I didn’t even notice that the outfit I wore on the WHUPPassTheHat radio show matched not only the cover of my latest EP, True Stories of Time Travel, available at thekingteen.bandcamp.com, but also the logo of the show itself.
I think I know two radio jokes. We’ll get to those in a second but first I want to tell you about Mountains to Sea Vol. 2, a benefit compilation for The Flat Iron in Greensboro, a much-loved club that’s in financial peril. There are 70 songs by North Carolina acts on this thing and you can get them all for 10 bucks, all of which go to The Flat Iron. It’s out today! The great North Carolina music site Blank Tapes organized it.
Click to stream or buy. There’s also a commemorative poster you can buy for another 5 bucks.
OK, the two radio jokes I know. Everybody knows one of them: “You have a face for radio!” Which I guess is now “You have a face for podcasts.”
The problem with that joke, other than not being funny, is that both podcasts and radio are often on video these ol’ days, and sure enough here’s a video of me doing a radio show.
This is the WHUP Pass the Hat show I mentioned in last week’s newsletter. It’s queued up to start after a brief technical problem. The show features two relatively new songs, including the first one, as well as me being all witty and stuff with the hosts, Bob Johnson and Kim Lane. There are three hosts but Kirk Ridge had the night off.
I think it’s a pretty fun hour — er, 58 minutes — but you be the judge. Of the show I mean, but feel free to judge my face. I’ve made my peace with it.
But a radio show on video is not as much fun as the fun you’ll have if you come to Slim’s Dive Bar in Raleigh Wednesday night. You’ll remember from last time that it’s THE GREATEST DIVE BAR IN THE WHOLE METROPOLITAN AREA! and it’s even better when it’s got J Candeed, Jason Bales — also featured on Mountains to Sea Vol. 2 — and me playing music in it, which we’ll be doing starting at 8 pm.
The first three people to come up to me and tell me a radio joke will get a free CD, a free T-shirt or their $5 cover charge refunded by me, your choice.
It can be a joke I mention in this newsletter.
Here’s one you can use. It’s the other radio joke I know. Ernie Harwell told it to me when I was interviewing him during the last of his 42 seasons broadcasting Detroit Tigers baseball games. When I asked him why he was retiring he said he didn’t want anybody to say that old radio joke to him: “I heard your last show, and it should have been.”
I’d never heard that old radio joke but Ernie was old enough to remember President Coolidge so he probably remembered a few jokes that I didn’t. Anyway, tell me that one or another one at Slim’s Wednesday night and win a prize.
Thanks for reading and listening and coming on out.
Your friend,
The King Teen