TRN-FM will offer a 3 hour Phil Hendrie Show 10pm-1am Pacific, 5 nights a week starting June 25.

See the TRN News Release at
http://www.talkradionetwork.com/news

anybody know what stations are committed yet?

cancelled post

Any Phil updates for Portland? Speculation? Anyone?

Andrew

Monday at 10:00PM, Phil will return. Unfortunately, the question remains, where can I hear Phil? I can't find an affiliates' list either on the Phil Hendrie page or on the Talk Radio Network page.

Most of the time if a network show doesn't list affiliates it's because they have so few and it's embarrassing.

Maybe we will have to subscribe to the TRN web stream to hear him! Then again, his new show could suck. He has said he's not going to do character voices. That would be one dull show!!!

I've been watching Phil's blog for more details, but nothing yet on an affiliates list:

http://herbsewell.blogspot.com/

Andrew

remember after 9-11 Phil said he was going to get away from the characters and do a straight talk/opinion show, but he abandoned that rather quickly, and went back to what he did best.

Too much national"TALK" I would rather have a night LOCAL alternative.

Unfortunately, Phil probably made a bad career move in dumping his show a few years ago for the "bright lights" of L.A. He lost a lot of momentum. Oh well, I certainly wouldn't count him out at rebuilding his station portfolio. It just may take awhile...

Not sure I agree that Phil's radio career was exactly thriving when he quit Clear Channel. Let's remember, first of all, that his move to west coast evening drive was a failure and he eventually moved back to 7-10PM. Then, his own flagship station, KFI, dumped him and moved to a much lower power sports station in LA. Doesn't sound like a career that is ascendent to me.

Phil talked a lot before he quit about how the radio business didn't know how to sell a show like his - but perhaps he was also very frustrated with Clear Channel and how they marketed his show. Perhaps his contract required him to be off the air for a year and that's why he's now coming back almost exactly one year later.

But in some ways, the old show was a tired format. I admit, the parts I loved most about Phil's bits were the setups, the first segment where Phil and the character setup the whole thing up. The actual callers could be hit or miss. The "it's not a real show" gag wears thin after a while, and Phil showed he could be just as funny (if not moreso) with just character bits and no callers. So let's hope the show is more of that with or without fake guests and listener calls - just as long as he DOES characters!!!

Andrew

Andrew2, I agree, to some extent the show probably needed a rest, but I'm anxious to hear it again!

I just checked the TRN website and they've already got a Phil Hendrie "Listen Live" button. So apparently you will be able to stream the show live for free (I'm listening to Rusty Humphries show - without Rusty tonight - on this feed). So that's good - at least we can listen to Phil online!

I will listen to Phil's new show unless...it sucks. There's always that chance.

Andrew

Andrew: How did you manage to stream TRN for free? Poking around, it sure looks like it costs money to stream there (5.95/month or 54.95/year).

I didn't do much of anything. I was just poking around last night when Phil would be on and got to this page:

http://www.talkradionetwork.com/phil#play

They already have the links for Phil and "listen live." I just clicked and selected Windows Media player and it was streaming Rusty Humphries, presumably in Phil's future time slot starting Monday.

I clicked again - it still streams for free if I click on the Listen button.

Maybe it's only open temporarily? Who knows. We'll find out next week!

Andrew

I hope he gets some good live clearance. The second half of each bit depends on someone, somewhere hearing the show live.
I also hope Phil comes back refreshed and revived, not just to pay the bills. He's invented a one-guy genre that guarnatees periodic burnout.

I just don't understand. You're Ted Bell.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Rich, but wasn't Ted Bell the first guy to cook and serve baked potatoes in aluminum foil for maximum flavor?

Yep - Ted invented that. Also the drink "The Ted" (a rum and coke).

Ted Bell is one of my favorite characters. I love the one where, after 9/11, Ted throws a benefit at his restaurannt for local firefighters. Only, it turns out, Ted is charging them full price and not giving the money to charity...

And then there's the bit where Ted is annoyed when someone yells "Hey You! Slow down!" when Ted is driving fast down a residental street. Ted wants a city ordinance passed where people can't yell at important businessmen, as Ted claims he's an excellent driver (complete with muffler, gloves, and racing cap) and anyway, successful businessmen aren't the ones running over people with their cars. It's always someone with a car worth less than $125K...

Andrew

LOL!

Bring back Hendrie! Bring back Hendrie!

And, while I'm at it, Bring back Griffey!

Sorry, caught in the moment...

This is funny!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNkX_ODrKvw

This one isn't so funny but it's a Ted Bell bit at least to tide you over...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7f3BePie5U

Andrew

Streaming Phil now, live, for free, from talkradionetwork.com

Andrew

...and for his first show, he's REALLY sucking. Just talking, like he used to do at the end of the hour (or sometimes a whole hour when he had no bits to do). He's talked about Paris Hilton, the isolationist nature of America, and now Ted Bundy. Oooh, cutting edge, Phil! I wonder how much longer they'll let him keep this show?

Andrew

I don't have Windows media player here, and I haven't been able to find Phil anywhere on the radio dial. However, from your description, it seems like I'm not missing much. I had respected Phil as a very creative, entertaining person. What could he possibly be up to? Are there any callers, or is this just a big monologue?

Just a big monologue so far. He's also playing some clips from people like Ted Bundy and Ted Kennedy.

1-800-449-8255 is the new phone number. Why don't you call and ask what station he's on?

Maybe Phil's convinced he's actually a talent beyond his character voices? I think in that case he's in store for a big come-down.

I wonder if he's on ANY radio stations yet, anywhere, or just online?

Andrew

Andrew2: I think you are the #1 PHS fan on this board, and perhaps I am #2. But, yes, I abhor his monologues: #1, because I do truly abhor them; and #2, because they pale in comparison to the PHS as we know it and love it (or knew it and loved it?!)--the characters, the voices, the theater.

What I am hearing now is the PHS as it was degenerating into in the months (OK, maybe years) before it left the air; and what it is now in its entirety, apparently. SUCKS

Sorry, Phil--you are a genius and a unique talent, but not like this.

I don't like writing my opinion because what one person likes, another doesn't; but anyone who has heard this show and thinks THIS is better than the "real" PHS has got to be insane.

But, I have only listened for a few minutes now. I will give it a while longer...

I gave up for tonight.

Instead, I dug into my Phil Hendrie archive. I'm listening to a Steve Bosell bit. It's the one where he tries to reconnect with his teenage sun by putting the retarded neighbor girl into a shopping cart (with padding of course) and pushing her down the hill, while video taping it, ala Jackass...

Andrew

I couldn't get the stream to play on my dial-up connection. But now, having read the above posts, I don't feel so bad about missing it. I am disappointed by the news, though. Phil's genius has always been his character schtick and if he's not going back to that, he needs to come up with something equally creative and unique.

Maybe Phil will evolve the show - he's going to have to or I can't see how it will continue. I'll listen again, but maybe I'll give him a few more weeks to get some traction.

Tonight Phil took a few calls. One was from Tennessee, and Phil asked him what station he was listening to. The caller named some FM station and Phil chatted with him for a few minutes (sounds like the caller had never heard Phil's old show). The second call was from Portland. The guy said he was glad to have Phil back on and Phil asked him what station he was on in Portland. None yet, the caller said, he was listening via the web. Phil was polite but ended that call almost immediately. Maybe didn't want to entertain any discussion about the past or character voices - I'll be he knew that was coming.

Andrew

PH may be like Orson Welles. Build a success then believe that your talent is so great, that you can be equally successful doing something different.

The character show was unique though tiresome at times. To just do straight talk offering his opinions on various topics will be more of what everyone else does.

I think Phil is more like Michael Jordan. An average baseball player but a great basketball player. Phil's talent is comedy. It doesn't have to be character voices necessarily but straight talk doesn't seem to be his forte. Others do it better.

Andrew

> The guy said he was glad to have Phil back on and
> Phil asked him what station he was on in Portland.

This suggests that even Phil doesn't know who is carrying his program. This seems pretty lame. I noted that Phil's show is carried by a subdivision of the Talk Radio Networks called "TRN-FM." Does this mean that they only offer the program to FM stations? If so, good luck getting the show on in Portland or other major markets (sarcasm intended)!

Phil's affiliate list:

San Francisco, CA KTRB 860 AM 10:00pm-1:00am
Miami, FL WINZ 940 AM 3:00-4:00am
Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN KTLK 100.3 FM 12:00-3:00pm
Denver, CO KRCN 1060 AM 11:00pm-2:00am
Las Vegas, NV KDWN 720AM 11:00pm-2:00am
Nashville, TN WWTN 99.7 FM 12:00-3:00am
Tucson, AZ KCUB 1290 AM 10:00pm-1:00am
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE KKAR 1290 AM 12:00-3:00am
El Paso, TX KROD 600 AM 12:00-2:00am
Bakersfield, CA KGEO 1230 AM 11:00pm-1:00am
Colorado Springs, CO KKKK 1580 AM 11:00pm-2:00am
Lafayette, LA KVOL 1330 AM 12:00-1:00am
Augusta, GA WNRR 1230 AM 1:00-4:00am
Lansing, MI WJIM 1240 AM 1:00-4:00am
Reno, NV KKFT 99.1 FM 10:00pm-1:00am
Palm Springs, CA KPSI 920 AM 10:00pm-1:00am
Topeka, KS WIBW 580 AM 12:00-3:00am
Buena Vista, CO KVLE 1450 AM 11:00pm-2:00am
Vail, CO KSKE 610 AM 11:00pm-2:00am
Twin Falls, ID KTFI 1270 AM 11:00pm-2:00am

I guess anyone interested could pick him up on 720 KDWN from Portland.

Thanks for the affiliates' list, Dylan! I'll be listening to 720 tonight.

I don't think I'll be listening for a while - I managed to listen to only 5 minutes on show #2 online and it was just too dull to continue.

I did have an exchange with Phil, though, on his new blog,

http://thenewphilhendrieshow.blogspot.com/ .

As you may read there, Phil has turned nasty against his former fans (like me!) who would prefer he do comedy instead of, say, a straight talk show which is mostly Phil blathering on about his thoughts of the day. As I told him there, I hope he succeeds but I doubt I'll be listening much if ever.

Andrew

I'm listening to the new Phil Hendrie Show on KDWN. If it weren't for the familiar name, I would say that this is just another Glenn Beck/Rustie Humphries clone show. There are so many copycat shows on the air today that I hope Phil gets on the ball and does something creative to stand out soon!

I didn't bother listening to Phil's show tonight, but I've been reading his blog today. Unlike his show, his blog IS entertaining! Tuesday he had a real flame war with his fans. Today at least he started out with a sane explanation of why he has headed in this new direction, one that makes some sense. Basically, he doesn't want to have to worry about ownership rights with the syndicators. Getting the rights to the last shows from Clear Channel has been a huge pain. Plus, left unsaid is the fact that preparing and performing that show must have required a huge amount of energy and time, compared to a show where you can just show up and talk with no prep except having read the news. But, I think partly this is all a cop-out. There are certainly legal remedies to secure the rights to his shows, and he wouldn't have to do 3 bits a night M-F like he did back in the day.

I think all Phil's old fans want now is a COMEDY show, not a completely forgettable show you'll never want to listen to again. Oh, well, I hope he finds an audience for it. Won't be me most likely.

Andrew

I listened to about 1 1/2 hours of Hendrie on KDWN yesterday. My observations haven't changed from what I wrote above. In the first hour, the topic was immigration, and there were a few callers. The next hour was a potpourri of miscellaneous news items. This was just an extended monologue, as there were no callers in this segment. I don't know if this was intentional or if it was due to a lack of listenership.

I was not too impressed with the signal from KDWN. From my Hillsboro location, I was getting inteference from KFIR (Sweet Home, OR/184 watts). There were a few times that KDWN faded out, and KFIR's country music came in quite clearly. Both stations were too weak to be heard reliably without the aid of an outdoor antenna.

Maybe he's laying a foundation for something later. Heck, I don't know. It feels like I'm reaching on that one. But hey, he's never been easy to predict.

I've never been a Hendrie fan... I thought the shine wore off his humor after the 2nd segment.

After reading some of the exchanges on the blog I have only one thing to say... what an asshole. He's obviously full enough of himself to believe that it's about *HIM*, not his listeners.

Oh well, he'll be gone soon enough.

Hendrie's old show rocked not because of the caller bits but because of his characters. Sure, the caller segments varied in quality wildly, hit or miss, but the setups were often genius, just because of the characters. You know one character or another's idiosyncrasies - what will he say or do next?

Some pretty low quality shows survive on talk radio, and TRN seems to have a network of conservative stations, into which Phil might fit right in. He might well have a modestly successful show at 10p-1a weeknights, but unless he starts to make it funny, I won't be listening.

Andrew

Yes, Hendrie will survive because he's a talk-radio pro who knows how to control a show's tempo and topics. Just like the rest of TRN's third-rate stable, he'll easily fill three hours a night with generic middle-aged white male angst (his own and his callers'). It's just too bad that's all he apparently aspires to do from now on. He's so much more talented than that.

Phil Hendrie get a new affiliate on July 9th with the launching of 99.1 "The Man" KTPD Mountain Home, Idaho. The station puts out 73KW power. In addition "The Man" will carry Tom Leykis, Don & Mike and Adam Carolla.
[From Idaho Radio News]

He's doing voices tonight!

Not taking any callers, but he's doing voices!

The question is, was he FUNNY? I'm less concerned about Phil doing voices than about him doing something comic. I have no interest in his rambling commentaries about issues of the day.

Were they bits or just some random voices thrown into his commentary?

I stopped listening to Phil after about 5 minutes into Tuesday's show. I'll give him another whirl in a week or two perhaps.

Andrew

They were bits, with a bit of a political slant, but they were funny.

At least, I thought so.

The bits would have fit in on his old show.

I got an MP3 of the Friday's show and listened to parts of it. Yeah, it is a step back toward the past. I didn't hear any character last names, leading me to believe (if you believe Phil's blog and believe it's not a hoax) that he still doesn't have the rights to use the character names from his old show on the air. But who knows?

I hope Phil continues in this direction or at least produces a consistently funny show - then I'll listen regularly.

Andrew

Phil is interviewing Steve Bozell at the moment.

He thinks that the Y2K bug might still be the end of the world.

What's the latest? Anyone still listening to the NEW Phil Hendrie Show? (I'll admit I'm not.)

On a side note, just turned into Leykis and I do not know exactly what the topic is (sounds like it's "coming out" with one's homosexuality) but I caught the tail end of this guy's call where I swore he referred to himself as a "gay man and a gay journalist", which many will know is one of Phil's characters (Doug Dannger). After the call, Tom gave a half-laugh and said he suspected that call was a "bit".

(I know Phil used to sling mud at "combover boy" (Leykis) on the air but I can't remember what, if anything, Tom said used to say back.)

This from R&R:

Hendrie's Return Is 'Astounding Success'

By Kevin Carter

The launching of Talk Radio Network-FM's "The Phil Hendrie Show" has been an "astounding success," according to TRN-FM CEO Mark Masters. Since his launch just two weeks ago, over 40 markets have added Phil Hendrie to their late-evening lineup, including some of the top radio markets across the U.S.


"The Phil Hendrie Show" has been cleared in over 40 markets, including KTRB-AM/San Francisco, WINZ-AM/Miami, KTLK-FM/Minneapolis, KFMB-AM/San Diego, WHNZ-AM/Tampa, KRCN-AM/Denver, WWTN-FM/Nashville, KDWN-AM/Las Vegas and a bunch more.

The_conversation writes:
What's the latest? Anyone still listening to the NEW Phil Hendrie Show? (I'll admit I'm not.)

I listened to parts of the first few nights, but it seems Phil is doing a "bash the liberals" type of show now more than a pure comedy show. I'll tune in again someday and see if he's funny again but I'm not holding out hope.


On a side note, just turned into Leykis and I do not know exactly what the topic is (sounds like it's "coming out" with one's homosexuality) but I caught the tail end of this guy's call where I swore he referred to himself as a "gay man and a gay journalist", which many will know is one of Phil's characters (Doug Dannger). After the call, Tom gave a half-laugh and said he suspected that call was a "bit".

A re-run. I heard this on Phil's own site about a month ago. It's still there on PhilHendrieShow.com with the label "Combover Boy Gets Cranked."

(I know Phil used to sling mud at "combover boy" (Leykis) on the air but I can't remember what, if anything, Tom said used to say back.)

More than sling mud, Phil created a "Comboverboy" character and did several bits with him. A couple of them were pretty funny - I have copies of a few of them. They seem to emphasize the fact either that Leykis is somehow gay or that his wives all left him for women.

Andrew

All Access reports a new Phil Hendrie affiliate. Bonneville Talk KTAR-FM Phoenix.

Hendrie bashing leftists?

How do I subscribe?

Herb

Phil Hendrie Returns in 3 Weeks.......

With a tee shirt that says I heart radio and a souvenir sombrero.

Phil comes to KPAM from 10PM to 1AM July 30th.
Neil Boortz will be on from 8PM to 10PM
Lary Elder is being dropped by his syndicator.

Does that mean Tom Parker will be live and local from 1 AM to 4 AM????

And can there be the slightest question now that they are doing everything they can to make him quit and avoid paying off his contract? What a bunch of total jerks. I wonder if Bob Miller can even look him in the eyes?

"...Phil comes to KPAM from 10PM to 1AM July 30th.."

Serious? THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE PHIL ON KPAM!

Herb

Did anyone else catch the first Portland broadcast? Mostly rambling about politics and pop culture, but he did do a fairly decent bit with Bob Greene and his "hair system" (don't you dare call it a toupee). There was also a little back-and-forth with Bud. Altogether not as bad as I feared, but still not up to par with his earlier work.

I listened to Phil for his first few shows back but haven't listened since. Maybe I'll give him another listen soon, but if it's just more bashing of liberals, no thanks. If I wanted that, I'd just listen to Hannity or Rush who can do it better. Phil should stick to comedy.

The running gag about Bob Greene and his "hair system" is pretty funny, though.

Andrew

Does that mean Tom Parker will be live and local from 1 AM to 4 AM????
Yup, exactly. It's on the schedule page on their website.

I listened to Phil last night on KPAM for most of the show (something I am usually not up late enough to do, in any case). While Phil is doing bits again, he's apparently not doing them with CALLERS. I have no problem with this; some of Phil's best past bits were without callers. But, Phil's show really seems to have lost its edge. He's trying too hard to do political/topical parody. So far, it's just not working.

Phil's targets nowadays seem to be mostly liberals. But I did hear him do a bit (with Jay Santos) trying to target Republican Ted Stevens, which unfortunately wasn't funny at all. In fact it was sad to hear Santos, a great past character in some classic bits, fall so flat.

Otherwise, Phil rambling on about current events and politics isn't all that interesting to me. But, if his new show continues to gain stations and catch on, good for him, at least we have most of the classic bits from his old show.

Andrew

One thing I will grant Phil is that he really does have the streak of irreverence and iconoclasm that virtually every conservative talk-show host claims to have but doesn't. Here's Phil the other night on the latest Republican sex scandal: "If you're going to preach that family values jazz, you'd better be squeaky clean, baby! And I mean SQUEAKY!" I can't imagine Neal Boortz, Larry Elder, Glenn Beck or anyone else among talk radio's legion of self-styled "independent conservatives" and "libertarians" saying anything so caustic and snarky about a high-ranking Republican (unless, of course, the topic is illegal immigration).

Phil occasionally has an interesting take on an issue, that's true, but he gets in trouble when he takes a self-righteous, condescending "I'm better informed than you are" attitude towards things, and then who wants to listen?

I listened to his show again last night. His first bit with Clara Bingham was actually amusing - a hint at least of the "old Phil." The next bit was with some new character I'd never heard of, who was completely dull and boring (something to do with chimpanzees). So I guess he's still hit and miss with the bits. Oh, well, maybe he'll keep improving as time goes on.

Then again, I think he made a mistake Wednesday night by not devoting all three hours to the Minneapolis bridge collapse. It's the kind of thing people wanted to talk about, even though information at that late hour was pretty sketchy. Who else at that hour was even available nationwide to have an interactive chat about it? Phil used to do that on the old show: blow off his bits when there was some big breaking news to talk about.

Andrew

Indeed, Phil is (partly) back to his bits again, which, um, I think he swore he wouldn't be doing ever again. But I am not complaining, even though they do not seem (as a whole) as sharp and compelling as they used to be--owing in part (as noted previously) that he does not appear to be taking real calls from unsuspecting listeners. I am still not a big fan of his commentary and stream-of-consciousness monologues, but I will have to say I am tuning in with some frequency now..

This reminds me of Herb Alpert saying he didn't like the music of The Tijuana Brass! In 1966, they gave him 4 simultaneous top 10 albums!

I cannot speak to the comparison to Mr. Alpert and his Brass band, but the "previous" Phil Hendrie Show is one of the most brilliant "talk programs" I have ever heard, so anything short of that, eg a half-baked resurrection, is going to carry some degree of disappointment.

Phil Hendrie is responsible for creating two Urban Legends.

A California man is suing CBS, Janet Jackson, and Justin Timberlake over the breast-baring incident during halftime at Super Bowl XXXVIII.

HTTP://WWW.SNOPES.COM/POLITICS/SATIRE/JJACKSON.ASP

A Corona, California, man sued Secretary of Homeland SecurityTom Ridge for emotional distress after duct-taping his "privates."

HTTP://WWW.SNOPES.COM/POLITICS/SATIRE/BOSELL.ASP

phils show is funny as usual. just wish he would take calls. that was the funniest part.