(670 The Score) I'm deeply sad about the end of the Parkins & Spiegel Show.
This has been a truly great radio show. I say that with the utmost objectivity and zoomed-out historical perspective, regardless of the fact that I’m a completely biased daily participant.
This has been great. We, as a show, as a four-pack, got there. We reached an ideal, and it seems fitting that I should take a moment to write down what this show became, which frankly was beyond even the wildest ideals I thought possible.
“Yes, and...” — the live improv ethos that launched a thousand comedy careers, filmmakers, myriad sketch TV shows, endless theater projects of wildly variable quality and several million-dollar businesses built on teaching improv lessons. You can read about it here if you want and see sketches from Upright Citizen’s Brigade, Second City and more.
It’s the ticket to pure collaboration. We talked about it and ended up living it. I’m super proud of the four of us for the continued, incessant willingness to just try stuff. To listen to each other and to laugh at ourselves when we failed to do so and to genuinely try and further every conversation and interaction until it reached a hopeful apex of entertainment – and even stayed funny on the way back down.
I honestly don’t think another Chicago radio gaggle has ever gotten it the way the four of us did together. Johnny B and Buzz, et al? Dahl and his crew, any number of times? Boers and Bernstein, with Goff and Abbatacola is probably the closest. Maybe you have other examples. Mac, Jurko, Harry and Finfer. But I honestly would choose us.
There are many levels on which this show resonated. I mourn the loss of us deeply. I have for weeks and will for more.
Danny Parkins was the center of it. He’s a truly great talk show host who deserves everything that comes his way. His work ethic is remarkable, his chops are elite, his capacity for discomfort makes him special. He should like baseball more, but no one is perfect. He has made me a better talk show host, interviewer and extremely occasional “big J journalist” by osmosis. His painstaking approach to preparation allowed for an extremely high ceiling in terms of content, and his ability to take a punch without any damage to his momentum is more important than listeners realized.
Shane Riordan is deeply hilarious, with a brilliantly quick mind and adventurous soul that took us to lots of great places. His creativity as a guest booker and his instincts to chase the intriguing everyman have led to a million memorable segments. He’s volatile, sure, but that has created an excruciating danger that’s thrilling to survive. There’s no executive producer who has ever been all that he is. It has been amazing to watch him redefine that job, daily.
Chris Tannehill is probably the best soundman to ever work in radio. I mean, maybe there’s some dude in Topeka who killed it for decades, so I’ll allow for that. But Tanney is better than Fred Norris. He’s better than anyone that has ever come before him at any Chicago station, including Matt “Fingaz” Spiegel, as the Sound Opinions guys used to call me. Tanney produces magic that no one else has or could. And then there’s his musical soul, his true love of sports, his respect for quality of content above absolutely everything, his absurdly quick jab-step as a comedian and his stunning, daily professionalism in the face of all the issues life provides behind the scenes. He's the GOAT.
Me, I know I have a big toolbox as a co-host, and it has been amazing to get to use so many of those tools with Danny through the last seven years. With other partners, I strove to be the most analytical, logical and well-reasoned at almost every turn. Had to bring the meat to the meal. With Danny, it wasn’t the right fit for me to try and be the smartest or the most informed or to build the most solid argument. There’s a reason I called him my “rational thought provider” and willingly forked over the co-pay. My role had to be to let it fly, to be unafraid to be entertaining or weird and as unfiltered as I could stand. I got to channel my inner Terry Boers, and I thought of him every day. What a gift to get to do the job this way and still occasionally try and volley with the debate team champion.
I'll miss knowing full well, at 8 in the morning, that our show was going to be really good that day. It didn’t matter what guests were booked or what the news of the day was. That stuff always upped the ante. But I knew our show was going to be good. That assurance made life easier and more fun.
I wish Danny all the happiness and success in the world.
I wish Tanney and Shane many more experiences that approach what we have built together.
I wish we three get to continue doing live radio in an incredible sports town for a listenership that challenges me to be at my best every day.
I wish this show wasn’t ending.
So it goes. Onward.
Matt Spiegel is the co-host of the Parkins & Spiegel Show on 670 The Score from 2-6 p.m. weekdays. Follow him on Twitter @MattSpiegel670.