Ric Chetter - From Radioland
246 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 5 ratingsRunning my mouth from this side of the microphone.
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Episodes
Episode 294: The Keyboard Cowboys
September 29, 2019 22:40 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBWe have all seen their comments. Filled with bravado and cowardice, the keyboard cowboys live to simply stir the pot. These are people who think that having the power of the internet at your fingertips means that everyone should not just hear what you have to say about a certain topic, but you should believe what they have to say as the gospel font of truth they think they are. Because of this mindset, the idea of some sort of civil discourse is gone. Maybe we will get that back. Maybe not. ...
Episode 293: Video Dizzy
September 22, 2019 22:45 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBYou probably don't give too much thought about how your videos come to you. It's all about format. Much like last week's episode about audio format, in this episode, Ric takes you through a very abbreviated history of how moving pictures came to you. Starting with the basics of film and the transition to digital devices to the latest in video technologies. Have we reached peaked video? Not so fast, all eyes are on the one industry who have been guiding the advancement through the years and y...
Episode 292: Death To The Disc
September 15, 2019 18:56 - 40 minutes - 36.7 MBThe Compact Disc seems to have run it's course. Or, has it? In this episode, Ric takes a look at all the various formats that led to the CD through the eyes of a radio personality. How it got here and just what is it good for now? Before you go thinking this is nothing more than some boring look at technology, there is much to be said about how far our technology have come and how much further it might go. Better yet, have we reached the end of the road for audio technology. Plus, Ric's unpo...
Episode 291: Petty Bastard
September 08, 2019 21:52 - 21 minutes - 19.5 MBYou might think we as a society have become more petty about everything. Truth is, we are just as petty now as we have always been. So, what makes it seem like we are more nuanced about life's little ridiculous situations? Social media. The one thing Facebook does extraordinarily well is magnify every little thing and feeling people get from time to time. The rest of us may merely roll our eyes at these posts but for the one making that post, they are deadly serious. It's kind of like when p...
Episode 290: The State of Fear
September 01, 2019 20:57 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBThe media, especially social media does an exceptional job of trying to keep people in a sort of panic. It sort of starts with the whole Fear Of Missing Out or FOMO. Beyond that, though lies the interesting psychology of posting things with the sole intent of manipulating your thoughts and more importantly, your emotions. The best way to do that seems with the peddling of fear. In this episode, Ric takes a look at how that works and how best for you to handle these things. Also, Ric takes um...
Episode 289: More Mediocre Than The Others
August 25, 2019 22:58 - 28 minutes - 25.7 MBIt would appear society has now come to the conclusion that it is okay to be just okay. In this episode, Ric takes a look at the simple things in life we deal with. Durable and non durable goods are not excellent anymore. Neither are services. Why is that? It could be we have allowed this happen thanks to all the competition out there. Take for example the new chicken sandwich wars. In this situation you have two mediocre companies battling it out to find out which one has the product that i...
Episode 288 - Payin' To Playin'
August 18, 2019 22:10 - 32 minutes - 29.3 MBThere is an old quote attributed to John Lee Hooker who said, "If you ain't playin', you payin'." There is a lot of truth to that statement, although he probably wasn't thinking about what is happening now in the entertainment world. In this episode, Ric takes a strong look (and aim) at the notion of pay to play business models out there. Yes, that does include multi-level marketing. As Ric will tell you, it is a predatory practice that takes advantage of the emotional connection people have...
Episode 287: The Great Television War
August 11, 2019 23:25 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBIf it is one thing the internet has done, it has levelled the playing field. Most recently in the world of television. All of the cord cutters thought it was a pretty cool thing to tell the cable companies where to stuff their tiered access fees and bad programming when the internet became more of a place to get content. So we cut the cable, shut off the dishes and began to stream our shows on our own time and without fear of missing anything. Now, the content providers are stuck in a major...
Episode 286: Sarcastic Bullets
August 04, 2019 22:29 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBPart of what it takes to being on the air these days is healthy sense of sarcasm and being a bit of a cynic. In this episode, Ric talks about why he speaks like that. In light of the recent mass shootings, he uses that subject to display just how powerful sarcasm can be. It's the vehicle that drives others to react in interesting ways. Some of you out there may not like what they hear in this episode and Ric makes no apologies. As he says, "You have the right to freedom of speech, but you ar...
Episode 285: Terrestrial Zombies
July 28, 2019 20:25 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBIn a very sad way, FM has become this weird little zombie. Still propped up by the corporate stiffs as something that is still sort of viable. This is quite sad, frankly. There was a time when traditional radio was a fantastic medium, or so we thought. Once everyone was given an actual choice as to what they could listen to, the world sort of changed. Now, terrestrial radio is sort of a sad joke. In this episode, Ric will expand on this by telling you about a conversation he had with a coupl...
Episode 284: Terms of Service
July 21, 2019 20:35 - 36 minutes - 33 MBIn light of the recent viral FaceApp thing which was hot for a minute, came news about how nefarious this thing could be. Almost immediately there were reports of how the app designers were a Russian company bent on snagging data from the app's users. Which begs the question, how come there is all this talk about giving up your privacy and almost everyone is leary of doing that but, when it comes to something fun to do with a picture, these same people willingly give up all their privacy to ...
Episode 283: What's News
July 14, 2019 23:15 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBWe live in this strange 24 hour news cycle. We say that it is strange even though we are all so used to it now. Thanks to social media, we see stuff happening around the world as it happens. The problem is, too many writers and presenters don't like the facts getting in the way of a good story. This is where the dreaded fake news hangs out. Because of this, our own beliefs tend to be rattled, by design. This stuff that happens out there is not necessarily meant to change your point of view s...
Episode 282: What A Cover Act
July 07, 2019 23:03 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MBThere it is, you see a post about one of your favorite bands in the whole world is coming to your town for a show. You grew up with their music, you have all of their records, it's been years since you have seen them live. You are going to the show. When you get there you realize that not one member of the band on stage is from the original act. They sound the same. They sort of look the same. But they are playing music that is ostensibly not theirs. It belongs to the band. But, here we are ...
Episode 281: An Advertising Conundrum
June 30, 2019 21:31 - 34 minutes - 31.1 MBAdvertising used to be so simple. You get to tell an audience of a platform about your business or whatever you want (within reason) in exchange for a few bucks. Now it got weird. Terrestrial radio kind of screwed that up, frankly. They stiffed advertisers simply by chasing the dollar and sold out those dedicated to advertising their wares only to be left holding the bag. Now the internet is sucking up that revenue in all sorts of strange ways. One involves the useless short term gain of soc...
Episode 280: Plasticized
June 23, 2019 22:38 - 33 minutes - 30.2 MBHumanity seems to be choking to death on plastic. We see it in the news all the time. The amount of plastic in the oceans is staggering. So much so it is showing up in the seafood we eat. Kind of scary when you think about that. But there is a fascinating thing going on at the moment. There is a fairly large group of people in this country who seem to have an issue with the notion of cleaning up the place. Why would this be? In this episode, Ric takes a look what drives some of these ridicul...
Episode 279: Too Connected
June 16, 2019 21:12 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBThere are some fantastic technological things at our fingertips. We can do a lot of great things. You can attribute a good chunk of these advancements to computers. More specifically, your phone. The things we get to do with that device come with an interesting trade-off. One such thing is dealing with Facebook's Messenger. Oh, it can be quite the pain in the ass. But is there something more nefarious going on? Also in this episode, Ric takes a look at kind of a strange scenario that involve...
Episode 278: Who Wants a Slice of Data Pie?
June 09, 2019 22:45 - 27 minutes - 24.9 MBThe thing about the internet is that content used to be king. What really is more valuable is data. Numbers. You. There are those out there who make it their business to keep an eye an where you are going on the internet, what it is you are looking at and what it is you are searching for and buying. This information is pure gold to advertising agencies. The thing is, that information is not really all that valuable. In this episode, Ric takes a look at Ad Tech and how it doesn't work and how...
Episode 277: Riding Those Coat Tails
June 02, 2019 22:45 - 35 minutes - 32.5 MBIn this episode, Ric tells the story of the two years he was asked to be a judge for an Elvis Tribute Artist competition. He wasn't asked to do a third year for reasons that will be made clear. The gist of the story though is about how these performers are riding the coat tails of a dead man. Even though there may be a market for this sort of thing, the idea that there are those who are actively making a living off of someone else's creativity and hard work is kind of wrong, in Ric's opinion...
Episode 276: Don't Look Over There
May 26, 2019 22:46 - 35 minutes - 32.7 MBThere are a few things you might hear regarding the news media. Aside from the fact a good number of them are some form of jackal. You might hear people say there is one thing happening to "distract" you from something else happening. It begs the question of how stupid do some people think the general public really is? The idea you can only hold one thought at a time when it comes to something of "national importance" is ludicrous. In this episode, Ric is going to prove to you your own abili...
Episode 275: The Third Act Blues
May 19, 2019 22:52 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBIt's a problem plaguing Hollywood. We've all seen it a million times and it is very frustrating when it unfolds in front of you. Much like what is happening now as a major TV show wraps up its final episode. In this episode, Ric talks about how writers can have a great run of a show or movie(s) only to completely ruin the thing by trying to end it gracefully. Those of you who are Game of Thrones fans are becoming unwitting victims of this phenomenon right now. So much so that groups of fans ...
Episode 274: Wine Mommy Loves You
May 12, 2019 23:07 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBThere is a funny yet sad part of our society surrounding the culture of the wine mommy. You know her, she sits around all day with a glass of wine in her hand bitching to anyone who will listen about how hard her life is or how useless her husband is. Her name is probably Becky and her only friends are other wine moms. The only other thing worse than this person is the wine mommy who is full of pills because she just can't cope with anything. For the most part they are an ignorable part of o...
Episode 273: Schadenfreude
May 05, 2019 22:39 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBSchadenfreude is a great word. A German word which has found its way into our vernacular. Although you don't hear it too much, it does describe a fairly everyday emotion. Finding the joy in watching someone fail. It's a cruel world out there and as much as you want to believe it is sweet and nice, it is not. In this episode, Ric explores the idea behind schadenfreude and how it is nearly impossible to shut it off. There is a reason for that. Also, Ric takes a look at what happened at the 145...
Episode 272: The Heavyweight Chumps
April 28, 2019 22:21 - 1 hour - 85.9 MBIn a first for this show, Ric sat down with The Heavyweight Chumps. These guys host a podcast about pop culture, wrestling and all sorts of fun things. Several weeks ago, Ric was a guest on their show and to return the favor, The Chumps stepped in to Studio C for a few moments with cocktails to discuss all sorts of things from their perspective on the future of the podcast genre to the future of terrestrial radio and what the hell happened to television. Also, some stories from the world of ...
Episode 271: The Emergency Room Emergency
April 21, 2019 23:28 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBWhat happens when an artist, performer, entertainer... a show biz type gets sick? Most of those people don't have insurance. Even if they did, it's not all that great. There are a couple things that go through the mind of these folks. "Oh my God, I have to go to the doctor to get that looked at..." followed immediately by, "This is going to cost me more than anything I have..." It's the fear some people out there can't wrap their heads around. Recently, Memphis lost two musicians, one who wa...
Episode 270: Jerre Dye & Marie-Stéphane Bernard
April 14, 2019 16:52 - 1 hour - 67.3 MBOpera singer Marie-Stéphane Bernard returns to Radioland bringing her friend Jerre Dye. Jerre is originally from the Midsouth and now lives in Chicago. He's an actor, director, producer and writer. Jerre has taken on the one woman show Sounds of A Dream starring Marie-Stéphane. It is a biographical look at her life and career from Paris, France to Memphis, Tennessee and all the points in between. In this episode you will hear a demo of one of the songs in the production as well as how one wr...
Episode 269: Stream This
April 07, 2019 22:21 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MBA good number of us cut the cord some time ago. We thought we had it all figured out. We'll stick it to the cable companies and get what we want. For a while, that worked pretty well. That is until the broadcasters figured out what was going on. They'll have you pay them directly for the content you want. Soon, you are right back in the same boat we were in with the cable companies. It's the next big front in the war over your television. That is, until they find out the number of people who...
Episode 268 - The Unravelling of An Idiot
March 31, 2019 21:21 - 31 minutes - 28.9 MBOne of the beautiful things about The United States of America is the ability for all of us to be critical of those who bring us the news. Of course, "news" can be defined in all sorts of manner. In this episode, Ric takes a look at what has been happening with Alex Jones of Infowars fame. He's currently being sued by some family members of those who were killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting. Jones, in the past has claimed the shooting was "staged" and was nothing more than a "false flag...
Episode 267 - Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response
March 24, 2019 21:20 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBIt's all the rage right now on the internet. ASMR. Apparently, certain sounds can trigger certain responses in the brain akin to "a brain orgasm". In this episode, Ric is going to attempt to recreate those triggers with a few self made ASMR sounds. Is there anything to this? Why are there all these channels on YouTube devoted to this subject? Why are these people making so much money on these videos? It all points to very thing that drives the internet. Content is king. No matter how ridicul...
Episode 266: Brooke Fair
March 17, 2019 20:55 - 32 minutes - 29.3 MBIf you ever wanted to get into the head of a 14 year old songwriter, here's your chance. Brooke Fair came to the studio with a new song. Brooke is someone who has lived quite a bit for her 14 years in life. Sarah Simmons brought her to Radio Memphis to show just how talented Brooke is. You'll hear her new song which was produced at Langston Studios. Also in this episode, Ric talks a bit about St. Patrick's day and just how messed up it really is and how it has earned it's title as "rookie ni...
Episode 265: Sarah Simmons-Langston & Gregory Langston
March 10, 2019 22:30 - 50 minutes - 46.2 MBFrom the world of pop music comes Sarah Simmons. She was on The Voice. What was that experience like? In this episode Sarah and her husband Greg will talk about that and what it can mean for a young artist trying to make their mark in the music industry. Also, this couple run a studio (Langston Studios) where they show young artists what actually goes on inside such a place from how to make music and recordings to how to become a better musician. Plus, Ric talks about some of the things peop...
Episode 264: Marie-Stéphane Bernard
March 03, 2019 21:49 - 56 minutes - 52 MBIn this episode, Ric sits down with a world travelled opera singer. But, not just any opera singer. Marie-Stéphane Bernard. Originally from downtown Paris and now residing in Memphis (for the most part), her talents have put her literally on the world's stage. Having performed on stages in France, Austria, Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and many others. She came to Studio C for a conversation with Ric to talk about the life of a performer in opera. This is fun convers...
Episode 263: The Mendoza Brothers - Canz & Windows
February 24, 2019 23:38 - 49 minutes - 45.5 MBDue to a production schedule conflict, Sarah Simmons will appear on this show in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, meet two guys from El Paso, Texas. They made an appearance at Radio Memphis last month while they were on the road. They stopped into the studio while Ric was on the air and talked about new music, what they are writing and performing and some great stories from the road. They will tell a funny story about how they named the band. Also, you'll hear one of their recordings and ...
Episode 262: Austen Onek
February 17, 2019 22:39 - 58 minutes - 53.9 MBFairly early on in Ric's broadcasting career, Ric spent some time in television. In one market he worked in, he was on the air with Austen Onek. As things happen in this business, people move from city to city and over the years, Ric and Austen's paths have crossed again, this time in Memphis. Austen in a meteorologist for the CBS affiliate in Memphis and Ric, of course wound up in the radio business. Now, after all these years they sat down for a conversation and what did they talk about? T...
Episode 261: Talking Tech with Dianna Fryer
February 10, 2019 22:59 - 1 hour - 55 MBIt is the beginning of a new year for this show. With that milestone comes the new changes. In this episode of From Radioland, Ric sits down with the General Manager of Pirate Radio Studios, Inc. to talk about how technology seems to have sucked the fun right out various industries. With that, how to inject humans back into the radio business. Of course, when you put a person into anything, you are inviting some sort of catastrophe. Plus, the addition of a new element in the show, Playing Fa...
Episode 260: Benny Turner & Cash McCall
February 03, 2019 23:09 - 1 hour - 84.1 MBThis episode marks the last episode of year 5 of this show. Ric will lay out the future of From Radioland and what to expect as we begin production of the 6th year. Also in this very special episode, new music and a great conversation with 2 blues legends, Benny Turner and Cash McCall and how not seeing each other for over 40 years put these two gentlemen back in the studio for their brand new CD. Plus, you'll hear some of the cuts from this new collection of songs and some of the stories as...
Episode 259: The Lizzard Kings
January 27, 2019 22:25 - 1 hour - 88 MBIn this episode, Ric lays out (a bit of) the changes coming to this show. After nearly 5 years of production, things are going to be a bit different. Think of it as more of an expansion than anything else. "The growth of the show has always been in the minds around here even when something like what we have been doing has taken a life of it's own.", Ric says. "Sure, changing a show like this can make for some nervous listeners and we have kept that in mind. Having said that, you would be saf...
Episode 258: John Nemeth
January 21, 2019 00:00 - 1 hour - 86 MBLong time friend of the Radio Memphis, John Nemeth sits down with Ric and company to talk about his giant van, getting censored over a pickle and performing on the road. John brought a guitarist named Aubrey and Radio Memphis brought a drummer named Willie and some really fun stuff happened in the studio. Also in this episode, Ric talks about the weather and has figured out what happens in Memphis grocery stores when the snow announcement hits the air. NEXT WEEK: The Lizzard Kings
Episode 257: Back From Europe with Low Society
January 13, 2019 23:22 - 1 hour - 108 MBAs a working Memphis band, what is it like to do the European music scene? You are going to find out. In this episode, Ric and Jeff sat down with Low Society's Mandy and Sturgis Nikides to hear of their travels from their most recent trip to Europe. Plus, you will get to discover a new act with Radio Memphis since Sturgis produced them, brand new music will be played here. Plus, Manyd and Sturgis play a few songs in the studio. NEXT WEEK: John Nemeth has a big van.
Episode 256: The Post Holiday Blues
January 06, 2019 23:12 - 2 hours - 115 MBYeah, we know the holiday season has come and gone. But that doesn't mean we can't take a little look back at what happened on the air the Sunday before Christmas. Not all of it had anything to do with the season, really. In fact, it was the return of Tlaxica and this time with her musical partner, Pope. They told some stories from the road and played a few songs. Also in this show, long time friend of Radio Memphis, Zeke Johnson came to talk a bit about the way he sees Christmas and he shar...
Episode 255: Memphis Deep
December 30, 2018 23:39 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBBob Kelsey, Leroy Clay and David Dunn make up this great blues trio. In this episode, Ric sat down with the band to hear some stories from the road and some great music from this power trio. Also, since this is the last episode for 2018, Ric lays out some end of the year thoughts and what is on his mind about 2019. In that, he sees the mass Facebook exodus is leaving an unintended side effect. Plus, something new is coming From Radioland in the new year. NEXT WEEK: The return of Tlaxica th...
Episode 254: Tlaxica
December 23, 2018 23:17 - 1 hour - 77.5 MBIt would appear, as time goes on, more and more musicians are leaving their homes to settle in Memphis. Why is that? To be where the music is. That is part of the answer for sure. In this episode, Tlaxica from Tlaxica and Pope will answer that question in much more detail. Also, she managed to sneak onto the air a few tunes from their upcoming and unreleased EP. She is also quite well known in the gospel circles, too. It's her story and it's all right here. NEXT WEEK: Memphis Deep
Episode 253: Danuel Gales, Eric Gales, Singa B & Robert Allen Parker
December 16, 2018 22:28 - 2 hours - 122 MBNot one but two of the famous Gales Brothers made an appearance in the Radio Memphis studios. Danuel came in with guitarist Singa B to talk blues and to play a couple of cuts from the Gales Brothers Left Hand Brand album. If it is one thing we have learned, Eric Gales likes apple pie. Then, a little later in this episode, Ric sat down with Robert Allen Parker. A real record store guy and a musician. He talked about his latest project of which you will hear some cuts from as well as what he h...
Episode 252: Brother Boulevard & Individual 1
December 09, 2018 23:22 - 1 hour - 86.5 MBKyle Roberts and Gabriel Brown have put together a great duo act called Brother Boulevard. These two guys spent some time in the studio with Ric and told the story behind the name of the act and what it means to them. Also in this episode, you will hear some music from these two as they also talk about the process of writing music, performing it and how Kyle's mom has become their greatest fan. Plus, a little observation regarding Individual 1. NEXT WEEK: Danuel Gales, Eric Gales and Rober...
Episode 251: Carla Thomas, Willie Hall & Vanese Thomas - Dropping Bombs
December 02, 2018 23:13 - 2 hours - 147 MBLegendary Memphis musicians Carla Thomas, Willie Hall & Vanese Thomas came into the studio to talk about the early days of Memphis music. In this conversation, you will learn about the massive impact Rufus Thomas had on the scene as well as the influence he had over his daughters and more. Also, Willie Hall talks about his days at Stax and working with Isaac Hayes and others. You'll also hear some of the music from those days and hear the stories as to how those records were made. A little l...
Episode 250: John D'Amato & The Delta Project
November 25, 2018 22:00 - 1 hour - 91 MBCelebrating the 250th episode From Radioland, Ric sits down with guitarist John D'Amato about his new album due out very soon. Also, a wild time with The Delta Project happened with a bunch of songs and stories. You'll hear about the potential value of a jar of pickles and what some of the tribulations of a working band has to deal with some times in the course of doing their job. NEXT WEEK: Carla Thomas, Willie Hall & Vanese Thomas - dropping bombs.
Episode 249: Mark Anthony Lee & Willie Covington
November 18, 2018 23:55 - 1 hour - 90.4 MBIn this episode, two legendary performers sit down with Ric to talk about the way show business used to be. Plus you'll hear some music from these great guys. It's a conversation with Mark Anthony Lee and Willie Covington. Also in this episode, Ric has a little discussion about his "no nazi" policy and how apparently there are some people out there who have a problem with his policy. NEXT WEEK: John D'Amato & The Delta Project
Episode 248: Andrea Staten
November 11, 2018 23:49 - 1 hour - 81.1 MBAndrea Staten spent some time with Ric and Natalie recently to talk about her love of North Mississippi Hill Country Blues and how she went from not playing her guitar to restarting. You'll hear her perform some of the songs that got her hooked on this style of blues music. Also, there is a rather amusing conversation about yoga and goats, among other things. Plus, Ric tells you about how his dog, Duke can't quite figure out the change from Daylight Savings to Standard time. NEXT WEEK: Mark...
Episode 247: Mick Kolassa & The Taylor Made Blues Band
November 04, 2018 22:51 - 1 hour - 100 MB"Free Range Blues" is a term you will hear about in this episode as Mick and the band demonstrate that very notion. You've heard Mick before, now hear the band. These guys are a lot of fun and you'll probably learn a few things along the way. Also in this episode, Ric discovered what one local radio station decided to do on Halloween. It involves the despicable act of celebrating one day in December at the end of October. A little rant is in this episode. NEXT WEEK: Andrea Staten
Episode 246: Dr. Feelgood Potts & Sheba Potts-Wright
October 28, 2018 22:24 - 1 hour - 93.8 MBThe Potts family is quite the musical force to contend with. Dr. Feelgood Potts moved his family to Memphis in 1967 to get into the music scene. It was good move as he wrote and recorded several hits for himself and a few others. Also his daughter, Sheba has quite the story to tell and you'll hear that as well. Plus, you'll hear some of the music the Potts's have done together and separately through the years.
Episode 245: Minister Suhkara Yahweh (Sweet Willie Wine)
October 21, 2018 22:21 - 1 hour - 109 MBHistorically, Memphis has found itself in the center of several things. One of the more important notes in history occurred during the civil rights movement. In this episode, Ric sits down with Minister Suhkara Yahweh who was once known as Sweet Willie Wine. Fresh out of prison, he found himself in Memphis with a purpose. He also found himself within earshot of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Minister Yahweh's story is interesting, to say the least and his story is fascinati...