"This is the Radio Clash on Pirate Satellite..."....The Clash........My Crash!

I hope that title got your toe tapping a bit. I love that song by Joe Strummer and the boys. But sadly it was also when they started to edge towards the mainstream and away from the politically fueled anthems that made them the force they were in the early to mid 70's. I can relate to the song and it's significance to the band. At that time pirate radio was huge in Europe as enterprising "stations" set up anywhere they could, including the middle of the ocean, to be free from the restrictions of censorship that the Motherland was imposing on their musical content.

Today I began "Every Day is a Gift NOW!, the radio brother of this book. It was a smashing bowl of "uh's," "uhm's," and dead air. I learned a lot from the experience about the world of talk radio and myself. I am glad I did it. That is why I took the chance and made the leap into something new. I'm also glad that it didn't go swimmingly because it showed that it is easier to sit in front of a keyboard and gather my thoughts as I put them to paper or cyber print. Dead air doesn't play well on radio. It also showed me that the same amount of preparation that I put into developing a character for a film or commercial part has to be done for radio. I can't ad lib everything.

The two most important things it taught it me was that "it's not as easy as it look," and that falling on your ass can be the best thing for you sometimes. I have done radio and newspaper interviews about my "Story" before and have been a DJ on a 50, 000 watt radio station when I was 21. You can "hem and haw" during a newspaper interview and the reporter omits those leaving behind a nicely quaffed puff piece. When I had a radio show in mid-80's on WAUR I had music to drive the show and only needed bits of banter to sprinkle in between the Herman's Hermits and Buckingham's. During radio interviews there are breaks and half the time is covered by the host, so your 50 % covered right? The focus and direction is covered for you.

I don't know how many times I've sat and watched athletes and young actors or entertainers give an interview filled with "um's," "ya' knows," "uh's," and other silly talk and thought. 'Boy, you'd think these kids could learn to talk and think of something more intelligent to say.' Open mouth insert microphone here Tommy boy! The only thing that I didn't do at the end of the show was thank God for giving me the strength to win the game. I always find that fascinating in post game interviews. Like God has time to take out of His extremely busy day to pick an over and under in a football or basketball game.

I thought my "gift of gab" and my prior radio experience, combined with my knowledge of my own story would make doing my first talk show a huge success automatically. It didn't and doesn't work that way. God sent me a wonderful message today. Be prepared at all times. Don't take yourself so serious kid and have a plan B & C if plan A isn't going as you would like it to. He also humbled me a bit, a good thing for all of us from time to time.

I will be more prepared for my next show. No, I am not giving it up. It wasn't a catastrophe. It was still genuine and heartfelt. It was still me with the right motive and message. I just need to game plan better. I am looking for a sponsor of the program. I don't make a dime. It goes to Blogtalkradio. The cost is $360 for the entire year. It includes banners and impressions and lots of mentions by me. It will allow me to have up to 5, 2 hour shows per week, toll free numbers and up to 50 callers on line at once. I can't afford to upgrade the show. What I like most about the package is that it will allow me to pre-record shows and upload them to a schedule so they can be played at a predetermined time as to not interfere with the jobs I am soon to be getting.

When I was getting back into comedy and wrestling with whether I was going to include my addiction and depression history as part of my back story, I was talking a lot to two of comedy's big hitters, Tom Dreesen and David Brenner. Mr. Dreesen said, "Show them your pain," a piece of advice given to him by Carl Reiner. David Brenner told me that, "A groan is just as important as a laugh. Why? because it's a reaction." Both men have been very gracious to me and I am thankful for their support.

Today I definitely showed some pain and felt some. There were some groans on my side of the microphone and your side of the Internet dial. That's okay though. If everything went smooth all the time I would freak out. I learn more from pain and adversity than success. Today was a bump in the road. Now we get back up, realize all is well and continue on from here. Thanks for the support. I will have a new show scheduled by Wednesday. Talking about my struggles and the great city of Chicago is going to be fun. I can talk about walking some of the cleanest streets in America and sleeping on a few of them as well. God Bless! If you missed the show go to www.blogtalkradio.com/tommyconnolly The show is archived there. Everyday is a Gift! Be well!