Trial Balloon: December 10, 2008 Archive

Hello blog readers. Welcome to Radio Heartland.

I'm Dale Connelly, your host and author for a string of entries intended to give you a look behind the scenes at MPR's Morning Show and this new adventure called Radio Heartland. From there, I'll branch out to cover whatever interests me and appeals to you as we tumble into the future together as a group of linked explorers.

My professional biography is simple and surprisingly thin. I came directly to Minnesota Public Radio in 1976 after studying Radio and Television at Southern Illinois University.
I haven't left.

If you'd like to read more about my early years at MPR, you have too much spare time.

If you'd like to see a Morning Show timeline and hear audio from the past 25 years, help yourself.

Otherwise, let's forget all that and talk about the future.

Radio Heartland is an honest attempt to move the Morning Show's eclectic playlist and unique sensibility online. So many faithful listeners asked us to find a way to continue, we simply had to try something, and digital technology has made it possible to build a playlist and set it running so the program service can spin out 24/7 without a disc jockey in the studio. Producer Mike Pengra and I went into the library and started pulling discs by our favorite singer/songwriters, guitarists, string bands, jug bands, jazz bands, cowboys and crooners. Thousands of songs have been prepared. Friday, we'll hit the switch and hear how it sounds.

Expect moments of brilliance and horror.

But creating a jukebox isn't the goal, it's simply a place to begin.

I hope you'll have suggestions about what Radio Heartland can become.

The same goes for this blog. Every major new online effort is required to have a retinue of blogs - like an ocean liner coming into port surrounded by tugboats, or Snow White dancing through the forest with a cloud of dwarves.

This blog serves that purpose for Radio Heartland.

Rumor has it the name of the blog will be "Trial Balloon".

A trial balloon is an idea offered up specifically for the purpose of getting a reaction. Often, a trial balloon is "leaked" so the agency, politician or corporation testing the idea has deniability and can back away quickly if the notion falls flat.

So I'm not saying the blog definitely IS going to be called "Trial Balloon".

That's just what I've heard. Don't quote me on it. I don't have authority to speak on the topic. And the masthead up above with the big puffy bag of hot air?
That's not proof of anything, despite appearances.

Morning Show listeners planning to attend our final broadcast at the Fitz on December 11th are quite right to be concerned about what to expect in terms of crowds and access to the theater.
The answer: We don't know.
Doing a live, free show in the theater between 6 and 9 am is almost without precedent. The last time we tried it, 20 years ago, things went smoothly. People on their way to work stopped in for a cup of coffee and a few minutes of music and hi-jinks, and moved on.
We kept it relaxed and everybody seemed to relax along with us.

How will it go this time? That's up to you. As with any public performance, we hope you will silence your cell phone and not have loud conversations inside the hall. You are expected to come and go as you please, but we hope in the process you will be respectful of the musicians and gentle with your fellow listeners. Is that too much to ask? I don't think so. The Morning Show audience is a sympathetic and congenial group. The messages that have come in are heartbreaking and hilarious and beautiful.

This one, from Lydia DeNuccio, describes what went on behind the scenes at home when her mother would make requests for Lydia and her sister Laura: "She would usually start months in advance, trying to decide what song to request for mine and my sister's birthdays. It couldn't be just any song- Oh no! It had to be something perfectly pertaining to our lives at that moment. I have such funny memories of her waking up extra early to catch the announcements. She would sit at the table or computer working and listening for the announcement. Then my sister or I would hear her yell "There it is!!!" and she would rush to the stereo to hit record. Of course there were always a few false alarms- I think she even may have gotten me out to the shower a couple times."

And this, from Jane in Jordan, MN: "I am still in shock and bereft that you're leaving my world. I work with EB/D kids and played the Morning Show to expose them to other types of music. One even liked bagpipes! The best was a boy that would waltz with me to 'Waltzing with Bears'."

There was a time when we would do a "Merman Alert" whenever we played something by the Broadway belter Ethel Merman. We modeled it after a tornado warning and it became an audience favorite. Ruthann wrote from Anoka to tell us how that went over at her house: "I remember... my four year old daughter running to me saying with great alarm 'There's an Ethel Merman alert on the radio!!! What's an Ethel Merman?'"

I know it's not part of the state achievement standards, but I would be proud if we could say every Minnesota high school graduate has at least a passing familiarity with Ethel Merman. Whether your response tips towards worship or revulsion is a personal matter, but when faced with a Merman, No Child Should Draw A Blank.

So ... what to expect? A whole lot of patient, thoughtful, appreciative people - our people - the "Morning Show" crowd. There will be coffee at the theater and a church basement breakfast a half block away at St. Paul's Central Presbyterian. And lots of music, with a farewell bow from some of the long-time characters whose words I have written and whose personalities Jim Ed has brought to life over the years.

Here's a tentative rundown of how the morning is supposed to go. It's amusing to see how earnestly we plan to follow a plan, understanding that the whole structure of the thing could be abandoned by 6:10.
It's that kind of show.

6:04
Connie Evingson & Dan Chouinard

6:13
B. Marty Barry

6:17
The Jerry Rau Band

6:26
A Message from Our Founder

6:30
Ann Reed

6:39
Sherpa

6:43
SPORTS

6:46
Dan Newton

6:54
Bubby Spamden

7:00
The Brass Kings

7:09
Tony Bennett (not the REAL one)

7:13
Prudence Johnson & Dan Chouinard

7:22
Bowserbed

7:26
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman

7:29
Greg Brown

7:35
Congressman Beechly

7:39
SPORTS

7:42
Neal & Leandra

7:50
Captain Billy

7:54
Dan Chouinard

8:00
The Steeles

8:09
Nephew Thomas

8:13
Peter Mayer

8:22
Genway

8:26
Peter Ostroushko

8:35
Bart the Bear

8:39
SPORTS

8:41
Dan Chouinard

8:45
Bud Buck

8:51
Neal and Leandra

8:55
Greg Brown