WHOoPLA Chapters 14 & 15
Chapter Fourteen: The Animal.
Arnold knew he would need a “voice” to represent the event to the greater public. His first and only choice was Tim “The Rock N Roll Animal” U’ren. “The Animal” was the Real Mc Coy. He’s a Jack Black, just a bit taller than a fireplug, kinda guy. The kind you hated to be matched up with in gym class when you were practicing wrestling because you knew he was going to be hard to get a grip on. He was munchkin-like with stubby hands on arms that looked too short for his body. He liked to talk, endlessly. When he spoke it was just above a whisper with a gentle rasp that flipped in and out for emphasis during the many stories he would have for nearly every topic. He had a self assuredness that was captivating due to the seemingly incongruent mix of mind and body. He presented a hard veneer on the air that hid a soft and big heart.
His moniker had been earned long before he was a rock DJ while in college when he would blast Lou Reed’s Rock N Roll Animal album in his dorm room early in the mornings, thus, this was no made for radio character. “The Animal” was the personification of the Milwaukee rock radio market. More importantly, he was ripe, having only worked in Rockford, Illinois for a couple years, then overnights 2a-6a at QFM and now had moved up to the 10p-2a night shift. He was ambitious and young. Not seasoned and spoiled. He was impressionable and he was continually improving on his inventive rap.
As Tim was on the air for his Saturday afternoon shift, the “hotline” rang. It was Lee Arnold calling from his house.
“How would you like to become the most famous disc jockey in the country for a while and the most famous disc jockey in Milwaukee forever?”
The Animal laughed.
“Oh yeah? Tell me more.”
Arnold outlined his plan to bring The Who to Milwaukee. He asked The Animal to spearhead the drive. Excited and “jazzed,” Tim committed to it on the phone and they set a Monday morning meeting to hash out the details.
That Sunday The Green Bay Packers beat The Rams 35-23. Arnold didn’t see it. He was busy “packin’ ammo” for the week to come. It was going to be a monumental one.
On Monday Arnold detailed his now nearly complete thoughts to Tim. Arnold’s genius came in understanding that Milwaukee’s “2ed city of the 2ed city” self esteem problem was a weakness that could be tapped into and exploited. I grew up on Milwaukee’s NW side and I can tell you that I felt that way. I was sick and tired of living in the shadow of “The Great City of Chicago” when it came to virtually everything. Chicago was bigger, had better sports teams, wilder politics and a cooler gangster history. Even Steve Dahl, the portly Comiskey Park Disco Demolition Chicago DJ jester whom I loved so much, had wickedly blamed the failure of his syndicated from Chicago QFM morning show simulcast on Milwaukee’s “backward fans.” That really hurt because for music, Chicago was blues, not rock. Arnold was right, Milwaukee was kick ass and it was time the rest of world knew that. This was more than just a band and a radio station; it was a matter of CIVIC PRIDE!
“Fuck Chicago!”
That was his pitch and The Animal agreed. It fired him up.
“To me it wasn’t a gimmick or a PR thing. I really felt that way. I was sick of big bands constantly bypassing Milwaukee.”
He decided that’s what he was going to hang his hat on. That’s what he was going to say to get people excited about it.
The Animal was ready to do whatever it would take. That’s when they started to consider what that would be. The idea was to generate enough added media attention to The Who’s tour such that it would obligate them to add a Milwaukee show; to generate so much attention that they would not be able to ignore it. They weren’t sure what it was going to be, but by the end of that Monday meeting, they knew they were going to do something.
Chapter Fifteen: The Telegram.
With his lead cast member firmly in, Arnold’s next move was to craft one of his beloved attention getting Western Union telegrams to be sent to The Who’s Manager, Bill Curbishley, at the London address McElrath had given him. Here too, he wasn’t going to hold anything back:
AS PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF 93WQFM IN MILWAUKEE (BILLBOARDS MAJOR MARKET STATION OF THE YEAR) I TAKE GREAT EXCEPTION TO THE FACT THAT ONCE AGAIN “THE WHO” HAVE SEEN FIT TO BYPASS MILWAUKEE ON THIS YEARS TOUR. MILWAUKEE IS ONE OF AMERICAS GREAT ROCK N ROLL CITIES. THE PEOPLE HERE (ALL ONE AND A HALF MILLION OF THEM) EAT SLEEP AND DRINK ROCK N ROLL. SINCE THE FAREWELL TOUR WAS ANNOUNCED, OUR PHONES HAVE BEEN LIT CONSTANTLY WITH IRRATE LISTENER PHONE CALLS WHO CAN’T BELIEVE THAT IN THE ALMOST 20 YEARS OF THE WHO’S EXISTENCE THAT THEY HAVE NEVER PLAYED MILWAUKEE, MILWAUKEE IS A TOP 20 MARKET AND MAJOR SUPPORTER OF THE WHO. PLEASE DON’T DISAPPOINT US AGAIN. AFTER ALL, THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE TO COME HERE AND SATISFY THE REAL ROCK N ROLL HEART OF AMERICA. WE WILL STOP AT NOTHING TO MAKE THE WHO IN MILWAUKEE A REALITY. YOURS TRULY IN ROCK N ROLL, LEE ARNOLD, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, 93QFM. PHONE 414/276-2040.
Then, without hesitation, he went on the air himself with a bold editorial pronouncement:
“I’m Lee Arnold, 93QFM Program Director. On Monday Morning I sent the following telegram to Bill Curbishley manager of The Who…”
He then read the entire telegram and finished with,
“We at 93QFM will do everything in our power to bring one of the world’s greatest rock n roll bands to one of the world’s greatest rock n roll cities- Milwaukee! We’ll keep you informed on a day to day basis as we follow our quest to bring you The Who. Rock On Milwaukee!”
The phones weren’t actually lit up with upset irate listeners. Call that creative levity. The greatest rock n roll city? Milwaukee?
“The trip of bands that were saying they were playing Chicago and that was the same as playing Milwaukee WAS a real slight to Milwaukee because Chicago wasn’t half the rock n roll town Milwaukee was. We aren’t a suburb of Chicago! This was Milwaukee! This was a town with a rock n roll heart! This was a ROCK town! A HARD ROCK town!”
Harder than Cleveland, Detroit?
“Much harder than all of them!”
Arnold was in a position to know. He saw the playlists of other stations around the country in the radio trade magazines and he knew, by his in-house research, the songs that tested well in Milwaukee were the ones that kicked ass. He had designed his music programming around that “he who rocks the hardest wins” idea.
“This was an electric guitar, hard rock town!”
He pounded the editorial on the air, running it at least once every hour, twice during afternoon drive times. If there was ever a thought of turning back- it was past. He was now fully committed. And so was QFM. Now he was waiting/hoping for a call from the band. It was entirely possible that they could simply ignore it. Not respond at all. That was the M.O. for big powerful bands but not something Arnold could even afford to ponder. It was ON and he steamed full speed ahead.
Seeing your boss put his head on the chopping block like that is both scary AND inspirational. I know the initial response of us air-staff was divided along two lines. One was,
“What the fuck is he getting us into?”
And the other was,
“Yeah baby it’s on!”
It’s the same feeling you get when there are dark clouds on the horizon moving quickly your way. Will it be a “good rain” or a tornado?
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