Mr. Media Interviews by Bob Andelman

Today's Guest: Loren Weisman, author, The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business: The 'Who, What, When, Where, Why & How of the Steps That Musicians & Bands Have to Take to Succeed in Music   Mr. Media is recorded live before a studio audience of everyone from “American Idol” finalist Michael Lynche to rockers Johnny Zoom Cheerlead Squad and death metal pioneers Deicide… in the new new media capitol of the world… St. Petersburg, Florida! Order Loren Weisman's book, The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Early in my career, I was the pop music critic for, respectfully, the St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune. In that role, I had frequent contact with up-and-coming local bands that always believed in their heart of hearts that they would be The Next Big Thing. A few of them, such as Savatage, the Johnny G. Lyon Band, The Headlights and the Bobby Friss Band even achieved a modicum of commercial and regional success. LOREN WEISMAN AUDIO EXCERPT: "Prince allowed all of his contracts to expire and created his own digital kingdom."  But the thing that drove me crazy about almost all of them was one in the same: they knew and understood bupkis about the business they were in. They made horrendous deals with managers, nightclubs, promoters and record labels. They put no effort into self-promotion, assuming that if they played great in their garages and warehouses, the world would know about them and beat a path to their door. Music producer Loren Weisman, author of 'The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business' I’d hear about this because many would complain when their appearances at local clubs or in concert weren’t publicized in the paper. I’d ask, “Did you send in a press release or announcement?” “No,” came the standard reply. “Everybody knows all about us!” If “everybody” included Mom, Dad and the stoner chicks down the block, maybe so. But the rest of us didn’t know squat about them. So when Loren Weisman’s new book, The Artist’s Guide to Success in The Music Business, recently crossed my desk, it was an easy “Yes” to having Loren on the show. Loren Weisman Website • Twitter • Facebook • LinkedIn • MySpace • YouTube • Pinterest • Google+ • ReverbNation • SoundCloud • Order The Artist's Guide to Success in the Music Business from Amazon.com Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Karen Dunlap, president, The Poynter Institute President Obama Election 2008: A Collection of Newspaper Front Pages Selected by the Poynter Institute. Order your copy now by clicking on the book cover above! What a crazy, crazy world. When I invited today’s guest, Karen Dunlap, president of the Poynter Institute, to be a guest on the show today, it was ostensibly to discuss Poynter’s upcoming collection of newspaper front pages titled President Obama: Election 2009. And we’re still going to do that. But then everything got turned upside-down. Sunday night rumors of Tribune Company—owner of everything from the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel and even the Chaicago Cubs—declaring bankruptcy became reality on Monday morning. Then the august New York Times revealed it was exploring mortgaging its new headquarters tower in Manhattan to sustain itself through one of the worst newspaper advertising slumps in history. Oh, and then this morning, Alaska residents discovered they no long had the most ridiculed governor in the nation as Americans learned how allegedly and nakedly corrupt was the governor of Illinois. Why is Gov. Rod Blagojevich relevant to a discussion of journalism topics? In all the other headlines, you might have missed reading the Blagojevich allegation of pressuring the owner of the Chicago Tribune “to fire a critical editorial writer.” And it’s only Wednesday, folks! Anyway, Karen Dunlap is a delightful woman who I’ve known for many years, back to the days when she was a college journalism professor. She is a trailblazer in journalism education circles and just a smart, savvy person to know. Finally, in the interest of full disclosure, I have done freelance writing and editing assignment over the last several years, most of which you can find online at poynter.org. The Millionaire's Convenient Arrangementby Jane Peden. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Peter Golenbock, sportswriter, 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel Order '7: The Mickey Mantle Novel' by Peter Golenbock, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above! Today, I am sitting in the St. Petersburg, Florida, dining room of popular sports writer, Peter Golenbock. Peter, who’s written many books about and with members of the New York Yankees, including: Dynasty; The Bronx Zoo, which he wrote with Sparky Lyle; Balls, written with Craig Nettles; Guidry, with Ron Guidry; Number One, written with Billy Martin; and Wild, High, and Tight, written about Billy Martin. He also co-wrote Idiot with then-Boston Red Sox player Johnny Damon; Bats, with former Mets manager Davey Johnson; Thunder and Lightning, with hockey all-star Phil Esposito; and several racing books, including NASCAR Confidential and American Zoom. You can see an entire list of Golenbock’s books at his Web site, www.GolenbockBooks.com. He has also started writing a blog at http://petergolenbock.blogspot.com/. Despite his impeccable credentials, Golenbock recently found himself in the news on the heels of a book he did not write, O. J. Simpson’s quasi-confessional, If I Did It. By coincidence. Golenbock’s latest book, 7: The Mickey Mantle Novel, a story that takes liberties with the real life of his old friend and former Bronx bomber/slugger, Mickey Mantle, was also due to be put out by Simpson’s publisher, Judith Regan. Here’s an excerpt from the book that appeared in Publisher’s Weekly - it describes a fictional encounter between Mantle and actress Marilyn Monroe: “Mickey enters her, going in nice and easy. The look on his face changes from excitement and pleasure to surprise and then disappointment. He waits for the yelling and screaming, waits for her to tell him how good it was, waits for an ‘ooh’ or an ‘ahh,’ any reaction at all, but no. While he works away at it, Marilyn just lies there staring at him with cold, accusing eyes.” In the storm that followed cancellation of Simpson’s book and Regan’s firing, Golenbock’s book was cancelled, too. But Golenbock’s book didn’t stay cancelled for long. It will be published on April 3, 2007, by Lions Press. I have asked Peter, who has been an acquaintance for many years, to join us today and talk about his controversial new book and his long career. Peter Golenbock Website • Wikipedia • Twitter • Facebook • Order George from Amazon.com Tampa Bay Times calls Stadium For Rent (Second Edition) "Notable" for 2015 baseball season! Introduction by Peter Golenbock! Order 'Stadium For Rent: Tampa Bay's Quest for Major League Baseball' by Bob Andelman, now available in an expanded, updated and illustrated 456-page special edition, available from Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Today's Guest: Alex Ferrari, indie film director, Red Princess Blues, Broken Red Princess Blues by Alex Ferrari   Alex Ferrari hasn’t received the break he deserves yet from Hollywood so he continues to make his own luck. The independent filmmaker, who was one of my very first guests on Mr. Media Radio back in 2007 to promote his short horror story, Brokenis back today for the second time to talk about Red Princess Blues. ALEX FERRARI audio excerpt: "Apple's App Store is mysterious. They will reject something for no reason and they will accept something for new reason. Hopefully it's a new distribution method for filmmakers."  Last time he was here, Alex had produced a short animated subject with the help of actress Paula Garces—currently appearing on SyFy’s “Warehouse 13” and all three Harold & Kumar movies—who voiced the lead character. The cartoon was intended as a proof of concept for a full feature Red Princess Blues. Today, he’s here to talk about a left-turn he has taken with Blues—which you can download right this minute as an iPhone app. Alex Ferrari Red Princess Blues Website • Facebook • MySpace • Twitter • YouTube  • Numb Robot     Alex Ferrari Website • Facebook • Numb Robot website • Ferrari Olive Oil • Vimeo • YouTube • Order Lipstick & Bullets from Amazon.com Kicking Through the Ashes: My Life As A Stand-up in the 1980s Comedy Boom by Ritch Shydner. Order your copy today by clicking on the book cover above!     The Party Authority in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland!

Juliette Powell wants to hook you up. Not for sex—she wants you to get busy with something much more long-lasting and rewarding: running a successful business with social networking. Her new book, 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking, is a quick useful read for anyone afraid of a world gone social networking crazy. It is a bit of a religion, but Powell does wonders for demystifying the cult of online connections.

I’m not superstitious—to the best of my knowledge—but here’s an assignment I would never accept: to report a story from the Bermuda Triangle. But Good Morning America anchor and weather dude Sam Champion did exactly that this morning and lived to tell about it. Still, it won’t surprise me if we have trouble with his phone line. Champion’s report was part of GMA’s three-day series “In Search of the Truth” about myths and legends such as the Bermuda Triangle, Loch Ness Monster and vampires.

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the popular series of novels relating the Botswana-based adventures of Precious Ramotswe and The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. There are 10 books in the series. And this isn’t even McCall Smith’s only series! He also writes: 44 Scotland Street; the "Isabel Dalhousie" novels and the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series. So it’s a good time to be Alexander McCall Smith.

From 2009: My guest is Brande Roderick—whom I’ve seen naked! Not just in my dreams, mind you, but in the pages of Playboy magazine, where she first came to national prominence. Brande is one of just a handful that linger in your mind and establish an identity. There’s something in her face—maybe it’s ambition, maybe determination. And I’m not the only one. Brande is one of the players in this season of “The Celebrity Apprentice,” Donald Trump’s annual festival of fawning and fables.

From 2009: Audiences first noticed Sam Jones III as Clark Kent’s best friend, Pete Ross, during the first three seasons of “Smallville.” He has since appeared in a number of movies, including Snipes, Zig Zag and Glory Road. More recently, Jones became part of the final group of medical students to go through Chicago’s County General Hospital on “ER.” His character was noteworthy because for 17 episodes he played Chaz, the younger brother of long time “ER” doc Greg Pratt, played by Mekhi Phif

You couldn’t fill a half-hour sitcom with every moment of screen time From 2009: Scott Krinsky’s character “Jeff Barnes” has earned in nearly two seasons of NBC’s “Chuck.” But you know what? That’s okay. Because every time Jeff is in the camera frame—almost always with his partner Lester, played by Vik Sahay—you have to watch him. And listen. And frankly, you probably have to listen again. Because what comes out of his mouth is always a head scratcher.