• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

KLOS Afternoon Icon Geno Michelini Dead At 77

M

MadMan

Los Angeles radio is mourning the loss of Theodore Eugene Dunmire, best known on-air as Geno Michelini. Michelini was a key part of KLOS's history, known for his catchphrase “How Ya Doin?” and his “Bang The Drum” weekend kickoff.
 
MadMan said:
Los Angeles radio is mourning the loss of Theodore Eugene Dunmire, best known on-air as Geno Michelini. Michelini was a key part of KLOS's history, known for his catchphrase “How Ya Doin?” and his “Bang The Drum” weekend kickoff.
Click to expand...
For the last several years I have had to deal with the (sometimes very untimely) passing of my rock heroes and now it seems to have spread to my favorite rock DJs as well. Just a few months ago, we lost Jim Ladd, and before that Dusty Street, and now Geno Michelini. Geno was a core part of the 80's line-up at KLOS when it was at its creative (and I am guessing, ratings) peak.

We recently had an "underestimated radio station" thread and if we had an "underestimated DJ" thread, Geno would be one of my nominations. Geno brought it with every shift. Said what he wanted to say (which frequenly got him in trouble), but mostly wanted his show to be (what radio should be), FUN! He brought his own very acute sense of humor, but also spotlighted local comedians and established ones too, especially George Carlin, who probably most reflected the somewhat alternative hippy (but by the mid-80s, pretty mainstream) nature of the station with the "5:00 funnies", where he played about five minutes of a comedian's routine before getting back to the music. There were comedy bits all through the show too. On Geno's show, the comic bits and the music seamlessly flowed together. That is never an accident, that is excellent DJ'ing. And the comedy didn't even stop when Geno was on vacation. One time, Joe Walsh of the James Gang and Eagles fame (and a very funny guy in his own right) sat in for Geno one week and for the whole week played the "Where in the World Is Geno Michelini" gag with callers calling up and making funny stories about Geno "sightings". It was quite the bit (yeah, you probably had to be there).

Another invention of his of course was the "Bang the Drum" weekend kickoff where, at about 4:20 on Friday afternoons, he would play Todd Rundgren's "Bang the Drum", the offcial song of the kick-off, and then about another 20 minutes of party music including oldies and Jimmy Buffett records that were not part of the otherwise very tight KLOS playlist. It was total appointment listening. In fact, it was so good, that Scott Shannon's Pirate Radio, which prided itself as being like no other station anywhere (mostly true) absolutely copied the Weekend Kickoff theme with very similar music at about the same time on Fridays, directly going for the KLOS audience. As they say Geno, the sincerest form of flattery...

I don't know why Geno never got another gig as good as the KLOS one, but he certainly deserved it. I have missed his show more than I ever thought I would. Great Job Geno!!
 
Back
Top Bottom