Blog – Gonzo Greg

If there were ever any question as to why it’s called The Big Dumb Show, this Flashback should provide the definitive answer. But, to our credit, we did find a way to give away concert tickets that did not in any way involve caller nine.

Big Dumb Show favorites Da Vinci’s Notebook return for this magic moment from June 6th, 2003. Way back before Covid, there was a virus called SARS. Anybody remember? There’s a fond tribute tucked away in the second song. Plus, a brief look into the luxurious lifestyles of the members of the Second Most Popular Morning Show in the City of Indianapolis, as well as a mercifully brief bit of banjo music from Don Stuck.

Once again, a visit from the Greatest Band In The History of Recorded Music, The Fuglees visit in early June of 2003 to promote their Battle of the Bands appearance. In the process, they debut a new Fuglees classic, “Heavy Metal Girl”, and deliver a craftily self-censored, radio version of “Crazy Girls”. Don Stuck was on vacation, so the traffic center underwent a major upgrade with AJ Sterling from WISH-TV 8.

In an admittedly ill-advised and insensitive attempt to better understand the lives of lifelong conjoined twins, we duct-taped Tad and Sideburns together and sent them out into the world to perform everyday tasks, and then report back on their experience. The results are predictably asinine, and are all captured in this time capsule from June 4, 2003.  By the way, Dave Dugan was actually on the show that day, but we opted to not sully his stellar reputation and enshrine him in this particular podcast.

Long before The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host Kevin Pollak was a fairly regular guest on The Big Dumb Show. Enjoy this visit from May 2004. And if you haven’t already, check out the outstanding Kevin Pollak Chat Show Podcast. Also, a quick check of the X-FILES, just before MayDay 2004, featuring news from Linkin Park and Metallica.

When Dave Attell visits the Big Dumb Show, it's essentially the opposite of an AA meeting. Early estimates of the total blood alcohol level in the room are somewhere north of point-eleventy-billion. In the world of stand-up comedy, there are few that consistently captivate audiences quite like Dave Attell. With a career spanning over three decades, Attell has become a household name for his unique brand of humor, which combines razor-sharp wit, impeccable timing, and an uncanny ability to find hilarity in even the darkest of subjects.  Dave Attell is on tour this summer; check daveattell.com. Also in this episode, imagine you possess the ability to spontaneously vomit on anybody. Choose your target wisely. And Doctor Shotski’s back with the guide to the man’s “perfect breakfast”.

We’re not sure if there’s a comic that you’d think was less likely to appear on the Big Dumb Show than Etta May, but sure enough, here she is. Back before she started hangin’ around with Oprah and showing up on CBS Sunday Morning, she was on our show discussing fancy dessert offerings that typically begin with crushed Oreos. Also featured in this episode, a few moments with hopeful future broadcaster Intern Sideburns who was dispatched for an “appearance” on morning television, and also receives some “constructive criticism” and “helpful career advice” from Gonzo, Don, and Beau. And finally, the delicate subtext of “Return of the Jedi” is explained in an episode of ADD Theatre. Tad and Sideburns: A Cojoined Twins Experiment

A tight fifteen of highlights from the Big Dumb Show in the summer of 2003, featuring a great segment with comic Daniel Tosh. Plus a chat with Eric Shotz, the brilliant mind behind the original incarnation of "101 Things Removed From The Human Body", a Fox TV special that was/is exactly what it says. And speaking of TV, what's the Taliban watching tonight?

It's an action-packed Flashback Podcast, featuring Indy's own Blue Monkey Sideshow, a visit with comic John Bizarre, and a phone sex line for married guys. Plus some other stuff unearthed from right around twenty years ago.

There are far too many of our favorite guests that have left the planet since we had the pleasure of hanging out with them in the early aughts. Please take a moment to remember comic John Fox from this visit in 2002, and take a moment to read this awesome tribute to the man from another friend of the show, Scott Long.Also included in this Flashback Podcast: Fat Johnny and Drunk Tad with more Big Dumb Fun in the Fall Creek parking lot, Don Stuck is clearly President of the Sebastian Bach Fan Club, and the announcement of the biggest concert event of the summer of 2002.

Our 25th-Episode Anniversary: A fun reunion, and a fabulous first time In the early 90’s, Gonzo landed at legendary rock station WMMR in Philadelphia, which is where he met the super-talented singer/songwriter/comedian Pat Godwin. This episode of the Flashback features their first reunion after nearly a decade. Enjoy Pat’s in-studio performance of “C’est La Vie”, a touching love-gone-slightly-wrong song, as well as a special romantic Springsteen-style performance dedicated to Angela, our favorite Hooters girl. The cavalcade of A-list talent continues with our first visit with comedian Jimmy Pardo. He covers making the move from his hometown of Chicago to Los Angeles, and somehow along the way we invoke the ghost of Kip Winger* and debate the finer features of the Plymouth Sunfire. (* Kip Winger is not dead.) Pat Godwin’s still touring and a regular on the bigger, meaner, show. Jimmy Pardo is touring as well, and hosts the hugely popular Never Not Funny podcast.

Did you ever take a statistics class? It’s a waste of time. Folk-singing hippie extraordinaire Todd Snider explains it all in this October 2002 appearance on the Big Dumb Show.  Plus, we've got the best reason ever to not wait 'till the last minute to get your taxes done. And finally, Fat Johnny embraces his inner Daredevil Santa as he takes a spin on his decidedly hillbilly sleigh in this leftover holiday-season clip, with the able assistance of Drunk Tad. For the record, Tad was rarely actually drunk. He’s just a naturally enthusiastic person. Fat Johnny however, is actually fat.

Comedian Ron White visits Indianapolis for the first time, and inexplicably decides to spend some time with Gonzo, Don, and Bo. Every comedian has bits about air travel, but Ron takes it to the next level and shared his experience from early December 2002. Also in this reasonably-sized regurgitation, a quick conversation with Green Bay fans Butch Vig and Shirley Manson of Garbage.

On February 20, 2006 I hit the air for the first time in Las Vegas. To celebrate the 17th Anniversary of "Gonzo In The Morning", please enjoy this "best-of" compilation podcast. As it turns out, the Vegas show began on the anniversary of the passing of one of my heroes, Hunter S. Thompson, who had taken his own life exactly one year before. As the father of “gonzo journalism”, he’s the reason for my radio surname, which I chose hastily when I cracked the mic for the first time about twenty years before that in Los Angeles at KNAC. It was the first time since my time in Philadelphia that the show wasn’t called “The Big Dumb Show”. The alleged “logic” was to simplify the branding, and focus on “Gonzo”. Which I suppose was somewhat successful, given that GITM went on to win two consecutive “Best Radio Personality” Reader’s Choice Awards from the Las Vegas Weekly, and our station, Area 108 won “Best Radio Station.”

Don't let anyone ever try to tell you that there are not life lessons to be learned from the Big Dumb Show. This Flashback features our first and only visit with the amazingly insightful Jim Wiggins, as well as a return performance by Mark Eddie. Plus, Don Stuck explores new frontiers in morning beverages.