Ron and Fez: WJFK split

[Slim Anus]

So what the deal with them leaving WJFK? I started listening right before they quit "the fastest hour in radio" and I always wondered what the story was behind their departure. To this day whenever I listen to The Junkies they play drops of Ron screaming "J.P." (one of the Junks) and Fez yelling "AHH! Crazy Donkey!"

In any case, before the demise of the ill fated "Big O and Dukes show" one of their interns brought up the fact that he regularly listened to Ron and Fez, Chad Dukes flipped out, they went to commercial and upon returning he turns to his cohost and says, "Are you still a Ron and Fez fan? Now do you get it?" Not to mention that Don from Don and Mike never had anything good to say about Fez in particular.

They (Ron/Fez) make references to Fez not wanting to visit or be buried in Northern Virginia ( I don't blame him). If anyone could give me some details as to what happened down here during their stint and why they didn't get along with the rest of the shows (Don and Mike, The Junkies) I would appreciate it.

[instrument]

huh? ron and fez were regulars on don and mike and had a great relationship with them from their time in N.Y.

unless something changed at the end.

Fez even did a few drinking shows with don and mike. (absinthe show)
are you sure you have your facts straight?

and lets be honest fez was suffering from a broken heart at the time, and i believe he's stated that was a large part of it?

[Slim Anus]

Mike never said anything bad about Fez, but I could have sworn Don was less than thrilled to talk about them. He referred to Fez once as "You mean the gay guy?" To be honest I only listened to D and M 2 years before Don left. Way after R and F left the station.

Left DC because of a broken heart? Makes sense. One more piece of the Fez puzzle falls into place.

[Recyclerz]

They left WJFK because O&A had signed on with XM and were (suppposed to be) building out a full schedule for their channel and wanted Ron & Fez with them. R&F had to negotiate an out to their contract with CBS (who had moved them down there when WNEW blew up and switched formats). At the time of their move down to DC O&A were engaged in one of their dopey "radio wars" with Don & Mike and R&F were seen as pals of O&A. I was listening on the syndication uderground at the time ad Ron & Fez always seemed to team players wth the rest of the shows on the station (with the noticable exception of when they got bumped for Wizards or Capitals chat shows.) Fez did do some hilarious shows with Don & Mike as Instrument indicated.

As to Fez's broken heart - speculation has it that he had an unrequited crush on one of their producers at WNEW. Ron makes reference to it when they play that Neil Diamond song. In fact, the first time Fez cried on the air wasn't the Mikey D meltdown at WJFK but was on the last show at WNEW when he was saying goodbye to said producer.

[Space Edge]

Mike never said anything bad about Fez, but I could have sworn Don was less than thrilled to talk about them. He referred to Fez once as "You mean the gay guy?" To be honest I only listened to D and M 2 years before Don left. Way after R and F left the station.

Left DC because of a broken heart? Makes sense. One more piece of the Fez puzzle falls into place.

Sure it wasn't D&M and the Junks breaking balls?

[Slim Anus]

I don't think the junks have any ill will towards Fez. Don and Mike are so sarcastic sometimes its hard to tell whether they are fucking around or not. I had no idea about Fez doing drinking show with them, although I would be very interested in hearing them.

I guess what threw me off most of all was Chad Dukes comment however that was two years ago and maybe I don't remember it quite so clearly.

[oPant]

Don and Mike were on WNEW midday in between O&A and R&F if I recall correctly. One of the worst radio shows ever. The only worse one I ever hear was Tom Leykis.

[Tenbatsuzen]

I don't think the junks have any ill will towards Fez. Don and Mike are so sarcastic sometimes its hard to tell whether they are fucking around or not. I had no idea about Fez doing drinking show with them, although I would be very interested in hearing them.

I guess what threw me off most of all was Chad Dukes comment however that was two years ago and maybe I don't remember it quite so clearly.

Ron and Fez have been off WJFK for 4+ years. So I think you're reading too much into it from a comment made 2 years after they left.

[Slim Anus]

Yeah you prob right.

[scjr]

Don twitters sometimes that he listens to the great Ron & Fez on XM. And Mike O has mentioned them on his podcast which Oscar Santana is part of.

[KC2OSO]

Don and Mike were on WNEW midday in between O&A and R&F if I recall correctly. One of the worst radio shows ever. The only worse one I ever hear was Tom Leykis.
I remember Tom Leykis. As I recall, that was some bad radio.

[AKA]

So what the deal with them leaving WJFK? I started listening right before they quit "the fastest hour in radio" and I always wondered what the story was behind their departure. To this day whenever I listen to The Junkies they play drops of Ron screaming "J.P." (one of the Junks) and Fez yelling "AHH! Crazy Donkey!"

In any case, before the demise of the ill fated "Big O and Dukes show" one of their interns brought up the fact that he regularly listened to Ron and Fez, Chad Dukes flipped out, they went to commercial and upon returning he turns to his cohost and says, "Are you still a Ron and Fez fan? Now do you get it?" Not to mention that Don from Don and Mike never had anything good to say about Fez in particular.

They (Ron/Fez) make references to Fez not wanting to visit or be buried in Northern Virginia ( I don't blame him). If anyone could give me some details as to what happened down here during their stint and why they didn't get along with the rest of the shows (Don and Mike, The Junkies) I would appreciate it.

R&F left WJFK five (5!) years ago this summer.

They wanted to return to NYC and wanted the opportunity and security that working at XM would provide them. They did some amazing radio in DC, and there was talk of them maybe moving up in the line up when Stern went to Sirius (D&M in the morning / R&F in middays) and made some friends, but when a CBS owned alt-rock station flipped formats, WJFK absorbed some of the talent (The Junkies), leaving little room for R&F to move out of the nighttime spot - and coupled with the frustration from management and missing New York, it wasn't a huge shock.

D&M and R&F long earlier had buried the hatchet of whatever was between them (which simply boiled down to the uncomfortably of the D&M and O&A feud, which was mostly between the "fans"). Up until the very end, Fez was a guest on Don and Mike (doing one of their drinking shows, along with El Jefe), and D&M couldn't say enough nice things about them - even up to the end. If any of that is in the file library, it is worth listening to, if nothing else but for this slurred gem from Fez to Don:

"We have three things in common - we both love football, we both have Batman tatoos, and we both love your (teenage) son..."

The Junkies - that was a different story. There was never anything bad said, but there was never anything really good said.

Shortly before R&F left WJFK, Don's wife was killed in a horrific car accident. R&F did a beautiful tribute to her and Don, with Fezzie talking about the kindness Freda and Don and showed him off the air before that - purchasing for Fez a vintage Tampa Bay Bucs shirt.

When R&F did leave, the times I heard them mentioned on D&M and later just Mike, there was nothing but positive stuff. Both shows remained tight with the guys from The Hideout. If anything has been said, it was more than likely busting balls.

I listened pretty frequently to the Ron Fez Dot Com days from NY, but the Fastest Hour was when I also connected heavily to the show.

[midwestjeff]

Wait.

Ron and Fez aren't on WJFK anymore?

Why didn't anyone fucking tell me this?

[IamFogHat]

The Junkies - that was a different story. There was never anything bad said, but there was never anything really good said.


I have no idea why this is being brought up in 2010 but let me add to the examples of why slim needs to calm down, I remember at one point after the boys went to XM and Howard was gone, Erick from the Junkies said he was sad because at one point WJFK had the 'greatest lineup in radio history' which according to him was Howard, Junks, D&M, O&A, and Ron and Fez. Now to be fair, he was erroneous because this lineup was never on all at the same time, but fans like us appreciated the sentiment.
Also, I don't know if D&M have clips online or whatever but I remember specifically Don taking time out of some shows to talk about how awesome Ron and Fez are, especially one I remember regarding the election shows they did.

So anyway, don't worry dude, it was five years ago and everyone's fine.

[KC2OSO]

Wait.

Ron and Fez aren't on WJFK anymore?

Why didn't anyone fucking tell me this?

Well put. :laugh:

JFK was such a weird sort of banishment for something they had nothing to do with. Great radio but such an odd bunch of shows. Meh. They are all weird. The boys were at the top of their game. Always reminds me of Leah Remini. I never minded Don and Mike either. They weren't so bad.

Fuck all - I got on my roof (I'm terrified of heights) and raised my FM antenna by two sections, pointed it south sorta west, and was able to pick up the show live from DC in Jersey.

The stupid shit I've done to hear this show...

[PapaBear]

At least Ron got alone well with Cameron.

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[Tenbatsuzen]

At least Ron got alone well with Cameron.

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The saddest part about this audio is that instead of Fez going "What an ass!" and launching into a "us vs. them" bit with Ron, Fez of 2010 would immediately start sobbing and saying he's not having a good day.

still, ron chasing Cameron holding a phone is still the funniest visual ever.

[Space Edge]

Ron- Stop Calling Brian at 9am to tell him to do the AOL Plug. I used to fucking hate those especially on the Hideout they would drive those plugs into the ground every single night.

[spoon]

odd to hear ron REALLY defend fez

[PapaBear]

odd to hear ron REALLY defend fez
Crossing Fez was NOT a good idea back in the day.

[Tenbatsuzen]

odd to hear ron REALLY defend fez

at that point, Ron thought Fez was still working through his shit and he'd be OK

[spoon]

at that point, Ron thought Fez was still working through his shit and he'd be OK

so he's not ok now then?

I don't get it. You're either a friend or not.

[Tenbatsuzen]

so he's not ok now then?

I don't get it. You're either a friend or not.

I don't pretend to be a friend, or a budday, anymore. I am a listener of a radio show and I like to be entertained while I'm at work.

[booster11373]

I don't pretend to be a friend, or a budday, anymore. I am a listener of a radio show and I like to be entertained while I'm at work.

I think he was referring to Ron being a friend of Fez not you

[Tenbatsuzen]

I think he was referring to Ron being a friend of Fez not you

OK, revised:

Ron is obviously a disciple of 12-step programs. One of the first tenets of that is admitting you have a problem and wanting to get help.

Just like the families on Intervention, he loves Fez but he's reached the end of his rope.

Being a friend goes both ways. Fez is seemingly isolating himself more and more. Than includes Ron.

[KC2OSO]

At least Ron got alone well with Cameron.

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Thanks for posting this PB. I can remember exactly where I was when this happened. Just like when Lincoln was shot and the men landed on the moon.

That's an interesting watercolor/sketch at the top of the clip. I wonder where is it from?

[KC2OSO]

Grrr. PITBULL I fucking love this bit.

The Talent has management by the balls for one small once...as it should be...but rarely is.

[AKA]

At least Ron got alone well with Cameron.

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The problem with this clip - as fantastic as it is (and it is) - is that there is zero context for people just hearing it for the first time.

While Cameron was the one who did call in, the pent up anger unloaded on him was really for the upper management. This wasn't anything "behind the scenes" - R&F talked about it on the air, and it was clear with Cameron's relationship before the end both on R&F and The Hideout. There was a lot of other frustration at work here.

Cam had been R&F's biggest champion with WJFK management, but he was viewed as ineffective, and ridiculed by R&F as a "male secretary" on the air. At some point he had gone awol, and R&F began referring him as the "Runaway Bride" (he had just gotten married. In fact, for at least a month, R&F would do a secret "word of the day" (which was revealed during D&M), and for weeks the phrase that won was "Runaway Bride."

On the last show, Cameron was there to wish R&F best and there was plenty of hugs and laughter, etc. Maybe it was a "don't burn our bridges because you never know who you will meet later in this business" (when they knew first hand, going to work again for Eric Logan XM and later Jeremy Coleman with Sirius), but they seemed to genuinely like Cameron off the air, and vice versa.

Now, speaking of Eric Logan - it was never wildly churned up, especially when they got the XM gig, but there is a BRILLIANT segment R&F did at WJFK when E-Lo had been fired from WNEW, and they had a field day - you wanna talk about the sound of glee and hatred for someone, check that clip out. It's much more brutal (imo) that this one.

[spoon]

I don't pretend to be a friend, or a budday, anymore. I am a listener of a radio show and I like to be entertained while I'm at work.

I think he was referring to Ron being a friend of Fez not you

OK, revised:

Ron is obviously a disciple of 12-step programs. One of the first tenets of that is admitting you have a problem and wanting to get help.

Just like the families on Intervention, he loves Fez but he's reached the end of his rope.

Being a friend goes both ways. Fez is seemingly isolating himself more and more. Than includes Ron.

Booster is right, I was referring to Ron indeed. I see ur point tb, but ron and fez clearly come from different worlds and it's not right to impose ur style of life and redemption on another simply bc it worked for you.

[Freitag]

Now, speaking of Eric Logan - it was never wildly churned up, especially when they got the XM gig, but there is a BRILLIANT segment R&F did at WJFK when E-Lo had been fired from WNEW, and they had a field day - you wanna talk about the sound of glee and hatred for someone, check that clip out. It's much more brutal (imo) that this one.

...when did Logan work for WNEW? He was a VP of programming for Infinity between Nov. 2002-2004 but as I recall, he was never in the WNEW mess when Ron and Fez were there - only towards the end when the writing was on the wall.

[instrument]

...when did Logan work for WNEW? He was a VP of programming for Infinity between Nov. 2002-2004 but as I recall, he was never in the WNEW mess when Ron and Fez were there - only towards the end when the writing was on the wall.

was eric logan the guy they mocked for saying something like "we'll all be eating cake"?

[edtmac]

Thank God for emailed shows when they were on in DC - Steels was the man!!...Loved the bit when Al Dukes thought he won the BMW, that was hilarious....

[Space Edge]

Thank God for emailed shows when they were on in DC - Steels was the man!!...Loved the bit when Al Dukes thought he won the BMW, that was hilarious....

That was Wonderboy

[Zorro]

was eric logan the guy they mocked for saying something like "we'll all be eating cake"?

Wow... I remember that line. It was Logan wasn't it?
I guess radio is one of those places where your friends and enemies are the same people depending on the day of the week.