FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Show Discussion => Topic started by: theylive716 on October 06, 2009, 01:19:22 AM
-
i'm a long-time listener and a devout FOT, and although i have thought about it many times, i've never quite gathered up the guts to call the show. even when i've had decent stories coinciding with the topic, i've chickened out. i know tom is a wonderful man, and i'm sure i wouldn't turf-out too horribly on the air... but still, i have the jitters. how did you guys get the courage to start calling up? any good stories or advice?
-
i'm a long-time listener and a devout FOT, and although i have thought about it many times, i've never quite gathered up the guts to call the show. even when i've had decent stories coinciding with the topic, i've chickened out. i know tom is a wonderful man, and i'm sure i wouldn't turf-out too horribly on the air... but still, i have the jitters. how did you guys get the courage to start calling up? any good stories or advice?
Do it! You might be great!
-
Now you have to do it! Just mention that you're the dude who posted on the board about being nervous.
It will be fun! I promise you!
Tom.
-
History in the making. You either stay in the shadows or get burned by the light. Just mention how great the labyrinth is and you'll be fine. ;)
-
History in the making. You either stay in the shadows or get burned by the light. Just mention how great the labyrinth is and you'll be fine. ;)
You can mention Labyrinth, but don't talk about David Bowie's package.
-
History in the making. You either stay in the shadows or get burned by the light. Just mention how great the labyrinth is and you'll be fine. ;)
You can mention Labyrinth, but don't talk about David Bowie's package.
Although if you do, you may later be designated as a supercaller.
-
I have to admit, as a cheapskate I've been put off by the prospect of the long distance bill. Can you get around that with Skype or something? If I am in New York on a Tuesday night I will call in.
That and I'm nervous about getting heave-ho'ed.
-
... getting heave-ho'ed.
It's fascinatingly disorienting.
-
Skype is not a good idea. It never sounds good. Pay the 2 bucks or whatever :)
-
... getting heave-ho'ed.
It's fascinatingly disorienting.
Yes! It's like fainting, or getting the vapors.
-
History in the making. You either stay in the shadows or get burned by the light. Just mention how great the labyrinth is and you'll be fine. ;)
You can mention Labyrinth, but don't talk about David Bowie's package.
Although if you do, you may later be designated as a supercaller.
Not my first call ;)
My first words on air were "I'M HERE I'M HERE I'M HERE" -- and were screamed -- because I went a bit retarded waiting on hold. I was a little too excited, I think.
-
Try your best to mention trucknutz at least once.
-
Concede that Tom has a wit.
-
I wasn't even heave-hoed once, the call just ended, and I was talking for like five, six seconds without knowing it was up. So I agree, very disorienting. But fun.
-
Prepare like Patton in Big Fan - write out your whole call and practice it while you're on hold.
-
Or better yet, just pre-tape it!
-
Maybe I make a soundboard of myself and use that?
'This Fredericks guy is blowin' up my spot!'
-
ew bouy... we'll see what happens :-[
TOM: "WFMU, you're on the air"
ME: "hi, this is eric from buffalo... (vomit)"
TOM: "...moving on"
-
I've a terrible fear of calling up and nightmare autopiloting myself to toilet talk and gomp-ville
-
The one time I called it was on an easy topic (Tom doing a List of ranking things which I think are the best for first timers to get in on the fun) and I was SUPER nervous, but Tom was very nice and you just have to realize you're just talking to somebody. I got Heave Ho'd and I was so excited that I could say I got heave ho'd to my friends who listened.
It's honestly, a very odd experience and I want to call in again some time but just never am free Tuesday nights! Just do it and see how it goes. Just have something to say and have a point to it!
-
Just remember, there's no need to be nervous (although I was). What one man can do, another can do.
-
I find that there are typically three things you MUST remember:
1. Geddy (Lee) - Bass
2. Alex (Lifeson) - Guitar
3. Neil (Peart) - Drums and percussion.
But then, I've only called once.
-
Pace up and down the room and hum the guitar riff to "Limelight" while you're on hold. I guarantee you'll be in the right headspace by the time you're on.
-
Unless something has changed since I last called, there is a burst of static when your call is put on the air, so if you hear one right before "FMU, you're on the air," YOU'RE ON. This will save any embarrassing "Is it me?" moments and you can plow right into your first call.
-
There hasn't been for me. I've pretty much always been uncertain.
-
I was terrified and ruined a pause/beat that Tom had setup to reinforce a point. I was scared but I did it! What one FoT can do, another can do!
-
I find that there are typically three things you MUST remember:
1. Geddy (Lee) - Bass
2. Alex (Lifeson) - Guitar
3. Neil (Peart) - Drums and percussion.
Maybe more appropriately, "All the world's indeed a stage and we are merely players. Performers and portrayers." and that thing about the guilded cage. .
-
I've been calling pretty regularly for a while now, and I still get so nervous I shake. And it just gets worse the longer I'm on hold. I know I'm just giving Mike and Tom fodder here. The next time I call, I'll be on hold so long that all I can do is shout "Pretty Show! Nice Man!"
-
Unless something has changed since I last called, there is a burst of static when your call is put on the air, so if you hear one right before "FMU, you're on the air," YOU'RE ON. This will save any embarrassing "Is it me?" moments and you can plow right into your first call.
You're right, MoS, there is a burst of static. I had previously assumed that was my poopin' cell phone.
-
I'd love to call in one of these days. Tuesdays are when I do the local comedy open mic, though, so it would be tough to swing it. Maybe I could call from ONSTAGE??? hmmmmm
-
It's been so long since I have called that I fear Tom has forgotten me. And now I finally have something to talk about, and he takes the rest of the month off. Timing is everything, and I got none.
-
Oh, come now, Dave. Of course, Tom hasn't forgotten you. Modesty is a virtue, but sometimes you take it to extremes, my friend.
-
Oh, come now, Dave. Of course, Tom hasn't forgotten you. Modesty is a virtue, but sometimes you take it to extremes, my friend.
Would Dave's false modesty qualify as cloying?
-
I'd love to call in one of these days. Tuesdays are when I do the local comedy open mic, though, so it would be tough to swing it. Maybe I could call from ONSTAGE??? hmmmmm
this guy's doing his own show
-
I've probably called about 20 times and I still shake like a chihuahua.
-
i tried to call in tuesday! (baby steps)
i could only listen live to the first half of the show. i waited for a decent spot to jump in, and when i finally did, i got busy signals til i had to leave :(
maybe i'll try calling the therese and mike show to got my feet wet... i'm still extremely nervous!!!
-
Called in twice. Mood both times: nervous/sleepy. Odd combo.
-
The last time I called, I wasn't nervous to speak of, because Tom had requested that someone from Maine phone in, so I knew I'd be welcome. The few other times, I've had to screw up my courage--something I'm obviously only rarely able to do, as my record attests.
-
The last time I called, I wasn't nervous to speak of, because Tom had requested that someone from Maine phone in, so I knew I'd be welcome. The few other times, I've had to screw up my courage--something I'm obviously only rarely able to do, as my record attests.
Did you call on that weird Saturday show Sarah?
-
Yes, I did. That one was easy, too, because Tom was desperate for callers and I was tipsy.
-
Yes, I did. That one was easy, too, because Tom was desperate for callers and I was tipsy.
I figured that was you! I wouldn't have called you out as tipsy though, so there you have it.
-
I'm very good at being drunk. It's a gift.
-
I tried calling in during the summer of '07. The first time I called I had no intention of being on air, i just called near the end of the show to tell Mike "good job" and asked that he pass my well wishes on to Tom.
Creepy, right?
Then a week or two later I called at the top of the show, no topic on the table, and rambled about a dude I saw at a bookstore buying the (then) new Harry Potter book who had greasy long hair, a disheveled beard and meticulously sculpted handlebar mustache. In my defense, there was a discussion of beards/mustaches on the previous week's show. Still, not a particularly interesting call. I got nervous (I was also at work at the time and probably should not have been trying to participate in a radio call in show) and mumbled "That's all I got" and was mercifully released. Technically, I wasn't GOMP'ed. I was strike 2 of 3. At the close of the show, Tom declared it the first L of 2007. I couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for the loss.
I thought about giving it another try a few weeks ago and call in to share a story about how I was once told that I looked like comedian Jake Johannsen. But I had to tell the person trying to identify who I looked like the name of the person I looked like because they didn't know Jake Johannsen by name and I did because I was/am a comedy nerd. They just kept saying, "That stand-up comedian...he's on the Comedy Channel...does a joke about cows or something." So I actually had to tell the person who they thought I looked like. Luckily, The Topic That Wouldn't Die died.
So I think it is fate that I enjoy the show, and all of you, from afar.
Creepy, right?
All that said, GO FOR IT!!!
-
i called therese and mike and thank god they were pretty gentle on me!!!
mike said "b.m." ...i almost lost it
-
Oh, come now, Dave. Of course, Tom hasn't forgotten you. Modesty is a virtue, but sometimes you take it to extremes, my friend.
Would Dave's false modesty qualify as cloying?
Overripe it may be; false it's not.
-
Oh, come now, Dave. Of course, Tom hasn't forgotten you. Modesty is a virtue, but sometimes you take it to extremes, my friend.
Would Dave's false modesty qualify as cloying?
Overripe it may be; false it's not.
dave, i always look forward to your calls.
-
Oh, come now, Dave. Of course, Tom hasn't forgotten you. Modesty is a virtue, but sometimes you take it to extremes, my friend.
Would Dave's false modesty qualify as cloying?
Overripe it may be; false it's not.
You did understand that I wasn't calling your modesty false, right? I believe your self-loathing is quite sincere; I'm just encouraging you to get over it.
-
While we are on this topic, I have a question: Did anyone listening to the Therese and Mike Show this week notice how utterly terrified I was (the call about my dad knocking over the little girl)? I swear, I am getting more and more scared each time I call. Not sure why. Could barely breathe. I think it is mostly when I am trying to tell a story that is longer than a few sentences. The silence on the other end is SCARY.
If you could not tell, then I think 8k mono is the best sound format in the world. It is like Auto Tune for fear.
-
Who does call screening for the Therese and Mike show? Or do they just fly by the seat of the pants and rely on the seven second delay to cover any rough spots?
-
The latter. Although Spoony offered to screen calls next week.
-
The latter. Although Spoony offered to screen calls next week.
I believe Frank From Whee-hawking did as well.