Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Survivor

As I mentioned Monday, we caught Survivor last weekend on, what I think might have been, their first gig of this summer's tour that reunites Jimi Jamison with the band he fronted during their MTV years.

The opening act? M&R Rush.

Really? Those guys have been one of the Midwest's journeyman rock outfits since the '70s. And, it's still the original line-up. Simply amazing. Brought back all kinds of memories from living in the Southland.

As guitarist John McFarland was prepping the crowd for the headliner, he mentioned that they had backed up Survivor at a club called Pointe East in suburban Lynwood IL back in the late '70s, when Survivor has just released their debut album. "Eye of the Tiger" was years away.

"Anybody remember Pointe East?" he asked...and then pointed at me, because, I guess, I was the only one nodding (or the only one he saw because I was wearing a white baseball cap). Hell, I don't just remember Pointe East...I remember that show.

Survivor was trying hard to score some radio airplay in the Chicago metro and I got an invite from the label to catch them live. And, I'd be surprised if Tom Tueber didn't as well, as every programmer in the region was on the guest list. The show turned me on to a couple tracks that we started moving into rotation (like "Can't Get You Off"). So...mission accomplished.

That was when Dave Bickler was fronting the band. Shortly after "Eye of Tiger," he was out and Jimi was in...and that's when the hits started to roll.

And, with all due respect to Dave...I'm gonna hafta go with a Jimi track on this Music Friday.

There are so many...but as Jimi and Frankie are hanging together again, I'm going with "Didn't Know it was Love."

 

Who Dat Driving the Economy?

Yeah...that would be Travel and Tourism, which has created new jobs 26% faster than the rest of the American economy.

One of the reasons, according to David Huether, senior vice president of economics and research at the U.S. Travel Association, is that most travel and tourism jobs can't be outsourced to other countries.

True dat.

And thanks to Anne Hornyak for the catch.

Doesn't Anyone Test Concepts Anymore

Maybe we are all just moving too fast to test creative before we run with it. But an operation as precarious as running for President has too much to lose and too much money to not test its messaging.

The President's newest slogan, "Betting on America," sends all the wrong messages to a recession weary electorate that really struggles with what this administration's economic policies have wrought. At times, "betting" is exactly what it has looked like. And the result has been pretty much snake eyes.

"Betting on America" would fit much better as a slogan for the challenger...as you'd expect a brasher approach from someone that made their millions in the world of high finance. But the sitting President?

Not the messsage Americans want to hear.

That is, if they're even listening.

Yin and Yang

An unusual winter with virtually no major snow events here in Madison was cause for celebration for those that endure the colder months because summers and fall here are so freaking glorious. For outdoor winter recreation enthusiasts, not so much.

As one of the hottest and driest summers in Madison history stretches on, the waterparks in Wisconsin Dells are rejoycing while most residents grumble that the summer isn't nearly as glorious.

But imagine if you owned (or worked for) a company that made its money on snow removal in the winter and mowing in the summer. Yeah...disaster.

It's all about the weather.

In Belgium, it's all about the weather forecast.

Meteo Belgique (a private weather bureau) recently predicted a cold and crappy summer for the coast. Tourism interests say that mass cancellations followed. And, they are going to sue for damages.

Predicting the weather for the first two weeks of August in June is...ummmm, a stretch. So, the plantiffs have a point.

But, won't it be interesting if it truly is crappy on the Belgian coast in early August? For, if it is, Meteo Belgique will be the new Weather Channel.

Think Bigger

Closed out a fabulous 4th of July week with a trip to Hoffman Estates to catch a re-engaged Survivor at that community's Independence Day Weekend Festival.

Way cool to have Jimi back. They're on tour this summer...and so worth trying to catch a show (that is, if they can find someone who knows how to run a sound board...sheesh).

But, the point of this post is that the festival organizers (or their marketing department) were thinking small. Local. With no concept that, in today's world, fans of their headliner that lived in, say, Wisconsin would know that Survivor would be playing just a couple hour drive away.

How do I know they weren't thinking big? On the festival website, they listed directions to the festival site from two other suburbs (click image for the example). Two suburbs that mean absolutely nothing to someone from outside the area. And, there was no physical address listed with which we could have used our GPS. Oh, I know...the site was next to the Sears Center and I drive that way to visit my daughters and work with clients all the time. But what of those that don't?

To paraphrase the Director in that great Citibank TV commercial (the one featuring an over-budget sailor movie), "No! Think Bigger! Bigger!"

It's a small thing, Hoffman...especially in light of a great first year effort. And, congratulations to all involved. Just a friendly suggestion for next year ;)  And, if you bring in another act that we dig...you know we'll be back.

Les Paul

Well, of course, there's the guitar. But then, there is the man.

Revolutionary. Innovative. Visionary. I'm guessing that rock n roll would have eventually evolved...but Les made it happen so much sooner.

The sad part about generations is that each one thinks that life begins and will end with them. And, that's not a shot at today's Millennials that have no clue as to the impact of Les Paul, who depated terra firma not quite three years ago. Hell, I'm still picking up on artists from the 30s, 40s and 50s that shaped the music I loved in the 60s, 70s and 80s.

But, to watch a guy like Les Paul riff at 90 with Keith Richards and Steve Miller? So amazing (and, click on the very cool links).

I'm not sure my kids will appreciate his genius. But, I'm sure my folks didn't think I'd appreciate the genius of their generation. Even though I now do.

One of my favorite tracks of all time is Les Paul and Steve Miller doing Steve's "Fly Like an Eagle"...preceeded by a recording of Les telling a painfully young Steve he was really going to "go places."

Take time to listen...if only the intro on this Music Friday. And smile...because Les was so right.

They Really Have One of Those?

I know that strip clubs are an attraction for some...but to actually have the City sign shop direct visitors there (click image to enlarge)?

Priceless.

Celebrating Radicalism

Yeah...it's the 4th of July. A day we Americans set aside for cook-outs, fireworks and family get-togethers.

Some of us toast that America is the land of the free...home of the brave, even though we aren't nearly as free and brave as our parents were.

Some of us toast our independence 200+ years ago as a new country with amazing possibilities and opportunity. And, some of us watch the "Independence Day" marathon on cable TV.

But all of this fails to recognize that what we are really celebrating this day is a band of amazingly radical men that completely changed the world order. That brought this fragile colony to the brink of destruction and inexplicably won. That risked it all on an idea.

Of all the blogs I daily follow, few challenge me like that of Umair Hague. If you have yet to begin your celebration today, you might want to check his post on Independence.

If you're already a few drinks in...save it for tomorrow. But read it.

Indeed...it IS our move.

 

Understanding Why You Do What You Do

As I was listening to "Munich's Hardest Hits" on internet radio the other day, the obligatory Station ID broke the music flow for a moment with a slogan that caught me by surprise. And...that's kinda hard to do, as I toiled ten long years in the Rock Radio mines. I've heard them all...but never this one:

"Playing a greater variety of music...so you can listen longer."

The goal of any radio station is to get you to listen for as long as they can. They make it difficult, however, when they cram extra minutes of commercials into each hour. Or play crappy songs.

Radio programmers often think that their job is turning people on to the new hits. Newspeople think they're keeping listeners informed. Weather people think they're protecting the unsuspecting hoard from catastrophic calamity.

The smart General Manager knows it's about keeping the listener from changing the channel.

And you? Why do you do what you do?

Really.

 

 

Knowing What to Leave Out

One of my mentors in the radio business shared this pearl in one of our philosophical discussions on the state of Rock Radio years ago..."Nobody changes the station because of what you don't play."

Good point...and then he told me to quit playing Supertramp because he hated them.

As he was my boss...we tossed all the Supertramp CDs.

Whether you liked Supertramp or not...there is an amazing truth to Gino's logic. Play a crappy song and people split (why don't party DJs get this truth?). Don't play crappy songs...and nobody is any the wiser. And, they stick around.

Are you inadvertently loading too much stuff into your communications? Stuff that has the chance to turn your audience off without turning more on?

Don't Play It.