Post by MikeHello all,
I was disappointed to hear (www.xmradio.com/lineup) that Sonic Theater
will soon be only heard weekdays.
While the weekend lineup (IMHO) is less appealing than the weekday
offerings, clearly no service is worse. It seems to me that shows
(Sherlock Holmes in particular) are repeating frequently and, now, the
the reduction in hours, it appearsXMdoesn't care much about Sonic
Theater listeners.
Sigh.
Mike
Hi Mike,
Yes, it is very stupid of them and very sad. They were right in the
middle of running my Sherlock Holmes series when Josephine Reed e-
mailed me that my show was being taken off the air! I do not take it
personally, but since Jo Reed replaced Steve Karesh as 163's PD,
things have rapidly gone downhill. They suddenly stopped playing my
promos, aired my shows out of order and mislabeled and all sorts of
mistakes were made. You will note that this is a trend against any
kind of radio theater across the entire radio landscape. MediaBay/
Radio Spirits are also going out of business... the nationally
syndicated "When Radio Was" has also been canceled, XM channel 164 is
going away in September, and Media Bay is going out of business and
selling of its assets. Also, Lodestone, which sold radio theater on
CD for many years, has also closed own.
Since this coming Sunday is my last show on XM, I have replaced the
next Holmes show with the newest (and mostly likely) last radio
theater I will ever produce, new stories using characters from OTR. I
am also going out of business because of this trend.
Feel free to complain to: ***@xmradio.com and
***@xmradio.com.
Best to you,
Joe Bev.
--
Release Date: July 25, 2007
XM RADIO CANCELS "THE COMEDY-O-RAMA HOUR".
FINAL SHOW THIS SUNDAY, SUNDAY, JULY 29TH, 8AM & 8PM.
(PRLEAP.COM) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Napanoch, NY - This Sunday, July
29th at 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, on XM Sonic Theater Channel 163, the
final Comedy-O-Rama Hour will present the first new "Fibber McGee and
Moly" and "Duffy's Tavern" since the 1950s.
The one-hour laugh-getter was recorded before a live audience in March
2007, with intention of recording an additional 25 new comedy and
drama scripts featuring classic OTR characters, including Jack Benny,
Fred Allen, "Our Miss Brooks" and "Gunsmoke" with celebrities in many
of the roles.
XM Satellite Radio has canceled The Comedy-O-Rama Hour, after four
seasons and more than 60 hours of new radio theater with celebrity
guests such as Al Franken, Lewis Black, Shelley Berman, Bob Edwards
and June Foray.
"XM basically had no idea what we were or how to promote us," says
Comedy-O-Rama's creator, Joe Bevilacqua. "The entire radio landscape
is completely filled with ephemera not meant to ever be
reheard."
For 35-years (since he was 12), Bevilacqua has been creating timeless
audio that can be reheard over and over and new truths are revealed.
His award-winning NPR Magazine work gets re-aired as "evergreen"
material and hailed as "driveway" moments.
Bevilacqua is looking for a new broadcast venue for the show. In the
meantime, listeners can visit an archive of past shows at: www.joebev.com.
DETAILS ABOUT THE COMEDY-O-RAMA FINALE:
FIBBER MCGEE AND MOLLY in "The House of Wax".
It's 1953 when Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve makes a less than
triumphant return to Wistful Vita to introduce Vincent Price at the
Wistful Vista Bijou premiere of the 3-D movie "The House of Wax".
Meanwhile, Fibber tries to save five cents by making his own 3-D
glasses.
DUFFY'S TAVERN: "If We All Talked Like Allen Jenkins"
Archie, Finnegan, Eddie, Miss Duffy and all the gang are back "where
the elite meet to eat" in this first new "Duffy's Tavern" outing since
1952. Archie tries to lure the Shriner's Convention to the tavern with
promises of big stars he can't deliver, not knowing the real Edward G.
Robinson and Allen Jenkins are hiding in the kitchen.
THE NEW OLD TIME RADIO HOUR was written, produced and directed by Joe
Bevilacqua and Lorie Kellogg, and was recorded before a live audience
at SUNY Dutchess in Poughkeepsie, New York on March 20, 2007. The hour
features sound effects, songs, and music by Paul Salomone and Joanne
Bierschenk.
-
Joe Bevilacqua
www.joebev.com
845-647-9475