Russ Martin Show
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The Russ Martin Show is the flagship radio show on KLLI-FM Live 105.3 in Dallas, Texas. The show currently airs during the afternoon drive time slot between midday hosts Pugs & Kelly and syndicated evening host, Tom Leykis.
The Russ Martin Show has also been syndicated on KOYT-FM 104.3 The Coyote in Taylor, Texas and is frequently mentioned by name on syndicated broadcasts of the Tom Leykis Show.
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[edit] Background
The Russ Martin Show airs weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on KLLI Live 105.3 (formerly KYNG) throughout the Dallas metroplex and surrounding cities. Every episode begins with the song "Fire and Mercy" by William Orbit and ends with an instrumental remix of "Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC. At first listen, the show appears to simply consist of a group of guys swapping humorous stories and telling jokes while taking a few phone calls from listeners. People are often surprised to discover that much preparation goes into making the show sound as though it's off the cuff.
Euphemisms, double entendre, and innuendo are used skillfully by Martin when on the air to make seemingly innocuous subject matter instantly hilarious, with cast members heard snickering or breaking into hysterical laughter in the background. Easy-Bake Ovens, baking brownies and ballcocks are notable examples. Anecdotes usually revolve around the local Dallas community which helps foster the listeners' love of the show.
Martin is notorious for writing and performing song parodies on the show with MIDI music and altered lyrics. He will take a classic song like Seasons in the Sun by Terry Jacks, convert the music to MIDI, and alter the lyrics to describe how cancer is eating away his colon (he does not have cancer). Martin rarely finishes a performance due to the laughter from the other cast members in the studio. He offended Dallas mayor Laura Miller with one such song and she refused to speak to him for months, but was anxious to talk to him when she discovered political rival John Wiley Price [1] was present.
The show has a loyal, almost fanatical, following of listeners who communicate to Martin (either by calling the show or email) the comings and goings of other cast members and notable Dallas figures. For example, when J.D. Ryan goes on vacation, Martin will know his flight number and the hotel he is staying at before Ryan has a chance to tell anybody. The show is infamous for the pranks it pulls on program director Gavin Spittle. One amusing prank involved hiring a drywall contractor to "hide" Spittle's office behind a false wall and then film his reaction when he returned to work (Video). Listeners are known to inform Martin of the details of Spittle's private dating life.
In January 2006, Martin started a drive to rename Garrett, Texas to Russ Martin, Texas. He claimed the name change would "bring better roads, better street signs, better utilities and better tools for everyone". A website was set up to collect petitions for the change. This initiative failed due to in-fighting among members of the Garrett city council over Martin's intentions.
Russ' intent is to act as though he doesn't care about the listeners. As such, he frequently avoids giving out the phone number, or ends segments by giving out another local station's musical stinger. The "call now" recording reminds users: "Please don't waste Russ' time by telling him your name. He's far too busy and important and he won't remember it anyway". Russ has not been able to shake listeners though, since his show has maintained its #1 status for many years, and was noted back in 1997 as the only show to fare better than Howard Stern who had previously aired his show in Russ' 1997 time slot in Dallas.
Over the years, Russ has befriended many television celebrities from the 70's and 60's, such as Russell Johnson, Adam West, James Garner, Bob Denver, Max Baer, Jr., and Martin Milner. In a call with Bob Denver's widow, it was said that Bob's last public appearance was a phone conversation on the Russ Martin Show. Martin also has a penchant for 1960s TV cars, owning a working Mach Five replica, two Batmobile replica's and a Dukes of Hazzard 69' Dodge Charger replica. [1]
[edit] Cast
- Russ Martin - Host
- J.D. Ryan - Co-Host
- Everett Newton - Rock & Roll Attorney (appears Wednesdays and Fridays, legal schedule permitting)
- Dan O'Malley - Co-Producer
- Clo Rayborn - Promotions Director
- Gavin Spittle - VP of Programming for KRLD 1080, and Program Director for Live 105.3 FM.
- Trey Trenholm - Co-Producer and full-time real estate broker. [2]
