Did We Just Become Best Friends?
"Welcome to 'Did We Just Become Best Friends?'—the podcast where I, Lydia Stutesman, dive headfirst into intriguing conversations with remarkable people. Join me as I connect with a wide array of individuals, from seasoned entrepreneurs to those whose stories have ignited my curiosity.
In Season Two, we're taking this passion project to a whole new level. Each episode, you'll embark on an exciting journey with me to discover who my next 'best friend' will be. We'll explore their unique stories, their journeys to success, and the challenges they've faced along the way.
Whether I've just met them or never shared the same physical space, rest assured that every guest is handpicked for their captivating tales and insights. If you're as captivated as I am, this podcast is your passport to a world of inspiration.
If you have someone in mind who deserves the spotlight, feel free to nominate them as my next 'Best Friend' by sending an email to lydiastutesman@gmail.com.
Thank you for being part of this exciting journey, and for your continued support in listening to and sharing our podcast. Let's embark on this adventure together!"
Did We Just Become Best Friends?
Nostalgic Airwaves: A Journey through Broadcasting and Music with Steve Stansell
Step back into the golden era of broadcasting as me and my new best friend Steve Stansell and I journey down memory lane, recalling our early days in radio. Starting as a young 16-year-old in a small South Georgian town, Steve worked his way up to a radio personality, and had an amazing career on the air! We also reminisce about his experience with the Allman Brothers Band and their album "Seven Turns".
We'll shed light on the struggles that musicians face in the industry and share our thoughts on music merchandise. Brace yourself for a recount of the Molson Ice Polar Beach Party of 1995, an event that took place in the Northwest Territory of Canada. As we wrap up, we'll touch on Steve's shift into launching a successful voiceover business. So hop aboard this fun ride for a unique glimpse into the radio industry and our shared love for music.
And welcome back to this week's episode. Did we just become best friends? Steve Stantzall.
Speaker 2:Hi, Lydia. Yes, we did.
Speaker 1:Like here you are.
Speaker 2:How are you?
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, I am fantastic and I am sitting here and it's like a blast from the past and I reached out to you to be on the podcast and I was so excited that you said yes, because it's a passion project, not monetized or anything. But I was looking at my stats recently and we've got some listeners around the globe.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's great. That's terrific. Well, there'll be a lot of people that don't know who I am, but you know by the end of this. Maybe they'll know who.
Speaker 1:I am either. They don't know who I am either, so I love it All right. So I always start with how we met.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:So we have to go way back into the 90s, right, and I'll set the stage. The year was 1996 and I was in broadcasting school at the Connecticut School of Broadcasting Right, and I was splicing real because nothing was digital yet.
Speaker 2:That's correct.
Speaker 1:And for all of our younger listeners around the globe. There was no internet. Oh my gosh, how did we ever survive without cell phones and internet? Somehow we made it through.
Speaker 2:It was such a different medium then, you know, and it required a different skill set. You know you had to be able to edit tape, as you well know, and work with analog stuff, equipment you know, I know it's so crazy.
Speaker 1:I see a big collection behind you. Is that vinyl?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's all my records. I've been collecting records since I was probably 15, 16 years old. I've probably got maybe I don't know 5,000 records in here.
Speaker 1:That's insane. Anybody I know who had vinyl that was worth anything or, like you know, originals because now that you see vinyl, the resurgence of it, but the originals, like you, went to specs or you went to the record store to get the latest release. Anybody I know who actually had them, trashed them at one point or gave them away.
Speaker 2:Right, well, because they're so bulky, you know. But I just kept mine and I carried them all over the country and every radio station I worked at and I just kept my collection. I just love collecting records, you know. And I've got some real gems in here. I mean, there were some of these records that were never released to the public. They were promo copies that were only sent to radio stations, and some radio shows, too, that I've got in my collection that are really, really cool.
Speaker 1:That is just incredible. So yeah, so back to how we met. So it was 1996. I had just finished broadcasting school and the funny thing is I was trying to get an internship and I wanted the internship as Zeta but there was no internships available. So I drove myself down to the studio in North Miami and I waltzed in there and I got myself an internship at Love 94 with Huck and Jill Ann in the morning, to the jazz station, but really my heart was at Zeta and I wanted to go be with Paul and Ron, you know. And then I was trying to get a job and the first job that came up for like I don't know, I think I made like eight or $10 an hour was pitiful, was metrotraffic.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:So I started at metrotraffic and then I had the opportunity to do your traffic.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And there you were.
Speaker 2:I was trying to find an old air check where I had you come in and do the traffic, but I couldn't find it. I went through my cassette tapes I still have, but I couldn't find anything with you and I on it. But I did find one with the girl that replaced you after you left. I think her name was Terry, yeah, but it's.
Speaker 1:It's just so funny because I'll never forget I worked doing traffic for like a year and I'll never forget when we had, when we used to have ZetaFest.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And this is you know before, like such big outdoor festivals, really became the thing that they are today. They're three day events now, but ZetaFest really pioneered the the outside festival down in Broward and used to be in Markham Park and I'll never forget. You asked me they're like well, we would like you to do the traffic live from ZetaFest and I was like who the hell cares about the traffic on the weekend going to the show? I'm like I guess I'll talk about the backup entering Markham Park. Anyway, I was just excited to go.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so I did, and I can't remember who was playing back in like 1997, but I got to meet some pretty cool people. It was so much fun.
Speaker 2:I think it was the Black Crows that had lined that year. It might have been the Black Crows, I think. We had Faith no more and gosh. I can't remember all the bands. It was a band called Spot and Lime and I have pictures.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have pictures with those guys and I look at them. I'm like I don't know who you are, but I have pictures.
Speaker 2:Candlebox also played once in there. To who yeah?
Speaker 1:You know, I've never seen them and they come down here all the time they're always at the courtroom and I, for whatever reason, the timing is always off for me.
Speaker 1:I always miss them. But so let's get into it, though when, without with the fear of, you know, dating ourselves or making us sound old, because, let's be clear, neither one of us are old. I just turned 50. I am not old, I'm still a teenager. I still act like one. But when do you get into radio? Like, when and how did you get into radio? Like, did you just know you always wanted to work in it? Because I always knew I wanted to work on the radio.
Speaker 2:Well, oh my gosh, you know I was always wanted to be a rock drummer. I wanted to play football first when I was a kid, but I wanted to be a rock drummer and I still do play drums. But I grew up in a small town in South Georgia and a guy who I went to school with his father owned a local radio station there Now we're talking America's Georgia population of about 20,000 people and he was one of my best friends and we hung out on the weekends when he was on the air. And it just so happened that I got to, I started to learn how to run the equipment and the next thing, you know, some guy got in jail or something and it was an emergency situation. They needed somebody to run the board.
Speaker 2:So my friend called me one Sunday night and said hey, man, you know I need you to run the board tomorrow, can you? Can you come in and just run the board? You know how to do all the stuff, you know play the songs. And back then we were playing 45 records and all the commercials were on carts and I said, sure, I'll do it. And that was 16 years old and that's the way I got into radio and I was so nervous, you know, because I was recording, you know I had to open the mic and read the PSAs and kind of a cool DJ voice which, whatever that was, I'm sure I sounded ridiculous and stupid, but, um, because I you know you're trying to be cool, right?
Speaker 2:You're trying to emulate trying to emulate all the greats that you're listening to all the, all, the all the boss jocks that were on the air. It's 97 GTR. You know all the boss jocks that were on the on the radio at the time. But, um, the very first day I was ever on the air I would, I got sick, I came down with viral meningitis and they had to put me in the hospital and I was out for a week and my brother, my little brother, he came in and took the job that I was supposed to get and then when I got out of the hospital I got my job back. But that was uh, I'll never forget that being on the radio for the first day I had viral meningitis, almost died. I was 16 years old so that is so crazy yeah but we wouldn't.
Speaker 1:We wouldn't have the story tell any other way but that was in a small town in Georgia.
Speaker 2:So that's where I got my start and I just kind of, you know, stayed with it, you know, because I kind of really liked it. You know I got to where I was, you know, I knew what I was doing, you know, at least running the playing, the music, and, and and you know if you could run the board.
Speaker 1:That was half the battle, because yeah, even if you got like an, like an overnight boardop job absolutely of course, before the digital times and before everything was canned. But so how did you end up in Florida?
Speaker 2:so yeah, so my dad, my dad and my dad was originally from down here and he had always wanted to come back to to Florida. So, um, when I, when I got my first job in America, I was here for three or four years and but my family was down here, so I eventually ended up moving to Fort Pierce around 1980 or 81 or so and, um, I started working at a radio station there, at a rock station, and that's really where I kind of learned how to, how to be a personality and how to you know, how to do a show, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so what was your name? Did you have like?
Speaker 2:a. I never had any other name. I could, because I couldn't think of any other name that I liked, you know. So I said I'll just use my own name, you know.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because there's so many people out there that you know that's not their real name. But back in the day it was like you were supposed to have a weird name A stage name yeah. A stage name yeah.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And you know it was just all these. It's just crazy to me how it's changed so much. So I remember getting fired. Did you ever get fired from a gig and have?
Speaker 2:to move on. I did yeah. Yep, I sure did. I think all of us have those tails to tell.
Speaker 1:Of course I was so heartbroken when I got fired from doing the traffic and you were so kind to me, you even reached out to me and you were like let's see if we could get you some part time at Zeta, and I was just so nervous because I hadn't even ever made an air check, I hadn't never even pursued anything outside of that. And then I kind of was done for. And then I got married and I moved to Port St Lucie and that's a whole other thing. But it never left my soul Like I always loved the radio. I was in high school, I was calling in, I was winning stuff all the time on the radio. I was always fangirling over the DJs. I had a fan club that I started in the eighth grade for one of the DJs at Y100. I just found that picture the other day. He let us come to the studio to visit.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's cool.
Speaker 1:I thought it was the biggest deal in the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know pulling carts, that was one of my jobs.
Speaker 2:Well, lydia, you were really good. I mean you were, you were really good with, with what your presence on the air you were, you were fun, you were energetic, you were, you were really good and that's why, you know, when you, when you lost your job there, I was trying to help you, help you continue on with your journey, you know.
Speaker 1:I know I didn't have the nerve. I was like I was just not confident enough. But the best part about our digital times we live in now is anybody can have their own talk show. Anybody can have their own podcast and anybody can do their own thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But when we really think about the people who have made it, you know, the Elvis Duran's of the world and the Howard Stern, it's like. The funny thing is, though, like and I don't know when you can recall the giant shift, but it was probably about a good five to 10 years, I would say probably the implementation of like all the music streaming right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:When you kind of went down the toilet For sure.
Speaker 2:You know, radio now, or the way it exists as a commercial radio, is a kind of an antiquated, you know, business model, because the only way they can make money on commercial radio is by selling advertising. Right, so you have 10 minutes of content, but they also have to, you know, get in five minutes of advertising to make their money. They don't have a subscriber base that they pull, you know, subscription money from, so the only so it's really tough. I mean, you know a lot of the kids don't listen to commercial radio. They listen to their streaming services. I listen to my iPod. I've got, you know, 10,000. Well, you see my record library. I've got 10,000 songs on my iPod. I just put my iPod on shuffle and that's my music. You know, I don't even really listen to much radio anymore at all.
Speaker 1:You know, I think, and if you don't have a long commute, like before the times where we got used to, you know, before with the Apple music and before all that and the app, so probably just before the launch really of the iPhone, you know, I'm trying to think like I almost thought radio was really dead and then in the last few years it's weird because I do find myself sometimes listening to local radio because there's a few different personalities I like and I follow still and I have noticed it's had some small successes again down here and I think a lot of it has to do with promotions. And then, of course, anybody that's trying to win Taylor Swift tickets to the Ares tour is going to show up at your remote and is going to show up and prove that they downloaded the radio app and they're going to like they got to have some kind of gimmick, because otherwise how do you get people to listen?
Speaker 2:Well, radio was always supposed to be a local medium, right Talking to the local audience, not, you know, to somebody, somebody living in Wichita, kansas. You know we were talking about things that are happening in South Florida and that's that was our local connection. That's where your audience. What happened was corporate came in and bought all the stations, put them all in one building and now they've got personalities on the air. You know, in South Florida they're also simulcast and Palm Beach and, you know, in Jacksonville and different markets around the country, and you really kind of lost that local connection in that regard. You know. So that's, but you know the way that radio is going to survive is by having that local connection. You know, by knowing. You know talking about what's going on locally. You know where you live and your community.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Yeah, I agree 100% and I know that. You know, even if you are in your car, you have the option of satellite radio. I mean, I listen to Hair Nation all the time because I'm obsessed with 80s hair bands.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I love that. So, yeah, it is rare that I actually listen to the regular radio, but there are a couple stations I do like to dial into every now and then. Well for me.
Speaker 2:I kind of saw. I saw the writing on the wall. I mean, honestly, when I was at Zeta in 1999, I got a good offer to leave and to work for an advertising agency and be a national voice of Toyota, and I took that position, that's it.
Speaker 1:That was my exit.
Speaker 2:That was my exit and you know and I parlayed that into my voiceover business that I am, that I'm doing now but I just saw what was happening. You know that corporate was coming in and they were walking people out of the building that have been there for 20 years and saying you know, this is your last day, you're making too much money, we're downsizing positions, we're consolidating positions and your position has been, you know, it is obsolete now and I just I saw the writing on the wall and I knew that was going to eventually happen to everyone and it has All of my good friends and colleagues at one time, you know, been cut or told they have to do it a different way. So I just, I just saw the writing on the wall and I didn't want to work for the man anymore.
Speaker 1:Anyway, you know, I wanted to be my own boss and I want to talk about the voiceover business, because so you got the opportunity to work for Toyota. Do you still do that?
Speaker 2:No, no, no, I mean I do. I've worked for different, different ad agencies now, but that was that was. That was my exit, you know they, they just kind of pushed me into this business. You know I was, I was the voice of WB 39 when I was still working at Zeta. But you know I wanted to do voiceover. Like I said, I wanted to be self-employed. I love you know my time is to me, was important. You know it's just as valuable as any money they're going to pay you.
Speaker 1:Sure, do you have your own company.
Speaker 2:I do. Ss voiceover is my company. My website is ssvoiceovercom. But you know I'm doing audiobook narration, radio TV commercials. My voice is, you know, really all over the world. I just did a couple of voiceovers for a company in Italy two weeks ago that I connected with.
Speaker 1:you know just amazing I love that so much and I thought about that because you know there's so many with social media which we didn't have back then and I think that social media connection, so like if there was a particular rock dog you liked and I wanted to follow you and keep in contact with you right without social media, we didn't know where you went, right.
Speaker 1:But now we can connect and I could say oh, okay, I like that guy. He's on the air at this time. I might be able to catch him on the radio or listen to him, or maybe he's got a podcast and I'll follow him there, or he's doing an appearance and I can go see him.
Speaker 1:So that, I think, is what brought us back to having that local connection and some of the some of the people have survived and stood the test of time and either took a break whether it was their choice or not and then kind of came back. And I think you know eventually they have to realize that a lot of us that are nostalgic for the old days are still here and still wanting that connection with those people.
Speaker 2:Right, and because that's what we grew up with right.
Speaker 1:Understand that yeah.
Speaker 2:That's what we grew up with. You know you had your favorites and you wanted. You know you wanted to connect with those people for sure, exactly. So I was curious, and social media has done done quite a bit to keep us all connected too. But there's a lot of downside to social media as well. I don't know if you've seen the, the, the movies, social media dilemma, but it's definitely social dilemma.
Speaker 1:I didn't watch it but I want to, and I think, every day I tell myself it's a blessing and a curse because, like it is my second husband. We reconnected through Facebook. Had we didn't reconnect through Facebook, we wouldn't be together, but it's like and he used to internet she when WSHE was in the trailer park.
Speaker 1:So we have that in common and we talk about all our old stories and favorite times, meeting people and and and like. Can we just say RIP, sunrise Musical Theater, because I think all of us wish that and the Hollywood Sportatorium would come back to life.
Speaker 2:So many great memories, so many great shows, right, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so do you have like if I could ask you your top three? What are your top three favorite? Like memories or interactions with a band from your time in radio, or even recently, who knows?
Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you one. When I first got hired at Zeta in 1990, I want to say it was maybe, yeah, I think it was 1990. I was doing afternoons. I did afternoons on Zeta for the last 10 years of my career, from 90 to 99, when I left. But in 1990, we were, I was doing afternoon drive, kimba was coming on after me. I was two to six and she was six to 10.
Speaker 2:And I was just getting off the air one day and the phone rang and the guy on the other line says hey, it's Red Dog. And I know who Red Dog is because I grew up in the South and Red Dog was the road manager, the tour manager for the Allman Brothers band. And I said I said this the Red Dog from the Allman Brothers band. He said, yeah, man, it's Red Dog. I'm like well, that's a pleasure to talk to you, brother. You know. He's like hey, listen, we're down here at Criteria Recording, we're working on a new album and we've been listening to you guys and we love your radio station, you know, because we've played all the classic rock stuff. He's like would you guys be interested in coming down and listening to a couple of the tracks that were that were laying down just to get your opinion.
Speaker 2:Now the Allman Brothers had been broken up for you know, five years, you know at least they hadn't done anything of any relevance in a long time, so nobody really was kind of into into them as much anymore. But we were playing my classic rock, but anyway. So we said I said, absolutely, that'd be cool. He said, well, why don't you bring Kimba down and you guys come down later tonight and listen to a couple of tracks? So when Kimba got off the air at 10, I went down and we jumped in the car together and we wrote, we drove down to Criteria I think it was on 151st, 151st I don't remember exactly the address, but I know it was in Miami.
Speaker 2:And so we pulled up the Criteria and we walk up to the door, knock on the door and Red Dog comes walking out and he says hey, we got this song. We guys we want you to hear, but we want you to listen to it in the car, you know, and he had it on a cassette. And Greg Allman comes walking out behind him and I had never met Greg Allman in person like that. So it's so Red Dog sits in the front seat and Greg Allman sits right there next to him and me and Kimba get in the back seat and they spark up a joint and they pop in this cassette of Good, clean Fun. And I'm telling you I had to pinch myself. I'm like, is this really happening? And I heard that song and I was like, dude, that's great. And they were like, well, we're doing a whole record.
Speaker 2:And Tom Dowd was the producer. Tom Dowd is a legendary producer. Rest in Peace. What a beautiful man, what a great, great, great talent. But he was producing that record and we just got to be friends with them and when that album came out it was the seven turns album. When that record came out, we went back down for a listening party and we just got to be really good friends with them. And Dicky Betts gave me a small number and said hey, man, when the record comes out, I want you to call me and we'll do an interview. And I ended up having him on the air too. It was just it was. That was really really a cool Experience, just to hang out with them during the recording of that record, you know yeah, I mean how, how amazing that they were listening To your oh yeah yes, yeah they were.
Speaker 2:They were big fans, you know, and they were just but just super cool. Southern boys Just just is, you know, yeah, the fault of the earth. He just is.
Speaker 1:Now, have you been to any shows recently at the hard rock live?
Speaker 2:Uh, yeah, yeah, we went to see. Who do we go see? Um, I've been. I went to stars and strings a couple of months back. Um, who we saw the black crows? Um, I haven't.
Speaker 1:I was at the black crow show. I have never Smelt so much weed and vaping in any show in the hard rock live they took the cake they got. They got the trophy on that one and can. I just say Can I say something to you that you're probably not going to believe, because I just turned 50? I have never smoked pot. Really I have never physically smoked weed myself. I've only breathed it in at the hard rock live.
Speaker 2:Do you have this?
Speaker 1:125 million dollars on that place. The acoustics in there are incredible.
Speaker 2:No the room is beautiful, it sounds great. The tickets are a little, a little pricey for me. I mean, obviously, you know, honestly, lydia, we're used to paying, you know, 15. I was just listening to an air check from 1999. We, we did a show down at the the. What was it? The zeta, not the zeta fest, it was the bonsai show that we did at bayfront park. The tickets were 15 dollars and it was letting crabbits and and the flies and all these other bands that we, the tickets were 15 dollars. You know now they're 300, you know it's the ticket prices.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we're going to guns and roses on the 15th of september and I said To my husband first of all you know what you're going to deal with in the crowd. You know there's going to be a ton of weed, because he hates cigarette smoking, hates to smoke. I'm like we already have mentally prepared himself for that but, um we.
Speaker 1:I think we spent 400 bucks on those tickets for two of them that up for balcony I mean, but just to be there, although I have to say I'm a little sad because kary underwood is opening for them and a few shows, and I just wish she was coming here because yeah. Oh, she's so talented, um, okay, I.
Speaker 2:Well, just just to finish up on the ticket prices, I think the reason well I know the reason that they're charging so so much now Is because they're not making money on record sales anymore. People aren't buying records, they're streaming their music off of. You know all the streaming services. So that's one. That's the main way really, that a lot of these bands are Are able to generate revenue. That and the merchandise that they sell.
Speaker 1:Yeah, remember the whole. Naps are like controversy and that whole deal.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, with people stealing, stealing songs, trading song, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, is it really that different today? I mean, I can get the songs. I mean I do pay for apple music monthly, but if you think about it. If you're a brand new artist, how? I mean? Obviously it's easier to get discovered now because you've got the talent competitions, anybody can put their stuff out on youtube. Um, but how are you really gonna make money if you're just, you know, an average regular person? Yes, and you get to that level.
Speaker 2:Yep, that has to be on your live performances mostly, you know, and the merchandise, yeah, yeah oh, the merch.
Speaker 1:Don't even get me started on the merch, because I'm not paying 40 or 50 or six dollars for a stupid t-shirt for a t-shirt, by the way. To all the merch promoters out there. I would pay the. I would pay for the t-shirt. There's no qvnex for women, they're all just regular concert t-shirts. So cheap gilded shirts that are six dollars at the lobby lobby. I don't want it.
Speaker 2:I'm not doing it. I don't blame you, I don't know. You're right. If you're gonna pay 40 bucks for a t-shirt, it should be a good quality shirt, you know that's right, that'll fit you and look great on you exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, give me something good like right so any other, um any other favorite, like, uh, you know, interactions with bands or Then.
Speaker 2:Then we did one more. We did. I did another trip. I hosted a trip in uh and we went to. So it was the Molson ice polar beach party 1995 and we it was a nationwide promotion Uh, that Molson ice was going to send 500 people to the northwest territory of canada to party with metallica.
Speaker 2:Whole hortney loves band oh my god, baruchas salt From canada they're a canadian band and moist. So there were four bands that were playing at this molson ice polar beach party and tuc, tyuk, tuc and the northwest territory of canada. And if you look on the map it's the further, furthermost point. You can go in northwest, I mean in the northern most in north america, and still be on land. I mean it's above the tree line, it's permafrost, it's a, it's a, it's a wild, wild place. So the trip was, they were sent of 500 people, but the only way you could go is to win your way on the trip. I got toes, I. So I took two listeners from down here that won down from down here. I was, and they had chaperones from all over the country too, all disjockeys, right. So I was a chaperone from miami and we took these two. So we flew from miami to chicago, chicago to calgary. We overnighted in calgary and it took another jet to in nuvik, a little Eskimo village in in the northwest, which is just outside of tuc tyuk tuc. So it actually took us four flights to get to this concert.
Speaker 2:When we land on this gravel runway it was september, it was labor day weekend 1995 almost well now, almost 28 years ago or whatever Labor day weekend 1995. And when we landed on this gravel runway there was no grass. I mean, there's nothing green up there. The ground's permanently frozen. You see all these what they call pingos, and it's permafrost, they're like mountains of ice. And we're land in there on this gravel runway and the pilot comes on the airplane, he goes. Okay, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the molson ice polar beach party. If you have any alcohol in your possession, please leave it on the plane. This is a dry community and if you are caught with alcohol in town they will escort you back to the plane and you will miss the concert. We were like Are you kidding me? This is a molson ice polar beach party, where's we can't have any, most no, drinking nothing. Nothing With metallica, with metallica, all right, oh, my god. Oh, what, what? And so somebody obviously didn't do their homework, they didn't do their research on this, on this community, because it's a dry community.
Speaker 2:In the, in the winter time the sun never comes up. They, it's total, they're, they're depressed, they have to stay inside. It's, it's darkness there and in the summer, you know the the, the sun kind of circles the horizon. It was just a wild, wild trip. So much fun. We got to meet, meet all the bands, but there was no molson ice, oh my god. No beer and and they served us. They served us. You know there was nothing like green on the on the buffet. They served us it was all arctic char, which is a form of salmon that they catch there, and caribou. The hamburgers were made of caribou, which is what they eat. That's what they eat. I mean, it's all protein. Yeah, there was.
Speaker 1:Did you ever write a book of all your stories? Because I feel like you have a book inside you.
Speaker 2:Oh god, yeah, well, I've. You know, I've got a lot of stories, but and I've had more than more than one Asked me if I had to write a book I do have a lot of stories. I don't have to try to remember all of it. I've got so much. But yeah, you know it was. I would, one day might maybe write it all down.
Speaker 1:Now, do you have a podcast at all or no?
Speaker 2:I mean, you know what I was doing was I was doing a, uh, a show called Stancell Cellar, because you see all the records I have. I've just pulled out some of this old vinyl and play it. You know, play some of the B-sides. You know it's on WNRM. You remember Laura Palmer? She worked with us at Zeta. She started her own internet radio station called WNRM. She did it with the premise of exposing new rock music NRM, wnrm, new Rock Music. She wanted it to be an outlet for new bands to be exposed. But I haven't done a show in a couple of weeks, but every once in a while I'll pull the vinyl down and do a show. Yeah, just to keep at it, you know, just because it's fun.
Speaker 1:I love that Now when you do that though? Do you happen to go live on like Instagram or Facebook or anything, so we can?
Speaker 2:join. No, I haven't gone live. I haven't done that yet. I could do that, but I haven't.
Speaker 1:I was just curious. I do know some people like when they're on breaks and between jobs and the business, they'll go online and look at playing songs and just chatting, just to keep up the skill set you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And the voiceover business, though. Is it just for you, or do you sign people? Or if somebody wants to get into voiceover work, what do you recommend?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean for me, well, voiceover is a completely different animal than we're doing live radio. It's, you know, because when you're doing voiceover, you're really communicating in a very intimate way with one person, you know, and the voice is just different and it's acting, though you know it's being able to take those words off the page and make them sound, you know, like your own, because people can hear in your voice what you know, what your intentions are. You know if you're able to convey that, and that's a really hard skill to master. And some of the best voiceover people, you know, are actors, because they know how to act with their voice, they know how to get into character. And it's a different skill set and I've worked with some really really good coaches that have helped me, you know, develop my skill in that regard.
Speaker 2:You know I've got like 100 audio books on Amazon that I've recorded. If you go on Audible and search my name, you'll see some of the books that I've narrated. But you know it's amazing. Yeah, it's a lot of fun, I mean it's it's, but it's again, it's something you have to work at. It's. It's not something that you could. It's like any business you have to work at it and get. Get good to get work.
Speaker 1:So you've been doing that for what about the last 23 years?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, more than that yeah.
Speaker 1:You have any interesting projects you're working on now.
Speaker 2:I just just started a book this week that I'm doing. It's called the Two Pillars, the Two Pillars of Power. Hold on, let me see. Yeah, the Two Pillars of Power Rain in your Physical Health and Mental Health to Supercharge your Life in Less Than Seven Days.
Speaker 1:I think we could all use that.
Speaker 2:Yeah right.
Speaker 1:I would like to supercharge my life in less than seven days.
Speaker 2:Well, this might be for you.
Speaker 1:Like supercharge my life in less than seven days as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness. This has been so much fun. I love, I love catching up. So do you have any other upcoming shows that you're doing or any concerts you're going to?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, we were hoping well, sting's coming. Sting has always been one of my favorites. He's coming next in a couple of weeks or I think next week. He's great, great live. He always has a really good band. Yeah, we love. I love seeing live music. There's a lot of really good local bands in South Florida that are amazing that we try to get out and see whenever we have the chance. You know so many of them. You know there's a band I know.
Speaker 1:I would love to actually get to an event where you are at the same place as me, because either we just meet each other or I'm like you tag yourself and you were there and I was like, where was he? It's so funny. We go to Casino Danny Beach a lot because they have the tribute bands and after. Covid, we have nothing but tribute bands and we had no music and no live music. So we love to go to the tribute bands and support them Go lefties, whoever's playing stuff, you know.
Speaker 2:They're great. Yep, those are great. There's a tribute band I just saw a couple of weeks ago that just really blew me away, called After Image. They do a tribute to Rush. They do a Rush tribute. They do all these great Rush songs. They are amazing.
Speaker 1:Really good. So that is like one of my husband's all-time favorite bands, and we have not been able to find a good tribute, and so, after Image, I'm going to write that down After Image Rush tribute band.
Speaker 2:Well, I just saw them a couple weeks ago. Yeah, there's a YouTube video. I guess they posted a YouTube video of me getting on stage and just pumping them up, you know, saying hey, you guys, do you understand how good this band is? Yeah, they were really good.
Speaker 1:Where did they play? Because I can't believe I missed it.
Speaker 2:They played at Cagney's. I want to say it was three weeks ago.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, so I'm going to have to get on that on. Follow their.
Speaker 2:Page too, because I know they're following their Facebook page are great yeah.
Speaker 1:So good.
Speaker 2:Southern Blood too. Southern Blood, you're seeing them right. Yeah, they're good. Yeah, I have Monster. You know there's a bunch of bands Our friend Kenny Wendland is in. It's really they're really good, good, yeah, so you have a drum set at the house.
Speaker 1:Do you play?
Speaker 2:I do, yeah, I have my drum set right here. I got my kick drum is right here. Look at the sticker. Oh, you can see. Oh, no, the sticker's on the other side, that's. Can you see it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's my kick drum.
Speaker 2:I got a Zeta sticker on the other side. It's on the other side, yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, this has been so much fun going down memory lane. Yeah, okay, remind me again, so happy for you by the way, doing your podcast.
Speaker 2:Good for you. Oh, thank you, that's so cool. I did listen to one of your other episodes. You're great, you're awesome.
Speaker 1:I don't, you know, it's funny because I do it for myself and I'm like ah, if anybody else listens, who cares? You know, obviously I'd love more people to listen, but I like to have guests and I like to talk to people, that's the whole deal Right, well, that was, yeah, that everybody had, because everybody has a has a good story.
Speaker 2:You know, everybody has a good story and it's interesting to hear different people's stories.
Speaker 1:I'm fascinated with how other people live. I'm fascinated with what they do for a living. I'm fascinated when you know one career ends and then something else starts up, like I remember when I lived in Port St Lucie, like the majority of the town, worked for one employer, and when that kind of went downhill it was like, oh my God, what are we all going to do for work?
Speaker 2:Yes, what was Lydia? What was that company? What was it?
Speaker 1:It was Liberty Medical.
Speaker 2:Liberty Medical. But there was another digital company, a digital domain or something that was there. They were going to hire all these people from California and that all fell through.
Speaker 1:you know it all fell apart and a lot of people, I know, when it got jobs there and they were so excited and it was a bay. I think it was Michael Bay's company or something. The guy who did Mimee Lice and it was like I probably screwed up his name, but yeah, it was supposed to have all this hope and promise and like that teaming career there, because there was like a bunch of tax advantages to being in that county.
Speaker 1:And then all of a sudden it fell through and I was like, wow, you know I went into teaching. So I was fine. Like you know, I went into teaching and education and then I ended up teaching TV production and broadcast journalism, which is, of course, my passion.
Speaker 2:Yeah cool, yeah Perfect.
Speaker 1:I love the news, I love radio, I love entertainment, so it's good. So, yeah, I'm gonna put this out, probably I don't know in a week or two. Thank you for being here. Do not hang up. Do not hang up.