Re: Touching base with John Records Landecker

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: I don't like his bad schtick on his Into The 70s show but this is a good interview. : : Landecker spinning in NWI : : 40 years in radio biz, legend starts talk show in Michigan City, enjoys doing what he calls 'a really good show' : : July 3, 2009 : : LEWIS LAZARE | Chicago Sun-Times Media & Marketing columnist : : : : There aren't many left, but John Records Landecker qualifies as a genuine legend in the radio industry. His newest venture -- co-host of an afternoon drive talk show on tiny WIMS-AM (1420) in Michigan City, Ind. -- may not be high-profile, but it has given Landecker a chance to reconnect with his roots in radio and help him rediscover why he remains in a business he still loves 40 years on. : : We posed five questions to Landecker about his new job and his view of the radio business: : : : : 1. You've been living in northwest Indiana for six years. Did you feel the urge to remove yourself from the big city hubbub? : : I didn't move to Indiana to escape the big city. The original reason was to get some space for my dogs to run without a leash. I had the house here and one in Chicago. Over time there was job loss and divorce, and here I am. : : : : 2. You've had some very high-profile jobs in radio at big radio stations. What appealed to you the most about taking on a gig as co-host of a small-town radio talk show. : : I still do a talk show on WLS-AM (890) on Saturdays, and I have a nationally syndicated music show called "Into the '70s" that airs Sunday on WLS-FM (94.7) from 7 p.m. to midnight. Radio is what I do. WIMS offers the chance to re-connect with my inner radio child. In its purest form, this is what it's all about. WIMS has a studio on 10 acres underneath the transmitter lights. "Live and local" if you will. My commute is 10 minutes. Parking is free. The hours are fantastic, and guess what? It's a really good show. This is very much like the first station I worked for. Those studios were across the road from a dairy farm. I would also add that my grandfather, William J. Records, lived on a farm in Indiana. : : : : 3. Do you and your WIMS co-host Paula Griffin have much in common, and how tough is it to establish on-air chemistry with someone with whom you've never worked? : : How about that Paula Griffin! Chemistry: you have it or you don't. We do. : : : : 4. Are you surprised that you've transitioned from being a music jock to more of a radio talker, and what prompted you to make the switch? : : I made the transition to talk radio because I had to. Music radio is music. The personality aspect has been pretty much confined to morning shows. Mary June Rose, who was the program director at WGN-AM (720), contacted me about giving talk a try. Kipper McGee invited me back to WLS. Jon Quick, who ran WIBC-FM (93.1) in Indianapolis, had me fill in. The very first person to mention "talk" to me was Turi Ryder, a former WLS jock who has been doing talk radio for a long time. Turi and I still work together. You can check that out at www.shebopsproductions.com. WIMS owner Ric Federighi is the first person to give me a five-day-a-week talk show. The fire still burns, and I am going to stick as many irons into it as I can. : : : : 5. You got started in radio some 40 years ago. What has changed the most about the business while you've been in it? : : The biggest change I have seen in radio is consolidation, and satisfaction for the stock holder taking priority over satisfaction for the listener. Lately I would say the Web and syndication. There is no reason that the show I do with Paula on WIMS could not be syndicated regionally or nationally right out of that studio on 10 acres. It's already international at Wimsradio.com. That's a beautiful thing.

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