and daughter can be the same age I do not know. Just kidding you two. I hope you both had a happy birthday. I thought it was neat when John and Missy requested songs for Mildred, then Mildred called and requested songs for Missy.I just finished reading Willie Nelson's autobiography. Interesting reading, I'm kind of getting into this reading books written by or about my heroes. I'm not sure who I will read about next. I guess it depends on what I can find at the library. I read a lot about artists on the web, but most of that is so brief it is hard to really see where the person was coming from. Everyone one of us has a different outlook on life. A lot of our perspective is shaped by our experiences as children. It was fascinating to learn about Hank Sr., Waylon and Willie's growing up years. Even when you don't understand where a person is coming from, knowing their life's story will often help it make sense. The thing I found most fascinating about Waylon and Willie's stories were their experiences with church growing up and then their resulting views about faith. I guess I could see similarities with my own experience. Sometimes I am tempted to shorten the show to 3:00 AM instead of going to 5:30. I just wish I could figure out a way to get people to call if they are still listening after 3:00. The calls usually drop off so significantly that I sometimes think Anna Rose is the only one still listening. I was talking to someone a while back about calls in general, wondering why more people don't call, if indeed there are more people listening than just the ones who do call. This person said some people find it intimidating to talk to someone on the radio. I can relate to that, but I don't think of myself as intimidating, unlike the DJ's I am afraid to call. I'm about as down-to-earth as they come. I feel bad sometimes early in the show when I miss calls or am not able to talk very long. I am afraid it will cause people to not call again or as much. Anyway…just remember I love hearing from each of you every time you're listening. You don't have to make a request or talk long, just knowing you're out there makes my night. I got a call this week from Grant; he was in New York City. Like Anna Rose's calls, I find Grant's loyal calls to the show extremely encouraging. Whenever he is out of town and can get a signal on his cell phone I usually hear from him. Grant said he had been at Hank's Saloon in New York City that night. I just looked up their web site, it looks like a neat place. Grant had a buddy with him and his buddy told him to ask me if I had ever heard of James Hand. A lot of times things happen on MC that seem rather surreal and this was one of them. I told Grant I had just been playing on MC for the first time ever James Hand. Weird, huh? Less than two weeks ago I couldn't have even told you who James Hand was. I shared on the show how I discovered James. I was talking to Dale Watson's bass player Gene after Dale's KC show. Gene said he had played for various artists during the time Dale took a break from doing his usual amount of dates. One artist Gene mentioned was James Hand. I thought "Dang that name seems familiar." We get so many CD's at the station by artists I have never heard of. So often I picked through them deciding whether to listen to them based on what the artist looks like, what the cover looks like and the titles of the songs. I must admit if I were to make a CD I might not listen to it based on how I look. You can bet though the CD cover would look Country and the song titles would sound Country even if the artist didn't look like a trimmed cut Hank Sr. Anyway James' CD had previously caught my eye and I intended to listen to it at some point, but I've got a ton of CD's that fall in that category and so it could have been months before I finally did listen to it. I'm glad I had that conversation with Gene.This week I want to spotlight George Strait. It has been over a year and a half since we have had him in the spotlight. As much as I believe in the importance of keeping Classic artists on the radio, I also believe it is equally as important to keep current Traditional Country artists on the radio as well. I realize George Strait isn't hurting for airplay, but every time Country Music fans buy or requests the music of artists like George Strait it has to send a message that there is definitely still a market for real Country. The majority of what I will play will be George's early music, but this is not because his newer music isn't real Country. There is little George has done that I don't consider to be real Country. It is George's early music that really cemented in my mind how good he really is and besides the early stuff doesn't get the airplay it deserves. Of course this may change according to the songs Ron picks out, but I'll bet it won't. It will just be proof even someone like me can sometimes be on the same page with a great mind. Have a good weekend, tune Monday morning and don't forget to call me , Woody |
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July 12, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. If there seemed to be less hot air on the show this week it was because I was holding my breath during the first part of the show. I was hoping the computer wouldn't freeze up on me like it had the week before. I had found out during the week that it had happened to another programmer and so I was rather nervous. I knew however that a couple of people had spent a great deal of time troubleshooting that computer and so I was hopeful that it wouldn't freeze up on me. I had been on the air earlier on Sunday co-hosting Strike the Gay Harp with my friend Kellar and had done some testing then as well. I don't think I had mentioned on MC or in here that I was to be on Sunday afternoon from 3:00-5:00. Strike the Gay Harp is a Celtic (Irish, Scottish) music show and though probably a great-grandparent of Country Music, it isn't anything like I play on MC. So I figured there wasn't much sense plugging the show on MC. My friend Kellar is a big fan of Celtic music and so he selected all the music. Since Kellar isn't a regular programmer at KOPN I ran the air board and made sure we did everything we were supposed to do. I, of course, visited on the air with Kellar and tried not to show my ignorance of Celtic music. How did I get off on that? Oh yeah, the computer seemed to work just fine during MC, thank God. I had a nice trip to Kansas City on Friday to see Dale Watson. I headed out around 2:00 PM, the concert wasn't to start until 10:00 PM. I figured I would use the extra time to shop, eat some BBQ and to drive through Oak Grove where I lived for about six years. I had been looking forward to the Outlet Mall in Odessa, but it ended up being a dud. There isn't a Music Outlet store there like there is at the Warrenton Outlet Mall by St. Louis. It is probably just as well since I didn't really want to drop a bunch of money on CD's, though there are a bunch I need to get at some point. I did buy one thing that will shock ya all. Are you sitting down? I bought a cowboy hat. It was cheap enough I could justify buying it even though I knew it isn't something I will wear very often. I must admit though I looked pretty bad (meaning good) when I put it on and looked in the mirror. Waylon would be proud. Ron would say "Get a haircut son." Now I just need some boots and I'd be set to go to a rodeo. If I strapped on a six-shooter people might think some Outlaw was in town. I definitely need to have Kelly take some pictures in case I lose my mind and decide to have my cut short again. Anyway, usually when I look at cowboy hats they are way too small, but since this one fit I just had to buy. Yeah, I do have a big head, but not because I have a big head, make sense? I told the woman who sold it to me "I ain't no cowboy, but I would like to have a hat." I sometimes think I should have named the show the Midnight Cowboy instead of Midnight Country, not because I like the name or think I am a cowboy, but because sooo many people mistakenly call it that! It surely can't be that people think I look like a cowboy, but if I'd start wearing the hat…ya never know. Don't look for me to start wearing it much anytime soon though.You might have heard me mention on the show that I ate a late lunch on Friday at Bates City BBQ. Dang that was some good stuff. It had been over thirteen years since I had eaten there. I was shocked when one of the women who works there remembered me. As I walked in she said "BoyI haven't seen you in a long time." I said "Yeah, almost fourteen years!" She said my old boss still comes in there to eat and as well as a guy I used to work with. I told her I would definitely make apoint to stop there next time I'm in KC with Kelly. Of course I told her about Bronco and my girls. I am making myself hungry, there's no BBQ in this neck of the woods as good as theirs let me tell ya. I enjoyed seeing Dale Watson again. It had only been about eight months, but I could see him every weekend and not get tired of it. He has to be Country Music's best-kept secret. If people heard the real stuff like Dale does they wouldn't settle for this pop junk. One of these days he'll be through Columbia, at least I hope. To tell ya how good people who have heard him think he is, there were people from St. Louis and Arkansas there. I know, 'cause I talked to them. One of the guys I had met back in December when I saw Dale in St. Louis. One of these days we'll get Columbia and Midnight Country on the map and some real Country artists will start stopping through. Just to give you some warning I am probably going to take a break from writing WWWs a couple times in the next couple months. I am hoping to get up home for a few days at some point this summer. I really want to spend sometime at Bronco's grave and to just get out in the Country for a while. I'm also planning to make a trip to Colorado at some point with my sister. I shouldn't miss any shows, but it would be hard to do a show, turn around write WWWs immediately and then head out of town. WWWs is not really something you can write ahead of time. When this happens I will mail out a postcard telling you what is up and who the spotlight artist will be. I should probably take a couple weeks off from the show too. I always wait until some crisis though before I do take time off. There aren't a lot of people standing in line wanting to cover an all night show and fewer still who would play the kind of Country I play. If I were to take off sometime I would probably either repeat an old show or have a prerecorded new show. I would still need someone there to man the station. We'll see. It isn't that I think I do such a wonderful show that no one else can do as good or better. I just think consistency is important. It is like with fast food, you may think the food tastes horrible, but at least you know what to expect when you are in a strange town. Of course there is always the real reason I'm afraid to take off. A sub might do such a great job you wouldn't want me to come back. If Ron offered to do the show I KNOW you wouldn't want me back. He would play all vinyl and say "To hell with that computer." This week I want to spotlight John Conlee. As you know he is to be at the Montgomery County Fair on July 20th. I don't have a lot of John to choose from, but we will make due with what we have. I e-mailed John asking for a couple of CD's, but I've not heard back. I was talking to someone at the station last night and she said artists are sometimes reluctant to send CD's when a DJ requests them. I guess they have gotten burned by people who weren't really DJ's. I told her if they would just look at my web site they would know I'm legit. I don't think most people would go to all the effort of having a web site just to get a couple free CD's. Oh well, someday Midnight Country will be on artists' radar. It was great to hear from everyone this week. Hearing from Ron always makes my night and Anna Rose always gets me through the show without me falling asleep. Ruby was on the ball and was my first caller. I hope she and Chip enjoyed a lively dance to "Back in Baby's Arms" that I sent out to them. I had a first time caller again this week. They said they really enjoyed the show and couldn't hear the music I play anywhere else. It sounded like they had been a faithful listener for sometime. I always hate it when I can't find a request. I'll keep lookin' Mildred, hope all is well in Mexico. One of Grant's buddies is now a faithful caller, great havin' ya on board Steve. Some of ya I haven't heard from in awhile. I always start to worry when I don't hear from ya.
Have a good weekend and don't forget to tune Monday morning, hopefully I will be able to see the computer with my Rose Colored glasses on, Woody |
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July 5, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I hope everyone enjoyed Tom T. Hall the spotlight artist this week. One caller didn't seem too enthused, but he is a faithful listener and I don't think he minded too much. Later on I was talking to another caller who sometimes says she isn't crazy about certain artists I play. I said if I didn't play all the artists individual listeners didn't like I would be left with no one to play. Since everyone I play is probably disliked by someone. If the truth were known I am not crazy about every artist or song I play either. If I only played my favorites the show would get boring in a hurry though. The Ol' Clark Outlaw never quite understood where I was coming from on that issue. I guess he figured I wouldn't play something I didn't like. I do do my best to only play what I consider to be real Country. I may sneak some in at 4:00 AM I really shouldn't be playing and occasionally there's a request that is borderline, but most the time I think we succeed in keepin' your Country real. I enjoyed remembering the Ol' Clark Outlaw on the show this week. As you know it was a year ago July 2nd he passed away. I can just imagine he and Bronco sitting there under a shade tree in Heaven listening to the show. He probably told Bronco "I bet he won't even remember I came up here a year ago." Then after the Tribute with a tear in his eye he probably said "Dang he didn't forget, did he?!" My reading Waylon's autobiography seemed to coincide nicely with my remembering Bob. Like Waylon, the Ol' Clark Outlaw went through some tough times, but he came through on the other side a better person. I miss Bob and our long conversations on the phone. He always got a kick out of WWWs and was largely the reason I decided to write them. I know it would have really bothered him when Bronco died one year to the day after his sister died. It would have torn him up. I was glad John and Missy came down last year for the Tribute I did. I'm sure Bob was proud then and proud again this year as I played the part from the Tribute where John read Missy's writing that had been read at Bob's funeral. I miss ya, ya Ol' Outlaw you. I think I had three first time callers on the show this week. I say "I think" because it could be they had called before I was trying to always ask a person's name. I still sometimes forget to ask where the person is calling from, which used to bother the Ol' Outlaw. I am doing better though. One of the callers was from Columbia, one from Versailles and the last one was passing through Columbia on his way to Olathe, KS. I was able to get each of their requests on which I hope pleased them and will make them want to call again & again & ag... I will be glad when the day comes that KOPN is streaming on the internet. For those not familiar with the term "streaming" I will explain. This means that anyone in the world would be able to listen to Midnight Country on his or her computer at 12 Midnight our time. I was telling someone that people in Europe would be able to listen during the day! If my calculations are correct at Midnight here it would be 6:00 AM in London England and 7:00 AM in Frankfurt Germany. I might have unknown relatives listening. Adkins is English and my middle name; Mom's Maiden name is Diehl, which is German. They say Country Music is big in Europe and as I understand it Traditional Country artists will sometimes get more airplay over there than here in the states. I know Dale Watson and Heather Myles both play over the quite a bit. I might get more calls/e-mails with requests than I could handle. I might need help keeping up like I have during the daylight shows we've done. I can see it now people from Europe showing up at 915 E. Broadway in Columbia wanting to meet this Ron Lutz and Anna Rose they keep hearing about on the show. Anna Rose might have to start an export business for her candy apples and banana nut bread. Oops I'm sorry my inner child started typing when I was away from the computer. He has such big ideas. I apologize. We can't even get on during the day here on a regular basis let alone have people listening in Europe. Ouch, dang it, my inner child just hit me and said to knock off the negative bs (brussels sprouts). A little boy can dream I guess. Just because we aren't on the internet doesn't mean we don't get calls from far off places though. Charles and June's daughter Susan called this week from Beaumont Texas! She and her boyfriend Chris had been in this neck of the woods for a while and had been faithful listeners to the show. Susan wanted me to play a song for her mom. Chris said they had been getting a lot of rain down there. Susan was a little bit jealous of her sister Theresa because Theresa got to come up to the show during her recent visit and it hadn't worked out when Susan was in town. June you'll have to tell Susan the next time she and Chris are up we will make a point to meet them. I sometimes think it would be cool to have a get-together of some sort. I think a lot of the regular listeners would get a kick out of meeting each other. If I didn't have my picture plastered everywhere on the web site and the printed WWWs I might be paranoid about people seeing what I look like. I guess it hasn't stopped most of you from listening to the show. Now whether you would want to be seen in public with me may be another story. I don't have any specific get-together ideas in mind, but if there were enough interest we might be able to cook something up. I'm just afraid I would feel silly when no one showed up. I guess I should just start small, like say "I'm gonna be at Lucy's on such and such day a 12:00 Noon" and see if anyone shows. I bet Chip and Ruby would be there. Of course you never know half the town might show up and Lucy's wouldn't be able to handle the crowd. Dang it, I have to get a sitter next time for my inner child, every time I get up he starts typing. He is such an optimist, it is such a shame life has turned me into such a pessimist. I used to have big ideas like he does. Friday I am heading to Kansas City to see Dale Watson in concert. I look forward to doing things like this then when the time gets here I wonder if I should still spend the money and go. I saw gas is up another dime. Gas to get there will cost 2-3 times the amount of the ticket. It wouldn't kill me to not go since I just saw him in December, but life is short and I'd might as well go do something I'll really enjoy. Someday before my short life is over I'd sure like to have him here in Columbia. I wish Kelly could go, but she has to work. This week I want to spotlight Roger Miller. I was looking over the list of his songs I have and I was surprised at how little of his stuff I have played on MC. I look forward to hearing the songs Ron points out to me as the "Good ones." I am, as has been the case lately, finishing this up on Thursday. Today is Mom's 85th birthday. I wish she were still here so we could celebrate. "Happy Birthday Mom, I love and miss you. Tell Bronco to take a break from chasing the Easter Bunny to have a piece of cake with you." Have a good weekend and don't forget to tune Monday morning for the King of the Road, Woody |
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June 28, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I'm running behind again this week, but this time it is Waylon's fault. Tuesday night when I should have been writing I was reading Waylon's autobiography instead. I mentioned last week that I had just finished reading a Hank Sr. biography. It definitely makes a difference when it is the person telling his or her own story. I guess Hank didn't live long enough to write an autobiography, huh? Too bad. The thought crossed my mind while reading Waylon that his writing voice and mine have a similar feel. Sometimes he would lose me when he would start talking about something else. I think, well I know, I do that in here. I could relate to where Waylon was coming from on a lot of issues. I can't wait to get back to the book, but I must discipline myself and write WWWs.In the last week or so I had two faithful readers of the paper WWWs comment on the fact they couldn't find the phone numbers for making requests. Well the numbers are back and will remain back unless I lose my mind or something. I had included that little square with all the contact info for a long time, but I thought perhaps no one even noticed it anymore. Wrong. Thanks for pointing that out you two. I sometimes think I give the numbers too much on the show, but I would bet if I cut back someone would call and say they had had to look the number up in the phone book. I guess just because I know them by heart and often rattle them off on the show without thinking I assume everyone else remembers them. Of course often after I have given the numbers I wonder to myself if I said them right. I've even worried I might without thinking give out my home number. I'll never forget the night I combined the 800 number and the e-mail address. Oh well, what can you do? Last Saturday Kelly, Sarah and I got to go hang out with Ron for a while. It was sure good to see him. I've included a new picture here in the printed WWWs of Ron and I. I'm still amazed I ever met Ron. I tend to focus on the things that haven't gone right in my life, but I'll tell ya what that is one thing that did go right. Thanks Ron for letting us hang out. I'll bet Mary, Pier and Bronco enjoyed listening in on the conversation. After we visited Ron we stopped by the Churchill Memorial in Fulton. It has become a part of our summer trips to Ron's to stop by there and take some pictures. I've included a picture of Kelly and her daughter Sarah by a piece of the Berlin Wall. I've also included a couple other pictures. One is of me in my Father's Day shirt, holding the rope attached to Bronco's favorite toy. He loved to play with that toy, in fact as I recall the night before he died he was playing with it and I had a hard time getting him to come in the house. I used to hit the rope with a plastic stick so the toy would fly up in the air and then Bronco would jump to catch it. One day I missed the rope and hit him in the nose. I felt sooo bad, but it didn't even faze him. Broncos are tough now! I wore the shirt for the first time Tuesday and someone asked me "Woody are you really a Broncos dad?" I had never thought of that angle, that someone might think I had a human son playing for the Broncos. After they said something I recalled seeing people with shirts like Mizzou Parent or something like that. Of course I explained how I AM a Bronco's dad. Wednesday night (I know, I am finishing this up Thursday) Kelly's oldest son Darth and I went downtown to the Ninth Street Summer Fest. Darth is getting up there in years, he is fourteen and a half. Darth had been abused and had a rough life before his Momma Kelly came along and rescued him. It takes him awhile to trust people. The first time I met him it was awhile before he would come up to me. The fact he finally did that night, was according to Kelly, a sign I have a good heart. Well I don't feel like much of a saint most days, but I'll take her word for it. Wait a second, she said I have a good heart, not that I was a saint. She'd be the last person to say I am a saint. It is hard to keep up an appearance of sainthood with those you are really close to. Anyway…I know Darth has a good heart and he loves his Momma. Who wouldn't? I love her too. He gets so excited when he sees her. Surprisingly Kelly trusted me enough to take Darth downtown. I don't think she thinks I would intentionally hurt one of her kids, but I am a blonde (strawberry) and I do have my moments when my brain isn't computing at full capacity. Now the day she trusts me with her baby Sarah will be a monumental occasion. Darth and I had a nice time. Initially he was a little nervous, perhaps it was the loud music or maybe he saw someone who he could tell didn't have a "good heart". He was excited when he saw some other dogs. Once he relaxed he didn't seem to mind the loud music as much. I had been curious about one of the bands and so wanted to hear them a bit to see if they would fit on MC. It didn't take long for me to realize "That ain't the kind of Country I play." So Darth and I headed to Kelly's. Hopefully he enjoyed the night out. He's a good dog. Tom T. Hall will be in the spotlight this week. You can bet I will play "Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine" for Bronco, that was his favorite song. It was nice to hear from Chip and Ruby this week along with Frank from Boonville. I also got some requests from Mildred via the mail. It is always good to hear from you Mildred whether by mail or phone. As always Anna Rose kept me awake into the wee hours of the morning. If she ever stops calling me I would be in real deep horse manure. Some weeks I get calls late, other weeks…well let's just say thank God for Anna Rose. Have a good weekend and don't forget Monday morning to do like Tom's song says "Turn It On, Turn It On, Turn It On" ,
Woody |
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June 21, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I've said before that I am a real pessimist and that I not only see the glass as half empty, but also imagine it completely empty after someone knocks it over. As a boy around Christmas I was very aware that eventually all my Aunt Leila's homemade candy would be gone, as would my sister Gelene's famous cinnamon rolls and the eggnog I loved. So I have been preparing myself for the day when I would have to accept the fact I could see no more daytime shows on the horizon. I am afraid that day has come, although I have been dropping some not so subtle hints about doing another Tuesday. After the great responses when we have been on during the day, I am getting a tad bit more forward with my asking. I think I need an agent though, someone like my cousin Dwight who could sell fur coats at the Equator or sandals at the North Pole. Someone who as a third party looking in could find some redeeming qualities in the way I do my show and then unashamedly sing my praises to someone, anyone. Perhaps if I had a spilt personality I could change from being a laid back DJ on the air to a high-powered salesman to both the station and to underwriters. Oh well I guess the show wouldn't be what it is if I weren't just myself. In fact the show wouldn't exist at all if I hadn't finally gotten up the courage to pursue my dream. I take pride in that, but don't worry I won't get the big head, anytime soon at least. All I can say though is I have really enjoyed the opportunities I have had to be on during the day. I bet I appreciate it more than some of the programmers who have never been on after midnight. I will have to say though that after doing a daytime show I am much more relaxed doing Midnight Country. Although Sunday I think I was more relaxed than I have been up to this point doing a daytime show. I could sure get used to it let me tell ya. I would actually enjoy doing both a nighttime and a daytime show. I was just tinkled pink that the Radio Ranger asked me to cover his show a second time in just three months! As you heard on this week's show yesterday June 20 was Anna Rose's birthday. When she reads this she will most likely go to page two first and then be disappointed that I didn't wish her a Happy Birthday here in WWWs. When she does finally decide to read the rest she should be pleasantly surprised that I did remember. So here goes somethin'…HAPPY BIRTHDAY Anna Rose! I hope you had a very nice day yesterday as you celebrated your __ birthday! See now I didn't say how young you are. Anna Rose was just sure I was going to let it slip on the show. Let me tell ya I knew better than to do that. I don't want to risk upsetting the candied apple cart! It was great finding out Sunday afternoon that Anna Rose's sister Loretta was able to tune in Root'n Toot'n Radio up there in Salisbury. She told Anna Rose she had enjoyed the show and had heard songs she hadn't heard in a long time. I do my best to pull some surprises every week. I always get a kick out of Anna Rose saying "Boy I haven't heard that song for a hundred years!" If I didn't know better I would think she was giving her age away, but that would make her at least a 105 to be able to remember songs from a 100 years ago. Plus the oldest music we probably play is the Carter Family and I know they weren't recording a 100 years ago. I am going to get myself in hot water yet. Let's just leave it that Anna Rose does NOT look her age, not that her age is that great of a number though. Dang I'm good, I should be a press secretary seeing how I can back myself into a corner and then get out of it. Now Anna Rose knows I'm just kidding her, she's disappointed if I don't tease her in here. Doing as many shows as we have been lately I have found myself running further and further behind. I also am getting playlists mixed up and am having trouble remembering what happened when. I do know it was good to hear from everyone who called during Root'n Toot'n Radio and MC Monday morning. I wish I had been able to talk to everyone who called Sunday. However, with the number of calls it just isn't possible during the daytime shows. I try to talk on the air more often than I do at night so people will know you I am, what I am doing on during the day and when they can hear more of the type of music we are playing. So with my talking after every 1-3 songs it can make for rather short phone conversations. I always hate to cut calls short and feel like I am being rude. I would never make a good talk show host. The first caller of the show might be on the entire night. I am getting better though at letting you know when I need to go on the air. I always try to give you the option to hold or call back. Thanks for understanding. It is just when I have the show planned out it might seem weird if I went from "Amazing Grace" by George Jones straight into "Whiskey or God" by Dale Watson without a break in-between. Come to think of it though I think those two songs could be played back to back. Anyway I think you get my point. It was great visiting with Ron on the air Sunday before his girls arrived to fry chicken for a Father's Day dinner. I mentioned if I were a talk show host I might have trouble cutting off callers on the air. I have the opposite problem with Ron. I can't keep him talking long enough! I know he thinks people tuned in to hear the music not him, but the truth is people eat up hearing Ron. Speaking of eating, Ron's talking about fried chicken made me so hungry I called Kelly and we met for lunch at KFC after Root'n Toot'n Radio. I tried to talk Gina into going too, but she was worn out after taking all the calls. Of course Kelly and I sat at the booth next to Bronco, well the picture of a Golden Retriever who looks just like Bronco. It was nice to eat a Father's Day lunch while thinking of him. The kids had all gotten me the cutest Father's Day. Mear and Goldie were glad to have Kelly to run them to the store. They said last year Bronco had gotten distracted by a cute blonde colored female Golden and that they had never made it to the store. Thanks for the card kids! I just finished reading "Lovesick Blues, the Life of Hank Williams" by Paul Hemphill. What an interesting book. Sometimes when I realize how little I know about Country Music I think I should take down my shingle and close up the Midnight Country shop. Yet I am learnin', slowly but surely and I ain't as dumb as when I started and hopefully I will be even less dumb when the curtain does someday fall on the last Midnight Country show. I kind of wish I would have been a DJ back in days of Hank. I just can't seem to get too excited about many of the national acts and the acts that do get me excited don't seem to be too excited about befriending a one night a week, middle of the night DJ like me. Of course the Good Ol' Days weren't always that great. Hank had his demons he fought just like we do today. Fortunately like Hank we have Country Music to try and fight off the darkness. I want to spotlight Tammy Wynette this week. It was last April 2005 when we last had her in the spotlight and that was before Ron was helping me pick out the cream of the crop. I look forward to hearing songs he picks that I have overlooked. Are ya all still enjoying the show? Let us know what you're thinkin', okay? We're always open to feedback. We may not implement all the suggestions, but we will give them all serious consideration. After all is it you all you pay the bills during membership drives to keep MC on the air. If it weren't for your support of the show something else would be on KOPN Monday mornings from Midnight to 5:30. We want to be sure you feel the show is worthy of your continued support. So get that feedback ah comin'! Have a good weekend, don't forget to stand by your man Monday by givin' me a call , Woody |
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June 14, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Well I was pleased with the feedback regarding this week's spotlight artist. Though I never get a ton of feedback, what I did get was positive. I had a few requests for Hank III and some people said they were glad we had him in the spotlight. I was not too nervous about playing outside the box so to speak because I knew his Country stuff is real Country. As for what he does in concert I have tried to let people know what to expect as well. I still believe his Country set is well worth the price of the ticket. I hope there is a good turnout and the Blue Note realizes it is partly due to Midnight Country. We had no paid underwriting and no tickets to give away to the show. Our only incentive was to spotlight a real Country artist as we try to do every week on MC. I still dream of the day when Midnight Country can be the primary sponsor for a Classic or Traditional Country artist who then sells out whatever venue they are playing. I believe it can happen if we keep plugging away doing what we're doing every week. Some weeks as I go in to do the show I am rather discouraged. I try to mask that as best I can when on the air, but I often share how I am feeling here in WWWs. This past week was one of those weeks for some reason, though I'm not totally sure why. I tell ya what though by about 1:30 I was flying high. I had at least one first time caller and calls from some of the regulars who I had not heard from in a while. To say I don't eat up hearing from everyone would be like saying whales don't enjoy being in the ocean. I've told ya before I am addicted to hearing from you all. Thankfully there are some who call every week; otherwise I might go into withdrawals right on the air. I might even have to start calling the show myself. I don't think you want me to lose my grip on reality and slip into a world of fantasy. It is hard telling what might come out over the air. If my fantasy world started mixing with the show I might start visiting on the air with Hank Sr., Patsy Cline or Jimmie Rodgers. I might start having a co-host named Ron and change the name of the show to Ron & Woody's Ranch. I might get the big head and start to think thousands of people are listening and totally miss the phone when it did ring. Boy as great as it would be to visit with those Country legends and to co-host the show with the legendary Ron Lutz, I don't think you would really want me to lose touch with reality. Why? Well there are some things in my fantasy world that could get me in trouble, like having a dog and two cats in the studio with me, not that Ron would mind. No fantasy world would be complete without Bronco, Mear and Goldie there with me and don't forget Kelly's crew too. Fantasy or not I'd bet there would be some dog and cat hair left behind as evidence to be held against me. I don't think I have to worry too much about losing touch with the real world as long as you all keep calling me every week as so many of you did this week. Thank ya, thank ya very much. This week the spotlight will be on a theme instead of an artist, the theme, of course, Father's Day. One other thing that would take place in my fantasy world would be this. As I did the Father's Day show KOPN would reach all the way to Rural Route 1, Brashear, Missouri. A rugged, tough, hardworking farmer would be sitting in his lazy boy chair next to the east window. He would reach over on turn on the radio at Midnight to hear his boy on the radio. Tears would come to his eyes as he heard "Here's a song that always reminds me of my Dad Harold Adkins who is listening tonight on the farm east of Kirksville." He would holler to Mom back in the bedroom "Betty, Woody's playing that "Where Corn Don't Grow" song for me on the radio. Mom would come in and listen with Dad. She'd say something like "Remember when he used to set up all his stuff and play radio here in the middle of the floor?" Dad would then say "Yeah I remember, Betty call Woody up and tell him 'Thanks for the song' and that we're proud of him." Of course in reality and in this life this can never be more than a fantasy. Mom died sixteen years and Dad three years before I ever made that call to KOPN and started turning the radio dream into reality. Some days I think perhaps they know I finally made my dream come true, other days I feel that awful panic I remember as a boy when I would think about the prospect of life without Mom and Dad. I remember thinking if something happened to one of them I would run screaming into the field and lose my mind. To reword a favorite song title of mine, *if it weren't for Country Music I would have gone crazy. I do try to keep in mind when doing both the Mother's Day and Father's Day shows that not all who listen have lost their parents, though I am sure it is not hard to figure out from listening that I have lost mine. Lately I have been thinking as much as I wish my folks were still living, there are orphans all around the world who have never know the love of a parent due to a variety of reasons such as war, famine, disease, etc. I am thankful for the time I did have with my folks and wonder if there are ways I should be reaching out to those who have never known a father's love. Now that I have half of you bawling and the other half rolling your eyes thinking "Boy he really is nuts", we'll move on. Don't forget Sunday Noon to 3:00 PM as we cover once again Root'n Toot'n Radio for the Radio Ranger. I am thinking it could be a pretty busy show. I have asked my friend Gina to come in and help answer the phones. Kelly may be up at some point too, but I don't want to take her from spending time with her dad Marvin. I will probably plan to play a few Father's Day songs, but will save the bulk of them for Midnight Country. Of course you will be able to call and request anything you'd like, including a song for your dad if you like. Just make sure Pops gets a nap in at 3:00 so he will be able to stay up all night for MC. This week's WWWs seems to have been a breeze to write. I wonder if Dad and my boy Bronco are up above pulling strings to make my fingers fly over the keyboard. Not having any 'human' children and with my Golden Retriever Bronco dying this past year, I have been keenly aware of how much Bronco and my two cats Mear and Goldie mean to me. I am on an e-mail list for the Denver Broncos merchandise store. A few days ago I got an e-mail with items on sale for Father's Day. One of the items was a t-shirt with the Bronco head and then underneath the words "Broncos Dad". Needless to say I could not hold the tears back. Sure there was no ' between o and s, but that didn't make any difference to me. In fact I am going to order one and it will make no difference what people think when I wear it, after all I AM Bronco's Dad and I miss him as much today as I did on November 19th of last year. Though my folks are gone, the Good Lord has seen fit to put some special Father and Mother figures in my life. I want to say a BIG Happy Birthday and Happy Father's Day to one such person Mr. Ron Lutz who is 39 and holding as of today June 14th. I also want to say Happy Father's Day to Kelly's dad Marvin, thanks for sharing your sweet daughter with me. Of course I send all my love and a REALLY BIG Happy Father's Day out to Dad (Harold) who is keeping watch over his grandson Bronco as he is still chasing the Easter Bunny over the hills of Glory. Thanks for the e-mail with the shirt I'm gonna order Bronco!Have a good weekend and tune in Monday AND Sunday for some real Country, Woody *(If It Weren't For Country Music) I'd Go Crazy by Duane Michaels on his CD "Ladies Choice" |
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June 7, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. The old saying "If at first you don't succeed try, try again" would certainly apply to this week's show. We finally pulled off the Billy Walker Spotlight. The turntables seemed to work okay. Though I've not listened to the recording yet, I don't think I had any miscues. I have no idea what the official term is. I am referring to where you have the needle too close to the song and when the turntable is started it isn't up to speed before starting the song. The whole turntable thing went better than I expected actually. The phones seemed a little slow this week, so it might be harder to keep up with the turntables when they are busy. As for the computer, well I think I have come up with an alternative to the way I was doing things that seems to work. It isn't the ideal setup, but I think it will be more dependable than what I was doing. Now if I could just find a wrench big enough to tighten the loose nut behind the microphone I'd have it made. It was nice to have Charles, June and Theresa stop by Monday morning. June, of course, is a faithful listener to MC and has been for many years. Charles, June's hubby, listens when they have been out on the town and he is still up at Midnight. I think June needs to plan more outings on Sunday nights so Charles will still be up more often. Theresa is Charles and June's baby daughter from Florida and is a faithful reader of WWWs. I just had to say "baby" instead of "youngest" to tease Theresa. I told her how much I used to hate being called the "baby" of my family. After a certain point you cease to look much like a baby. Oh well, I know no harm is meant by it I suppose. As you recall it is Theresa's boyfriend Joe who we have been praying for. Continue to keep Joe in your prayers as he deals with some very serious health concerns. Hang in the Theresa and Joe! I was tickled that Anna Rose called while June was still there. Anytime I have guests and Anna Rose calls I have to make sure they talk to her. I don't think either Anna Rose or June have ever met a stranger. June had her heart set on meeting Kelly, but Kelly was wiped out from a busy weekend and wasn't able to stop by. She may never have recovered from the week before when I got her out of bed to run and get my second external hard drive. See it is all my fault that June didn't get to meet Kelly. If you ever need to know why something bad has happened in the world just let me know and I will explain how I am most likely to blame. Just kidding, well maybe. Anyway Charles, June and Theresa I hope you enjoyed your visit. I just glad the computer didn't mess up like it did when Kevin and the boys were up. Well Father's Day is right around the corner and ya know what that means, a trip to J C Pennys to get dad another tie to add to his collection. If your dad is like me then he may only wear a tie a half dozen times a year to weddings and funerals. I have several ties, but usually end up wearing the same one every time. So if you're considering breaking with tradition this year then I have a suggestion. Why not take dad for a ride after lunch on Father's Day and tune into Root'n Toot'n Radio from Noon to 3:00 PM. As ya know I will be filling in for the Radio Ranger playing the same great Classic and Traditional Country you've come to expect on MC. I'll bet ya that ride would mean more to your dad than another dang tie. If you're like me and your dad is no longer living, then ya might take a radio out to his grave and spend some time letting your mind drift back over the years while listening to some Classic Country. I'll never forget the time Dad and I were riding through the back roads in NE Missouri and Sawyer Brown's song "Dirt Road" came on the radio. We both smiled because we were on a dirt road at that very moment. The last loaf of banana bread Anna Rose gave me didn't have any nuts in it. I wonder if she is trying to tell me something, like I am nutty enough? If that is the case then she may not be too far from the truth. I've questioned my own sanity the last three weeks at about 2:30 AM on Thursday morning. Yeah I know this is dated Wednesday, but I am writing it Thursday. Anyway as you know we have been covering a show called Waves Over the Hump for Bruce who has had to take some time off due to his mother's illness. I was thinking, even in the early days I never had to come in as late as 3:00 AM. There for a while I did Midnight to 3:00 and then turned the transmitter off and went home since there was not a show in the 3:00-5:30 slot. Of course I know I do go past 3:00 every Monday morning, but it seems different not starting until then. One thing I have to say though is the show sure flies by. I told Anna Rose it goes so quick it doesn't even seem worth going in for. Boy I would hate to be starting a show from scratch during that time slot. If it weren't for the calls between Midnight and 3:00 on Mondays I would get rather discouraged, since the calls usually really drop off after 2:00 or 3:00. Of course this week Anna Rose, Harold and Justin kept me awake as they always do on Monday mornings. Maybe I am nuts, but someone has to keep real Country on the radio, right? I hope you agree, otherwise perhaps I really am nuts to be doing this if no one cares. I know ya all care, I just like to fish for appreciation some times. This week I am going to spotlight Hank Sr.'s grandson Hank III. I know he is not a Classic Country artist, but we do spotlight newer Traditional Country artists from time to time. Hank III will be at the Blue Note June 24th. He does a unique show; let me explain what I mean. He does a Country set first and then a speed metal set. What the heck is speed metal? Well let's just say it is really load rock. The first and only time I say Hank III I stayed for the whole show, this time I doubt I do, BUT had I left after the Country set I would not have felt short changed at all. In the other words the Country set is well worth the price of the ticket. You could spend 3-4 times the price of the ticket for one of those Pop Country shows and with 3 acts not hear a ¼ of the real Country you will hear in Hank III's one set. I just want to be up front with you all, so you will know what to expect. I want people to know when Woody says something is Country, it will be Country. It should be fun spotlighting Hank III this week and as always we will do a great (in my opinion) job of blending brand new Traditional Country with the best Classic Country you can hear anywhere. Personally I am glad we don't limit the show to Classic Country. There is too much good Traditional Country being recorded today that needs to be played. The strictly Classic Country shows won't play it and the mainstream Country stations don't play enough of it. To me the best Country show is one that includes everything from the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers to Dale Watson and Hank III. Well I'm running behind again this week. Some weeks I am more on the ball than others. I don't know how many more times we will be covering Waves of the Hump. Hopefully I will at least know on the Monday before so I can tell ya. If you tune in and I ain't on, check out Bruce's show. Don't forget to tell everyone about Father's Day Noon to 3:00 PM. I want to send out a big HOWDY to Frank hope all is well in Boonville. Also a big HELLO to Mildred, I'm still looking for your song. I hope you both are keeping cool this summer. HI too to Chip & Ruby. Have a good weekend and tune in Monday for some real Country Hank Williams III style, Woody |
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May 31, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. The show this week reminds me of the John Denver song "Some days are diamonds, so days ya just wanna get stoned." Now that ain't an accurate quote I know. Unlike Kris who wrote "Sunday Morning Coming Down" I've never wished I was stoned. Being a rather private person I never wanted to run the risk of ending up on the arrest page for possession of those funny cigarettes. Yet Monday morning had someone offered me one, well ya never know. Someone who called said I sounded kind of down, I'd say that would be like saying Mt. Everest is an anthill. Oh well, life goes on I suppose. In case ya missed it I had external hard drive troubles again! I'm about ready to go buy a laptop computer so I can just bypass the station's computer. I have a newer, bigger, better external hard drive, but it won't work on the station's computer because I can't get the powers that be to update that computer. Needless to say it is frustrating, it is like trying to get through a mud pit with a two-wheel drive pickup, knowing you have a four-wheel drive sitting at home that you can't use. I should have had a better backup plan ready to go. It is hard to always be prepared for everything though. Thanks to Kelly for running to my house and bringing me my newer hard drive. I was able to hook it up to a new computer in the news room and access it that way, which may be what I will have to do until I get a laptop or someone decides to update Windows on the air room computer. It is no ones fault but mine. I was afraid a disaster was looming, but in my defense I have been trying to get someone to update that dang computer so I could use the more reliable hard drive and then this wouldn't happen. I suppose I should just routinely spend the extra time every week burning CD's of my music as a backup. I would usually never need them, but this week…well I wish I would have. Kelly even asked if I was burning backups earlier Sunday when I was having trouble with the old hard drive at home. I should have taken that as a sign. Some of you might wonder why I don't just do the show using CD's anyway or at least do that when everything seems to hit the fan. Well most weeks I spend the first couple hours of the show with a phone in one hand and a computer mouse in the other pulling up requests. It would be much harder to talk on the phone while trying to juggle CD's at the same time. Virtually every other song I play comes from a different CD. In the old days before I used the computer I played 2-3 songs in a row from the same CD. Personally I think it makes for a more interesting show the way I do it now. Back then I would bring a couple cases of CD's from home and would also play ones at the station which are about 30+ feet from the studio. So if I still did it the old way I would probably have to just miss several calls in order to pull requests. Of course when everything does hit the fan I could start playing CD's with the songs I had scheduled to play, but a bunch of those CD's are on shelves at my house. It could be done. Yet it is kind of like when people first got indoor plumbin', in a pinch ya could still go outside, but on them cold winter nights you kind of got used to sitting on a warm seat. So we do what we've got to do when we've got to do it, but I don't think I'm ready to throw the baby, I mean computer out with the bath…, I mean out the back door quite yet. I may just have to grin and bare the embarrassment of sitting my bare butt on a cold seat for all the world to see. Poor Kevin, Kyle and Kaleb had to see it this week. It was nice having Kevin and his two sons up for the visit. I did not end up making the impression I wanted to on Kaleb though, being his first visit and all. Kyle, before the meltdown, said he thought it would be fun to do radio, I'm afraid to ask what he thinks now. Poor Anna Rose had her work cut out for her on the show this week. As you know Anna Rose is a faithful financial supporter of the show, but I wonder if I should be paying her for therapy instead. Though I do try to show restraint when talking on the air about computer problems, Anna Rose gets an ear full when she calls. Of course Anna Rose has been one of my therapists ever since Waylon died. Over the years there were times I was so depressed that Anna Rose had to stand at the top of the crater and drop rocks down to me with a flashlight and pictures of the bottom, so I could at least remember what the bottom looked like. After years of throwing rocks down to me Anna Rose eventually threw enough to where I was able to crawl out of the hole, get back to bottom and then work my way back up to where I am today. The worst nights fighting the dang computer are like a walk in the Shelter Gardens when compared to some of those dark, lonely heartbroken nights. How I kept going I really don't know. I guess my guarded angel Anna Rose knew if she could just keep me going a little bit longer Kelly would eventually come into my life. Thanks for all you've done all these years Angel Anna. (Now if that don't get me a loaf of banana bread, I don't know what will, just KIDDING, I meant every word I said. ) I need to print a retraction right now. I unknowingly told something in last week's WWWs that was not true. I was talking about people I had met at the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame show in Osage Beach who knew Ron. I mentioned that I met a guy named Steve Roberts who said he had gone to Broadcasting school with Ron. Well I should have confirmed my story with Ron first. Ron said this guy could not have met Ron at Broadcasting school because he (Ron) never went to Broadcasting school. As Ron put it "That would be like saying I met you at a barbershop." I'll bet it has been 15+ years since I have been to a barbershop and I've only know Ron 3+ years, so I think I understand what he was saying. Now how Steve came to think he had attended school with Ron I do not know. I can see how a person who has met the legendary DJ would never forget him, but how a person remembers something that never happened is beyond the thinkin' capacity of this redneck, hillbilly, hippie's pea sized brain. Sorry Ron, I should have checked out the facts first, I was just wanting to surprise ya though. So for the record once again Ron never attended Broadcasting school and I don't intend to go into a barbershop anytime soon. For the last 15+ years I have preferred them there hair saloon's, I mean salon's. Barring a disaster overnight it looks like I might actually get this out on the web site and in the mail on time this week. Boy I shouldn't have said that, I can see it now, I'll wake up in the morning to a crashed hard drive. Of well, I've been known to just about have an e-mail, a letter or even WWWs well on the way to completion only to lose it. It reminds me of a story, which I will probably misquote and butcher, but here goes. The story goes that NASA spent a bunch of money trying to develop a pen that would work in space with zero gravity. The Russians had a cheaper solution, they took pencils to space. Boy I would hate to go back to using pencils, that manaul splel chcekre wsa a pian to ues. What was it called? Oh yeah, an eraser. It has been almost as long since I used as eraser as it was since I have been in a barbershop, not quite. I even have trouble signing checks, I'm so used to typing everything. Heaven forbid I get famous and someone wants my autograph, they'd never be able to read it. Perhaps instead of becoming famous I should become a doctor, them boys ain't much at writin', at least not at writin' them there scrips! Have a good weekend and tune in Monday for Billy Walker Try #2, Woody |
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May 24, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I had a weird experience this morning (Thursday), I know this is dated Wednesday, but I am running behind as has been the norm lately it seems. Anyway back to my experience, Tuesday evening I was at the station answering the phones for the Membership Drive and Jules the Volunteer Coordinator ask if I would be able to cover the show Thursday morning from 3:00-5:30 AM. I said I would and she said she would let me know for sure in case someone else had volunteered to do it. Not wanting to spread rumors I thought I'd better wait until I knew for sure before I told anyone. Well I didn't find out "for sure" until last night just before 10:00 PM. I figured at that point it was too late to e-mail listeners like Kevin and Rob. I did, however, call Anna Rose, Harold and Justin. So it felt a little strange doing a show knowing few of the Midnight Country Family even knew I was on. I really don't know too much about the show I was covering, as I understand it Bruce calls the show "Waves Over the Hump" and plays a variety of music and radio theater. Though I am sure we were totally on another track, it was fun nonetheless doing what felt like a private show for Anna Rose who called and Justin who e-mailed. Strangely enough though a friend of mine who couldn't sleep, turned on KOPN, heard I was on and called with a request. I had one other call from another KOPN volunteer wanting to hear Johnny Cash or Hank Sr. If it hadn't been for Anna Rose and Justin it would have felt like I was starting from scratch again. I hope I didn't scare Bruce's listeners off. By the way this is a different Bruce than the one who follows me on Monday mornings with Morning Ayre. I believe the Bruce I was covering for has had to take some time off due to his mom's being very ill, so keep Bruce and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I don't know if I will be asked to cover again, but hopefully I will have a little warning so I can at least send some e-mails and post it on the web site. Sometimes I feel like a broken record when it comes to the Membership Drives. I start out stressed and worried that I won't meet my goal, so I then put on my Televangelist hat and beg and plead both here in WWWs and then on the show. After the drive is over I then am amazed and overwhelmed with gratitude at the way you all came through for me once again. Needless to say a HUGE Thank You should go out to Barb, Matt, an Anonymous donor, Anna Rose, Justin, Bob and Marv & Royanne. I know this will sound strange, but I actually tried to talk Anna Rose out of pledging. She has been one of the most consistent supporters I've had over the years. I worry that she shouldn't be as generous as she is. If everyone who listens on a regular basis was a fourth as generous as she is, well the Membership Drives would be a piece of cake. When you think about it we really aren't asking for much when compared to what you get in return. $40 a year is only 78¢ a show, $20 is only 39¢ a show. I can't imagine 39¢ a week would break most people's budget, maybe I am wrong. I know an extra $40 or $20 can put people in a bind all at once, but if a person just saved a dime a day in a year's time, well it would be setting there ready to be pledged. Here I am getting stressed out, my goal has been met and the drive is over, but I guess I just wished more regular listeners would call and support the show during the Membership Drives. It is really not the amount but the thought and the effort put out that means so much to me. Even $5.20 a year would tell me people really do give a dime a week about the show. Come Fall we will have another Drive, what can you do to start saving back a little each week so that come the Fall you can call and support the show? There is a Classic Country station I like to listen to on-line sometimes, but the commercials start to drive me crazy. Your support is why a show like MC can be commercial free with few announcements or underwriting. What is the show worth to you? It is worth several hundred dollars to me personally since that is what I put into the show every year in the form of printing, postage, the web site, CD's, computer equipment, etc. No one is forcing me to spend this money I know, but I love the music I play on the show and I want to do my part to insure real Country stays on the radio. I know a lot of people do love the Pop Country; I'm not doing this show for them. I am doing what I do because of all the calls I get each week from people who love Traditional Country. Let me rephrase my question, what is the opportunity to hear Classic and Traditional Country on the radio worth to you? I know Midnight Country isn't your only option when it comes to hearing real Country, but it is one option and a pretty darn good one in my opinion. I want to blow the top off our Membership Drive goals. I want to bring in so much that it will rival the daytime shows. I want the powers that be to beg me to play Classic and Traditional Country during the day, instead of the other way around. Perhaps I wouldn't be on this tangent if Kelly and I hadn't been to the Missouri Country Music Hall of Fame show Sunday night. Frankly most of the crowd was made up of people who are getting up there in years. As I looked around I wondered how long will real Country still be around if we don't get the younger generation turned on to it. I was blown away with music I heard. I was not real familiar with Leona Williams' music, not because I didn't know about her, I just have limited resources when it comes to buying all the CD's I wish I had. Kelly and I were amazed as we sat there and listened to her sing. Her record label is to be sending me some of her CD's, I hope. I look forward to adding her to my library. I even got to say a quick "Hello" to Leona from Ron. She said "I love Ron, give him a hug for me." I didn't hear from Ron Monday, so I don't know if he heard me tell that story or about all the other people I talked to who knew Ron. People like Jimmy Queen, Roy Queen's son, Steve Roberts who had gone to Broadcasting school with Ron, Bluegrass Bob from KDHX who had listened to Ron over the years when Bob was truckin' and Gene who does Country Function, Bluegrass Junction on KDHX. I was amazed at how easy it was to talk to everyone. I was afraid people might be standoffish because of my long hair. I only wish it hadn't been on a Sunday night or not Membership Drive time. I hated leaving early, but I had to get back to do my part to keep Traditional Country on the air. Next year I will pay someone to sit there and play a prerecorded hour or two so I can stay until the end, unless of course it is Membership Drive again. One programmer said they would cover for me if I really needed them to, but they wanted to play something besides Country. I thought, that'll never work, everyone will turn the dang show off, thinking I ain't coming in and I'll never get any pledges for the Membership Drive. Anyway I made a lot of great contacts and I hope this will develop into a long-lasting mutually beneficial relationship with the Missouri Traditional Country Music Association.Four last things in closing, I'm running even further behind than I was. First, I will be spotlighting Billy Walker this week who was killed last weekend in a car wreck. Second, I got word I will be covering the 3:00-5:30 AM show once again on Thursday morning. Third, I will include the playlist in next week's WWWs mailing. Fourth, I have been asked to do Root'n Toot'n Radio on Father's Day! Cool, huh? Have a good weekend and tune in Monday Mornin' for Billy & a bunch of great Country, Woody |
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May 17, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Well it has been a busy week, when I finally get WWWs done it will be late. Fortunately I've never missed the show deadline of Midnight on Monday morning. There's been a time or two I was pretty worried though that I might not get the show pulled together. I hope every one heard the last minute announcement during the show that we were doing another Onetime Only Daylight Edition of MC on Tuesday the 16th. Last week here in WWWs I was pretty down, this week I wouldn't say I am bouncing off the walls really, but I am encouraged after Tuesday's show. Even with short notice we got about 15 phone calls, some were from people who had never heard or at least never called the regular Monday morning show. I have been told by the station they would never give me that slot on a regular basis, but the great response has to make a great impression on the powers that be at KOPN. Few other programmers take requests let alone get the number of calls we do on the regular show and the special Daylight Editions. Maybe someday we will have an earlier show in addition to Midnight Country. In the meantime we'll keep plugging away doin' what we do. I was talking to Harold after the show and told him in the early days I would be bouncing off the walls if I got one phone call, now I am disappointed if I don't get several calls each week. Even if we never have a regular earlier show these one time only shows are etching a lot of great memories in my mind. It was great to hear from Ol' Clyde a member of Ron's Rooster Creek Boys. I always remind him if he is listening to give me a call, well that day came. Clyde has written some great songs and I always enjoy hearing him sing on the Rooster Creek Show. Even though I wasn't able to talk directly to them, it was great hearing from two of the Lutz girls, Chrisi and Becky. Now if Vicky had just called we would have had a triple crown! The more I get to know Ron and his family the more I wish I could have met Mary. Of course as always it was great visiting with Ron during the show. If I had to pay him for the nice things he says about the show I would go bankrupt. I definitely hit the jackpot when Ron gave this amateur wannabe DJ the time of night three years ago. Another highlight was Anna Rose called, can ya believe she remembered! I went to great lengths to remind her to remember. I didn't get her request on though, which may jeopardize my candy apple supply. I think she has a little stone stuck in her head and so she hasn't requested anything but "Little Rock" for weeks now. I keep trying to get the story behind that song out of her, but she is being stubborn, I think her head is hard as a…you guessed it…rock. Now if her elbow had been as hard as her head she never would have broke it. By doing a show during the day I am guaranteed that the AZZ crew in Fulton will be listening. MC Family member Kevin Burns always e-mails me requests from a bunch of his coworkers there at AZZ. It is great getting requests from these guys for Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Sr., Marty Robbins, etc. They have also commented on how great it is to hear Ron. I could play these old songs all I want, but if DJ's like Ron hadn't played them to begin with they would not bring back the memories they do now for people like the AZZ crew. Hey Kevin, tell the gang thanks for listening! Perhaps you should all ask for a transfer to the night shift so you could listen every week! Even though I wasn't able to talk to most of you who called, it was great having my friend Gina answer the phones for me. I would hate asking for calls and then not be able to get to them all. Thanks Gina you did a great job. I'm lucky she agreed to do it, since she's not a big fan of the kind of Country I play. She's more into this pop Country stuff, goodness! Don't tell anyone I have friends who like that stuff! The sad part about it all is her daughter Madelyn listens to it too. My, my I have some convertin' to do! I had hoped Kelly might make it by toward the end of the show, but with such short notice there was just no way. One last highlight for now, Gina took a call from a man wanting me to play a song for his dad in Harrisburg. Now that may not sound like that big of deal, but considering my dad has been gone for over eight years, it touched me and I thought "How neat." I've talked a lot about Tuesday's show, but the Mother's Day show was pretty cool too. I had a request from a son for his mom, then the mom called and requested a song for her son, of course that touched me as well. Andy a faithful listener wanted me to play "Ragged Old Flag" for his brother who has just landed in Iraq. I can't imagine what families go through as they worry about loved ones in the military. It always makes my night to hear from faithful listeners on a regular basis. Frank, Ron B., Carl, Harold, Justin, Roger and Jim all do a great job keeping in touch. I got a e-mail from Rob on Monday encouraging me to keep on keepin' on. It is always good to hear from Chip and Ruby, Chip will often say "We'd better call Woody tonight." They, of course, are the LLB's, don't know what that means? Lucy's Lovebirds! Now ya know! Even Grant called from just outside Chicago to say "Hi", unfortunately he was out of range, but MC was not out of his mind. It was great hearing from June and to know Charles was listening to. I thought it was pretty cool that they requested a song in memory of their mothers. A couple of member's of June's family are dealing with major health concerns, see the Prayer Request Corner and keep them in your prayers. Tomorrow the 18th is the one-year Anniversary of Kelly and I going out. It has been great having Kelly in my life. A lot of major stuff has happened in both our lives during the past year, I'm not sure I would have survived without her being there for me. Thank you sweetheart, I love you very much! This evening Kelly and I made a last minute trip to Kirksville with some file cabinets for my brother Dean. It was nice to hit the road and get out in the country. I know as a boy I didn't appreciate living in the country. Now I miss it. We stopped by Bronco's grave after dropping off the file cabinets. It was good to see the orange, white and blue Broncos' flag still flying proudly over my son's grave. I miss him so much. I wanted to just lie down there on the ground by his grave and stay indefinitely. Sunday evening Kelly and I are running down to Osage Beach to the Missouri Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame show. I don't know a lot about this organization, but I am hoping to meet a lot of other Missouri folk who love real Country Music as much as I do. I will fill ya in on what I learn either on the show or in here next week. I would think some of the people there would be within KOPN's listening area and would be excited to learn about the show. I wish it was not on a Sunday night so I wouldn't have to rush back for the show and of course it would have to be during the Membership Drive. Hopefully I will be so pumped up after attending the show that my enthusiasm will be so contagious that you all won't be able to resist supporting the show. Yesterday the 16th the Ol' Clark Outlaw would have been 60, as you heard I played "The Outlaw's Prayer" Tuesday in memory of Bob. It is hard to believe he has been gone almost a year. Some days life seems so long and hard, but when you lose a friend it then seems so short. I get all stressed out about a lot of trivial stuff sometimes, well most of the time. I suppose most of us do. I get busy preparing the show and don't even have the time to listen to listen to complete songs as I get ready. I hope this summer to make a trip or two up home and just sit out in the middle of nowhere and by Bronco's grave and crank some good Ol' Country. When my life is over I am not sure what all my regrets will be, but already I regret not spending more time just chilling out and enjoying life more. I used to think I had to have everything figured out, particularly when it came to God, the Bible and the hereafter. I guess I still worry about all that, but now I am less convinced anyone has all the answers. As I've said before if it weren't for Country Music I'd go crazy. Perhaps I ain't been listening to enough Country lately and that is why I get to feeling a little crazy sometimes. This week Marty Robbins will be in the spotlight. I look forward to hearing the songs Ron will point out to me as the cream of the crop. It should be a great show, the music at least! Have a good week and tune for the 3M's Marty on Monday Mornin', Woody |
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May 10, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. This is one of those weeks I have been half tempted to not write a WWWs, but I will make myself nonetheless. A few years ago when my ex broke up with me it was all I could do to make myself go in on Sunday night and do the show. My niece DeeAnna told me not to quit, that the day would come I would feel like doing the show again. It took a while, but that day did come. Now I am glad I didn't quit, but when you are going through a period of loss like that, well sometimes you can't see beyond the next few minutes, let alone weeks, months or years. The most obvious reason I am glad I didn't quit is I would never have met Kelly. If I had quit I would have had no reason to stop by KOPN April 29, 2005 and thus would not have met my new sweetheart. There are many more reasons, each new listener since then and getting to better know longtime listeners have made it all worthwhile. Of course then in November I lost Bronco, but by then I had learned it was okay to take time off, take care of myself and grieve my loss. So even though this week's WWWs may be a struggle I will continue on despite of how I may feel at the moment. A couple of things related to the show have me discouraged. First I have had little feedback about my Midnight Country Hotline idea and the feedback I have had has been mixed. I'm glad I waited and asked for feedback before putting out the money to get the Hotline up and going. It seemed like a good idea in my head though. Of course buying a case of Busch and a bottle of Jack seems like a good idea at times too, but I have my doubts my diabetes Doctor or the Highway Patrol would agree after I wrecked my health &/or my pickup. So not all good ideas need to be implemented I suppose. I just thought it would be a way to personalize the show and have more involvement from you the Midnight Country Family. The second thing that has me down are the brick walls I keep running into when it comes to either getting an earlier time slot for Midnight Country or perhaps a second earlier show in addition to Midnight Country. I'm not going to go into all the details. I have my doubts that the parties involved would ever read this, but it would be silly on my part to vent about specifics in here and by so doing reinforce the brick walls. Life will go on and the show will go on too as long as I can just keep my cool. This Ol' English/German redneck hillbilly hippie has a long fuse, but it has been know to burn all the way down and then I end up cutting off my nose to spite my face. There are things that are more important to me than the show, but that list is pretty short, Kelly, my kitties, her kitties, her dogs, my family, her family, my friends. Actually even the Midnight Country Family comes before the show as well! Anybody can sit behind a microphone and play music; I guess I'm proof of that, huh? Yet I have been blessed with you the Midnight Country Family who always make me feel appreciated. There ain't a one of ya that I have talked to that I don't consider to be my good friend. I think I can say with certainly that had we never met via Midnight Country, but met instead in a Honky Tonk or a Church, we would have still connected in the way we have via the show. Assuming of course you gave me a chance and didn't write me off immediately because of my long hair. I sometimes joke about being jealous of you all, but after running through all my presets on my radio in the pickup I wish I had a show like Midnight Country I could listen to during the day. I guess that's why I liked my Hotline idea and why I try to do a show I would enjoy listening to if I were on the other side of the microphone. One thing that was said to me in all this earlier show time business was "We need to get you started playing Blues and Jazz", the thinking being I suppose was I would then have more opportunities to be on during the day or evening. Well I didn't say anything in response, but ya know this is the order of my priorities, first Country Music, second being on the air. There's not a darn thing wrong with Blues or Jazz, but those are not the genres I listen to day in and day out. I would rather never see the light of day as far as a show goes than to do a show that is not "me". In reality in the early days before Midnight Country came to be, I did cover a couple shows for a while playing both Jazz and Blues and yep they were both on during prime time slots too, but just being on the air was not my goal. I wanted to play George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today", Waylon and Willie doin' "Luckenbach Texas" along with other real Country Music. Heck I'm almost embarrassed as to how little I knew back then and how much I still don't know about Country Music. Yet there was just this certain sound that I loved as a boy, a certain sound known as Country Music and I loved imagining myself as a DJ introducing all my favorite good Ol' Country songs. I think I will go eat some of Anna Rose's Candy Apples and finish this later. I like to let what I write set for a while and then come back and reread it again, particularly when I get off on tangents like I have this week. I've learned the hard way to do that too when it comes to e-mails. As you've come to expect each year we will be spotlighting a theme this week instead of a specific artist. The theme, of course, being Mother's Day! Since my Mom, my Step mom and both my Grandmas are all deceased it is with mixed emotions I approach the Mother's Day show each year. I try to keep in mind though there are many of you out there who still have your mothers and so I try to do a show that will honor Mothers both living and dead. I thought this specific show would be a great time to have the Hotline. MC Family members could have called and made special dedications that would then have been played in their own voice. Such as "Hi Woody, this is Mary Jane Jones from Easley and I would like to request Dolly's "Coat of Many Colors" in memory of my Grandma Jones who taught me it's not what is on the outside that counts, it is what is in your heart." Then I would have played "Coat of Many Colors." Of course we can still play dedications, but I'm bound to get busy and get the dedication mixed up. I'm liable to say "Jane Easley called from Maryville and wants to hear "The Redcoats Are Coming" in memory of Grandma Dalton who was shot in the heart many times outside Jonesburg." We'll do our best though. As you have been hearing we are doing the Spring Membership Drive different than we have in the past. We are trying to reach our goal of $30,000 before May 19th without having an official on-air drive. I think it is a great idea and I hope we are able to meet our goal without having to interrupt the programming to ask for pledges of support. There will be no Thank You gifts such as CD's, T-shirts, etc. during the on-air drive if we have to do one, so there is no reason to wait until then to pledge. If you've never supported Midnight Country or if it has been a while, please consider doing so today. As always you will be able to select 10-20 songs depending on the amount of your pledge to be played on a future Edition of Midnight Country. You can pledge on-line, by calling the station at 573-874-1139 M-F 9-5 or by mail at KOPN, 915 E. Broadway, Columbia, MO 65201 Just be sure you let the station know you want Midnight Country to receive credit for your pledge. One last thought, I've heard people say they will not support Midnight Country because in so doing they feel they would be supporting other shows on KOPN with viewpoints they do not agree with. I understand where they are coming from, but until we start bring in thousands of dollars on Midnight Country during Membership Drives I would say we are not even coming close to covering the costs of keeping Midnight Country on the air for 5 ½ hours, let alone any being left over to go toward other shows. Granted it all goes in the same general account, but the last time I checked there are lights, heat, air conditioning and a transmitter running during Midnight Country and none of these things are cheap. In this pluralistic society today it is hard to be 100% consistent unless you live in a cave and have no interaction with the outside world. The same conglomerations that own food manufacturers own tobacco companies. Big oil company profits fund retirement plans. All I'm trying to do is make sure we pay our way at KOPN as we do our best to "Keep Your Country Real One Song At a Time." If you believe in what we are trying to do then I ask for your support. Have a good week and tune in Monday for our Mother's Day Special (I miss ya Mom), Woody |
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May 3, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Randy was great as always, I hope you enjoyed him too. His "Storms of Life" CD that came out in '86 sure brings back a lot of memories. I remember listening to it while going through a big transition in my life, long story. That CD would definitely be on my "must have" list. A few years back I was planning to go see Randy in an Inspirational concert at a church in KC, but something came up and I wasn't able to go. I hope to get the opportunity to see him someday. As I understand it he does too different types of show, one labeled "Country" and the other "Inspirational". I tell ya what he was always tops in my book when it came to straight ahead Country and now he is doing a bang up job with Country Gospel, Christian Country, Inspirational or however you want to label it. A weird thing happened on this week's show, I got an e-mail from Kevin Burns on Friday with his requests for the week. I knew I had two of them but I was not able to find the third one "Squaws Along the Yukon" by Hank Thompson. I thought I might be able to find it on vinyl at the station. On Sunday I got busy doing the show and hadn't had a chance to look for it. After 3:00 AM Frank called and out of the blue said he would sure like to hear "Squaws Along the Yukon". Now this may not sound like a big deal, but consider the fact I was not familiar with the song and that it is rare that even a better known song is requested by two different people in the same show let alone a lesser known song. Let's just say I'll bet Kevin and Frank were both surprised when I played it. You've heard about Elvis being spotted at places like Wal-Mart, etc.? Well yesterday Kelly and I saw Bronco while having lunch at the KFC on Nifong and it wasn't the first time! In fact there is one particular booth where I sit that always guarantees a Bronco sighting. Okay so it isn't really Bronco, but there is a picture on the wall of people having a picnic and the woman is feeding a Golden Retriever something I assume is chicken. The Golden looks amazingly like Bronco, if ya don't believe me just ask Kelly. A while back I included in WWWs pictures of Mear and Goldie with the caption "The World's Two Cutest Kitty Cats". I'm sure Anna Rose would say "Hey you'd better make that three and include Blossom." Yeah I know Anna Rose, Blossom is a real cutie too. Another thing I could say about my girls is I think they are the world's smartest cats as well. Goldie has devised two ways of letting me know when her food dish is empty. The problem is one of the ways no longer works very well. Before I bought a heavy water bowl, food bowl combo she would knock off her food bowl onto the floor when it was empty. I would then notice it as I was walking by and fill 'er up. There has been a time or two when she has made some progress in trying to knock the new combo dish off, but the water bottle makes it just heavy enough she hasn't succeed yet. Goldie has devised a second plan that is even more ingenious than the first (not that I'm biased at all). What she likes to do is this, in my presence she starts to try and eat inedible things, like cardboard boxes, plastic picture frames, etc. Yesterday I heard her pulling pieces off a cardboard box and sure enough when I went to check her food bowl was empty. I guess Goldie is trying to point out to me she is so starved that she has had to resort to extreme measures to stay alive. Mear then seems to always know when I am pressed for time and needing to type, those are the times she wants to sit in front of my keyboard or lie and knead on my arm. Now when I am working on the computer and only needing to use the mouse she seems much less interested and will get plum irritated if I try to make her lie on my arm. I'll never forget the time there was severe weather in the area and I wanted to keep track of where Mear was so I forced her to lie on my chest as I lay in bed watching the weather on TV. Let's just say she was not a happy camper, but later in the evening I was sitting in my lazy boy and she jumped up and laid down on my chest all of her own free will. They say people don't own cats, cats own people and I'd say that is true with my two girls. I would not trade them for anything though. They, like Bronco did, have brought peace to my troubled mind many, many times over the years. I understand not all cats are as outgoing and loving as mine, but I'd bet with more attention even some of those would come out of their fur. Want unconditional love, get a dog, want conditional love with conditions that are a joy to meet, then get a cat. This week in honor of Spring you will hear me repeat a phrase I heard my Dad said often to me as a boy at this time of year, "Till man!" Well okay, perhaps that is a stretch, but nonetheless you will hear me say Floyd Tillman a lot this week as we spotlight none other than…you guessed it, Floyd Tillman. As is always the case I look forward to hearing Ron's picks that I have overlooked. It never fails, even with artists I thought I was pretty familiar with like Randy Travis, Ron points out so jewels I have never played on the show. Every week I try to select several songs never before played on MC, but with me doing the selecting by myself it is like the blind leading the blind. Fortunately with the spotlight artist every week I am able to hear that familiar voice boom out, "You just stepped over a good one son!" Well maybe not exactly like that, but I know I won't go wrong with Ron steering the ship. I know he won't steer the Ol' Midnight Country ship into a pile of Pop that's for sure. I've got an idea I want to run by you all to get your feedback and I'm not joking when I say I want your feedback, I seriously do. Why? Because the idea involves $'s and no not your $'s, my $'s. So if you think it is a good idea and you will take advantage of it please, please let me know. Okay? I am thinking of having a Midnight Country Hotline phone number you can call between shows. You have probably heard radio stations play a caller making a request on the air and then the request comes on immediately afterwards. I don't know if this is true in all cases, but I know I sat in with a friend of mine who was working at a commercial station and what he did was record the phone calls, edit them, find the song, then play the phone call just before playing the request. Though this could be done at KOPN I have my doubts I could convince the powers that be to have it rigged up. So being one who likes to take the bull by the horns, wrestle the Son of a Biscuit Eater to the ground and not have to wait on someone else's help, I've come up with an idea. Basically this is how it would work. First you would call a phone number between shows totally separate from the normal KOPN numbers, it might or might not be a toll free number. You would then be presented with some options such as Press 1 to make a request and not have your voice put on the air, press 2 to make a request and have your voice played prior to your song, press 3 to leave a general "not to be aired message", press 4 to leave a message I can play on the air, such as "This is Joe Blow and you're listening to my favorite Country show, Midnight Country." It is probably too late to get this up and going for the Mother's Day show, but if you like the idea I can probably have it going before the Father's Day show. What do you think? Would you call it from time to time? This is not meant to replace calls during the show, but rather to give you the chance to make requests, dedicate songs and say nice things about the show on the air in your voice! As I said this would have to between shows at this point, so you would need to plan ahead. Please let me know what you think! Have a good week, tune in Monday and don't go drivin' nails in my coffin by slippin' 'round listening to anyone else, just kidding, Woody |
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April 26, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Well did you enjoy the two spotlight artists Gary Stewart and Mel Street on the show Monday? One faithful listener said he didn't realize anyone else listened to Gary Stewart anymore. I don't know about anyone else but I sure enjoy listening to both Gary and Mel. A couple of Gary Stewart's songs would have to be on my all time favorites list, "Make It a Double" and "Whiskey Trip". I'd like to welcome this "faithful listener" I mentioned to receiving the paper version of WWWs. I hope you enjoy reading it Frank or at the very least find it cuts down on your toilet paper expenses. Frank always has such kind things to say about the show every time he calls and that always means a lot to me. Some may think I am some hot shot DJ who is so full of himself that he could care less if anyone else likes what he is doing. Well let's just say that couldn't be further from the truth. Every call means a great deal to me. Now I don't particularly care if everyone likes the kind of Country I play on MC, but I figure those people won't be listening or calling me anyway. It is those people who are listening and do like the music we play that I love to hear from. So don't be like the guy who told his wife he loved her when they got married and then told her if that ever changed he would let her know. I guess he figured that one time should hold her. I'm kind of like that woman, I like to be told that the music I play is loved, ya don't have to say you love me. We don't want to get too touchy feely now do we?! It was good to get the Heaven out of Dodge this past Saturday with Kelly. I hadn't been to see Bronco in a long time, too long actually. I had some additions I wanted to make to his grave decorations. I have included a picture on the paper and .pdf versions of WWWs. Bronco is buried underneath a Weeping Willow tree in the yard at my Dad's farm. The tree signifies that both my tears of sorrow for having lost Bronco and my tears of joys for having had 7 ½ wonderful years with him will never end. The day Bronco died Kelly bought the gravestone, it reads, "Here Lies a Faithful Friend and Companion" It was then of course my idea to fly the Broncos' flag on his grave. On the way up to bury Bronco Kelly and I stopped in Moberly so my sister Colene and her boyfriend Tom could say goodbye. Colene gave me the yellow flowers and the Cross with a wreath. She had written on the Cross "Beautiful Bronco" and I then wrote, "I love you Bronco! Dad." Saturday I then took the red roses, a picture I pieced together and a new toy like the original one hanging on his pen here at home. You might wonder what that thing is covering Bronco's grave. It is a hog feeder lid, I didn't want any animals trying to dig up my boy. Some might think I get carried away always talking about Bronco, that's okay, everyone has their opinion. All I know is if it weren't for him I might not still be on this side of the grass. There were times after the ex and I broke up the only reason I could come up with at times to go on was that no one would love and care for Bronco as much as I did. Mear and Goldie would probably have been taken in and cared for much more quickly than a big Golden dog who always loved to play. So…though I feel no need to justify my talking about missing Bronco… perhaps that will make some sense nonetheless. Unlike myself who was able to come up with a reason to go on, Gary Stewart and Mel Street were not as fortunate. Mel took his life on his birthday back in 1978. Gary then took his life back in December 2003 after having lost his wife of 43 years the previous month. Perhaps due to my own struggles with depression it is easier for me than it is for some to apply what the Good Book says about not judging in case you yourself are judged. We never really know the struggles some people go through. It is easy to take those you love for granted. I talked earlier about missing Bronco. Well Mear has just been annoying the heck out of me as I have been trying to type. She has been sitting in front of the keyboard wanting my attention. Of course I think I am too darn busy to take the time to give her the lovin' she wants. The day will come though that she will no longer be with me and I will then be beating the hell out of myself for not having let her know how much I cared about her. So…I will be back in just a bit. I'm back…I think she was after quality and not quantity since she didn't care to lie on my chest too long. Though I play this week's Spotlight Artist quite a bit, I find it hard to believe I have never spotlighted Randy Travis up until now. If there were one Country artist I would love to sit down and have lunch with it would be Randy. He's one of them guys you just know you would enjoy visiting with. I think Randy single-handedly got Country Music back on track back in the 80's. I just wish someone would do the same now. There's some real good stuff out there, but a bunch of it ain't worth a %#~*! I look forward to playing a bunch of Randy's big hits on this week's show. Kelly and I did some things on our little outing I'd like to share. On the way up we stopped at a Flea Market in Macon, the one that has the Wilcox Opry Barn attached. They have a Country Music show there on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. After reserving seats we went next door to a little restaurant whose name I don't recall. Dang good lunch let me tell ya. As I get older I tend to like eating at places like that when I am out of town. I can always eat fast food at places here in Columbia; so I figure something different is a welcome change. Then after we returned to Kirksville from visiting Bronco we ate supper at the North Town Cafe with my good friend George who lives in Kirksville and who had gone to see Bronco with us. Yet another killer meal let me tell ya. I'm not sure how many sins I committed eating that ham steak, but let's just say it was very, very delicious. Goodness…my mouth is watering now! After supper we stopped by the hospital to visit with my sister-in-law Judy, my brother Dean and my sister Gelene. It was good to see Judy recovering nicely from a recent surgery. We then headed back to Macon to see the show. Kelly was tired and decided to not go in. She thought it best to stay out in the car with two of her dogs Darth and Sarah. Of course we still had the third dog I mentioned on the show as well. Kelly had found a little Chiwawa running loose in her neighborhood and Kelly having the big heart she does she went door to door trying to find his home. Unable to find his owner we took him along on our trip. Fortunately for the little feller his dad called Saturday night. I guess he had seen one of the posters Kelly put up. I was wondering what we would do if no one claimed him. I've always had an unspoken rule that I don't want a dog that is smaller than my cats. Yet he was a cutie. He has already gotten loose again once since then. He has this thing for Kelly's dog Sarah, not sure Momma Kelly is ready for her girl to be dating yet though. Oh yeah, the Opry was great. I hope to go back again real soon. Hopefully next time Kelly will be able to go in too.Have a great week and tune in Monday for Mr. Randy Travis, Woody P.S. Have you let KOPN know how much you enjoyed hearing real Country during the day? Hint, hint. Oops, didn't I say anything about Anna Rose this week. If I go to sleep Monday you'll know why. Hi Anna Rose, please don't forsake me!
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April 19, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I tell ya what if the last few days weren't something to write home about then I don't know what is. Sad thing though Mom and Dad would never get the letter. They're no longer living at Rural Route 1 Brashear, Missouri. I hope they heard at least part of the shows there in Heaven. Mom probably cried when she heard some of the good Ol' Gospel songs during the Easter Special. Of course Dad may have had his hands full trying to stop Bronco from chasing the Easter Bunny. If the calls were any indication there were a bunch of people listening to all three shows. Unfortunately I wasn't able to talk to most of the people who called during Root'n Toot'n Radio and then the Tuesday Daylight Edition of Midnight Country. I certainly owe Kelly, Gina and Madelyn a steak dinner for all their help answering the phones. Without their help I doubt that I would have been able to answer much more than a third of the calls. Though I didn't know for sure I just had a hunch I'd better have some extra help lined up and sure enough that was the case. The amazing thing is that 99% of the calls were from people whose arms I hadn't even twisted to make call. The majority of the calls were from faithful Midnight Country listeners, those of you who call me on a regular basis. The rest were from people who had never heard the nighttime Midnight Country and called to say they were enjoying the heck out of it. Several of these callers who don't know me from Adam said they wished we were on during the day! Well if I had my way we'd do both nighttime and a daytime show, maybe someday, ya never know! A bunch of people have commented on how much they enjoyed hearing Ron on the show Tuesday. While most of these people knew who Ron was, there was one first time caller who wanted me to tell Ron, though he didn't know Ron, he could tell just from listening that Ron was a heck of a guy. The caller said he had stopped to buy beer but was enjoying listening to Ron so much he had to wait until we finished to go in the store. I am sure for all those who know Ron our conversation brought back a lot of memories. I know my buddy Rob from Calwood no doubt enjoyed it though I didn't get to visit with Rob when he called. Coworkers of Kevin Burns said it was great hearing Ron again. From just doing the show on Tuesday we already have all the Country stations in the area running scared. They've been calling Ron's agent offering to triple what I am paying him. I think though any number times $0 would still equal $0. How my people ever negotiated such a good deal with Ron's people I will never know. Now I have to be honest here, I started pulling your leg when I started talking about the Country stations in the area. A while back I got off on one of my tall tales about employers complaining that their productively is down on Mondays because people are staying up all night in hopes of catching Ron. MC Family member Rob said, "Your story could be closer to the truth than you realize!" Ya really just don't know do ya? I am still blown away at times that ANYONE at all is listening. If I had any self-confidence all the Country stations in the area WOULD be shaking in their boots, 'cause I'd sell someone with deep pockets on the need for KOPN to have a bunch of shows that would play what we do on MC. After we got that off the ground we might say "Heck with just Mid-Missouri, let's take on the whole world!" See what you all have done, you've created a monster by all the kind words you say about the show! Naw don't worry about that, I'll come back to reality the next time no one calls the show after 3:00 or 4:00 AM. Although a couple times recently I've made some comment on the air about wondering if anyone is listening and then people like Bob a faithful listener calls to remind me you all are out there enjoying the show. I need to just start listening to and believing Kelly when she says "Honey you do a great job and we all love your show." Now if that doesn't give me the big head… Add to that the times Ron says "Soundin' awfully good tonight son" then my headphones break in half as my head swells up! Dang I'd better double-check everything this week, I'm sure to have to pay for feeling this good. I can see it now, two songs into the show the computer will act up on me, then I'll hear Ron's voice in the back of my head saying "I never had those problems when I played records." Boy I'm sure using the smiley faces this week! Just so ya know I do have regrets when it comes to the special shows. Never worry I'll get cocky. I'm too much of a perfectionist for that and since there ain't nothing perfect this side of the other side, well…no need to worry. I totally missed getting on a request by one of MC's most faithful listeners my buddy Grant. I was sick when it come to mind too late to get it on. I tell ya what, the second Grant calls me this week I am going to pull it up to play as soon as it makes sense to play it. As Grant's request states "Bob Wills IS Still the King" and I sure as heck should have blasted that over the airwaves during the daylight when I had the chance. I am soooo sorry Grant. I feel bad too that I wasn't able to get a couple of June's requests on, but I did play one so hopefully she will understand. For the most part I was doing good to get one request per person on. I tell ya what doing a show during the day definitely has a different feel to it, particularly when the show is then only 2-3 hours. Most nights it is no big deal to get 2-3 requests on for a person, but man not during the day. It also felt strange not talking to everyone who called, but there was just no way I could as I tried to pull up all the requests on the computer, keep track of where I was with the station logs, talk on the air, keep the playlist up-to-date. The two daylight shows were prime examples of why I use the computer for the music instead of trying to pull CD's for each request. I won't bore ya with my whole list of regrets, there are many more I could list, like getting tongue tied on words, saying a caller is from the wrong town, I could go on… There are definite advantages to the nighttime show. One example is Anna Rose is not out on the town at night. I never would have dreamed in a million years that I would not hear from Anna Rose during either daylight show. Can you believe it?! To think she placed having Easter Dinner on Sunday with her family ahead of calling me. I just not believe it. Kelly tried desperately to console me as I sat in the pickup crying out over and over "Say it ain't so, say it ain't so, say it…" Okay so I forgive ya this time Anna Rose, but don't let it happened again I'm just teasing ya Anna Rose, you deserve to have a day off once in a while. I think the places above where I stretched the truth are rather obvious, but if not just ask me. I did miss hearing from Anna Rose though, but I understood. She made up for it by keeping me awake during Monday morning's show.I want to say a great big THANK YOU to everyone who promoted the two daylight shows. I am sure to miss someone, but I know for a fact MC Family members like Rob, Kevin, Grant, June, Harold, Justin and Nick all went above and beyond the call. Thank you all so much! As the show continues to grow in popularity I will no doubt need all your help even more. Dang I know that sounds cocky, but more and more people do seem to be enjoying the show. Maybe it ain't cocky, just the truth. Have a great week, tune in Monday for two lesser known spotlight artists who are the real deal, Gary Stewart and Mel Street, Woody |
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April 12, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. As a boy before the demise of Communism in Russia I was fascinated with and concerned by the stories I heard of religious persecution there. I often wondered if I could endure the torture without renouncing my faith. Today even though things have changed in Russia religious persecution still takes place around the world and not just the persecution of those who share my faith. I could open up a whole can of worms right here, but that is not my intention. I believe each person should have the freedom to worship as they see best as long as it does not interfere with the freedom of others to worship. Politicians and religious leaders could and do debate without resolution the opinion I just shared, but that is okay because that is their right. I am thankful the United States still allows me the freedom to say what I have said and that stations like KOPN allow me the freedom to play what I believe makes up a great Classic and Traditional Country Music show. Some might wonder what place Country Gospel has on such a show and be even further perplexed by me doing an Easter Special. Personally I believe you can't separate the two and still do justice to Classic and Traditional Country Music. Faith is as much a part of Country Music as is any other topic dealt with. Country Gospel songs give hope for the situations described so vividly in Country Music. For a long time I believed the two must remain separate. There were times when I would be going through a time of supposed rebellion and thought it pointless to listen to Country Gospel. There were other times when I felt closer to God that I thought I shouldn't be listening to "Regular" Country. These were two extremes; today I strive to stay somewhere in the middle. The Bible does not sugarcoat the struggles and failures of people, but it also does not hide God's grace and forgiveness for those same people. So wherever you are in life I trust you will be able to relate to and be moved by something you hear week to week on Midnight Country. This week of course the focus will be on Faith and the hope we have as a result of Jesus Christ's resurrection. Two subjects County artists over the years have done a Heaven of a great job in dealing with. Now was my conversation with Ron a pleasant surprise or what?! Honestly I was as surprised as you were. Ron has been fighting a cold and hasn't felt up to talking on the show, but since he was feeling and sounding better I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. Thankfully he said yes. Of course I would love to visit with Ron on the show every week, but he has voiced concern he might take up too much time and wear out his welcome. Yeah, like that would ever happen. There have been some concerns though raised by the business office. Apparently they have been overwhelmed with calls from various local employers complaining their productivity is way down on Mondays. The story is that thousands of people are staying up all night listening to MC hoping to hear Ron. There has been some talk of starting the workweek on Tuesday or possibly going to a four-day workweek. I guess it has not occurred to anyone that if we were on earlier it might prevent this problem. Okay so I made up the part about employers calling, but I was unable to find a sitter for my inner child today and he tends to like to make up stories. I do know for a fact you all thoroughly enjoy my conversations with the Legendary Ron Lutz. I am still blown away with the fact that just under three years ago Ron called my little, middle of the night Country show. Someone was looking out for me, that is for doggone sure. I woke up this morning with Mear and Goldie in bed with me. Goldie was lying by my head and Mear was coming and going, resting at times on my chest. Of course Mear and Goldie are my two adorable kitty cats. To say I think the world of them would be the understatement of the year. After losing Bronco in November I have been keenly aware of the fact that they will not be with me forever. I try, though not always successfully, to let them know I love them each day. I have also been blessed with Kelly the sweetest girlfriend in the whole world. Sometimes it seems harder to convey how much you love the "humans" in your life, but I cherish each moment I am able to spend with Kelly. I just wish the show was on earlier so you too would be able to get to know her more. Yet like so many who would enjoy the music we play she has to get up bright and early Monday. So she often only hears the beginning of MC or has to listen to the recording later. Kelly has a very big heart and an extra soft spot for dogs. She has three dogs all of which were rescues. They are Darth, Sergey and Sarah. Darth and Sarah went with Kelly and I to bury Bronco back in November. Someone told me after Bronco died, "Now don't get too attached to her dogs." Of course it was already too late. They are all three sweet, loving dogs and like Bronco they love nothing more than your undivided attention as you pet them. If Kelly's life ever slows down a bit I hope she will share about herself and her kids on the MC Family page. Kelly's love of dogs extends beyond her own dogs. She was the first person I called when I discovered something was seriously wrong with Bronco. She cancelled all her day's activities to be with me as Bronco was fighting for his life and then as I went to lay him to rest. Quite a woman let me tell ya. The other day I was in a meeting and Kelly called my cell. I didn't think too much of it since she knew I was in the meeting I figured she would just leave a message, but the phone kept vibrating indicating she was still trying to get my attention and needed to talk to me right then. I left the meeting and called her back. As often happens she had seen a dog running loose, so she stopped her car at a four way stop and got out to try and get info off the dog's collar. Unfortunately when she closed the car door the car locked with the car running and the keys in it. So there she was stuck at a remote four way stop with a locked running car and a stray puppy dog. She of course called the number on the dog's collar and the vet tried to contact the owners who didn't answer. I was able to stop by a locksmith's who talked to her, found out where she was and then headed out there. I would have been ticked off about having to put out $45 trying to rescue a dog that wasn't even mine, but not Kelly. She was more concerned about getting the dog back to its owner and the dollars meant nothing when compared to helping an innocent puppy dog. If there were more Kellys in the world the world would be a much better place. I love you Kelly! I found out too late that Monday was June's 39 and holdin' birthday. Happy Birthday June! I hope you and Charles didn't get too carried away celebrating Monday night. Anna Rose is still recovering from her broken elbow; it has been a real pain in her…you guessed it "elbow". As a result she has been suffering from the side affect CTTLOTPS. For those of you who didn't go to Redneck Medical School that is "Can't Talk Too Long On the Phone Syndrome." I sometimes forget and start to talk her leg off, she then gets kind of quiet and then I remember to ask if her arm is getting tired or hurting. I'm a little slow sometimes. I want to say "Hi" to Ruby and Chip, ain't heard from ya in a while and we haven't crossed paths at Lucy's lately. Hope you are both doing okay. I want to also say "Hey" to my old friend Curtis who e-mailed me last week. He is of course the friend who I said I had seen Alabama in Iowa with back when Alabama was just getting big. My bubby John got a kick out of that statement, said he was trying to figure out how we saw the state of Alabama in Iowa. Ol' John is a character. Actually Curtis and I go back even further than the Alabama concert, we attended school together for 11 years at the Kirksville Bible School. I think they had us misread, we were pretty good kids and turned out okay even if I do say so myself. Have a great week and tune in Sunday afternoon, Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon, Woody |
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April 5, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I've heard Ron do a recitation on the Rooster Creek Show with the line "I'm drinking from my saucer, 'cause my cup has overflowed." I've played a version of this by Bill Anderson a time or two on MC. I would say this line definitely applies to the month of April in the life of Midnight Country. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, I have even more good news to share with you. No we're not going to be on every night Monday-Friday as I accidentally said we are on the show this week and no we've not been moved to an earlier time slot, but it is still great news. Root'n Toot'n Radio host the Radio Ranger asked me on Monday if I would like to host his show on Easter Sunday. If you are not familiar with Root'n Toot'n Radio it is on every Sunday from Noon to 3:00 on KOPN. Ranger does a great show every week and has a huge, loyal following. He plays a great mix of Americana, which includes Country but also branches out into other styles of American Roots Music. He also has great features such as "Tree Time", "Critter de Jour", "Pure Poetry" and "Common Sense Quotes." I hosted Root'n Toot'n Radio a couple times several years ago and had a great time. I confirmed with Ranger before agreeing to do the show that he was okay with me playing what I normally play on MC. He said, "My folks will love the Classic Country. Use the time to also promote Midnight Country." Whelp ya don't have to ask me twice! So believe it or not over the course of three days we will be on the air 10 ½ hours and 5 of those hours will be during the day! This must seem like a dream or perhaps a nightmare depending on whether or not you love the music we play every Monday morning on MC. I'd say if you are reading this then it must seem like a dream, unless of course you are an undercover agent of CTTCMITP. What you've never heard of CTTCMITP? Where have you been? Everyone knows CTTCMITP stands for "Coalition to Turn Country Music Into Pop". Yep they're out there and they are out to get us! Just last week a black car with tinted windows tried to run me off the road and for a moment I thought they had succeeded in their mission. Fortunately my Diet Dew that I spilled on the radio dried and so they did not succeed in keeping Pop on this redneck, hillbilly, hippie's radio. As I said this week and I may not quoted it exactly, "We believe in keeping our Pop in our glass and Country on the radio!" Boy does my mind wander and wonder?! Anyway I don't think it is a dream, if it is don't wake me up until after April 18th. In case you have been asleep and not dreaming let's review, we will be on April 16th, Easter Sunday from Noon to 3:00 doing Root'n Toot'n Radio, April 17th with our 2nd Annual Easter Special and then April 18th from 3:00-5:00 PM with our Special Onetime Only Daylight Edition of Midnight Country. I kind of dread the show on April 24th, I'm afraid you'll be so sick of hearing me on the radio that you'll all turn in early and no one will even call me. I'd better keep a little bit in my cup, 'cause by then my saucer may be bone dry. I told ya I was a pessimist, I started this paragraph with my cup running over and the longer I wrote it evaporated down to nothin'. What the heck it might be a while before Midnight Country sees the light of day again, so we'd might as well enjoy making hay while the sun shines. Now I bet some of you were thinkin' I'm too city-fied to remember a saying like that. I learned a valuable lesson on the show this week, one I hope I will remember come the 16th and 18th. Do not eat Gardetto's while doing the show unless you know exactly how much time you have until you need to go on the air. I was having an interesting conversation with the Ol' Clark Outlaw's half-brother Harold, just munching away on Gardetto's when I suddenly realized I needed to go on. Dang was I embarrassed! I tried to hide the fact I was talking with my mouth full, this time with food in it, instead of just hot air. (I know what you were thinking Anna Rose). Of course it would have to happen during the Supporter Spotlight hour when I was trying to do a good job playing the special requests of John and Missy. Oh well, maybe it was meant to be, after all among the songs we played were ones dedicated to the memory of John's brother the Ol' Clark Outlaw and no one got a bigger kick than Bob from hearing me goof up on the show. I try to stay away from controversy on the show and here in WWWs, so don't take this to mean something it doesn't. Anyway it seems MC is constantly evolving, no I didn't start out as a baboon and have now evolved into a human. I'm still pretty much a baboon. What does seem to be constantly changing are different aspects of the show. I talked one time about having a cassette here at home labeled "Current DJ Practice." I used it to practice talking like I was on the air. I think I thought I would eventually perfect the art and then would be able to do a perfect job. Well I figured out that theory was not correct. Finally I just jumped in and have been tryin' like hell to learn how to swim ever since. I would like to think I would be able to think through all the different angles before implementing a feature on the show and then once implemented it wouldn't change. Yet there are several examples of features that have evolved over the course of the show. One of these features is what I am now calling the "Supporter Spotlight." This is where I play a half-hour or an hour's worth of requests made by a financial supporter of the show. Initially I was concerned I would not be able to find all the person's requests and so I asked that them to list 10 songs for a half-hour and 20 songs for a full hour, hoping I would be able to find enough of the requests to fill that amount of time. As it turns out I have been able to find the vast majority of the songs requested, so then I was left wanting to play them all, but they wouldn't fit in the allotted time. What I have done then is officially play the number of songs that would fit and then played the rest without acknowledging they were requests made by the same person. As of this moment and knowing me it may evolve even further, I am going to officially play as many of the requests as I can find and call it the "Supporter Spotlight's Top Ten or Twenty" or something close to that. They may not all fit in allotted time, but we will play them all anyway. This is of course as long as you don't start requesting 10-15 minute songs, then we might have to reevaluate. I can't think of any Country songs that are that long, so I think we are safe. It was an honor to once again to remember Mary with Ron. Country Music can be very comforting in a time of loss and no one knows that better than the Master DJ. Country songs can keep precious memories alive for a lifetime until that day when you are once again with those you love. The vision I shared part of that came to mind as I was playing Ron & Mary's favorites was of Ron's dog Pier sitting on the banks of the Jordon River with Mary. Then a Golden colored dog runs up, after he and Pier talk, Mary smiles and tells Bronco he is welcome to sit and wait for his dad as Pier waits for his. It may be later than sooner Mary, Pier and Bronco, but Ron and I will be along. It has been over a year since we spotlighted Ernest Tubb, I would like to have the Master DJ work his magic on this week's playlist as we play songs from one of Ron's favorite artist. Have a great week and tune in Monday morning, if ya don't ya may nearly lose your mind, Woody |
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March 29, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. As I was eating breakfast Monday morning at the Bull Pen Cafe they had a local Country station on the radio. The DJ said they would be playing a song by the late Buck Owens as their Classic cut. A couple things jumped out at me; first he didn't use a word I had used on the show in describing Buck the late "great". I thought that was a bit odd, but of course it was a one-time statement and he may have used it at other times. I am sure I probably don't always use "great" when describing a Country legend who has passed on, so I must cut him some slack. It made me wonder though if the guy really realized how great Buck really was and how much of an influence he had on Country Music. This is the same station I have heard promo their Classic Country show and they said they would be covering the past three decades of Country Music. If my math is correct that would mean they are only going back to 1976. I must admit I am not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, but I thought for sure Country Music was around long before '76. The second thing that jumped out at me was it sounded like Classic Country cuts were something only played periodically and not as an integral part of the show. This of course is quite the opposite of Midnight Country. I realize it is perhaps the Mission of a Commercial Country station to primarily play the current Country and so I so perhaps I should just bite my tongue. I really wouldn't have as much of a problem with it if more of the current Country were really Country, but…anyway I just hope some people find value in the show we try to do every week. I know many of you do. All of this got me to wondering about which current Country artists will be considered "great" after they have passed away. Names like George Strait, Alan Jackson, and Randy Travis were some of the ones that came to mind. In thirty years I hope DJ's will have a real appreciation for the contribution artists like these made to Country Music. Of course there were a lot of names that could have been included in the list, but there are a lot who I would not list if my life depended on it. As Dale Watson has said "They are what they are, but they ain't Country." This may or may not come as a surprise to you, but I often turn on the radio, hear a song and wonder who the heck is that? There seems to be a never-ending supply of new artists coming and going. One day they are the next big thing, the next day you are wondering "Whatever happened to…?", of course that is if they were even popular long enough for you to have become acquainted with them. I don't know, perhaps it has always been this way. Yet it seems to have gotten worse. The record labels seem to gobble up new talent, use them to make a fast buck, then unless they become the next Tim McGraw overnight they spit them out like chewing gum that has lost its flavor. I suppose it is better to have been a one hit wonder than to have never had a hit at all, but it would be interesting to know if the price these discarded artists had to pay was really worth it. I must say I have a lot of respect for artists who refuse to change their music just to sell more records. People like Dale Watson and many artists in Bluegrass certainly fall into this category. It seems to me if a person has had a lifelong dream of being a pitcher, they would be at least somewhat disappointed if when they made it to the Majors they were used as a catcher. In other words if an artist loved Traditional Country, finally got a record deal and were then molded in a Pop singer I would think they too would be less than pleased. There is a place for all styles of music. Yet if I order a Burrito Supreme at Taco Bell but they give me a Big Mac instead I am going to be disappointed. If I tune to Country station, but hear something other than Country I too will be disappointed. Last week I made a statement in here that was not accurate according to my dear friend Anna Rose and so I promised to clear up any confusion. I was talking about Anna Rose tapping into her sister Loretta's wealth of Country Music knowledge. I made the statement "I hear tell she (meaning Loretta) was buddies with Ron and Mary, so I'd bet she learned a lot from the Master DJ." According to Anna Rose it was the other way around and the Master DJ over the years learned a lot from Loretta. Anyway, however they both came to know everything they know they have both probably forgotten more than I will ever know. Now come next week I may have to say Ron said I was right the first time. Anyhow… So how many people have you told about the one time only Daylight Edition of Midnight Country? I'm still pretty excited about it, though I must admit I am getting a little bit nervous. I intend to pull out all the stops and plan the best show possible. I just hope the usual afternoon listeners on KOPN find the show enjoyable. I am still a little gun shy after what happened several years ago. I have told the story several times, but a quick version is this. I was asked to cover the afternoon time slot I will be in on April 18th and was told I could play whatever I wanted to, including Country. So anyway this one guy calls up and said he didn't have a specific request, but wondered if perhaps I could play something besides a whole Country set. I think it was Bruce who follows me with Morning Ayre that said, "Yeah, but that was just one person. There were a lot of people out there enjoying it who didn't call." I hope he was right and I hope I get a positive response this time. You know me I don't just see the glass as half empty, but imagine what it will look like completely empty after someone knocks it over. Another thing I'm a little concerned about is if a lot of people do actually call it might be hard for me to get to all of them. I'm thinking about trying to talk Kelly into coming up and helping just in case I do get backed up. Please understand if I am not able to visit too long when you do call. BUT Please DO Call, I will need to know you are out there listening and pulling for me! I tell ya what I am a worrywart. If there are any angles I am forgetting to worry about please let me know. I am a frustrated perfectionist to say the least. A few years back I ran across a book at the mall called "Never Good Enough: How to Use Perfectionism to Your Advantage Without Letting it Ruin Your Life" by Monica Ramirez Basco. All the copies at the store had scratches on the covers so I decided to just order it from Amazon.com. Boy was I upset when the copy I received in the mail also had a scratch on it. After further examination I realized what I thought was scratch was actually an intentional part of the design, meant I suppose, to make a point to perfectionists like myself. So the next time you hear me make a major blunder on the show you might have to ask yourself, "Was that an accident or did Woody make that error on purpose to just mess with the perfectionists listening?" I would say most of the time it will be an accident, but ya never know! It goes without saying that the late GREAT Buck Owens will be this week's spotlight artist. It was nice to have Harold, Justin, Nick and Brian visit the show. They seemed to really enjoy it. Don't forget to tell everyone you know about the 18th! Have a great week, tune in Monday morning honor yet another Country Music Legend who has gone home, Woody |
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March 22, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I tell ya what I am excited about something I just found out on Monday afternoon. Sit down if you are standing, lie down if you are sitting and pull over if you are driving (you shouldn't be reading your mail or surfing the web while driving anyway ). Here's what has me so worked up, we are going to be doing a one time only Daylight Edition of Midnight Country. It will be on Tuesday April 18 from 3:00-5:00 PM. Mark your calendars, call in sick, cancel your doctor appointments, fly in all your Country Music lovin' family and friends from out-of-state. You won't want to miss this Special Edition of MC! How will it been any different than any other Edition of Midnight Country? Well it won't be any different, EXCEPT for it will be on during the day! Now all those people who you have told about the show, but who have always said "I'm never up that late" will no longer have an excuse. If they still ain't up by 3:00 PM then I'd say they either have a sleep disorder or have been tellin' a fib when they say they would like to listen to the show. Also this is our one chance to catch the ear of people who do not normally hear the show. This includes people who really aren't able to stay up until after Midnight, those who don't even know the show exists AND those at KOPN who have no idea how many people love Midnight Country! So please, please, please tell everyone you know about this one time only Daylight Edition of Midnight Country. Ask those you tell to call and let me know they are listening. Also don't forget to call me as well, after all you will be home sick that day with your Country Music lovin' family and friends, remember? If the phones are jam-packed with calls for the entire two hours the staff in the office are going to think "Dang, Woody really isn't just imagining all those people listen to his show!" I'm not saying this will necessarily lead to an earlier time slot for the show, but it sure can't hurt. I will, as always, be playing your requests during the show. I would love to be able to send out a bunch of requests to you the faithful listeners. If I get backed up I may only be able to play one of your requests, so please don't hold that against me. If you can't afford to fly in your Country Music lovin' family and friends there are at least five hundred buses being chartered to bus people in from outside the KOPN listening area so they can hear the show. There might be a few seats still available, if not Anna Rose has offered to run a shuttle service from Macon and Rolla. Dang it, ya ain't gonna believe a word I said above if I start exaggerating now, just disregard the part about the chartered buses and Anna Rose's shuttle service. Everything else is true or may the Good Lord take me on home. Wait a second disregard that too, I'd make up a story to be able to go see Bronco. Anyway…just tune in on the April 18th and you'll see I ain't lying. Boy was this snowstorm a dud? At least on my street it was! I wish they would have been that far off the weekend of the tornadoes. As I read the forecast throughout the show they kept lowering the amounts of expected accumulations and I figured it would end up being a lot less than they were saying. I guess I don't dread big snows too much, having a four-wheel drive pickup helps of course. I figure if it is too bad you can always stay home in the safety of your house, but with tornadoes unless you've got a basement staying home may not be the safest place to be. I saw on the news where there have been people looting areas hit by the tornadoes. Boy think about that for a minute and you'll get your blood ta boilin', huh? Crazy I'd say. The phones were hopping this week. I like it when a bunch of you all call me. It makes me feel all-warm inside, at least I think it is your calls, it could be the Taco Bell I sometimes eat before the show. Man a bunch of you are going through difficult times right now. I sure hope the show is a comfort to you during as you deal with all the "stuff" life throws at you. As always I will be happy to share your concerns with the rest of the MC Family on the air, on the web site and in the printed Edition of WWWs. Some might think it strange that I share prayer requests on a Country show, but if you know anything about KOPN you'd know we ain't afraid to go against the norm. Now I have no plans of turning MC into a religious show, but I sure as heaven ain't goin' to be afraid to share the concerns of a MC Family member with their fellow Family members. I ain't saying the Good Lord would stop a single raindrop as a result of my prayers, but there are MC Family members whose prayers make a big difference and can bring peace to those going through tough times. We made it through the show this week with only one real bad computer glitch. The transmitter stayed on all night so that was nice. I sure enjoyed Harold's selections from 3:00 to 4:00. I was telling Harold that when I first dreamed up the idea of letting you all program a part of the show I was a little nervous. I was afraid that some Big & Rich or Shania Twain fan would pledge and then want me to play a bunch of Pop as my way of thanking them for supporting the show. I should have known better, there are probably few Pop fans listening to MC let alone wanting to support the show. I tell ya what not one of you who has been in the Supporter Spotlight have picked any songs that don't fit on Midnight Country. Good job! I am a little nervous that Anna Rose will someday decide to cash in all her hours and only have three songs listed for me to play throughout the entire night. They would of course be "Cajun Moon" by Ricky and "Mississippi Cotton Picking Delta Town" and "Church In the Wildwood" by Charley. I would be in a real pickle, I mean candied apple, how could I refuse my supplier's requests. I ain't too worried about it, Anna Rose could come up with a great list of requests if she'd set her mind to it. She could always tap into her sister's wealth of Country Music knowledge. Anna Rose may know her way around them there candy apples, but Loretta sure knows her Country & Bluegrass. I hear tell she was buddies with Ron and Mary, so I'd bet she learned a lot from the Master DJ. I want to say a BIG Hello to everyone who reads WWWs, but are outside the KOPN listening area. My buddy George reads WWWs up in Kirksville. He claims he gets a kick out of reading it. I hope that really is the case and that he isn't just stockpiling them to use in case he runs out of toilet paper. George and I go way back. You might have heard of him, he and his wife Martha helped start this here Country, oh wait, wrong George. Also believe it or not WWWs travels all the way to Florida via the Pony Express. Charles and June's daughter Teresa gets a kick out of reading Woody's Wacky Writings. Dang, perhaps I should change the name, always something to wonder then worry about. So HOWDY George and Teresa, howdy also to all those of you who run across WWWs on the web site, in the landfill or wherever. Have a great week, tune in Monday morning as we get the fields ready for spring with The Tennessee Plowboy Mister Eddy Arnold, Woody P.S. Did I mention we're gonna be on during the day come April 18th. Ah wait a second I think I already told ya. Don't forget now! I'm so excited I almost green beaned my pants! Anyhow…just so I told ya.
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March 15, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. There's an old church song with the line "Count your blessings, name them one by one." The admonition seems appropriate after this past weekend. I realize as I told Kelly the same number of people who were killed by the tornados are no doubt killed just about every weekend on the highways here in Missouri. Yet it seems much more scary as you and ten of thousands of your neighbors take shelter not knowing if you may be living your last moments here on earth. It sure makes you stop and think, huh? The forces of nature can certainly be deadly as was proved Sunday and they are certainly worthy of our respect. Gone are the days when I would take chances, such as not taking shelter, driving through floodwaters, etc. Of course things cannot always be avoided, but I try not to make a habit of playing Russian Roulette with a load gun. It is easy to assume it always happens somewhere else, to someone else, then it strikes within miles of each of our homes and within the KOPN listening area. I worried of course about the safety of all the known Midnight Country Family, but I wondered too if there are those who listen to the show, have never called and were perhaps among those hurt or even killed. I wrote an e-mail to the KOPN programmer's list and said "After having been glued to the TV all day I felt a little out of touch last night while doing my show. I am curious if anyone else doing a show during all the severe weather would have found a small TV in the air room beneficial? The radar on-line is better than nothing I suppose, but it seems the guys on TV are getting it down to where you can know with 5 minutes of when you will be transferred to the Community radio station in the sky. I for one would like to be able to select the last song playing as I am blown away. I know we are not qualified and might not be able to legally pass along on the air the info we see on TV, but I would take that chance and share the info if I learned a tornado would hit a certain town, street, etc. in five minutes. The warnings we play are good, but not as specific as what is on TV. One of my listeners said he had me on the radio with the TV on too, but turned down." While some of my usual humor came through, it was nonetheless a serious e-mail. As I said on the show your safety is much more important than listening to MC. There's always next week to hear the music I play. I was partly joking in my e-mail about "the last song playing as I am blown away" I do, of course, nonetheless have serious thoughts about such things and even if it were not me about to be taken from this life I would hope the last song heard by someone would give them hope and courage in their dark hour. I suppose as a result of these concerns I might be tempted to play only Country Gospel on the show, but in reality God can use any Country song to speak words of hope and courage. Midnight Country might be like an old beat up old fiddle with an ol' redneck, hillbilly, hippie trying to make music, but the touch of the Master's hand can turn it into something beautiful that brings hope and courage to those listening. All right if Brother Kevin will pass the offering plate while Sister Anna Rose plays the organ we'll take up a collection to end my little sermonette. Tuesday I took a walk on Bear Creek Trail for only the second time since losing Bronco. On Thanksgiving I had walked part way, yesterday I went the full distance that we would walk. I felt naked, like I didn't belong, like people thought it strange seeing someone like me walking on the trail. With Bronco I always felt complete and people always seemed happy to see Bronco, thus it was okay that I was there too. Before I got Bronco I used to take walks and imagine I had a Golden Retriever walking with me. I guess I am back to that, but the Golden I imagine walking with me now has a name and a face. I thought as I was walking, exercise is a bit of a Catch 22, I need to do it, but the more I do it, the healthier I will be, which will then only delay my being reunited with Bronco. A lot of people have asked if I have gotten another dog yet or when I think I will. Of course I haven't yet or I would definitely have talked about it on the show and as for when, well I don't know. I seem to experience two emotions when it comes to adopting animals, dogs and cats in particularly. First in the past when I have walked into a shelter, my first reaction has been to be deeply moved and then want to take 80% of them home with me. The second emotion brings me back to the sobering reality of my limitations, that I would not be able to care for them all, I would not be able to connect with them to the extent needed for each to feel loved and cherished as I sought to do with Bronco and continue to strive and do with Mear and Goldie. Of course there is a third emotion I hate to recall and that is one of great sadness as I leave all those needy animals behind. I don't even like to think about what happens to the ones who are not adopted by anyone. If I could I would be there to hold each of their paws as they pass from this world to the next. I would whisper in their ears "Watch for the Golden dog with a smile, he will lead you on to Heaven." How sad and how sad as well that there are people who are not treated any better. So when Saint Bronco has found my next dog I am sure I will know it and will sense I am ready to love and cherish him or her as I did Bronco, until then he will need to watch over all the other animals that I will not be able to love in this life. In the meantime thanks to Kelly being in my life I am able to spend time with her three dogs Sarah, Darth and Sergey. This week I want to spotlight Keith Whitley. Like Bronco he left this world all too soon. He left behind some great music and so I look forward to sharing some of it with you. I again enjoyed the music selected by our spotlight supporter. As you know we played Rob's favorites from 4:30-5:30 this. All his selections were by artists who have passed on from this Earth, but still live on through their music. Rob knows his Country Music let me tell ya, one of the songs was by Charlie Rich and I thought, "Hey Charlie's not gone is he?" But sure enough Rob knew and I had forgotten that Charlie had passed on back in '95. You all keep me on my toes. Thanks so much Rob for the great selections and for your support of Midnight Country. I want to send a big "Howdy" out to Loretta, Anna Rose's sister. She is a faithful reader of WWWs and last week I had the privilege of meeting her face-to-face for the first time. She was down trying to keep Anna Rose in line, now that's a full time job. I must admit though Anna Rose isn't quite as ornery as she was before she broke her elbow. She's still able to hand out them there candy apples though, thank goodness she only broken one elbow. On a more serious note, continue to keep Kevin's brother Kent in your prayers as he recovers there in KC. Also Kelly's dad Marv will be having open-heart surgery next week and I know he too would appreciate your prayers. It goes with out saying there are a lot of hurting, grieving people here in our state that need our prayers. Have a great week, tune in Monday morning as we spotlight Keith and please don't call to say "Woody you say it best when you say nothing at all", might lead to some dead air I tell ya, Woody |
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March 8, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. It was good to have Anna Rose back in the saddle again this week. She surprised me when she called after 5:00. I had figured she had turned in early, which I can't say as I would have blamed her really if she had. When people have told me they fell asleep and missed all or part of the show I often say "Hey I understand that, if I weren't doing the show I would be asleep myself!" One of the show-liners I have been using lately is "Real Country, Real Late, but Real Goooood." It is great to know so many of you agree and listen to as much of the show as you can. I overhead a programmer talking to someone this past week. This person has been covering a late night show that doesn't yet have a permanent programmer. They also recently covered a daytime show and I heard them make the comment "It was nice playing the music when someone might actually be listening." I had to smile to myself. Names came to mind like…well I won't try and name everyone 'cause I'd leave someone out, but I know at least on Midnight Country there are a bunch of you listening late into the night or early in the morning. I know a lot of you are not normally up all night and you make a point to stay up and listen to the show. There must be something about the show you believe is worth staying up for. I thank you for that. I really enjoyed playing Mildred's favorites from 3:00-4:00. After the hour was over a couple of people commented how much they had enjoyed Mildred's selections. Good stuff I tell ya. Thank you so much Mildred for your support and for allowing me the privilege to play some of your favorites. I counted it an honor to play songs in memory of your granddaughters and your husband. I'll bet Amanda ran down Waylon there in Heaven when I kicked off the hour with her song "Amanda". I'll bet then a tear or two came to the eyes of all your loved ones there listening with Amanda and Waylon as we finished the hour with Vince's "Go Rest High on That Mountain". Thanks so much! This week we will be spotlighting the favorites of another supporter of and faithful listener to MC, Rob Wright. However, we're going to be playing Rob's favorites later in the show than we have been playing the favorites of others. Rob listens on and off throughout the night, but then at 4:30 he gives his full attention to the show as he begins his day. So I figure what the heck, let's begin playing Rob's favorites at 4:30. I feel kind of bad making people wait until after 3:00, but with the spotlight artist thing in the first three hours…well what can ya do? Well what did you think of this week's three-way spotlight? I thought it was nice for a change. At one point Anna Rose said she hadn't called me because she didn't want to miss the music. She said it was really good this week. Again she gave away her age by saying she hadn't heard some of the songs for a hundred years. I for one wish I could somehow turn back time and hear Ron play these songs when they first came out. Yet without foresight I might not have had the appreciation of the music that I have today. I want to continue with the multiply artists spotlight again this week. I don't particularly see this as becoming the norm, but it may happen occasionally. The reason for doing it this week may seem a bit odd, but what the heck. I have a couple of female artists who I would like to spotlight, but since I didn't win the Powerball I really don't have enough of either one to spotlight them by themselves, so…anyhow. It would be cool if the day came when Midnight Country became so widely known that Classic Country artists or even the families of deceased artists wanted to make sure I had enough stuff to spotlight them. I recently e-mailed a Classic Country artist to see if they would send me some older material. I never heard back from them. You may or may not believe this from listening to me on the show, but I'm not exactly bursting at the seams with the necessary self-confidence to sell the world (artists or potential listeners) on Midnight Country. The show is what it is, but it ain't what it used to be (I hope) and will only get better (I hope). Someone told me they had recently listened to a recording of one of the Waylon Tributes right after he died. This person said though the show was good that I have definitely made improvements and sound more confident than I did back then. Oh my I tell ya I am afraid to listen to old show recordings, in fact a lot of weeks I am afraid to listen to the most recent recording! I have lived and learned, I practice and do the best I can. Hopefully my best will get better. At least when I am sitting in a nursing home at the ripe old age of 43 I will be able to say I was on the radio at one point, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Well perhaps I won't already be in a nursing home when I turn 43 in August, but if I do live long enough to be in one…well I will be able to say "I done radio and I done the best I could." I think I'm dumb, I mean done talking about that subject. Anyway Donna Fargo and Janie Frickie will be in the spotlight this week. I'm starting a new feature this week. It is called "A Glimpse Into the Life of a MC Listener." It is stories from the life of a fictional listener. A disclaimer might be wise, it is not meant to represent anyone living or dead. It is simply another outlet for my wondering mind. When I was a boy I remember reading the continuing stories in Grit Magazine. They left me hangin', wonderin' what would happen next. So I am going to see if I am create a little suspense myself. Perhaps if I am successful in creating this suspense Anna Rose will actually start checking her mail before Saturday or Monday or Tues…! I figure with the high heating bills this winter you might welcome some of my hot air. If you were enjoying the "Little Known Facts About Your Host" feature not to worry they will still be included from time to time. I hate to reveal everything about myself. Sometimes I already feel naked after baring/bearing (can't remember which one to use, HELP Conductor Chip) my soul in here and on the show. I'll tell ya one thing you do NOT want to see me naked! I think I need to start doctoring the pictures of me when I was a kid. Ron saw the one last week and pointed out in his opinion I looked pretty good with short hair. Notice I said "his opinion"; as much as I hate to disagree with Ron…I'd better leave that argument alone, huh? I may have had short hair on the outside, but inside I had long hair like Ronnie Milsap. Well I'm running late getting this done. I hope you all will forgive me. I also hope some of you actually noticed it was late. Some weeks I think I need a secretary to keep me on schedule. I do always show up in time to do the show though, so that is good I think. I doubt B.G. Brown would be too excited about staying past midnight and having to switch gears to Country Music. I guess I could ask Kelly to keep me on schedule, but she already has her hands full keeping me on track in general without worrying about my MC deadlines. Have a great week, tune in Monday morning but don't be making funny faces at the radio, particularly if your heart's not in it, Woody |
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March 1, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Tracy Lawrence has a song titled "Time Marches On." Well ready or not March is here, hard to believe though. I suppose most people are excited to see spring is right around the corner. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I just walked by Bronco's pen and he was not there to greet me. I'm glad the Bible doesn't say our pets will NOT be in Heaven, so there is always that hope. I'll be hanging onto that hope as spring arrives. Spring will then turn in to summer; summer in to fall and time will continue to march on. Eventually I hope to see Bronco again, I enjoyed playing Charley this week, I'm just sorry one of his biggest fans wasn't able to hear the show. Of course Anna Rose was the "good friend" I was worrying about in last week's WWWs. I was finally able to track her down at the hospital. I knew she had fallen and hurt her elbow on Saturday the 18th, but I had no idea it was broken, let alone that she would be in the hospital. I found out what was up though thanks to Ron putting me in touch with Anna Rose's sister Loretta (a faithful reader of WWWs). I'm glad to report that the surgery went well and Anna Rose is back home. If she would let me I would take up a collection to buy her a wireless phone with a headset, that way she wouldn't wear herself out getting up to answer the phone when I call to check up on her and with the headset she wouldn't wear her right arm out holding the phone. Knowing Anna Rose though she wouldn't go for that new fangled technology stuff. It would probably just sit in a box until Blossom discovered it, then it would be spread out all over the floor. I'm happy Anna Rose got Blossom, she seems to be great company and I'll bet she really missed her momma when she was gone all those days. It was quite a relief to find out Anna Rose was okay, though I'm am sure she would call being laid up in the hospital with a broken elbow anything but "okay." Well all I'll say to that is it could have been a whole lot worse. Well even though it is only March, June has been on my mind lately as well. It was good to hear from June Monday morning. I figured she had been listening, which she said she had, but it had been a while since she had called. As always I start to worry when I don't hear from you all. It sounds like June has been busy with her new job as a nurse. Charles had eye surgery a while back and so June has been nursing him back to health. I even got to visit with Charles a bit which surprised me. I'm not sure I would be up to talking if I had recently had cars (Cadillac's in particular) removed from one of my eyes. Some of them old Caddy's were down right heavy. I can't imagine having them on your eyes! Okay so that joke is probably getting old, but I get a kick out of it anyway. Cataract/Cadillac sounds pretty darn close to this redneck, hillbilly, hippy. I'm glad it went well for ya Charles and it was nice to visit with you and June. This week we are going to do something a bit different than we have up until now. We are going to spotlight three different artists in the first three hours of the show. MC Family member Kevin Burns reminded me that it was 43 years ago March 5th that that Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas were all killed in a plane crash returning to Nashville from Kansas City. So what I have decided to do is play some from each of these three artists. I will, of course, also play any of your requests whether they are for one of these three or not. I'm keeping my fingers crossed too that perhaps Ron will call in and share some of his stories with us. It should be an interesting show. No more Bronco and now no more Barney. Bronco and Barney both brought many smiles to my face over the years, at least there are plenty of Andy Griffith reruns still on TV. Unlike most of you, watching the Andy Griffith show has been a new experience for me as an adult. We did not have a TV back in the '60's when it originally ran. I respect my parents' decision to not have a TV in However, I do find it rather odd that the Holiness church I grew up in was so against TV and now they seem computer crazy. I am no expert, but it seems to me that Andy Griffith and other shows from the '60's were rather tame when compared to what is on the internet. Of course a lot of the old timers in that church have passed away and so they might be anti computers too if they were still alive. Time marches on and changes, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. It is not always easy to tell at the time. I have concluded the appliance (TV, computer, radio, etc.) is not evil in and of itself. The same TV that can teach great moral lessons as the Andy Griffith show often did can just as easily broadcast messages of hate. The same computer that makes life saving information available to people around the world can also be used to prey on innocent children. So my point is…I think you get my point. Aaron Tippin has a song with the line "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." I am sure the church was just drawing the line where they thought it should. I just happen to disagree with what they believed then and am perplexed by the changes I've seen. I have no room to talk and living in a glass house myself it is not wise to throw stones. It is just that one story from my childhood always makes my blood boil when I consider this issue. There was a house in Kirksville, which caught on fire, and a young girl was killed. It was discovered that most likely a faulty TV was to blame for starting the fire. I recall as a boy feeling horrible knowing that the young girl had gone to hell. Did I know the young girl? No. How did I conclude she had gone to hell? Well anyone would know the answer to that one! They had a TV! As hard as most of you may find it to believe, based on my church's teaching I sincerely believed it was a sin to have a TV and that one would go to hell if they had one. Living with that belief and similar fears that were instilled in me is it any wonder I find the whole "TV's bad then", "computers good now" thing rather annoying? It will be fun to look this young girl up when I get to Heaven and share this story with her. Anyhow…it is amazing the tangents I get off on in here. Fortunately for you this is in writing and so you can stop reading when you like, unlike if you ran into me on the street corner, then it would be harder to walk away. Believe it or not, in person I don't go off on tangents as much as I do in here. I can hear you saying "Thank God, I was hoping I'd never run into you on the street!" WWWs is kind of like the small town newspapers I used to make fun of growing up. You know the columns were they would share what seemed like trivial, insignificant events to me. Now I write in here about things that a non-Midnight Country listener would think were trivial, insignificant events. Oh well we all change over time, at least I have. Now I would get a kick out of reading a small town paper that had no bad news to report so needing something to print they had told about Bertha Washington taking her two grandnieces to visit John and April Lincoln last Saturday after they ate lunch at Harry Country Cookin' Cafe. Perhaps too my little tangents are similar to old letters to the Editor complaining about the horse manure in front of the general store, nothing real significant or affecting the whole world, but on a person's mind nonetheless. Oh for the Good Ol' Days as they were in Mayberry with Andy, Barney, Opie and Aunt Bee. I am sure you enjoyed as I did the favorite songs Kevin Burns selected for me to play as our way of saying "Thank You" to Kevin for his support of MC. This week I will be spotlighting Mildred's favorites from 3:00-4:00 as my way of saying thanks for her support of the show. Don't miss it! Have a great week & tune in Monday morning as we remember three great Country artists who left this world all too soon forty-three years ago, Woody |
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February 22, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Believe it or not I don't sit down every week with a thousand things running through my head to write about, but once I get my mind to spinning I often find myself running out of space. There are some subjects I try to avoid writing about in here, such as politics and specific religious issues. I figure we all at the very least share a love of the good Ol' USA and a belief in God. Now how we each approach these two topics is where the horse manure starts to flying. I have my opinions, right or wrong and I know each of you do as well. I assume some opinions are more correct than others, but I figure in the hereafter we will all find we were right about some things and way off track about other things. The one thing we do all have in common though is a love of Country Music. Granted what one person considers to be Country, is NOT Country to someone else. I would say though for the most part you must at some level agree with what I call Country and then select to play on the show or you would not take the time to read this. Anyhow…let's see what my mind wonders across this week. One thing I have wanted to try and improve about the show is my interaction with you the faithful listeners. There is no reason why everyone who listens to the show each week shouldn't have a request played &/or something from his or her life shared on the show. I have worried about people not being able to get through on the phone early on during the show, but I know there are other ways for you to communicate with me as well. One of those ways of course is by e-mail. If you are reading this on the web site then you no doubt already have access to an e-mail account. I would invite you to e-mail your requests before the show and let me know a specific hour you will most likely be able to hear them. I already have a couple people who do make their requests this way on a regular basis. For those of you reading the paper version of WWWs I have an idea I would like to try with you. I have included in this week's mailing a postcard you can fill out and return with your requests or something going on in your life or perhaps a prayer request. To insure that I get this in time for the show I am going to have you mail this to my PO Box instead of to the station. If it were to arrive at the station on Saturday it might not be sorted and put in my box until Monday, obviously then too late for that week's show. As much as I hate to, I am going to ask you to pay the postage on the postcards, sorry. I believe the current postcard rate is .24¢. Also try to limit your number of requests to 2-3 a week if possible. I hope this idea really takes off and I have trouble getting everyone's requests on! This in no way is meant to discourage you from calling me every week, but rather to just give you another option when it comes to communicatin' with me. Some of you may not like talking on the phone, others of you may not be able to get to a phone and others still may just get tired of hitting redial trying to get through! I am serious too about you sharing things going on in your life that you would like for me to share with the rest of the MC Family on the show. I don't care what it is really, keep it G-rated of course, but other than that let your mind wonder as mine does each week. Perhaps your great nephew's wife's cousin's minister's parents' church is having a ham and bean supper and they have asked you to say the prayer, sounds like something worth sharing to me! Just make sure I will understand and tell the story correctly. I don't want to say something like your great nephews' minister ran off with your nephew's wife after the wife's cousin spilled the beans at the minister's parents' church that your nephew's wife told your nephew she didn't give a ham about his anymore. See how I could get confused and in trouble. Anyway…you get my idea, I hope. Now get those e-mails and postcards ah coming. I have another idea in the works as well, but I've got to see what my banker thinks first.Believe it or not I am finishing this up at 3:27 on Wednesday morning. I couldn't stay asleep for some reason. I was trying to get a hold of a good friend Tuesday evening, but they never answered the phone. So I have been worrying about them a tad bit. I am sure they are probably okay, but I will worry nonetheless until I talk to them. I tend to worry as you know and I not only see the glass as half empty, but also imagine what is going to happen when someone knocks it over and it is completely empty! Though I've never tried, I would bet I would never be allowed in the Optimist Club. Anyway a lot of things were running through my head so I figure I'd just as well get up and share some of them in here. I've been thinking about the little tangent I got off on after playing Porter Wagoner's "Trouble In the Amen Corner." I'm not going to repeat everything I said, but rather expound on my point. As you recall the song is about this Ol' Brother Eyer who liked to sing in the choir at church, but he wasn't very good according to the other members and so they asked him to stop. He wondered then if the same thing would happen when he got to heaven, would he be kicked out of Heaven's choir? It is one of those songs like the "Outlaw's Prayer" by Johnny Paycheck that I like to play from time to time to remind myself not to get too worked up about what everyone thinks of me, but to focus instead on the Good Lord's unconditional acceptance of me. I would say He is a lot less impressed with all the glitz and glamour than we are. I found myself talking a lot on the show about the Rascal Flatts' concert Sunday night at the Mizzou Arena. I kept saying stuff like "That's not real Country" & "Now Midnight Country is real Country." Though I didn't admit it on the show and am a little surprised I am admitting it here, I think in reality I am a little bit jealous of the spotlight these big pop Country acts are in. (Oh by the way Mear says "Hi", she just sat down in front of the keyboard, but I moved it to the side to accommodate her while continuing to type. ) I would give a lot to have had the chance to DJ back in the 50's, 60's and 70's as Ron did. Can you imagine how cool it would have been to play Luckenbach Texas for the first time? Or introduce Porter and Dolly to an audience at a concert? Well I may never know thrills similar to these since I don't seem too interested in most of the current Country, but I have been blessed with the opportunity to carry on the work of legendary DJ's such as my buddy Ron. I'll play Hag, Hank and Waylon 'til they put me sixty feet under and to Heaven with the rest of the bunch. Yeah I said sixty, I figure they won't want to take any chances on me digging my way out so I can keep playing real Country. I've been havin' trouble figuring this whole spotlight artist thing out. As you know I don't have some music director tellin' me what to play. Who should I repeat prior to having played every possible spotlight artist? I've obviously repeated Hank, Waylon, Johnny, then George, Loretta, and Willie during replayed shows. I figure we'll start repeating some while working in never before spotlighted artists along the way. I wish I had an exhaustive collection of Classic Country, but since I didn't play let alone win the Powerball I guess we'll have to do with what I've got. Anyway I'm going to spotlight Charley Pride this week in honor of Black History Month. I know I spotlighted him on February 21st last year, but that was before Ron was working his magic on the playlists. Besides Charley's one of Anna Rose's favorites and if I play a bunch of Charley she might reward me with some more candy apples! Now she doesn't work for Charley (that I know of) so I don't think that would be considered payola. I want to say "Hi" to the Rocheport gang; I've missed hearing from ya!Have a great week & tune in Monday morning as I play Charley while eating my burgers, fries and candy apples (hint, hint Anna Rose), Woody |
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February 15, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. A friend of mine told me she got choked recently and thought she was a goner. I spent several minutes trying to convince her that she should get a Medical Alert button in case this happened again. Even though I think she can hear fine most of the time, my suggestion seemed to fall on deaf ears. It got me to thinking though, it would be nice if we had something similar but for a different purpose on Midnight Country. My thought is that I could send everyone a button you could push throughout the show to let me know you are listening. It would need to be at stated times, like "Ok now on the count of three everyone push your button", so that you wouldn't cheat and just push the button in your sleep. I could then have a screen on my computer with everyone's names and like the boards that show votes in say the Senate; a little light would flash by those who were listening. This way I could know how many people were actually listening throughout the night. I often worry that people try to call early in the show, don't get through and say "Well forget trying to call that guy", they then kick the dog, pull the cat's tail, kiss momma goodnight and turn the radio off. Anyway the phones were very busy early on during this week's show then really dropped off. It could be that no one but Anna Rose is actually listening some weeks late in the show. For the dog and cat's sake I just hope you don't think you shouldn't keep trying if you don't get through right away early in the show. If you're still listening later on just do like Anna Rose and hit redial 'til you get through. This way you won't have to blind mamma by turning on the light to dial. I would suggest though that you try to consciously recall if indeed KOPN was the last number you dialed, otherwise Aunt Elizabeth may not be as excited to hear from you at 3:00 AM as she was when you called her after church Sunday afternoon. For now I guess we'll have to hold off on the button idea and just hope others are hearing the great music Anna Rose and I are enjoying. Getting phone calls from you all has become like an addiction for me, the more people who call, the more I want to call, then when no one calls I feel like I used to feel at 1:30 AM when I had just drank my last beer and there's nowhere to buy more. It used to be a single beer, I mean call would keep me buzzing all night, now a dozen beers, again I mean calls is just barely enough to keep me buzzing. You know what I should do is send Anna Rose to acting school to learn different voices, then she could call throughout the night using a different voice each time and I would think everyone in Columbia was listening! Naw I guess that won't work either, it might lead to me getting a big head thinking I am a better coach, I mean DJ than I really am. There are advantages to doing a late night show once a week that few people even know is on. Can you imagine the mess from my bubble bursting if I was on full-time during the day and then was asked to resign or be fired? They say the bigger they are the harder they fall and thus the bigger mess they leave. I guess I won't have to worry about doing a news conference anytime soon like Quin had to do on Tuesday. I have probably read more about Mizzou basketball since he resigned than I have in the last few years combined. I really have no opinion on the whole deal; it just seemed to follow the train of thought I was pursuing, which leads to the next track… Believe it or not I really don't follow sports that much anymore. The Broncos are about the only team I follow closely and I don't even keep up on them as much as I did when I was younger. It seems over the years I have become a bigger fan of Country Music instead, not so much being obsessed with this artist or that artist, but rather taking a deeper interest in what the songs say and how they relate to my life. When I was a boy I would spend hours playing in the backyard imagining I was about to kick the winning field goal, shoot the winning shot at the buzzer or hit a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning. Today I have my doubts I will ever play any sports in a local competitive league again let alone play for a major league team. So now I can relate more to a Country song that is describing an emotion I am feeling than I can relate to some multimillionaire losing out on a half million-dollar bonus because he didn't shot enough three pointers. Now keep in mind the thoughts I am sharing are no doubt affected by my "The Broncos didn't make it to the Super Bowl" depression I am dealing with. Even had they won it all though I would still have to say that Country Music is more relevant to my day-to-day life than are sports. Now I ain't knocking anyone who listens to Midnight Country with ESPN's Sports Center on the tube and the Sports section on their lap. I'm just sayin' how it is for me. I want to thank Ruthann from Kentucky for allowing me to read her poem "Waylon Gone?" during this week's Tribute. As I shared on the show she ran across the Midnight Country web site and learned we would be doing a Tribute to Waylon. It was a very moving and thoughtful poem to say the least. Thanks for sharing it with everyone here in this neck of the woods Ruthann. I know Waylon no doubt enjoyed it. I realize that you would never pick up on this from reading WWWs or listening to the show, but I have quite an imagination. Anyway early in the show as I sat there behind the mic I imagined Waylon, the Ol' Clark Outlaw and Bronco all walking into the studio and sitting there with me as I did the Tribute. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about losing the Ol' Outlaw and Bronco last year and as I shared about Kevin's friend Amy dying and my friend Rodney taking his life. Tears came again later when I read Ruthann's poem. Monday at Rodney's Memorial Service a smile did came to my face though when they played "Go Rest High On That Mountain". I wanted to tell the people sitting next to me "I done played that for Rodney last night on my show." Country Music is about life, the good, the bad and the sad. As one song says "If It Weren't For Country Music I'd Go Crazy" and it is never truer than when a MC Family member or I lose someone we love. There's something that has been worrying me lately. Someone told me recently "You sure worry a lot" and that is what has been worrying. Just kidding about it worrying me because I have too many other things to worry about without worrying about worrying too much. Dang it if I was getting' paid a dollar for every time I used the word worry worry worry worry worry I'd have enough for a nice lunch. I would probably worry less if I had a condition our spotlight artist this week sings about, the condition called "Honky Tonk Amnesia." I don't go to Honky Tonks very often these days and if I did I don't think the Diet Pepsi/Coke would help me forget too much. By the way, when are they going to wake up and start having Diet Dew on tap? That has been bothering for a while now. Seems they have it on tap in Kirksville at Taco Bell. Should I move back to my hometown just for that? See what I mean there is always something to worry about. Anyhow, MB will be in the spotlight on this week's show unless I forget to plan the show. Happy Valentines one day late to all you lovebirds out there and especially to Kelly my darling sweetheart! Don't ya worry now I told Kelly on the 14th of too! Have a great week & tune in Monday morning for Woody the Radio Clown, Woody |
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February 8, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. They say you don't really appreciate something until it is gone or quits working. Well let's just say it was really nice to have access to all my music again this week. Using the computer to play my music sure makes the show easier to do, when it isn't working I sure miss it and want to pull my hair. Now Ron and Anna Rose I know what you're thinking, "Dang maybe that's how we'll get him to get rid of that long hair." Now you two don't go hirin' some computer geek to hack into my 'puters or I'll know who put them up to it! I was visiting with Carl late in the show Monday morning and he was telling me about a nation wide talk show with six million listeners whose computers were down and they were unable to play an interview they had scheduled. Now I don't feel quite as bad, even if everyone within reach of KOPN here in Mid-Missouri was listening to MC it would be a drop in the bucket compared to six million. I had an e-mail from a faithful listener who read WWWs last week. He said he thought I was being too hard on myself, that I had still pulled the show off with great music like a pro. He was probably right about the first two parts. I grew up in a church where I was taught nothing short of perfection would be good enough for God. After believing that most of my life, cutting myself some slack and accepting the truth of grace and unconditional love is still hard to do at times. Tuesday, yesterday, was one of those days. I found out that a guy I know from an organization I belong to attempted suicide and is not expected to live. He and I were not particularly close, but I had a lot of respect and admiration for him. I knew that life has recently been a struggle for him, but I had no idea he was dealing with thoughts of suicide. As always happens I suppose, I keep wondering if I could have done something to prevent such a tragedy. I ask you to remember him, his family and friends (including yours truly) in your prayers. Depression can be deadly. If you or someone you know is dealing with depression don't hesitate to get help for yourself or your loved one. It is a greater man or woman who admits they can't whip something on his or her own than the man or woman who keeps everything in for fear of what someone else might think. God knows I've lived in fear of society's judgment myself, but it is an impossible, never-ending road to travel. The harder you try to keep up with the Jones' materially, financially, emotionally or spiritually the harder it gets. Accept your imperfections and know God accepts them too. If we could be perfect without His help, what was the point of the cross? Thanks for bearing with my little sermonette directed primarily at myself. Speaking of keeping up with the Jones', it seems like only yesterday I was driving Dad's John Deere listening to Waylon and Willie sing "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)." These lines of course are what I was referring to above, "We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones, Four-car garage and we're still buildin' on, Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love." This song has to be one of my all time favorites. I could put it on repeat and never get tired of it. I would bet it will be played at least twice on this week's Tribute show. Ya could always count on Ol' Waylon to tell it like it was. I was thinking earlier this week about the night I found out Waylon had died. Most of you have heard the story and I will no doubt share it again on the show. It was that night though on the show I decided that every year on or near February 13th I would pay Tribute to Waylon for as long as I do Midnight Country. Anna Rose didn't know what she was getting herself into four years ago when she called throughout the show to make sure I was okay. She's had her work cut out for her let me tell ya. She got me through losing Waylon, a girlfriend, the Ol' Outlaw and then in November my dear Bronco. Thank you for being there Anna Rose. I think Anna Rose has been tickled that Kelly came into my life in at the end of April. It has given her a much-needed break from trying to keep my spirits up. One of the faithful listeners and supporters of MC recently mentioned to me that she had called a commercial Country station and requested a Classic Country song. She was told they only played one Classic an hour and so apparently they wouldn't be able to play hers. I was telling someone this and I told them the opposite was more likely to be true on MC. Meaning I am more likely to only play one or two current Country songs in an hour. I don't really have the stats to back that up, although I hope to be able to track that someday. Anyway as I keep tellin' ya I am always open to comments and suggestions as to ways I can improve the show and make it more enjoyable to listen to. There is a lot of good current Country I should probably be playing more of on the show, but most of the time I don't feel like I am even doing justice to the Classic Country. How I mix the two is pretty much left up to you and me. After all, the songs I choose to play each week and then the songs you request makeup everything that gets played on the show. There is no one, I repeat NO one at KOPN telling me what to play or how much Classic vs. New stuff to play. Ain't that cool?! That is Community Radio for ya! Anyhow let me know any suggestions you might have rolling around in your head. Suggestions are seriously considered and often implemented! Did you notice how I never gave the weather or time, but now do? A suggestion implemented! Did you notice I talk four times an hour instead of three? Yet another suggestion implemented! It was pretty cool the second week of the Membership Drive when a first time caller from Jeff City pledged their support for the show. The guy told Kelly he and his wife had been listening to the show for years, that they really enjoyed the show and particularly mentioned they liked hearing my stories. Well that is bad news for all you who wish I would just shut up. I guess the Ol' Clark Outlaw was right when he said "People like to hear your stories." After all the name of the show is Midnight Country with Woody Adkins, not Midnight Country with a Computer. I gotta throw a little bit of my personality in there or it had just as well be a computer running the show. Now I know some of ya might be thinking "Look what happened on the 30th when the computer wasn't working." Yeah but, yeah but…all right you got me cornered. But seriously the computer works for me not the other way around. The computer does not run the show, it does not select the music and it does not talk or stick its foot in its mouth. I do all that! What the computer does do is it allows me to sit in my chair with a phone in one hand and the computer mouse in the other hand, visit with everyone who calls and thanks to the computer play all your requests without having to run into the library to find CD's. In fact I can often play a request as the very next song even while still talking to the caller. Without the computer it would be even harder to get through during the first part of the show. So seriously let me know ways we can improve the show. I know sometimes we don't get requests on as quickly as you might like. Feel free to mail or e-mail requests ahead of the show and let me know in which hour you would like it played and I will do my best to work them in during that time frame. The first hour can get kind of hectic, but if you're going to bed at 1:00 be sure and tell me when you make your request. I don't want you cussin' and sayin' that Ol' Woody never played my request. Have a great week & tune in Monday morning as we pay Tribute to Ol' Waylon, Woody |
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February 1, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. After a show like this week's I typically spend most of WWWs pointing out all the obvious errors that were made. This week I will be lucky if I am even able to type. Why you ask? Well let's just say my arm is sore from beating the hel…I mean heaven out of myself. If you missed the show this week all I can say is thank God. Needless to say I was extremely embarrassed that I was not able to pull of the show that I had worked so hard on. Now I think I understand the saying you are only as strong as your weakest link and I'll be doggoned if this week my weakest link wasn't my external hard drive that holds all my music. Once I realized and accepted I was not going to be able to quickly remedy the situation and I went with plan B the show seemed to go okay. Of course my inner critic is still yelling and screaming in my ear "Boy did you screw up this week?" Well what my inner critic would find out if he would shut up long enough to listen is that in spite of it all you the Midnight Country Family still believed in what I try to do every week in spite of my imperfections and once again helped us reach our Midnight Country Membership Drive goal. After the show the Merle Haggard song came to mind "Someday We'll Look Back and Say It Was Fun." A couple of things happened Monday night that helped me cut myself some slack (don't tell my inner critic this). I ran into a friend of mine who works at a commercial radio station and he was telling about working recently and having the computer that two different stations played music from shutting down for a period of time. It even happens to the pros. Second I watched part of the show "The Most Outrageous Live TV Moments." I caught myself laughing my head off at the people making major blunders and having technical difficulties. I thought "Ya know Wood, it's not very nice to be laughing at these people, you were in the same boat earlier today." Of course my inner critic chimed in with a big "Amen." Well I guess if radio is all about keeping people on the edge of their seats then I bet this week's show was a big hit. At least it wasn't on TV and only Kelly, Gabriel and Jules actually saw me starting to melt down. One last thing and then I'm going to move on before I DO spend most of WWWs beating myself up. I did have a good laugh at one point during all of this Monday morning when my mentor called and told Kelly that in all his 42+ years of doing radio he never once had any problems with a computer. Yeah I know Ron. It looks like I need to start lugging all my CD's to the truck again…just in case.I am still blown away by the faithful support of you the Midnight Country Family each Membership Drive. We once again reached our goal the first week and were just shy of our second week's goal. If my math is correct our grand total is $417.50. Pretty dang good I would say considering it was not that long ago that I was lucky to get $40-80 in pledges. I want to say a great big thank you to Marv & Royanne, Chris & Teri, Harold, Nicky and Nick for all coming through for the show this week in spite of my less than stellar performance. It makes the many hours I spend each week on the show worth it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! As frustrated as I was Monday morning a phone call from a faithful listener put everything back in perspective and helped me realize how there are a lot more important things in life than what I was stressed about. Nicky called and told me the tragic news about another faithful listener Grant's great loss. Grant, Nicky said had lost his dog Dottie Dixie unexpectedly earlier in the weekend. Man oh man, it brought tears to my eyes as I talked with Nicky. I know how hard this must be for Grant. Nicky said "I knew you would understand having lost Bronco yourself." Though I've never met Grant I know he is a great guy, with a big heart and a deep love for real Country Music. One of Grant's favorite artists is George Jones and though I was not play most requests this week I was glad I was able to find "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and send it out to Grant from Nicky. I am sooo sorry for your loss Grant. It hurts like hell, I know. Rest in peace Dottie Dixie. Ask St. Peter to point out Bronco and the Ol' Clark Outlaw, they'll be happy to show you around your new home there in Heaven. We've got a lot to be thankful for here in the good Ol' USA. I was reminded of this as I listened to Kelly and Gabriel describe the horrible situation Gabriel left in southern Sudan. I would say without a doubt Gabriel came the farthest of anyone who has been a guest on the show. If you missed Kelly and my surprise, let me tell you about it. Of course my girlfriend Kelly was once again burning the midnight oil answering phones for me during the Membership Drive, but this week she has had a friend Gabriel from Tucson visiting and so he came up with Kelly to see how to do a radio show. Yeah I hear ya inner critic, I know instead he got to see how NOT to do a radio show. Now inner critic would you be quiet while I finish my story! Anyway after things settled down a bit on the show Kelly and I visited with Gabriel. Kelly told how Gabriel as just a child fled his war torn home in Southern Sudan with other young boys who came to be known as the "Lost Boys." Kelly then met Gabriel about five years ago when she still lived in Tucson. She helped Gabriel and many other refuges get adjusted to life in the US. I look forward to listening to the recording of the show, well at least that part. Kelly had told Gabriel about the Amish communities here in America and how they still use horses and buggies. So Tuesday Kelly and her parents took Gabriel up around Clark so he could see first this first hand. He was blown away seeing people use the kind of transportation he was used to back home. In Sudan they had no choice, but here the Amish choose that way of life. After this week's show I am seriously considering selling the truck and 'puters, moving to the top of a mountain and singing down into the hollers for all the bear's and deer's entertainment. It was great to have you on the show Gabriel, come back again and maybe next time I will be able to show you how TO do a radio show. I couldn't let Gabriel leave the station though without talking to Anna Rose. So when she called I had them visit a while. It is probably good he didn't have time to meet Anna Rose this trip since she probably would have served him some candy apples and he would have become hooked on them. I'm not sure Anna Rose is set up to ship out of state yet. I should point out that these here candy apples are technically cinnamon apples; ya know the red-hots kind. They taste like candy to me though. Due to Monday morning's meltdown we will be spotlighting Gene Watson on the show this week. I'm going to have so many backup plans it may take a semi to haul everything. I'm even thinking of having diesel-powered generators standing by in case the lights go out. I may even have to borrow Ron's coal oil operated telephone. I really can't say Thank You enough to everyone who supports the show, both with your financial support and your moral support; it means the world to me. Thanks for bearing with your imperfect host. I guess if life were perfect there would be little for Country artists to sing about, huh? Nonetheless we really do try to pull the show off the best we can. Have a great week & tune in Monday morning as we give Gene another try, Woody
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January 25, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Is it August yet? I'm ready for some football! It is sooo sad that the Broncos didn't go all the way this year in memory of my boy. Things obviously don't always go the way I would like for them to. Otherwise my Golden Retriever would not have died in November and February 5th we would be watching the Broncos play in Super Bowl XL. It is a good thing I recorded and burned to DVD most of the Broncos' games that were on TV locally this year. Watching them from time to time will help me make it to August. Thankfully then as well I have a lot of pictures of Bronco to help me make it until we are reunited in Denver…I mean Heaven. Unlike my Broncos the Midnight Country team did not choke this week. We had another successful Membership Drive show. Thanks to Kevin, Carl, John Henry, Matt and Rob we ended up with a grand total of $225, just $25 short of our goal for the week and half way to our overall Membership Drive goal of $450. I tell ya I am a heck of a lot less stressed than I was Sunday evening prior to the show. Thank you all so much for doing your part to keep Classic & Traditional Country alive and well here in Mid-Missouri. One of these men even e-mailed me after the show and increased his pledge so that we would not be starting this week's show off in the hole. What a team! Thank you a hundred times over. You have probably noticed some changes made to both the MC web site and to the paper version of WWWs. Like Jake Plummer and Mike Shanahan of the Broncos I am always striving to improve my game. I spend a lot of time trying to improve all aspects of the show, including how we come across on the air, what we say on the air and in our writings, the songs we play on the show, the way we promote the show and how to inspire listeners to support the show. I am always open to your suggestions in any of these areas. Will I implement all suggestions? Well…probably not , but I will certainly give all of them serious consideration. After all I am dependent upon your support of the show and if you're not enjoying the show then something needs to change. I'm not sure that a total overhaul is necessary. Obviously we must be doing something right at some level or you would not be listening to the show let alone reading this. Frankly Membership Drives stress me out, but you know something that would stress me out even more? Being told what to play on the show and that "acceptable list" not including what I consider to be real Country Music. Now that would really stress me out! If I were getting paid I might overlook it and just do my job, but I am volunteering my time every week to do the show and I'll be doggoned if I am going to sit at the station and play music I do not enjoy. Being uncomfortable six weeks out of the year during Membership Drives is a small price to pay for the freedom I am afforded each week on Midnight Country. So if you were in my shoes, what approach would you take? How would you let more people know about the show? How would you ask people to call and support the show financially? Seriously I would love feedback from each of you. Those who know me know I would much rather do what Ron does on the Rooster Creek Show than to ask people to call and support the show. Ron, of course, works these great, kick donkey commercials right into the flow of the show. Unfortunately KOPN is a non-profit radio station and has to follow different rules than a commercial, for profit station. I can't talk up a particular product or business like Ron is able to do. I wish I could say stuff like "Get on down to Anna Rose's Candy Apple Factory and sink your teeth into some of the best candy apples this side of heaven." Or "Head over to Grandma South's Café for some of the best groundhog sandwich's anywhere." Or "Every Saturday night dance to real Country Music at *C & J's Muddy Mo Honky Tonk." (*Charles & June's) But we can't do things on KOPN the way a commercial station is able to do. Yet on the flip side we can do things on KOPN that most commercial radio stations seem unwilling to do and that is to have programming determined by you the listener's genuine taste and by the commitment to diverse, unique programming. If you believe in what we do on Midnight Country then please consider supporting the show at least once a year at the $40 or $20 level. As Carl a faithful supporter of MC reminded Kelly and I, you don't have to pay the amount all in one chunk. Payments can be arranged or you can pay it off anytime, though preferably before the next Drive in May or June. If you can't do it now, then consider putting aside a dime or nickel everyday and then in a year's time you will be pretty darn close to either $40 or $20. If everyone did his or her part then supporting the show would not be a burden on any one person. Just a note all the businesses I plugged earlier are not real, just figments of my overactive imagination. This week we are trying out a new feature both on the web site and in the paper version of WWWs. This week we are calling it "Little Known Facts About Your Host"; next week it may be called something different. It is just a way we have come up with to share a little more about yours truly. Yet MC is a two way street and the show is as much yours as it is mine. Anyway I would like to invite each of you who listens to the show to periodically send me stories from your lives that I can share on the show &/or here in WWWs. I would prefer that you write the stories down and send them via e-mail or letter. Often early in the show I am busy taking requests and am afraid I would not remember key interesting details of the stories you tell. This whole idea may sound a bit odd, but isn't "storytelling" really what Country Music is all about. Every song tells a story, from someone crying out to God for help to someone crying in their Diet Mountain Dew because their favorite football team lost. So share a story or two with the Midnight Country Family and me. If we were all sitting around C & J's Muddy Mo Honky Tonk after a long night of dancing, eating Grandma South's groundhog sandwiches and Anna Rose's Candy Apples you can bet there would be some storytelling goin' on. Another change we have in the works is to overhaul the MC Family page on the web site. I am going to be moving each individual member to his or her own page, which will then be linked to the main Family page. This way you can have space for additional pictures and have plenty of space to share some little know facts about yourself as well. Can ya tell my mind is always spinning ideas around? Some of my ideas may just be brussels sprouts, but some of 'um might be good ideas and actually work. Kind of like the big idea I had growing up of doing a radio show. Sometimes around 3:00 or 4:00 AM while doing the show I start getting a little bit hungry. I usually have to settle for something out of the candy machine at the station. Now if at about that time of the night you are sitting somewhere eating a big juicy steak please don't call the show and tell me about it. 'Cause if you do I am going to send out a song by this week's spotlight artist directly to you. The song you ask? "You're Out Doing (eating in this case) What I'm Here Doing Without" by Gene Watson. You'll be surprised at how many of Gene's songs you remember unless you were unlucky and forgot them all. Have a good week and don't forget to call Kelly & I, Woody
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January 18, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. If the day after the Super Bowl you see me around town without a shirt you will know that I still do not understand what betting odds are all about. Meaning I lost my shirt trying to bet on the Broncos winning and unknowingly I bet against them. If you missed it on the show I was talking about the odds on the Broncos winning the Super Bowl. I realized too late, as I often do when talking on MC, that I was about to show my ignorance when it comes to sports betting. Thankfully the Midnight Country Wire Service aka Conductor Chip bailed me out by explaining how it all works, but of course I had already embarrassed myself. Gambling was, of course, one of the many vices I was taught to avoid growing up. I suppose it is one of the few vices I had little interest in experimenting with. Anyway it is too soon to start celebrating a Super Bowl victory, but I really, really hope the Broncos win it all in memory of my Golden Retriever "Bronco" who died on Nov. 19, 2005. Being in Chiefs Country I feel kind of bad talking on the show about my favorite football team of nearly 28 years. I found it interesting watching David Letterman Monday night and he was talking about the Colts being knocked out by the Steelers. Of course David is originally from Indianapolis, but does his show in New York City. So perhaps it isn't too uncommon for someone to talk on the air about their favorite team from another market. I'll try to not run it in the ground, notice I used the word "try". I was talking to a Chiefs fan while watching the game on Saturday and he said he never had and would never pull for the Broncos in the postseason. Well of course it is easy for me to say this now, but I really think that were the tables turned and the Chiefs were in the playoffs with the Broncos out of it, I would be pulling for the Chiefs.Enough football for now…did you enjoy Mickey this week? Sounded pretty good I'd say. Listening to Mickey always reminds me of one of my all time favorite movies that I cannot stand to watch. I'm sure that didn't make sense, but it is true, seriously. I am referring of course to the movie Urban Cowboy that starred John Travolta and Debra Winger. Two of the songs we played this week by Mickey were on the Urban Cowboy soundtrack, "Stand By Me" and "Here Comes the Hurt Again". The movie came out in 1980 about the time I was going through getting my heart broken for the first time. Just going to see the movie at the Kennedy Theater in Kirksville was a HUGE no-no. If my girlfriend's mom had found out I had gone to the movies she would have had even more ammunition to use against me. I actually can't remember for sure if I saw the movie for the first time before or after the breakup. Whichever it was it still reminded me of the whole situation and has to this day. Oh well, that is Busch Light under the bridge. Have you been enjoying the music we've been playing by local and regional artists on the show? These have included Joey Pogue, Jake Clayton, Franci Chrisman and the Harmony Creek String Band. In the past we have played a lot from local songwriter Billy Lee McDow one of the Ol' Clark Outlaw's favorites. If you know of a local or regional artist who has a CD be sure and have them send one our way and we will give it a listen. We are a little picky in that it needs to sound Country. I realize that what sounds "Country" to me may not sound "Country" to someone else and vice versa. There is a lot out there being called "Country" that doesn't sound like Country to me I tell ya. We do strive and it may just be our opinion that we succeed at some level, to "Keep Your Country Real" on Midnight Country. If you go to McDonald's, order a Big Mac and they give you a Burrito Supreme needless to say you will be upset. If you tune into a Classic and Traditional Country Music show and you hear something besides Country then…I think I've made my point. There is, however, room for most genres on KOPN, perhaps you know of a local or regional artist who isn't really Country, but who you feel is deserving of airplay. Don't hesitate to let me know and I will do my best to point them to a show on KOPN that might play them.It seems like only last week we had a KOPN Membership drive, but you guessed it we've got another one right around the corner. In fact during this week's show we will be asking you to consider supporting Midnight Country by becoming a Member of KOPN. I know it sounds like a lot to put out in one chunk, but it really isn't that much if you enjoy listening to the show on a regular basis. $40 is the basic KOPN Membership for one year that works out to just about 77¢ a week. Heck most people probably spend that amount everyday on a cup of Joe at the local quick stop. What do you get for your $40? Well the most obvious thing you get is a 5½ hour Commercial Free Classic and Traditional Country Music show every week. If you like that kind of music that alone should be enough, but wait there's more! Besides the show every week you will also be able to select a Country CD from a nice selection we have to give away as "Thank You" gifts AND in addition to this you will be able program one hour of a future edition of Midnight Country! Ya know this may sound conceded, but there are times I wish I had the chance you all have every week of tuning into a show like Midnight Country. I get frustrated driving around Columbia hitting all the presets on my radio and still not being able to find a real Country song to listen to. So seriously if you can, please consider supporting Midnight Country during the upcoming Membership Drive. I know some can't, but there are some who can and you are the ones I am asking to consider what the show is worth to you. For those you can't afford the extra expenditure right now you might recall that after the last Membership Drive we talked up the "Save the Country Fund" quite a bit. It really is an easy way to set aside a little change each day and then in a year's time have enough to support your favorite late night Classic and Traditional Country show. Remember, "A Dime a Day Keeps the Pop Away!" So if you are unable to come up with $40 this time you might consider dropping a little change in a jar from time to time, then this time next year you will be pretty darn close to having the $40. We almost had a mini Midnight Country Family Reunion at Lucy's Corner Café yesterday (Tuesday). As Kelly and I were eating lunch MC Family member Carl walked by our table. It was great to have him meet Kelly and to visit a bit. Then as Carl was leaving I'll be darned if the lovebirds Chip and Ruby didn't walk in. It was great to see them too and to introduce them to Kelly. I told Carl I'd been running around in my head the idea of a Midnight Country get-together of some sort. Sound like fun? Let me know! I'd hate to plan something and it just be Kelly and I there. Seriously let me know what you think. It looks like it will be a while before we pull off a Midnight Country sponsored concert of any sort, but that doesn't mean we can throw a little party of our own! I might be able to convince Anna Rose to make some of her world famous candy apples. I get the first serving though! It was great to visit with everyone who called this week. Anna Rose was faithful until the end as always. There were some of ya all I didn't hear from and of course that made me sad. Yet I've been told that just because people don't call that doesn't mean they aren't listening. There were a couple of times this week when I got tongue-tied and actually hoped no one was listening. Have a good week & tune in as I head north to Alaska with my spotlight artist Johnny Horton, Woody |
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January 11, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. I'll bet you never saw that one comin' did ya? Sometimes I am full of surprises, not just hot air. I'm referring of course to my two conversations on the show this week with the Legendary Ron Lutz. I was not a 100% sure we would pull it off so I hated to disappoint ya if it didn't happen. I feel sorry for all the big shot DJ's out there getting' paid the big bucks who do not have an endless wealth of knowledge like I have in my buddy Ron. Have I been blessed or what? If you have never listened to the Rooster Creek Show then you are missing out on one of the few diamonds that can still be found in the scrap pile called Country Radio. It is worth canceling everything else on your Saturday mornings so you can catch it. Mark your calendars now, every Saturday from 11:25-11:55 AM on 900 AM KFAL Fulton. If you can't pick it up where you live I would seriously consider moving or at least drive closer to Fulton every Saturday. I know Ron has one listener up in Brookfield, MO who drives out to the cemetery to listen because he can pick it up better there than at his house. Now if someone is willing to go to that much effort then you know it must be extra special. Seriously it is the kind of show that puts the current Grand Ole Opry to shame. Were word of the Rooster Creek Show ever to get out nationwide it would put the Opry out of business. Traffic would be backed up to Kingdom City and Jeff City with people trying to get to Fulton. Fortunately for the Grand Ole Opry, but unfortunately for all the real Country Music fans out there, Ron, out of respect for the American institution the Opry is, has chosen to keep the show Missouri's best kept secret. Thanks Ron for once again making my night by visiting with me on the show. If you missed my conversations with Ron you can download the mp3's on the web site's Ron Lutz page. Even though she doesn't look a day over thirty, going by something she said Anna Rose must be over a hundred years old. She said I played a song this week she hadn't heard in a hundred years. I didn't tell her, but I don't think anything I play on the show was recorded a hundred years ago, perhaps written, but not recorded. I have a pretty meticulous way of recording when I play songs on MC and so every week when planning the show I always try to include several songs never played before or at least not for a long, long time. So even though Anna Rose was exaggerating about how long it had been since she heard some of the songs, she was probably right in that it had been a long time. On a more serious note I want to send out my condolences to Anna Rose who lost a dear friend on Monday, Bishop McAuliffe, 85, the retired bishop of the Jefferson City Catholic Diocese. From talking to Anna Rose it sounds like he had been an important part of not only hers, but many people's lives. Well did ya enjoy the Snow on this week's show? I'm working on this Tuesday morning and have yet to see the big snow they were predicting Monday night. It just goes to show ya when I make a prediction for Snow you can be assured I will at least deliver what I promised. Ol' Hank sounded pretty good I tell ya, but from talking to Ron it sounds like there was a lot of Snow I don't have that would have been great too. You can never have too much Snow. Sunday evening I am usually either napping or finishing up the show and so I often miss the Sunday Night Stringbenders from 7:00-9:00 PM on KOPN. According to June though they played a nice song in Tribute to the miners who lost their lives. I can think of few other jobs that are more dangerous or harder work. It was a great tragedy all the way around. The worst part of course was the families being told the miners were alive only to learn later that it wasn't true. It reminds me of the emotions I felt after Bronco came through his surgery (the worst part) only to die an hour later. Hope is all we have sometimes, but it is easy to become cynical when your hopes are dashed. I must admit I am pretty cynical at times. Ruby and Chip were burning the midnight oil this week. Ruby called and wanted me to play them a song before they went to sleep. Apparently I almost missed hearing from her though since she was just about to give up when I finally answered. Of course Ruby and Chip are the lovebirds I met a while back at Lucy's Corner Café here in Columbia. I call 'um lovebirds because they do something you rarely see these days, they always sit next to each other in a booth as they eat that good, home cooking at Lucy's. Ain't that sweet?! I
think so. I'm glad I got up the nerve to tell them about the show. There
a lot of people like Ruby and Chip who I think would enjoy Midnight
Country if they just knew about it. I'm a little shy though when it
comes to telling people about the show. There are a couple responses
I often get that make me even more that way I suppose. First when people
ask what time it is on and I tell them "Midnight to 5:30 AM", they look
at me like "Are you nuts? I'm never up that late!" The second response
is one I got a lot during the Twilight Festival one year when I was
promoting my Johnny Cash Tribute. As people were walking by I would
try and judge by looking at people whether they liked Country Music
or not. If they looked like the type I would try and get their attention
long enough to hand them a flyer. A lot of the people who I asked if
they liked Country Music and Johnny Cash would surprise me with a quick,
four-letter word response "Nope". Sad I tell ya.
Yet a lot of people who didn't have that stereotypical "I love Johnny
Cash and Country Music" look about them were the ones who were most
interested in the show. Just goes to show ya, ya can't judge a book
by its cover. The Ol' Clark Outlaw used to get a kick out of passing
out Midnight Country flyers with my picture on them because people would
have a hard time believing this redneck, hillbilly, hippie with long
hair actually played Classic Country Music on the radio. I'll never
forget the look of sadness and horror on the Ol' Outlaw's face when
he saw me for the first time after I had ten inches of my hair cut off.
I'm not sure he ever quite got over that. Looking back had I known I
was gonna lose him I would have a waited a couple months. "Dang it Bob,
I miss ya. You take care of Bronco up there now! Don't be spoiling him
with those high dollar treats though. Oh wait, I forgot, up in Heaven
everything's free!" Thanks for standing by me once again until the end of WWWs to find out who the spotlight artist will be. Lawdy Miss Clawdy I mean Miss Anna Rose did you read the whole thing first or did you jump to the end? Oh fine, now act like "You Don't Know Me!"
Just kiddin' ya. Well if you haven't guessed it yet from the hints I
will be spotlighting Mickey Gilley this week. I did finally tell ya,
huh? And as Mickey would say that's all that matters. I suppose there
is always a chance I won't make it in to do the show this week if Kelly
doesn't unlock her chains of love. She might let me out of the room
full of roses long enough to do the show though. If not I might be able
to sneak out of the window up above. Dang this is fun. Some week I should
just give you hints and never actually use the spotlight artist's name
and let you guess who it will be from all the song title's I have used.
Thanks again Dr. Lutz for another great pair of conversations this week. Hope we can do it again soon!Have a good week and don't forget to call or e-mail so you can "Talk to Me", Woody |
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January 4, 2006 Printable .pdf to share with a friend. Ol' Hank sounded pretty good this week I'd say. Don't tell anyone but I think I played more Hank this week than I normally do of the spotlight artist. It was pretty dang hard deciding on which ones to play and which ones to pass on. I could easy have done an entire show of just Hank like I did last year. Right or wrong we decided to spotlight him just like everyone else instead of playing him the entire show. Decisions, decisions, hard to make sometimes. Every week after preparing the show and looking over the playlist I wonder if I have made good choices. A few years back there was an acronym that was popular WWJD, which stood for What Would Jesus Do? Not to make light of that in any way, but the is another acronym that often crosses my mind as I am preparing the show and that is WWRP. Now for the sake of keeping you in suspense I am going to wait a while before revealing what WWRP stands for, so ya better keep on reading.
Well I trust you each one of you had a safe and Happy New Year's Eve. Kelly and I kept the evening pretty simple. We had supper (Dinner for you city folk) with some of her friends and then went grocery shopping. On the way home we saw flashing police car lights in the distance. They had apparently pulled someone over. I thought to myself "Dang, poor people, had a good drunk goin' and didn't even make it to midnight." Back before I quit drinking myself I used to pride myself in going easy on the booze on New Year's Eve. I always called that Amateur Night for people who didn't normally drink as much as I did on a daily basis. Aw well I don't miss it and I definitely don't miss freaking out every time I see flashing lights in my rearview mirror. I'm just glad I never hurt anyone. Mear is lying on my arm kneading as I type this with one hand. It is good…she just moved and is sitting looking at me now. I was going to say it is good I am not a balloon or her claws might cause me to burst and all my hot air would escape. I would then have a heck of a time writing WWWs, huh? A little extra hot air
in my house could come in handy though. I just heard my furnace kick
on, even though it isn't freezing outside, it isn't exactly spring out
there either. Ever since I had Bronco I always looked forward to spring
because it meant we would be able to play outside more. Of course he
knew that as summer came his Dad would be preoccupied with other things
and not play as much. I guess that is why I'm not too much on making
New Year's Resolutions. I need to resolve everyday to keep the most
important people (this includes my pets of course) first in my life,
not just on special days. I sure miss Bronco, his passing has made me
much more aware of the attention or lack of attention I give his sisters,
Mear and Goldie. It was great having Kevin Burns and his son Kaleb, I mean Kyle (darn delete key) stop by the show this week. I'm just messing with ya Kyle. If you were listening to the first hour plus of this week's show you heard me call Kyle, Kaleb. Hey I had two of the right letters in there, K&L. I'll bet it was a hoot for Kevin to
watch me make my weekly blunders "live" and in person. I think he was
somewhat impressed that the phones were pretty busy while he and Kyle
were there. I even had him talk to my buddy John when he called. I wanted
Kevin to know all the calls I talk about on the show aren't really just
Kelly calling me several times. It would have been hard for Kevin to
confuse Kelly and John's voices. One person Kevin didn't get to talk
to though was Anna Rose. Boy was I in trouble when she finally did get
through. Apparently she was one of those lines lighting up when I was
talking to someone else. I am almost afraid I have jeopardized my candy
apple supply. Dang that would be a disaster. She sure knows how to candy
them there apples I tell ya. Her portions
aren't *big enough though, which means they are gone by the time Kelly
comes over and so I think Kelly thinks I am just imagining the candy
apples. You have seen a roasted pig with an apple in their mouth? Well
I have left orders with my family to put one of Anna Rose's candy apples
in my mouthwhen my time comes. I figure that way you can all have a
nibble as you kiss me goodbye. Notice I didn't call myself a pig, which
actually surprised me too. *Actually the
portions are big enough, I'm just a pig, there I said it. Now if you belly up to a bar in this new year and you're sitting by someone named June, a word of caution to ya, I wouldn't drink her beer. Why you ask? Well there might be a tear in it! Just kidding ya June. June's daughter Susan called up and wanted
me to play "There's a Tear in My Beer" by Hank Jr. and Sr. for her mom.
I don't think it was because her mom was cryin' or even drinkin' a beer.
Susan just knows her mom likes them good Ol' Honky Tonk songs. A while
back June said she would sure like to see a picture of Kelly and so
being proud of my good lookin' better half I mailed June a picture of
Kelly and I together. Of course June was initially worried about Kelly
being at the zoo in the baboon cage having her picture taken, but Susan
quickly pointed out that the monkey at Kelly's side was really Woody.
Just kiddin'. See why I don't make New Year's Resolution? Had I made
one to stop lying I would have already broken it! Anyway I did really
send June a picture and Monday morning Susan said they thought Kelly
was sure a cutie. Now that ain't no lie! It makes me nervous hearing
that though. Why? Well it reminds me of something that was said back
in June by one of my family members who will remain nameless in case
she were to ever read this. As you recall
my sister-in-law Judy was deathly ill during the same time the Ol' Clark
Outlaw was in the hospital. During Judy's stay my new girlfriend Kelly
made a lasting impression on my family when she cooked up full homemade
meals and took them to the hospital so that they could spend time with
Judy and not have to leave the room. Well this unnamed family member
made the comment "If Woody and Kelly don't stay together I think we
should keep Kelly in the family." Even though the comment wasn't intended
for my ears, I think she was just joking…I hope.
I hope they never have to make that choice though. Prior to meeting
Kelly I was getting tired of drinking tear flavored Diet Mountain Dew
and I about wore Anna Rose out as she tried to keep my spirits up. Anyway
my whole point was I hope the Midnight Country Family wouldn't choose
to ditch me for Kelly were she to realize what a baboon I am.
WWRP, nope it is not the call letters for a radio station, it stands for "What Would Ron Play?" As I am going over my list of songs I often find myself wondering what Ron would think of a particular song. As you know Ron normally helps me with my selection of songs by the spotlight artist each week, but with Bronco's passing I have fallen off the wagon it seems, the mail wagon that is and have not been getting my song lists to Ron. Dang it, if I had just discovered Bronco was sick during the night. I guess there ain't nothing I can
do about it now as Eleannor's favorite song said. I am trying to pull
myself back up on the ol' wagon though, get my lists to Ron, so I can
then stop wondering WWRP. This week I am going to spotlight another
Hank, now if the weather would just cooperate. I guess I will play him
snow or no snow. Would you mind? Don't be movin' on now!Have a good week and don't be going ninety miles an hour down a dead end street or ya might hear the angels say "Hello Love", Woody |
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