VANCOUVER and SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS – The southern Ontario radio industry has been buzzing the past couple of weeks over the re-emergence of Jesse and Gene.
Once a formidable Toronto morning duo during the 1980s and ’90s, the pair “just got fired a lot” and have long since left behind the grind of daily radio for other pastures, Gene Valaitis told www.cartt.ca last week.
But what has people taking notice is jesseandgene.com, their new podcast web site, replete with bits about their past (find the window-wetting pod to get an, er, taste) and new podcasts with interviews and current topics posted periodically.
Jesse and Gene were a top team in Toronto for a dozen years, on Q107, CFTR 680 – before it went all news – and AM640 before it went all talk. They had their fair share of ratings success, too. The best example of which came in 1992, when they went to AM640 and took the station from a rating near nil to 7.2 in one ratings book, says Valaitis.
Gene, who only wants it known that he lives in Texas and works in an industry far away from broadcasting (“I wear a suit and tie to work every day and I very much enjoy living in the States,” he says), has kept in touch with Jesse since the pair was fired from Q107 in 1997, their last stint together. “Jesse and I have remained friends, which is rare in radio as most partnerships don’t,” said Gene.
At that point, they were no longer a duo and “eventually, nobody wanted to hire us,” says Gene. “We’re not cookie cutter kinds of guys,” he added, referring to the corporate programming of radio stations these days.
“We’re pretty confident a bunch of (broadcast executives) got together and said ‘don’t hire those assholes,’” jokes Jesse.
After the Q107 gig ended, Gene went on to CFRB and finally to the ill-fated Team 1050, which was his last stint on the air when CHUM pulled the plug on the all-sports concept. That’s when he changed careers.
Jesse, on the other hand, always a fitness buff, built a studio in his Vancouver home and now syndicates a radio show “The Good Life with Jesse Dylan” across North America. The program concentrates on mental, physical and spiritual well-being.
Jesseandgene.com on the other hand, is a whole other thing. It’s racy, vulgar and silly, same as when they were on the air at Q107, but with no angry PDs to suspend them when they say a naughty word.
“This is broadcasting as a hobby,” says Gene, “and, we’re not influenced by accountants or program directors or ratings or focus groups or air check sessions. We can say anything we want now. We’re just two guys who turned a previous career into a new hobby and it’s great.”
Jesse calls it radio without the adult supervision, adding “anybody can do it, that’s the magic.” Scary magic, perhaps, for traditional broadcasters. “Podcasting and new forms of media allow people to define the content they want and will change the topography of the traditional industry,” said Jesse.
Plus, it can be done with Gene in Texas and Jesse in Vancouver. “We wanted to do something for a long time, because we have remained friends and in contact the whole time,” he adds. “We’re having a lot of fun with it. It could lead to something bigger.”
Despite having been on line for less than a month, jesseandgene.com has already been approached by larger broadcast companies, poking around for new Canadian content. The pair won’t say who, but best-guess says that this type of content is perfect for satellite radio.
– Greg O’Brien
