The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show
 | |
| Other names | The Free Beer and Hot Wings Morning Show |
|---|---|
| Genre | Humor, Talk radio |
| Running time | 5:00 - 10:15 EST (in Grand Rapids) 5:00 - 10:00 EST (syndicated stations)[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | WGRD-FM |
| Starring | Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels Chris "Hot Wings" Michaels Eric "Zane" Zeitunian "Producer" Joseph Gasmann Jr. Assistant Producer Steve McKiernan |
| Original release | 2004-06-14[2] – Present |
| Website | freebeerandhotwings.com |
| Podcast | Official podcast |
'The Free Beer and Hot Wings (Morning) Show' is a syndicated talk radio show based at WGRD-FM in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The show is hosted by Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels and Chris "Hot Wings" Michaels with Eric "Zane" Zeitunian, "Producer" Joseph Gasmann, Jr and Assistant Producer Steve McKiernan. The show is syndicated mostly throughout the Midwest and Eastern United States. The show is distributed by Compass Media Networks.
The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show has also been guest hosts on The Dan Patrick Show on multiple occasions.[3]
History
The Free Beer & Hot Wings Show began as an afternoon show in Council Bluffs, Iowa (within the Omaha metropolitan area) at non-commercial station KIWR in March 1997. The Show consisted of two former Central Michigan University roommates, who eventually moved to mornings several months later where they remained until the summer of 2000, when they moved to WBON in Knoxville, TN. It was there that they met the show’s eventual 3rd member and fellow CMU grad, Eric "Zane" Zeitunian, who was, at the time, their direct competitor at WIMZ. When Zane was fired, he immediately drove across town, and joined The Free Beer & Hot Wings Show. The show then moved to New Jersey, where they were on WTHK in Trenton and WCHR on the Jersey Shore. The Free Beer & Hot Wings Show began full syndication in 2004 with the move to WGRD in Grand Rapids, Michigan and began syndicating to WTHK and WCHR. The show is now heard on 20 radio stations.
Origin of names
The names "Free Beer" and "Hot Wings" were chosen by the hosts as "just stupid names that were easy to remember" early in their career, when they never really thought the show would last long. The guys have stated numerous times that they realize the names are not clever, but as of now, it's too late to change them. Since Eric Zane joined the show later, he does not have a "dumb food name", as stated by Free Beer.
Show Segments
| Segment | Description | Times |
|---|---|---|
| The Free Beer & Hot Wings Report | Biggest news stories of the day are discussed | Daily |
| Can't Wait To Talk About Blank | Listeners can call in and discuss any topic with the guys | Daily |
| Flashback | A look-back on a funny segment from the past | Daily |
| What Hot Wings Thinks | Hot Wings provides his own commentary about current topics | Daily |
| What Can Joe Do? | Producer Joe performs a stunt, and if he's lucky, for money | Fridays |
| Dumber Than Zane Trivia | Listeners get their chance to call in and face Zane in a game of trivia. Sponsored by Cat Footwear | Thursdays |
| Paired With An Idiot | Listeners are paired with the hosts in a game similar to Pyramid | Wednesdays |
| Name That Blank | Game where listeners compete against each other with questions that encourages them to "name that ____" of audio clips | Thursdays |
| Sounds of the Game | A collection of soundbites from college and pro football that, when taken out of context, sound dirty | Weekly during the football season |
| Dude Shadoway | The guys invite their esteemed colleague/legendary radio DJ Dude Shadoway in to do an interview with "flash from the past" celebrities and current events heroes | Every so often |
| Intern-view | A show intern conducts an interview. But here, the intern is set up to fail. The intern is told only moments before that they will be doing an interview and given minimal info about the interviewee. Before they get to do the interview the intern is butt slammed by all the hosts. | Once in a while |
Charity work
In 2006, Eric Zane was approached by a former teacher of one of his children to raise money for the Ataxia-Telangiectasia Children's Project. The teacher has two children who have this disease and told Zane that they needed money for a clinical trial. Zane took the quest to the listeners and the radio show managed to raise $65,000, more than enough money to cover the trial.[4] Zane also followed through with his part of the deal, running the Detroit Marathon and getting the infamous Mr. 10 tattoo.
In 2007, Zane asked for volunteers to join the A-T Army, which was the radio show’s team in the 2008 Walt Disney World Marathon. Each member was asked to raise money and take part in the A-T Children’s Project’s events that weekend. Over forty people signed up and raised almost $50,000. Zane recently participated in the 2009 half-marathon. While in Florida for the event, he presented the A-T Children's Project with a check for that amount. In 2009 Zane also participated in a triathlon for A-T, asking listeners to donate money for every minute he raced. Throughout the race Zane pulled/pushed a listener's daughter that suffers from A-T and the race was completed in just over 2 hours, raising nearly $75,000 for the charity.
Awards
The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show won the Michigan Association of Broadcasters award for Best Morning Broadcast Personality/Radio Team in 2005 [5] 2006,[6] and 2007.[7]
Producer Joe
Producer Joe has become somewhat famous in entertainment news lately after the recent "What can Joe do" stunts of going to Gary, IN for the 1 year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death, and the "Double Rainbow Freedom Trip," where he went to the courthouse to support Lindsay Lohan as she turned herself into jail. .[8]
Affiliates
Past affiliates
| Station | Location | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| KMXN-FM X 92.9 | Lawrence, Kansas | Station changed format in 2009 |
| WDRK-FM 99.9 The Carp | Eau Claire, Wisconsin[15] | Station changed format in August 2009. |
| WXTT-FM eXtra 99.1 | Champaign, Illinois | |
| WYAV-FM 104.1 Wave | Myrtle Beach, South Carolina | Swapped morning shows with WKZQ-FM 96.1 KZQ |
| WODE-FM 99.9 The Hawk | Allentown, PA | |
| KERX-FM 95.3 The Rebel | Fort Smith, Arkansas | |
| WEGE-FM 104.9 The Eagle | Lima, Ohio[16] | |
| KBZZ-AM The Big Buzz 1270 AM | Reno, Nevada |
References
- ^ "Free Beer and Hot Wings Info". April 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^ "June 2004 News and Notes". Michiguide.com. 2004-06-11.
- ^ "Barkley, Simms, Harbaugh on tap for Thursday's DP Show". CNN.
- ^ "ACTP Updates November 2005" (pdf). Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ "Michigan Association of Broadcasters". Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ "Michigan Association of Broadcasters". Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ "Michigan Association of Broadcasters". Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ "Gawker.com". Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b Slack, Chris (2006-11-24). "Red Meat and Boobies". Nashville Scene.
- ^ "Grand Rapids Rock Alternative 97.9 WGRD". April 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ "The Buzz Homepage". April 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (2004-06-14). "WBIX Sold (Again)". NorthEast Radio Watch.
- ^ "The Hawk's Free Beer and Hot Wings Page". April 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ "From Animation to Streaming Radio, Cable Interconnect to Web, Region's Diamond Specialist Takes to the Airwaves in a New Way for a New Generation". MyWire. 2006-03-03.
- ^ "The Carps Show List". April 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ "Free Beer and Hot Wings Info". April 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-08.