Last night, I wrote about George Stroumboulopoulos' "new, independent FM". Earlier today, I had a direct message from Strombo on Twitter. He wanted a phone number he could reach me at.
I gave him my Blackberry number and went about my afternoon, which primarily consisted of picking up my son and taking him to his soccer match. On my way home, I heard Tom Cheek ordering Joe Carter to "touch 'em all". I had a phone call.
"Mike, it's George Stroumboulopoulos."
George had called to discuss his independent FM, but we ended up talking about a great deal more. We chatted about our mutual admiration for Humble and Fred, what CFNY meant to him, his love of radio, Martin Streek, and other things I won't write about here. He came across as a genuinely sweet guy and the convo was effortless.
With regards to The Strombo Show, he told me he pulled it from the Corus lineup. He said his schedule was too hectic so he pulled the plug.
As for independent FM, he emphasized that it's just a kernel of an idea at this point, and it's not yet a podcast, satellite or terrestrial radio show. Strombo is passionate about radio and definitely wants to continue his show, but he's not yet sure about the format or where it will happen. It is important to him, however, that he's able to play what he wants.
There's clearly a spirit to George's independent FM that sounds familiar. He promised to let me know when it's more than just an idea and I promised to promote it best I can.
I dig it when personalities I know from radio and/or television actually turn out to be good people. Thanks for the call, George.
