Mancow used to call his show “Mancow’s Morning Madhouse” and after spending a morning witnessing it in action, it’s easy to see where he came up with that name. The show is really unlike any other show I’ve seen before (and I’ve seen a million of ’em). There doesn’t seem to be any structure to it at all–just get some guests in the studio, have Mancow pontificate about a subject, see if anyone bites on the subject, and then move on to something entirely different if they don’t.
This morning the subjects were nearly always political (rave outs against the President), while the guests were not. The guest list was eclectic for sure: a group of young women Mancow was ogling (I must admit I missed their introduction–not sure why they were there), a Polish plastic surgeon, a baldologist/author (Eckhartz Press’ very own David Stern), a pot for pets enthusiast, a sports talk show host (Mike North), and Lindsay Lohan’s father, Michael.
One of the guests (I won’t say who–and if you guess, you’ll probably be wrong) reeked of alcohol.
Did I mention it was 6:00 in the morning when we got there?
It was a little strange sitting in the green room during this mayhem because the monitor was on the fritz, and there was a delay. Nobody told me what was planned or when it was going to occur, so I just waited for a commercial to go in to take pictures.
“So,” I said, making conversation with the pot enthusiast in the meantime, “I just got back from Colorado.”
“You were there on 4/20?” he asked excitedly. “Pot’s legal there.”
“Yup,” I responded.
“Whoa.”
Yeah. Whoa. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was there for a 50th birthday party. Not exactly 4/20-worthy.
Finally there was a break in the action and I darted into the studio to take some pictures. Mike North, who I have met at least a dozen times (he even offered me a job once), had no memory of me at all. I took his picture with David. Mancow wasn’t in the room when I started snapping pictures, but he strolled in a few moments later.
“Who is this guy?” he asked his producer.
“I’m Dave’s publisher,” I answered. I had interviewed Mancow for my blog Chicago Radio Spotlight just a few years ago. He also had no memory of me.
I zipped back out of the studio and waited for Dave’s segment to end. He had been brought in to argue with the plastic surgeon who had created a new “miracle cure” for hair loss, but the good doctor refused to go along with the bit, so he and Dave just kind of stood there for an hour.
Ever the promoter, Dave did manage to get the website address mentioned a few times and held up his new shirt (available now at Eckhartz Press…go to the merchandise section) while I chatted with Michael Lohan in the green room. Did you know Lohan was an ordained minister? Me neither.
Dave and I were out of there about an hour later.
I’m not sure exactly what happened, but it certainly was a memorable morning.
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