The Mischke FAQ
1. Just how many freakin' clips do
you have saved anyway?!
2. Do you have a library of complete Mischke
Broadcasts?
3. Why in the world have you saved all these
clips?
4. You've been saving this stuff for years,
why have you never posted anything until now?
5. What's with the crappy quality on some
of the bits?
6. Are there other freaks like you out there?
7. Do you personally know Mischke?
8. Does Mischke have any input in regards
to this website?
9. Have you ever called in to the Broadcast?
10. Has anyone ever sent you any stuff with
Vogel and Mischke yet?
1. Just how many freakin'
clips do you have saved anyway?!
Right now I have a total of about 350 individual
bits saved. --top--
2. Do you have a library of
complete
Mischke Broadcasts?
No. I have only preserved eight or nine
entire Mischke Broadcasts--ones that I thought were especially strong
throughout
the entire show. It is also nice to have these few Broadcasts saved
because they are great examples of how the flow of the show
works--something
you might not understand with individual clips. To archive every
broadcast would be great, but the guy is on five times a week and that
adds up to a LOT of megabytes and a LOT of time. --top--
3. Why in the world have you saved all these clips? It all started when I had a long drive in to work every day. It was a little over a half hour each way--if you had good weather. My driving hours did not coincide with the Mischke Broadcast and I was stuck with horrible radio. I realized it didn't have to be that way and started taping the Broadcast every night and then listening to it during my drive the next day. I even ended up buying a radio with an automatic timer so I wouldn't miss a Broadcast. Then it was just a matter of taking it one step further and archiving any clips I thought were extremely funny or poignant.
Plus, I just felt that someone should be preserving
those
incredible, extremely funny bits. The Mischke Broadcast is consistently
eleven times better than any other radio program I have heard. But,
there are occasions when Mischke really outdoes himself
and
I cringe at the thought that this stuff might only be heard once and
then
be gone forever. Radio is a strange medium. With television,
thousands of people record shows and stations archive everything for
reruns.
With radio, it is usually a one shot deal. A radio broadcast is aired
for the benefit of those in the present. Once it is over it is usually
gone for good. I can find 836,000 people who taped last Thursday's
Survivor episode. You might be able to find 2 people who taped last
Thursday's Mischke Broadcast. --top--
4. You've been saving this stuff for years, why have you never posted anything until now? When I first started archiving bits from the Broadcast, the World Wide Web was in its infancy. It wasn't until September of 2004 that everything sort of came together at once. My web space that came with my personal internet account was increased and enough people finally had high-speed internet access. Before then, I would have maybe had enough space for a couple of clips and it would have taken someone with a dial-up modem about half-an-hour to download a clip. It just really wasn't feasible to post all this stuff until now.
In fact, until just recently, I used to be able to post only ten to twelve clips total. I still did not have enough web space and would rotate clips every couple of weeks. Many people wrote to say they loved the site, but they didn't understand why I took clips down and put up new ones. They were fine with the new ones, but they wanted the old ones to remain up there too. I felt the same way, but I've got four kids and didn't want to cough up the extra dough to keep everything archived on the web.
Thankfully, a Mischke fan by the name of Lew, who runs
his own web server, generously offered to give me all the web space I
needed
for FREE!! As a result, I'm still able to post new clips every couple
of weeks, but I no longer have to take down the old ones. I figure
within a year or so, I should have my entire collection posted. --top--
5. What's with the crappy quality
on some of the bits?
I tape all these shows in my basement and sometimes
the reception is not so good--especially with my old radio. As a
result, some of the clips (especially older ones) have a lot of static
and miscellaneous noise. I figure people will be willing to put up
with it to hear some of the great old stuff. --top--
6. Are there other freaks like
you out there?
Yes, there are. I have no idea how many,
but you might be surprised. I know of at least a few others who save
individual Mischke bits and I personally know of a couple of people
that
archive entire broadcasts. When Mischke put together his best of
CD a few years ago, he used about half of his own clips that he had
saved
and he turned to myself and others for the other half. When Tom is
on vacation or out sick, the station will often air bits that
individuals
have saved. --top--
7. Do you personally know Mischke?
Yes--but only as a fan. He is probably
a little weirded out that I have saved all this stuff and put up a web
site. He is not much for attention. He reluctantly goes along
with it because he knows many people out there enjoy the
chance to hear some of his old stuff. --top--
8. Does Mischke have any input
in regards to this website?
Very little. Obviously, he is responsible
for all the material--but I use my own discretion with design and which
clips are posted. Mischke has made a few small requests (like no
pictures!) and we've been able to work things out. --top--
9. Have you ever called in to
the Broadcast?
Yes, but very rarely. I've probably made
a grand total of five calls and Tom has managed to humiliate me on most
of them. It's very rare that I can make it through a call before
he hangs up on me. I've even had trouble making it past his producer!
That's pretty sad when you realize that Tom is lucky if he gets one or
two calls on most nights. The producer often tells me that what I
have to say is too boring and hangs up on me before Tom even gets the
chance
to. Then I feel sad and upset. I call my Mom, but she says
something about listening to Dark Star and hangs up on me. At this
point I'm really down and put in a call to the suicide hotline. Well,
at least they didn't hang up on me, but I still don't think it's right
that they encouraged me to sit in my car with the garage door closed. --top--
10. Has anyone ever sent you any
stuff with Vogel and Mischke yet?
Yes, all the Phantom Caller clips (where Mischke
is calling in to the Vogel show) were donated by a fan. Even though
the quality is lacking on some of these calls, I love
them
because you can see the early evolution of what would later become the
Mischke Broadcast. As for actual shows where Don and Tom are working
together--no, I have received none of these shows yet. But, I do
know these shows must exist in someone's dusty ol' shoe
box
under their bed. It is just a matter if they ever stumble upon my
request and are willing to help out. Mischke himself has very little
saved from these days. He has promised if he ever hears of anyone
with a collection of Vogel/Mischke shows--he will steer them my way.
As soon as that happens, believe me, my next posting will be devoted to
sharing one of these shows. Numerous people have expressed their
interest in hearing one of these classic broadcasts. --top--
