How do you match wits with Froggy’s Captain Dan? The answer is you don’t even try unless you’re his partner in idiocy…Allan Carpenter.
(That’s Allan on the left without the pink tights. The other one, who looks like he wished he was wearing pick tights, is The Captain.)
In a brilliant stroke sometime ago, Allan was moved from just the guy who rushed in with the news to a full partner in morning drive lunacy and it has turned the morning show on Froggy in to a faster paced laugh riot.
Now, The Captain is an old friend going back to the days when every other contact from Dan was “please give me a job.” His wit is hard to match and faster than a movie review of Paris Hilton. So to partner with The Captain, it would take someone very special who could equal Captain Dan’s articulation of the fast comeback.
In that, Allan Carpenter is his full equal. The banter, the set-ups and the one liners are fast and furious. In comedy, timing is everything; if you do radio comedy, it is a total necessity or your audience tunes-out. The timing is so dead on between these two that you can almost see and feel a classic “double take” by either the Captain or Allan.
The balance between this duo is unusual and it works at the speed of light similar to the timing of Abbott and Costello without the slap stick. Where Captain Dan’s personality lends itself to the big belly laugh with the snappy zinger, Allan Carpenter off-sets that and can easily upstage the Captain with a low key response dryer than a James Bond martini. Both hosts work in perfect harmony and mutually complimentary.
Allan had good training as a midday talk show host for several years. I have to admit that he was my mother’s favorite host to call. Allan had a way of tagging each regular caller for his audience. For Mom, the tag was “The Brooklyn Bridge” lady. That was her favorite television show that was forever lost in cancellation land.
But a lot of credit has to go to Captain Dan himself, the programmers, and Rick Rambaldo--then former station owner, for recognizing this possible chemistry and maximizing its potential. Now if the Froggy programmers could just stretch the play list a little we won’t feel we are endlessly listening to the same 300 tunes. Froggy should take a hint from WKBW radio in Buffalo and reach back into the 50’s and early 60’s for the early classic Rock which isn’t heard now at all in Erie radio. Froggy might even get back or gain additional market share it lost in the last Arbiton.
If I hear “California Girls” one more time, I will move to Albuquerque, (Now that possibility would make a number of people in Erie very happy, but at least Albuquerque has all network television stations in high definition)
"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC www.dtv.gov
Just 2 days To Go Before WSEE DT Channel 16 Construction Permit Expires. The EYE is watching and doesn't like what they can't (W)SEE.
9 comments:
I think that the oldies radio format that plays everything from the Beatles to the Beach Boys...Supremes to Steppenwolf...will eventually be no more...giving way to "niche oldies"...formats like "Soul Oldies" (actually we already have something like that with "Jammin'Oldies")..."metal Oldies"..."Rap Oldies"...etc. Everything's gotta be specialized now. And that's sad. A time like the '60's can never come back. I fondly remember the days of Jet radio...you'd sit through a Dean Martin record in the hopes that you'd hear the Kinks next...and vice versa.
Then in 1969-70 we had WWGO-FM (Dan worked there as well). They were ALL OVER the place. It was not unusual to hear some bubble gum top 40 tune followed by Chicago's "Free Form Guitar." And we liked them both!!
Already the oldies format is disappearing in many major markets.
Oh well...enough ramblings on an old fart.
Keep it up Dan and Alan...both class acts!!
I gotta stop posting stuff on 5 hours of sleep...that last line of my post should have read "FROM an old fart!" 8-)
My reason for picking that era to add is purly demographics. That is the age of the Baby BOOM generation. A few have already entered their 60's and more on the way. It is the music of their generation. Eventually, "Music Of Your Life" will catch up and it would belong there. They play some already but not really all early rock.
Media boy...Thanks for those suggestions for us "older farts."
For those of you you wrote me asking who the "real" girl is in pink. That's Erie's Olympic champ, Karyn Kadavy,
Jack,
>
> What a pleasant surprise it was to read your blog this morning! Well,
> rolling over in bed and finding Jennifer Tilly would have been nicer,
> but...
>
> I really appreciate your kind comments. It seems like Dan and I
> frequently hear people say how funny we are individually, but it seems
> like we never hear about our chemistry. We've often wondered if this
> meant we were making each other laugh, but no one else. At least we're
> amusing you, Jack, and that means a lot! Maybe we should broadcast from
> your breakfast nook...
>
> Oh, and I remember your Mom well. She was a breath of fresh air among
> talk radio callers. I always enjoyed talking with her; she was really
> insightful and intelligent.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Allan
Add me to the long list of Carpenter fans (and I'm not talking about the late anorexic). I've been one of Allen's fans since way back in his talk radio days.
P.S. Sorry for the misspelling...Allan.
Hey Emma. Don't worry. I did the same thing. I told Allan that if he was in TV, we wouldn't have a problem spelling his name.
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