For three days a week that first semester in radio I plodded over to the station at a little before six in the morning to prepare some sort of newscast; on Wednesdays and Fridays I was allowed the sanctity of sleep and, in turn, had little knowledge of how those morning programs fared. I do recall hearing two girls doing a show Wednesday mornings, so maybe bored Bobbi Socks (or whatever her name was) on Tuesday set a precedent for some sort of female presence. “Jungle Jim” was one of the hosts on Fridays, who in turn filled in on a few Thursdays.
Thursdays were probably the best days for many reasons, among them that the week was nearing an end and Mike and James were on the air. These the two middle classmen weren't the flashiest or the funniest but did make the entire "radio thing" look as simplistic as possible. Unlike some of my previous encounters with morning show hosts, both were friendly and stopped by the newsroom to introduce themselves, ask if I had any questions, and sort of welcome me to the station. Which would have been nice had it been my first day.
One thing I noticed was how the two shared hosting duties of "The Mike and James show;" usually on other days the same person sat in the main studio behind the console and the other person was regulated to the secondary studio next door. While hardly trailblazers, Mike, the one who came off as more knowledgeable, often let James learn the ropes by taking the second-fiddle seat. Both also made efforts to include me occasionally in their dialogue, though I was often the inaudible "voice of reason, voice of news" that would come in later to "cease our fun at the top of the hour." There was one morning when the newsroom was locked, leaving me to prepare my newscast in the secondary studio, where I interacted with them a bit more than usual. All in all, it was a fun hour or so and part of me wished I could have stayed the entire three hours
Musically, Mike and James went for a sort of 80s alternative sound, music that wasn’t the topping the charts during the previous decade. There were songs from the 90s mixed in, of course, but usually songs by artists who had made a name for themselves during the 1980s – like the Pet Shop Boys. I’m not sure how the station ended up with the bright orange and weirdly textured CD case that housed their 1993 album, Very, but we did, albeit for a short time. I never saw it when I started working in the control room, but by then I know we had sold off some of our vaults at least once or twice. Mike and James made often use of the final track on the disc, a cover of the Village People’s Go West, as a sort of theme song, source of bed music, or even a joke – I don’t know.
I do know that the whole morning show concept had gone west, more so gone sour, by the end of the semester and Mike, Bandito, the Big Dog, and even me, had all moved on to other radio and television endeavors.
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Go West
(H. Belolo/C. Lowe/J. Morali/N. Tennant/V. Willis)
Pet Shop Boys
From the album Very
1993
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Together) We will go our way
(Together) We will leave someday
(Together) Your hand in my hands
(Together) We will make our plans
(Together) We will fly so high
(Together) Tell all our friends goodbye
(Together) We will start life new
(Together) This is what we'll do
(Go West) Life is peaceful there
(Go West) In the open air
(Go West) Where the skies are blue
(Go West) This is what we're gonna do
(Go West, this is what we're gonna do, Go West)
(Together) We will love the beach
(Together) We will learn and teach
(Together) Change our pace of life
(Together) We will work and strive
(I love you) I know you love me
(I want you) How could I disagree?
(So that's why) I make no protest
(When you say) You will do the rest
(Go West) Life is peaceful there
(Go West) In the open air
(Go West) Baby you and me
(Go West) This is our destiny (Aah)
(Go West) Sun in wintertime
(Go West) We will do just fine
(Go West) Where the skies are blue
(Go West, this is what we're gonna do)
There where the air is free
We'll be (We'll be) what we want to be (Aah aah aah aah)
Now if we make a stand (Aah)
We'll find (We'll find) our promised land (Aah)
(I know that) There are many ways
(To live there) In the sun or shade
(Together) We will find a place
(To settle) Where there's so much space
(Without rush) And the pace back east
(The hustling) Rustling just to feed
(I know I'm) Ready to leave too
(So that's what) We are gonna do
(What we're gonna do is
Go West) Life is peaceful there
(Go West) There in the open air
(Go West) Where the skies are blue
(Go West) This is what we're gonna do
(Life is peaceful there)
Go West (In the open air)
Go West (Baby, you and me)
Go West (This is our destiny)
Come on, come on, come on, come on
(Go West) Sun in wintertime
(Go West) We will feel just fine
(Go West) Where the skies are blue
(Go West) This is what we're gonna do
(Come on, come on, come on)
(Go West)
(Go West)
(Go, ooh, go, yeah)
(Go West)
(Go, ooh, go, yeah)
(Go West)
(Go, ooh, go, yeah)
(Go West)
(Go, ooh, go, yeah)
(Gimme a feelin')
(Gimme a feelin')
(Go West)
(Gimme a feelin')
(Gimme a feelin')
(Go West)
(Gimme a feelin')
(Gimme a feelin')
