Dave and Chuck "The Freak"

Dave and Chuck "The Freak" (formerly The Morning X with Dave and Chuck "The Freak") is a radio morning show hosted by David Hunter, Charles (Chuck "The Freak") Urquhart, and Lisa Way. It was first broadcast on the radio station CIMX-FM (89X) in Windsor, Ontario from April 18, 2001 to November 7, 2012 on weekdays from 6am to 10am EST. After leaving 89X's lineup the show returned on May 28, 2013 after the show's hosts moved the show to the radio station WRIF (The RIFF) in Ferndale, Michigan where it airs weekday mornings from 6am to 10am replacing the Drew and Mike morning show.^[1]

The show consists of several named segments in which the trio introduces a subject of discussion and takes calls from the listeners, plays games with them, informs them about current events and news, and updates them on the weather, traffic and sports. The show is best known for the moral dilemmas and raunchy/controversial topics (often related to abnormal sexual behavior) discussed with the listeners, the unique personalities of the radio hosts, Chuck's often-ridiculous shenanigans, and their many funny segments and running gags. In 2010 Metromix named Dave and Chuck "The Freak" Detroit's Best Morning Show, coming in first place in Detroit's highly competitive daytime radio scene, most notably against the famous morning shows Drew and Mike and Mojo In The Morning.^[2]

In early 2009, 89X added the ability to stream their broadcast on their website and released apps for the Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry smartphones for people to download and listen on their phones without the need for a radio. In addition to internet streaming of the show, Dave and Chuck "The Freak" at this time started recording their shows and putting it on the internet as podcasts for people to listen to whenever they wanted. It was because of this the show began to expand its audience outside of the Detroit/Windsor area reaching as far as Texas and the west coast and even farther to Japan as revealed during a segment on the show one morning. In recent years, it has also gained a significant amount of publicity from its arguably-offensive advertising campaign^[3] and the uproar of fans over the near-termination of its hosts due to an at-work joke taken too far.

Curse of Dave and Chuck

Dave, Chuck and Lisa have noticed that bad luck tends to follow many celebrities around the time that they are on the show. They have concluded that there must be a curse associated with their morning show, and they have put out a warning on the radio to all celebrities to beware. They have even jokingly commented that they need to start inviting celebrities that they dislike to be on the show.

Examples include Dog the Bounty Hunter, Kevin Smith, John Hughes (filmmaker) (who died miles away in New York City during the one and only time he was ever talked about on the show), and most notably Gary Coleman, who had a seizure just minutes after being interviewed by them,^[4] and was arrested for battery only days later.^[5]

They also think that Dave has a death curse. Whenever he would talk about a celebrity and thought they were already dead (but in reality still alive) would die shortly after. Also Chuck and Lisa believe that whomever Dave blesses will also die.

Friday B!#ches Bash

The Friday B!#ches Bash (formerly called The Friday B!#ches Ball for the first three years or B!#ches Bash for short) is an annual event put together by the show's host Dave, Chuck "The Freak", and Lisa to meet and give back to the fans of the show. Dave often referred to it as a "listener appreciation party". The event was free to fans of the show. The first couple thousand people to walk into the door usually got some free Dave and Chuck "The Freak" promotional merchandise like a T-shirt or bumper sticker.^[6] There was also free food, most notably Mark Mckenzie's bacon table. Each annual event had one major headlining band, with Potty Mouth Sissy opening, to sing their "It's Friday B!#ches!" song. Furthermore, on top of the free promotional merchandise, free food, and free entertainment, the trio also did a live show of the Dave and Chuck "The Freak" show on stage for an hour which was the only time Dave and Chuck "The Freak" was on the radio in the afternoon. There has been a total of four Friday B!#ches Bashes each of them held at The Fillmore in Detroit on a Friday. The last one was hosted on July 26, 2013 at The Fillmore under the new name Friday B!#ches Bash.

The Fillmore in Detroit, Michigan

The origins of the B!#ches Bash began when Dave saw a billboard that was advertising for another radio show. The other radio show was trying to give away $10,000 – which was donated to them anonymously – to anyone who called into the radio show program explaining how they would use the money to help others. Dave wondered, given the nature of the show, "how would someone blow $10,000?" so the next day at work he opened up the lines for people to call into the show explaining to the trio how they would blow $10,000 even though they didn't have $10,000 to give away.

A few days later after the discussion Dave further wondered, "why don't we have $10,000 to give away?" Dave exclaimed that other radio show programs under the same corporation that owns 89X were getting money to give away to listeners but not them. So Dave started to suggest to Chuck "The Freak" and Lisa, to the dismay of them both, that they should ask the company for $10,000 to give away to the fans. After many months of sporadic discussions about it with the help of suggestions from listeners the trio ultimately was given the $10,000 from the company to use on the fans of the show. The popular choice on what to spend the money on was a "listener appreciation party", and thus the first annual Friday B!#ches Ball was just a couple of weeks later.^[7]

Reoccurring characters

Often on the show Dave invites a "special guest" onto the show, who is really just Chuck doing an impersonation of one of the following characters. These characters were either created on purpose or by complete accident by Chuck.

Steve the Star Wars Geek

"Dave and Chuck boldly go where no woman has gone before... deep into Steve's parent's basement". Chuck, doing one of his many impersonations, pretends to be a Star Wars obsessed geek who lives in his mom's basement, has had little-to-no luck with women, and speaks with a highly exaggerated lisp. Due to Steve's lack of social skills, he is very forward about his sexual needs with women (much to their disgust). His lack of social sense resulted in a disastrous date with co-host Lisa Way.

Vanilla Rice

Chuck impersonates an aggressive, opinionated, and disrespectful East-Asian man with a very heavy "Engrish" accent. He does not like Caucasian people, referring to all of them as "John Wayne". He often puts down the opinions of Dave and Lisa, and makes very racy comments about things that were discussed on the station that day.

Leon the Sex Coach

After finding out about the existence of a profession called a "Sex Coach", Chuck impersonates an over-sexed, smooth-talking, and fairly-creepy man who claims to be an expert on sex; however, most the advice that he gives is either absurd or would have very unfavorable results, ranging from minor embarrassment to life in prison. He is a huge advocate of anal sex, and often advises that you can get it by "Lighting that ass on fire". Leon often advises those seeking his advice to incorporate various food items into their bedroom time, such as sticking cucumbers, marshmallows, and barbecue sauce in various Body orifices.

Wal-Mart Security Guard

Loud and self-important, Wal-Mart Security Guard is a braggart who treats his position at Wal-Mart as having life-or-death importance. Several of his mannerisms indicate that he suffers from some manner of intellectual disability. Wal-Mart Security Guard was created by accident when after Dave read a crazy news report about Wal-Mart during the news segment. Chuck started to act out how he would imagine a Wal-Mart Security Guard would act if they were involved in the news report.

While Dave and Chuck "The Freak" was off the air for six months prior to bringing the show to WRIF Wal-Mart Security Guard lost his job at Wal-Mart due to an incident when a man tried to steal from the supercenter. In an attempt to stop the man Wal-Mart Security Guard tased the man several times in the genitalia. When Dave and Chuck "The Freak" came to WRIF they helped give former Wal-Mart Security Guard a new job as head of security at WRIF.^[8] Despite no longer employed at Wal-Mart former Wal-Mart Security Guard still consults on any unusual news involving Wal-Mart with Dave and Chuck "The Freak" on the show.

Kwame Kilpatrick

One of the show's most famous characters is Chuck's impression of former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, especially after Kilpatrick began running into scandal and legal trouble. "Kwame" is very self-absorbed, flashy, has a strong sexual attraction to Lisa Way, enjoys bragging about his vast wealth and influence and makes no attempt to conceal the shady activities he engages in, such as bragging about how he has a flat-screen TV in his jail cell because "Kwame's got the hook-up!" Whenever Dave asks him about the latest legal trouble or scandal he's involved in, he always blames it on some kind of conspiracy seeking to undermine his mayoralty. "Kwame's" appearances have become much more sporadic since the beginning of Dave Bing's mayoral term, but he still appears whenever Kilpatrick is in the news, such as when he published his memoirs in 2011 and when he was sentenced to a 28-year prison term in 2013.

Don Purrleone

Lisa Way's neighbor's cat has been nicknamed "Don Purrleone" by the trio after Lisa discovered the cat had killed a number of rabbits that she had jokingly told him to. These actions have led the trio to believe that Lisa's cat is the underworld boss of a Mafia consisting entirely of cats. Don rules Lisa's property with an iron fist and maintains his status by intimidation and killing small animals. The cat is voiced on the show as having a stereotypical Italian-American accent, and is very protective of Lisa. A similar voice and mannerism are also used when Chuck does an impression of Lisa's ex-boyfriend Tony.^[9] In November 2012 Don Purrleone died.^[10]

Sorry for the bad news - Don Purrleone passed away. I'm heart broken but he lived an amazing life. Please donate to @mhumane in his honor.

— Lisa Way, via Twitter

After his death Don Purrleone has since continued to be on the show communicating from the afterlife.^[11]

Old Smoker Lady

A blunt and often promiscuous character who has a low raspy voice due to years of heavy smoking. She makes appearances when a female listener who has a low raspy voice calls in. Chuck puts an audio filter on his microphone that distorts the audio to make it sound like he's calling in and will imitate the caller in an exaggerated low raspy voice, especially if the original caller was crude or raunchy. Sometimes Chuck will imitate the caller even if she doesn't have a low voice, but is still crude or raunchy.

Catch phrases

Many of Dave and Chuck "The Freak"'s running gags and catch-phrases were created by accident and most often involving a listener either by sharing a story, an opinion, or just randomly saying something that catches the trio completely off-guard.

"It's Friday B!#ches!"

Every Friday, Dave and Chuck both exclaim on the radio, "It's Friday B!#ches!" and play a song that was made for them by a local hip-hop group Potty Mouth Sissys^[12] about how amazing the show is. Although the word "B!#ches" (in this case) is used as an ironic term-of-endearment towards their listeners, there have been complaints by Detroit residents that believe it is being used in the context of a derogatory term towards women.^[3]

The phrase was at one point used (due to the increase of popularity to the show) on 95.5 FM WKQI with Mojo in the Morning's intro, where you hear girls say "It's Friday B!#ches!" However, the whole station has adopted an adaptation of the phrase with "It's the weekend B!#ches!" Dave and Chuck both feel like it was stolen, but did not want to start a radio war over it.

"P3n!s"

During Dave, Chuck "The Freak", and Lisa's suspension from Operation Dark Stall, a caller left a message on an 89X hotline that was set up for people to leave any concerns about the suspension. The caller stated that he loved the station but always had to change the station when Dave and Chuck "The Freak" were on. He then continued to suggest that if they are to be replaced by another host(s) that the new host(s) shouldn't talk about p3n!ses so often. After listening to this voice mail, 89X listeners were quick to start calling into the show and greeting the hosts by exclaiming "P3n!s!" before they start talking like saying "hello" or "goodbye". An emotion, state, or object is often added before the phrase p3n!s, depending on the current subject of the show. Example: The hosts are discussing losing power at home. A caller would say "Blackout p3n!s ".^[13][14]

"Support Command"

The Support Command catch-phrase began because of Dave's poor taste in fashion. Dave wore a plaid shirt into work one day and Chuck "The Freak" and Lisa both began to make fun of it. As both of them were mocking the shirt Dave was wearing, Chuck noticed a patch on it saying "Support Command"' Not long after listeners began calling into the show and instead of greeting the hosts with "P3n!s!" as they usually do they greeted them with "Support Command!".^[15]

When 95.5 FM's morning show Mojo in the Morning started using the catch-phrase "It's the weekend B!#ches!" fans of the show were not happy. Fans began calling into the Mojo in the Morning morning show and posted on their Facebook fan page complaining about the use of the catch-phrase which Dave and Chuck "The Freak" have been using for years already. When Chuck "The Freak" learned of the amount of fans that took action by complaining to Mojo in the Morning the catch-phrase "Support Command" became more than just a catch-phrase it also became a name for fan base of the Dave and Chuck "The Freak" morning show.^[16]

Operation Dark Stall

One of the most controversial subjects Dave and Chuck "The Freak" has ever had on their show was Operation Dark Stall also known as Operation Dark Squatter. Operation Dark Stall was a mock investigation started off as just mindless fun that had Dave, Chuck "The Freak", and Lisa looking for a guy who was in a stall of a restroom one morning with the lights off. It first started with a story of the incident in the restroom, to the investigation, to them reading an e-mail from their boss telling them to stop the investigation live on the air, and then finally a suspension from the air for a day.

The incident: Monday, July 27, 2009

It first began just after the end of a Monday morning recording of the show. Chuck "The Freak" heads to the restroom like he usually does after a recording of a show. Usually he is the first to enter the restroom before anyone else in the morning so the lights are off. As he turns on the lights when he enters the restroom he goes to a urinal. While he is there he hears some noise coming from the stall next to him, looks and sees a pair of mans feet in the stall. He didn't know who it was, or what they were doing, but he definitely thought it was strange that someone was in there in the pitch black. Freaked out, Chuck does his best to quickly leave the restroom and runs to get Dave. Unfortunately at the time Dave was on the phone so when Chuck returned to the restroom with Dave to see what was going on in there whoever was in the stall had already fled.

Day 1 and 2: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 and Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The next morning Chuck "The Freak" told the story of the incident in the restroom live on the air. Dave, Chuck "The Freak", and Lisa began discussing what the guy in the stall could possibly be doing in the dark alone in the restroom. They even open the phone lines for listeners to call in and make guesses of their own. Taking it a little further as they sometimes do, they started making guesses of who it could have been calling them "suspects" and giving a couple of other 89x radio DJs a call to grill them live on the air, thus starting the mock investigation. This investigation continued the next day on Wednesday without any issues and continuing the laughs. Dave and Chuck "The Freak" were narrowing their suspects by calling more people who work at 89x.

Day 3: Thursday, July 30, 2009

Dave, Chuck "The Freak", and Lisa all received an e-mail in the afternoon the previous day asking them to stop the investigation. It would seem the guy who was in the dark stall felt like he was being harassed even though he was not approached by Dave or Chuck yet about the incident. In the e-mail it was said that if they continued with this investigation there would be disciplinary action taken against them. Angry over the fact that they could lose their jobs because of this silly investigation that was only meant to be fun they read the e-mail live on the air. For the first time since they began recording their shows and releasing them on the internet as a podcast the entire morning show on Thursday, July 30, 2009 was devoted to one subject: Operation Dark Stall and the e-mail they received.

Day 4: Friday, July 31, 2009

The next day anxious to see whether or not the trio hosts lost their jobs listeners tuned in live to find that they possibly might have as they were not on the air. Outraged over this fans took to the internet creating Facebook fan pages and calling 89x's offices non-stop. Fans even took it a step further and contacted advertisers to pull their ads on 89x or risk having their businesses boycotted. News sites on the internet reported on Operation Dark Stall when it was known the trio could lose their jobs because of it like Yahoo! Voices,^[17] Mlive.com,^[18] and ONTD.^[19] Detroit Free Press also reported on it. It was further discussed on video gaming forums like IGN^[20] and World of Warcraft.

Day 5: Monday, August 3, 2009

Fans of the Dave and Chuck "The Freak" show awoke on Monday morning to hear Dave, Chuck "The Freak", and Lisa had returned to the show. Dave mentioned that it was because of the fans hard work calling and e-mail people in the company and their advertisers that in the eleventh hour the three of them and their bosses with the parent company were able to come to an agreement over the weekend on Sunday and return to work the next day. On Monday they were allowed to inform their listeners what happened over the weekend for just that Monday, but were not allowed to reveal who the guy was in the dark stall and had to stop after that day.

A fake trailer for Operation Dark Stall was produced by Mimetic Productions, a local media company in Windsor, Ontario.^[21]

Billboard controversy

In 2009/2010, complaints were filed by Detroit residents and the Detroit City Council in response to the show's advertising campaign, which featured billboards around Detroit and Windsor featuring the censored slogans "It's Friday B!#ches" and "P3n!s". Dave and Chuck have stated many times on their show that they do not agree that the billboards are in poor taste, and they will continue to display them. Online videos have been made by Detroit media companies satirizing the campaign against these billboards.^[3]

Specs Howard School of Media Arts

From 2010 to the end of the Dave and Chuck "The Freak" show on 89x students from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts have on occasions stopped by at 89x offices in Windsor, Ontario to film a series of behind-the-scenes of the morning radio show.^[13][22][23] Students from Specs Howard also covered the first annual Friday B!#ches Ball^[7] and created a three part series "Back in the Day" a dramatization of what life was like for the hosts of Dave & Chuck "The Freak" before the show.^[24][25][26]

Dave and Chuck The Freak's Kick-Ass Game

Dave and Chuck's Kick-Ass Game

On March 5, 2013 it was announced on the official Dave and Chuck "The Freak" Facebook fan page that the morning radio show would be releasing a video game for the iPhone and Android.^[27] The game which is a product of the company Red Piston was pitched to Dave and Chuck early in the year of 2012.^[28] The game was released on March 25, 2013 and is available for $0.99 in the Apple App Store (iPhone) and the Google Play Store (Android). Although the game is not free the hosts Dave, Chuck, and Lisa are not collecting any revenue from downloads of the game. Instead the trio is letting Red Piston keep whatever they make from it.^[29]

The game is a side scroller similar to Mario and is expected to have a limited number of updates containing new chapters in the game similar to the Angry Birds games for smartphones and tablets. In the game Lisa Way is kidnapped by an evil mayor of Detroit modeled after disgraced former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick with the help of Vanilla Rice. In the first chapter the player must track down Vanilla Rice to get answers to where Lisa Way might be. In the next chapter it is expected the player will face off against Wal-Mart Security Guard.

In the game the player goes through various levels as either Dave or Chuck. In each level there will be a backdrop of Detroit and flying penises you will have to avoid among other obstacles. By jumping on the obstacles you will destroy it and earn points. You can also earn points by collecting coins in each level. Furthermore, the player can find power-ups throughout a level which will allow the player to go "Dave Hunter" for a short few seconds destroying anything the player touches without getting hurt.

The game also contains voiceovers from Dave and Chuck themselves and the personas of some of Chuck's characters he voices from the show like Kwame Kilpatrick (who is just referred to as the "evil mayor"), and Vanilla Rice. Also, if you play as Chuck in the game he will sometimes talk as Steve the Star Wars Geek. Vanilla Rice and Wal-Mart Security Guard appear as level bosses.

Move to a new station

On Friday, November 23, 2012 it was announced the show was removed from the 89X lineup. Dave and Chuck "The Freak" were reported to be going to a new radio station, but could not confirm where due to confidentially agreements.^{[30][31][32][33]}

Unfortunately we can't go into detail, but as of today the Dave and Chuck "the Freak" show is no longer a part of the 89X line up. We greatly enjoyed our time at 89X for over a decade, made some great friends, and are so thankful we got to be a part of your lives every morning. We have the best listeners in the world, and you guys entertained us as much as we entertained you. Stay in touch with us here on our facebook page, or at www.daveandchuckthefreak.com

— Dave and Chuck "The Freak", via Facebook

They gave their notice to Bell Media two weeks prior to November 23, 2012. It was speculated that a six-month non-compete clause in their contract with CIMX would keep the show hosts, and their new employers, quiet until May 2013.^[34]

Six months later on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 it was reported^[35] that the WRIF's DJs Drew and Mike were departing from WRIF as of May 17, 2013 and Dave and Chuck "The Freak" would be taking their place in the morning time slot.^[36][37] This was officially confirmed on May 20, 2013 by both Greater Media who owns the Detroit radio station WRIF and Dave and Chuck 'The Freak" themselves on their Facebook fan page.^[38][39]

It may not be the biggest surprise anymore, but we are now officially allowed to tell you about our new station. Starting Tuesday May 28th at 6am, we'll be at our new home on 101.1 FM WRIF - Detroit's Rock Station. We are so excited to talk to you all again and are so incredibly thankful for all your words of support & well wishes. By the way, we have great respect for Drew & Mike and their 22 year legacy at the station and waited to share our news until they & their team could officially sign off. Spread the word and make sure you're up bright and early to join us next Tuesday on 101 WRIF!

— Dave, Chuck "The Freak" and Lisa Way, via Facebook

References

External links

• 101 WRIF's official website
• Dave and Chuck's website