 |
KOPN 89.5 FM Columbia, Missouri |
|
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 |
 |
| Home | Woody | Ron Lutz | Family | Clark Outlaw | Bronco | Specials | Playlists | KOPN | Support | Links | Contact |
Woody's Weekly Wonderings
WWWs Archives 2005
Note: Be sure and check the pdf file for WWWs features not yet implemented into this page.
|
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 |
|
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 ˝ 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 |
|
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 |
|
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 ˝ 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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 ˝ 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 |
|
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 ˝ 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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 c |