Last Tuesday, Becky Huot, Muscatine High School English teacher, and I took her journalism students on a tour of Townsquare Media in Davenport, also known as the Rock & Roll Mansion. Townsquare Media operates several radio stations, including the one I worked on for five and a half years, B100. They are also the home of 97X and the Dwyer & Michaels Show, two guys I have been proud to call my friends since 2007. The tour was arranged via Connor Kenney, the B100 brand manager (who oversees the station along with being on-air).
The MHS students really enjoyed the tour and learning about how commercial radio works. Upon arriving at the Rock & Roll Mansion, we were waiting in the conference room when the Two Dorks (Michaels and Dwyer) popped in, said hi to the students and posed for a picture with them. Little did I know the following day on their radio show, Dwyer and Michaels would be talking about the tour, our students, and how Michaels took a picture pretending to let the air out of one of the Muscatine Community School District vans (as a joke). Bill tried texting me that picture but realized he didn’t have the correct cell phone number for me; oops! I sent him a text, and we had a good exchange.
I have to give my buddy John (a great guy who listened to me during my B100 and Vintage Sound 93.1 days, along with being a reader of this column and a great guy) a shout-out for letting me know that they spent time chatting about the field trip and van picture on their show. Dwyer and Michaels were so nice to me when I was 23-years-old and just starting working full-time on the radio. They showed me how to treat people, value listeners, and that it’s okay to be yourself.
Working on air in media is, for lack of a better word, a trip! You’re giving your listeners (or viewers, depending upon the media) a look into your life, sharing things that happen, the good and the bad. In my nearly 12 years of radio, I would say most of the listeners became my friends, and that was only amplified during my five years on Vintage Sound 93.1 FM here in Muscatine. I made so many friends, and I enjoyed every single minute that I spent on the radio waves. I’m also grateful for my job with the school district and the ability to highlight all the great things going on with our students and staff (we’ve got the best staff across the board).
It wouldn’t be a column if I didn’t shamelessly promote a few things at the end. Friday, Nov. 25, I will be at the Missipi Brew hosting their bachelor and bachelorette charity auction (starting at 9:30 p.m., all proceeds to local Muscatine charities). Get this, bingo night is back! See me Thursday, Dec. 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Contrary Brewing.
That’s all for now. See you next week. Thank you for reading!
