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Chicken Fried Radio (CFR) is a weekly
podcast by
Toby Heidel (also known as
T.E.),
Ryan Hill,
Christian
Huey and
Abbey Windham.
The four hosts are
friends who live and work in Austin, Texas, USA. The shows are comedic in
theme and fairly fluid in format, though always featuring funny
takes on various strange or unusual news stories.
Origin and
Development
Chicken Fried Radio began in August 2005
as an experiment, spearheaded by T.E.
Heidel, to find out what kind and size of an audience
was available to podcasts with little-to-no financial
backing. The first two episodes featured
only Heidel and Hill, in a more conventional (albeit thematically
dadaist) fashion, as a conversation between two friends about
various topics of interest. Huey joined
starting with the third episode, and Windham rounded out the cast
during the fourth.
Initially, CFR was promoted only through word
of mouth, to the friends and family of the four
hosts. After half a dozen episodes, it
was featured on iTunes,
where it continues to be available. As of
March 27,
2006, a total of 29 episodes
had been produced. At present, recordings
typically occur on Monday nights, and finished episodes are
released on Wednesdays.
The Hosts
The hosts are all
amateur actors who specialize to varying degrees in voice acting,
including the Austin vintage radio drama troupe, Violet Crown Radio Players
(VCRP), which was founded by Heidel.
However, all four work "day jobs," and pursue their
dramatic endeavors (including CFR) in their spare time.
In the
course of recording CFR, the hosts have been given or have taken on
several nicknames. The first and most
common is the self-bestowed "Bushleague Jackasses with
Microphones," often shortened to simply "Jackasses", in reference
to their initial (and ongoing) lack of professionalism.
Other
monikers, such as "The Fried Four" and "The Four Bringers of
Chaos," were given by their fan-base. In
the latter case, the hosts were equated with the Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse, with Heidel as Death, Huey as War,
Windham as Famine, and
Huey as Pestilence.
Toby "T.E."
Heidel
Along with hosting, T.E. handles sound
mixing and post production duties on the show.
As the originator, he traditionally begins and ends the
show, and serves to keep it more or less on track.
His temper is legendary, however, and he occasionally
sidetracks into humorous, albeit off-topic, rants.
In real life,
Heidel serves as an Austin city fireman.
Ryan Hill
The
oldest member of the cast, Ryan is also the most-often ridiculed,
especially by Toby. A self-admitted geek,
Ryan is an avid player of World of Warcraft.
He also owns a textbook of J.R.R. Tolkien's invented Sindarin elf
language. Hill is a self-described
"namby-pamby liberal," and frequently expresses sympathy for those
skewered by the show.
Hill is divorced, and has a teenage
son.
Christian Huey
Biography to be added.
Abbey
Windham
Biography to be added.
Show Structure
One
defining aspect of Chicken Fried Radio, which has been identified
as an object of both praise and criticism, is its "nothing sacred"
philosophy of humor. Fodder for comedy
may include: religious beliefs of all stripes, cannibalism,
genocide, homosexuality, substance abuse, obesity, and babies dead
from neglectful videogame-addicted parents, only to name a few
topics. It is, however, not unusual to
hear the "Jackasses" reveal their own political leanings, as some
seemingly inane topics may veer (briefly) into serious
debate. Ryan, Christian, and Abbey don't
hedge about their liberal-leaning views.
T.E. is a self-described libertarian.
Shows are themed and
usually begin with responses to listener voice-mails and
e-mails--often by abusing the listener.
Following listener feedback, the hosts present strange
stories or personal experiences and make jokes about them, usually
(but not always) centered around the week's theme.
The show is primarily improvisational, but there are
occasional prepared sketches.
Each episode concludes with a
song, typically one that has at least some bearing on the weeks
theme.
Segments
Irrespective of theme, there are certain
recurring segments.
Lightning Reaction, the game device used to select who
tells the <i>People in Your Neighborhood</i>
story.
The Weekly Monkey Story - Not restricted
exclusively to monkeys, the Weekly Monkey Story (introduced by a
soundclip of James Earl Jones saying, "This is CNN.") is a humorous
news article involving any non-human primate.People in
Your Neighborhood - In this segment, one or more of the
hosts tells an anecdote about a person they've encountered in their
lives. The story is typically unrelated to the
episode's theme. Initially all four hosts
told a story, but as the segment tended to run too long, a method
was developed to single out one of the hosts--playing a party game
called Lightning Reaction.
The loser told the story that week, but was excused
from playing again until all four had told their
story.eBay Items - Typically found and read by
Windham, this segment showcases strange or unusual eBay auctions,
most often related to the weekly topic.
Others to be
added...Running Gags
Certain catch phrases have
developed over the run of the show.
"You, me, Betsy,
it'll be great!" - Based on the infamous
Pat O'Brien sexual harassment
tapes. Substitutions are often made in
this catch phrase to indicate unusual sexual
proclivities. "It's all
recursive!" - First popularized by Huey, and
typically used to indicate that certain subjects tend to recur on
the show."Irritating" - A sound clip from the Vox
Monitor review, and very irritating in its own right.
Usually used several dozen times in rapid
succession."The wonder that is Papa Smurf" - Based
around an event when Huey was intoxicated and began to talk about
Papa Smurf.
Windham made the above comment, which caused Huey to
laugh uproariously for upwards of five minutes.Others to be
added...Recurring Characters
Thanks in part to the fan
base and in part to the hosts' proficiency with voice acting, CFR
has accumulated a wide variety of real and invented
characters.
Listeners
Hollywood Nick -
Info to be added...Simon Mind - Info to be
added...Scooter - Info to be
added...Swish Nick - Info to be
added...The Heckler - Info to be
added...Invented Characters
Crackhead
Cosby - Info to be
added...Bruce the Hairdresser - Info to be
added...Der Heidler - A distinctly
Hitlerian character who
angrily exhorts calls to action from CFR
listeners.Coach Miller - Info to be
added...Antonin and Micha - Uber-prententious
graduate students from CalArts
University.Lester Sniffit - Info to be
added...Others to be added...Episode
Guide
Episode 29 - The "You Kids Get Off My
Lawn" Episode:
Running Time - 74 minutes
:
Song
- "I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die" by
They Might Be
GiantsEpisode 28Current
Audience
<p>Chicken Fried Radio has relied almost solely
on word-of-mouth for exposure.
The
four members of CFR are closely tied to their fanbase, via the
chickenfriedradio.com message board.
This unusually strong online community has led
CFR to reach the tops of many online podcast directory
sites. CFR has commanded
a large portion of its following from American university
students. However,
interestingly, CFR seems to have particularly large followings in
the UK, Australia, and also (most bizarrely) in American gay
communities.</p>
<p>The show was mentioned in the
LA Daily News, reviewed on
Vox Monitor and has been regularly
featured on itunes.More
recently, Chicken Fried Radio was lauded in a review at
www.elasticradio.com</p>
<p>The show is popular; it
is consistently in the top 200 at Podcast Alley, out of upwards of 10,000
podcasts listed.
Subscriptions average approximately 1,750 per
week and actual circulation is estimated at over
2,000. In March 2006,
CFR reached a ranking of 45 overall, and number nine in the
"comedy" subcategory on Podcast Alley.</p>
External
links
Chicken Fried
Radio Story
in LA Daily News Review
on Vox Monitor Violet
Crown Radio
Wikis
Search
