RIP Toucher and Rich Show ... It was fun while it lasted

NDame616

will bailey
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Jul 31, 2006
2,553
Maybe I'm crazy but I listened at the 6:00 hour and I thought Fred sounded way better. Pop it on after the gym at 9 and he sounds way worse. I'd think that's a positive sign
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I enjoy the show so much more when Johnston is in for Wallach. He's good for a quick one liner or two every hour. He obviously has listened to T&R consistently for a long time. His quick recall of stuff from the show years ago is impressive.
 

ramfan

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Jul 19, 2005
150
I enjoy the show so much more when Johnston is in for Wallach. He's good for a quick one liner or two every hour. He obviously has listened to T&R consistently for a long time. His quick recall of stuff from the show years ago is impressive.
Agreed, if you follow him on twitter, he's been tweeting about thing on the show for years, he's a fan. He also knows pop culture and can keep up when they don't talk about sports. The best part is he knows his role, he doesn't step on other people's lines when they are talking.
 

redsoxedmunds24

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Aug 11, 2006
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I enjoy the show so much more when Johnston is in for Wallach. He's good for a quick one liner or two every hour. He obviously has listened to T&R consistently for a long time. His quick recall of stuff from the show years ago is impressive.
Agreed. The only fill in I would enjoy more is Dan Roche. Obviously that’s a rare thing though. Long term Johnston is the best fit
 

Mahkis Smaht

New Member
Feb 15, 2023
55
This is stupid but for the longest time I thought Johnston was Marshall Hook.

Have the people who listen to the podcast noticed that for the past few months the voices have been way way lower volume than the ads? I think it started around december but it's gotten worse recently. I don't mind a little volume disparity but it's like I can't hear them talking so I turn it up, then the ads blast so hard it makes my ears ring.
 

hube

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Apr 4, 2010
280
Agreed on Johnston. I said a couple of weeks ago that he's been a great fill-in. The only other replacement I'd enjoy more is if they shifted Hardy to the morning show (he used to occasionally sit in way back when and was a great add), but that's never going to happen.
 

dirtynine

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Dec 17, 2002
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I would have loved his instant reaction to the (presumable) Rodgers signing tomorrow, but glad he's getting some voice rest. Man, it's going to be enjoyable just having that narrative (Rodgers/Jets) on the show for the next year plus.

Agreed on all things Johnston, he's been great. I also thought it was Hook for a while, they share some kind of inflection. Incidentally I think Johnston is an Eagles fan which adds some good balance on the NFC side.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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I think 15 minutes of him typing into a device that reads aloud -- like most any text or email function these days -- would be pretty funny.
 

Granite Sox

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Feb 6, 2003
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The Granite State
He was given medicine when his voice first went bad; he stopped taking it after a day or two (source: Fred). He was previously advised not to speak for a few days about a month ago. He ignored that advice as well (source: Fred). Let’s see how long this goes. The self-sabotage is getting pretty tired, as it impacts a lot of people.

P.S. Robot Fred (aka Carlos the Computer #WBCN) would be great
 

Gorton Fisherman

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IIRC way back when I first started listening to T&R on 98.5 I believe they had some kind of robot voice that would read listener emails on air. Am I remembering that right?
 

Milktoast

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Jun 21, 2021
32
He was given medicine when his voice first went bad; he stopped taking it after a day or two (source: Fred). He was previously advised not to speak for a few days about a month ago. He ignored that advice as well (source: Fred). Let’s see how long this goes. The self-sabotage is getting pretty tired, as it impacts a lot of people.

P.S. Robot Fred (aka Carlos the Computer #WBCN) would be great
Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
Includes a frequent and ongoing pattern of anger, irribility, arguing and defiance towards parents and other authority figures. ODD also includes being spiteful and seeking revenge, a behavior called vindictiveness. These emotional and behavioral issues cause serious problems with family life, social activities, school and work.
Treatment of ODD involves learning skills to help build positive family and work interactions and to manage problem behaviors. Other therapy, and possibly medicines, may be needed to treat related mental health conditions.
 

8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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Unreal America
It did make me laugh yesterday when there was an ad during the show, read by Mazz, about him using Bigelow tea to help get over a voice problem. #TeaProudly
 

thebtskink

New Member
Jul 15, 2005
336
It's well trod ground at this point, but Rich and Johnston talking about The Villages at the end of the 8am hour killed me.

Having Roche there to make uncomfortable sweetens the pot.
 

Mahkis Smaht

New Member
Feb 15, 2023
55
He was given medicine when his voice first went bad; he stopped taking it after a day or two (source: Fred). He was previously advised not to speak for a few days about a month ago. He ignored that advice as well (source: Fred). Let’s see how long this goes. The self-sabotage is getting pretty tired, as it impacts a lot of people.

P.S. Robot Fred (aka Carlos the Computer #WBCN) would be great
I'm not saying this is the case, but I'm worried that he's sorta kinda trying to get himself fired because he hates the job but doesn't want to simply walk out of there and be the one responsible for leaving his friends high and dry. Contrast that with Rich who is literally subcontracting production duties at his own expense to maintain the quality of the show.

I'm enjoying "Morning Sunshine with Rich'n'Roche" but I can't imagine they will be able to milk "Dan, your mom should move to the Villages and have lots of sex!" "C'mon guys" for more than a few months.
 

Granite Sox

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Feb 6, 2003
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The Granite State
There is no T&R without Fred, and he knows that, so he’ll push the boundaries as far as he can and drag everyone along with him. The problem is that I don’t think Fred understands that there is no T&R without Rich, either. The analogy I’d use is that Fred thinks he’s Mike Trout when in reality he’s playing T-ball and Rich is the coach placing the ball on the tee for him. Rich puts everything on a silver platter for Fred to use his unique talents.

Fred is much more co-dependent than he might realize. If he gets himself fired, I‘d be hard pressed to envision anything else that would offer the same value in a dying industry as this job. I don’t think he’s that stupid.
 
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BigJimEd

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Jan 4, 2002
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This thread keeps getting weirder by the day
Indeed. Weird and glorious.

How else would you know Fred suffers with ODD, is trying to get himself fired and underappreciates Rich? So much brilliant insight just from listening.
 

8slim

has trust issues
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Nov 6, 2001
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I've found the Rich/Johnston/Roche pairing to be good radio. None of them is as funny as Fred, obviously, but it's just enough humor and a lot of quality banter.

It's also roughly 14,000X better than the Rich/Adam Jones/Joe Murray or Wallach pairings from the past.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
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I'm not saying this is the case, but I'm worried that he's sorta kinda trying to get himself fired because he hates the job but doesn't want to simply walk out of there and be the one responsible for leaving his friends high and dry. Contrast that with Rich who is literally subcontracting production duties at his own expense to maintain the quality of the show.

I'm enjoying "Morning Sunshine with Rich'n'Roche" but I can't imagine they will be able to milk "Dan, your mom should move to the Villages and have lots of sex!" "C'mon guys" for more than a few months.
You're out of your mind IMO. Fred knows what T&R is and how it plays out and their value. The only question in my mind is do they resign with Beasley at the end of the contract or not. Fred's not an idiot. Him and Rich are great together and they both know it.
 

Mahkis Smaht

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Feb 15, 2023
55
You're out of your mind IMO. Fred knows what T&R is and how it plays out and their value. The only question in my mind is do they resign with Beasley at the end of the contract or not. Fred's not an idiot. Him and Rich are great together and they both know it.
I guess a better way to put it is that I think it's a possibility that Fred really hates the work-life balance that being part of a cold-weather city's morning drive time show requires and he's getting more and more ambivalent about keeping it going. Rich is most definitely not ambivalent about keeping it going. Does that make more sense or am I still out of my mind?
 

JCizzle

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Dec 11, 2006
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I guess a better way to put it is that I think it's a possibility that Fred really hates the work-life balance that being part of a cold-weather city's morning drive time show requires and he's getting more and more ambivalent about keeping it going. Rich is most definitely not ambivalent about keeping it going. Does that make more sense or am I still out of my mind?
They all hate the work life balance of waking up at 4am or whatever and say so constantly. Where I get lost is why Fred is intentionally sabotaging his probably very healthy paycheck for.... what? A solo podcast?

The obsession with everything Fred does is a bit much.
 

mtm2025

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Feb 13, 2023
25
I guess a better way to put it is that I think it's a possibility that Fred really hates the work-life balance that being part of a cold-weather city's morning drive time show requires and he's getting more and more ambivalent about keeping it going. Rich is most definitely not ambivalent about keeping it going. Does that make more sense or am I still out of my mind?
You’re still out of your mind and spend way to much time analyzing a person you’ve never met before. When Fred complains about listeners on social media - he’s complaining about you. I believe he has read this thread on occasion.
 

Mahkis Smaht

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Feb 15, 2023
55
They all hate the work life balance of waking up at 4am or whatever and say so constantly. Where I get lost is why Fred is intentionally sabotaging his probably very healthy paycheck for.... what? A solo podcast?

The obsession with everything Fred does is a bit much.
Thanks for replying! I've been a fan of your posts for the long time I've been lurking without an account. I think you've been posting in this thread for, what, 10 years now? Not throwing shade - I would have been too if I had an account.

I don't think it would be intentional, it's just that I'm worried he has checked out. It would be a lot like the attitude I would have when I was having trouble in school and I just stop trying. I'm not intentionally sabotaging my grades. It's something I've worried about because no matter what the ratings are, the more he checks out (misses work, shows up late, etc) the more Rich has to pick up the slack and I think it's unfair to Rich whether he realizes it or not.

Regarding the obsession with everything Fred does, for some reason he has always had this effect on his fans. There was a guy in Atlanta that ran a site called 99Xwatch.com about 20 or so years ago and I think it became almost entirely him bitching about Fred. At the time, I thought "what kind of a loser creates a website just to crap on a radio DJ". Lower the barrier to entry a little bit and it's this kind of loser.

Speaking only on the reasons for my own "obsession", I know a few people very well who just seem to chafe at the state of being successful. When they do succeed it's almost like they are magnetically compelled to act out and wreck it for themselves. Fred appears to be one of these people so using him as an example helps me work through my issues with those people...and with my own self from time to time if I'm being frank.

(Thanks for reading if you got this far!)

You’re still out of your mind and spend way to much time analyzing a person you’ve never met before. When Fred complains about listeners on social media - he’s complaining about you. I believe he has read this thread on occasion.
Man, can you imagine having all this money and access to different spots in the city as a locally beloved (and handsomely compensated) media figure and giving a shit what "'Mahkis Smaht' from Sons of Sam Horn" writes? Enough to wreck a segment complaining about it on the air?

No chance, man. Fred has way better things to do than sit around and get bothered over what some nickel-and-dimer yokel idiot writes on the internet.
 

moretsyndrome

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Jan 24, 2006
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Thanks for replying! I've been a fan of your posts for the long time I've been lurking without an account. I think you've been posting in this thread for, what, 10 years now? Not throwing shade - I would have been too if I had an account.

I don't think it would be intentional, it's just that I'm worried he has checked out. It would be a lot like the attitude I would have when I was having trouble in school and I just stop trying. I'm not intentionally sabotaging my grades. It's something I've worried about because no matter what the ratings are, the more he checks out (misses work, shows up late, etc) the more Rich has to pick up the slack and I think it's unfair to Rich whether he realizes it or not.

Regarding the obsession with everything Fred does, for some reason he has always had this effect on his fans. There was a guy in Atlanta that ran a site called 99Xwatch.com about 20 or so years ago and I think it became almost entirely him bitching about Fred. At the time, I thought "what kind of a loser creates a website just to crap on a radio DJ". Lower the barrier to entry a little bit and it's this kind of loser.

Speaking only on the reasons for my own "obsession", I know a few people very well who just seem to chafe at the state of being successful. When they do succeed it's almost like they are magnetically compelled to act out and wreck it for themselves. Fred appears to be one of these people so using him as an example helps me work through my issues with those people...and with my own self from time to time if I'm being frank.

(Thanks for reading if you got this far!)



Man, can you imagine having all this money and access to different spots in the city as a locally beloved (and handsomely compensated) media figure and giving a shit what "'Mahkis Smaht' from Sons of Sam Horn" writes? Enough to wreck a segment complaining about it on the air?

No chance, man. Fred has way better things to do than sit around and get bothered over what some nickel-and-dimer yokel idiot writes on the internet.
Shit. It's Fred, isn't it? I already had my suspicions, but "nickel-and-dimer yokel idiot" gave it away.
 

PC Drunken Friar

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Sep 12, 2003
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Stop talking about gambling and the gambling apps.

Here is Rich's weakness. When there is no Fred, he just takes whatever is the "easiest" conversation and just hammers it to death.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Nov 16, 2004
20,249
Stop talking about gambling and the gambling apps.

Here is Rich's weakness. When there is no Fred, he just takes whatever is the "easiest" conversation and just hammers it to death.
How many times has Rich said he doesn't care if he's gambling in a stupid way, he knows it and just "loves to press the buttons" this week? 20?
 

JCizzle

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Dec 11, 2006
22,270
At least Rich hasn't gotten to the point where he views everything from the perspective of his personal wagers. That's what happened to Big Cat - pretty much everything he talks about is just a reflection of his bets and it gets old very quickly. It always amused me coming from the guy who correctly pointed out that "nobody cares about your fantasy team". Gambling is definitely going to remain prominent on the show for sponsor reasons, but hopefully Rich finds the middle ground once the novelty wears off.
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
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Apr 12, 2001
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At some point the sports world's absolute fascination and devotion to gambling is going to stop, or at least slow down, right?

Because I honestly don't know anyone who likes it. At all.