Gerry House Joins Us at A&O&B's 20th Pre-CRS Seminar

With our announcement today that Gerry House will be part of the 2014 A&O&B Pre-CRS Seminar, I thought it would be OK to re-visit a couple of blogs I wrote. 

They're about being a great talent.

The first from December of 2010 was penned after Gerry’s last day on the air at WSIX. There’s no way of course to sum up Gerry’s contributions in a blog – let alone from someone who never worked with him nor even got to hear him on a daily basis. I was instead like many radio folk who came to Nashville in the pre-streaming days;  we considered listening to "Gerry House and The House Foundation" a "must have" experience.

It was a beautiful thing to hear: a balance of humor and heart-tuggers, country and mass appeal content, insider authority and self-deprecation, personal and universal stories, and a feeling that you were among good friends, all riding in a carpool and doing your collective best to face each day with a sense of humor. 

Shows were peppered with memorable stories and improbable characters that sprung from stereotypes of real people we’d either encountered or imagined we might encounter.

It was funny and fun to listen to. At the risk of sounding a little gushy, it was an awesome, one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Last year I wrote about what listeners say makes a talent great: having a sense of humor, being real, giving the audience the sense they as listeners were understood by the talent, and that the talent was interesting simply in and of themselves outside of anything else going on at the station – even the music. 

There are a dozen more points listeners made (here) and again you could have checked them off one-by-one listening to Gerry House. 

Our most recent Pre-CRS gatherings have featured at least one session on talent growth. Over the previous 19 years many of the industry’s best talent coaches have generously shared their thoughts with us.  

As a performer and writer however, Gerry is in a class by himself (he’ll probably have a line for that). 

Spending time with great talent is inspirational. 

If you’re coming to our Pre-CRS Seminar, this might be one of the sessions that will stay with your throughout your career.

Gerry we're honored you'll be joining us.

You can join us for Albright & O’Malley & Brenner’s Pre-CRS Seminar Tuesday, February 18^th, from 12:30-4:30pm at the Country Music Hall of Fame. It’s free and open to clients and those in non-competing markets, but you will need to RSVP to Mike@AandOandB.com or Becky@AandOandB.com. #AOBPCRS2014 If you have not yet registered for CRS you can do so here.  Order or get information on Gerry's just-released book "Country Music Broke My Brain" here.

Thanks Gerry House - You've Helped Us All Build a Stronger "Foundation"

Thank you, Gerry House.

For 3 decades you’ve showed us how to craft shows that compel listeners to be willing, habitual consumers.

Content "foundations" of the House Foundation included a balance of humor and heart-tuggers, country and mass appeal content, authoritative and self-deprecating content, and stories that were both personal and universal.

Shows were peppered with memorable stories and (sometimes) improbable characters that rang true because they were rooted in our own lives or in the stereotypes we’ve either encountered or imagined we might encounter at the Walmart or some country bar near us (can’t you just SEE Mack Truck?).

Tonight I'm imagining Gerry’s huge local following, many of whom I perceive are facing mornings with the same emptiness one might feel after looking in the mirror knowing that earlier this week you had one of your front teeth extracted.

So I can’t help but wonder tonight why, less than 18 hours after such a significant page in Nashville radio history has been turned, can Gerry’s story possibly be the THIRD story on the WSIX website flipper?

Note to programmers (with no disrespect to anyone): Move at the pace of your listeners. Be neither too far ahead nor ever behind where your listeners are. Whether it’s music or major station events, be in sync with your audience. Today’s hot news/songs/artists/contests will moves to the ‘back page’ fast enough. Make sure you get your money’s worth before you too move on.

Note to Gerry: Like so many of us in radio, I’m both a fan and a debtor - appreciative of your contributions to radio as a whole and our format specifically.

And if you DO decide to come to New York for a vacation, I’d be honored to be your tour guide or at least make a few restaurant recommendations.

Oh, one more thing - here in New Jersey, we have a different definition of "God speed;" 75%  of all limited access highways have a speed limit of 65.