Gil will discuss
1. Cryonics
2. The history of beige wallpaper
3. "NY delis that I ate at while growing up in the Bronx."
4. New KCBS News Director: "I'm the reason for his mojo."
5. "When I was at KGO I didn't have to pay for a producer."
6. "Ronn Owens bought me lunch at the North Beach Restaurant in 1986 and he even paid the tip!"
7. "My first interview on radio with real estate mogul, Izzy Garbanzo."
8. "Rhoda is going to be the next Dr. Laura."
9. "How I managed to convince a Clear Channel suit to give me 4 hours on the radio even though my program sounds like a radio version of the Joe Franklin show."
10. Quick 5-minute phono with Ben Fong-Torres; first spot: "Remind Ben that there's only one l in Gil."
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His show is four hours of listening to Gil talk, talk, talk to anyone who wants to be bored! No phone calls with the audience makes for very boring radio. Gil loves to listen to the sound of his own voice! And then to bring his wife in on Friday, what a waste of airtime.
ReplyDeleteRich, how much do you think he's paid to be a shill for the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the California Association of Realtors (CAR) when he does their NAR/CAR infomercial show that airs on the weekend on so many stations?
ReplyDeleteI like Gil. I think he is a great interviewer and quite frankly, I would rather hear his talk and analysis about the news than most of those God-awful Politoco guests who sound like a bunch of kids who are just paraphrasing a story they read off the wire. I appreciate Gil's moderate point of view although I don't always agree with him. He doesn't yell about stuff to fake passion to get attention. I agree with the above commentator about shilling for anyone. He needs to be right up front to say he is doing an infomercial , if that what it is, instead of leading people to believe it is a real show. Too many talk show hosts do that but Gil is better than most of the rest. I am also concerned about his promotion of Pacific Private Money. It sounds like one of those too good to be true offers promising high returns without risk.
ReplyDeleteGil is horrible. I'm glad to hear Rich call him out. If you did an analysis of his interviews, you would find him spending a lot of time asking questions to establish his "expertise" on the subject with very little time given to the guest's views. It's downright bizzare. I'm surprised guests come back. Also, he's a huge name-dropper, trying to remind us he was once marginally significant in broadcasting. Them there's Rhoda. Wow. He thinks he adds to his program? Blurrrggghhh.
ReplyDeleteI used to like Gil, but 4 hours s too much. Especially on Friday. What makes it even more difficult to listen to is all these stupid promos from Joel and the clown.
ReplyDeleteTalk radio is DEAD in the Bay.
Always thought he was at his best as a news guy as well an an anchor on radio but considering what his competition is locally he's decent.Too bad, the format seems to be dying.
ReplyDeleteGil landed both of his gigs in SF after prominent hosts died. First on KGO and then on KKSF. If he were Russian we'd call for an investigation. I can't believe anyone listens to this guy for FOUR HOURS daily. Even Rhoda must think this is excessive. He's a good company man and he must have a huge overhead because he is fully on board with the frantic five topics per half hour format. This is in a market where on Monday, Michael Krasney interviewed esteemed Berkeley philosopher John Searle for an hour about reality. It was mesmerizing, thoughtful radio, not the trash put out by dreckman and moreen langston. F U Dicky brothers and Clear Channel.
ReplyDeleteiHeart doesn't want callers dictating the programs. Owens does that crap and his ratings are in the toilet. Gil follows format and there's nothing wrong with that. If you think Krasny's endless interviews are interesting more power to you. I find about 1 in 10 worth hearing. The idea of hearing stupid caller after stupid caller isn't appealing to me either. This town needs people with talent, not Drex.
ReplyDeleteIf you find only 1 in 10 Krasney shows worth listening to then you're not the type of intelligent listener the show is aiming to attract. Callers don't dictate a show. They're meant to compliment the show. A good host knows how to engage such callers. Hell, even Tom Leykis takes tons of callers even though he doesn't yet have the reach of a 50,000 watt station. Regardless, Gil's four hour monotone monologues are cringe worthy.
DeleteKrasny has good interviews but I usually only care about the first few minutes. Really depends on who. I'm sure Gil could interview someone for an hour, especially with the show prep KQED hosts get.
Delete910 doesn't like callers but they go way beyond not liking them.
I liked Gil on KGO. He's sharp, with a quick wit. However, no one ... NO ONE ... can carry a multi-hour monologue 5 times a week.
ReplyDeleteManagement's no-call police is nothing short of bizarre.
That's not true. There are hosts who do it all the time. just have to have the mind for it.
DeleteI remember one particular show Gil did on KGO where he interviewed Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane/Starship. Kantner had just released an album that had Sci-Fi themes and Gil was going on about how he was surprised how thee were no other bands to mix Sci-Fi and rock. There is an entire genre of space rock that Gil seems to have missed out on. This is just an example of expounding on a subject that a person really has no idea what they are talking about, and is probably par for the course with Gil. But then, Gil is also the guy that used Bailey's Irish Cream to make Mac & Cheese.
ReplyDeleteI still like and listen to Gil, but like most of you his show was much, much on KGO when he took callers. I have never listened to all 4 hours of his show and I probably never will. Today is Friday and Rhoda will be on and I am fine with that.
ReplyDeleteTo not take callers is the stations choice I am sure. It's just another mistake the mental midgets that run this station have made. Their other hosts are some of the worst to ever be on the air. By replacing Ed Baxter they have a chance to put someone interesting on the air, but they won't do it.