Internet Killed The Radio Format - The New Normal

Internet Killed The Radio Format - The New Normal

Video may have killed the radio star but it should be noted that the Internet is on its way of making it a lot easier to find new music. Welcome to the scene of online streams of music, New Normal Music. So what exactly is New Normal Music? Why not let Tom explain;

Radio veteran Tom Leykis is set to launch a new creation he calls "New Normal Music." He describes New Normal Music as "an adrenaline rush of hooky, energetic music culled from the pulse of what college-age males are listening to across a broad range of kinetic genres."

That's the condensed down version of it. The real purpose of the "station" format is to do what every other radio station won't. Not pander and take the easy way out in station programing by playing the tired songs from a few years past.

"In today’s corporate-run radio, the pressure has long been on to keep new music off the air," he explains. "Research has dictated that stations tell audiences they’re playing 'new' music while serving them the comfort zone favorites they’ve already proven to love. So-called 'alternative' stations that launched WEEZER are still playing their songs to an audience that is literally wheezing now! My concept is playing music that is totally fresh -- new music by baby artists with not one song in rotation over 12 months-old."

Considering how many times songs are on a cycle on the majority of the radio stations with a lot of the same successful bands on heavy repeat, this is a bold move. It's also one that has a lot of potential to work.



With the modern day ease of streaming on to your smart phone, you're no longer restricted to listen to the music that your local area can pick up on the car antenna. Driving through the majority of California would be nothing but farmer reports, religious stations and Spanish stations. So the ability to stream this from their website is perfect.

New Normal Music first started airing last night at midnight and is currently running with 500,000 songs in a row. If you're still wondering how this is any different than anything on the radio, The following are things you're probably NOT going to hear on The New Normal:

-"This one goes out to Joey from Susie-sue, who's wishing she could be with you right now and sends you all her love"

- Ryan Seacrest spouting off American Idol news, celebrity gossip or paying your bills.

- Flash back lunches.... or flash back anythings for that matter.

- "Caller number 98.7 is going to be entered into a contest to win something . Listen all week to know when to call!"

- Rick Dees or Casey Kasem showing off their accounting skills in counting down things.

- Furious fives, Top Ten, or any other sort of "today's hottest song" countdown nightly.

- Pledge drives.

- Crazy tin foil hat wearing callers either East or West of the Rockies.

- No songs about wives leaving, pick-up trucks not working or dogs dying.

- Kenny G or any other smooooth listening bore you to tears songs.

- Winning tickets to see a 40 year old band play their latest gig at the local county fair.

- Church/Mass service or any Bible thumping

- Farming reports



- Richard Blade's fake British accent.

- Conversations about how to kill your red ant problem.

- Disc Jockeys named "Big Bopper", "Shotgun", "Wolfman", "Big Boy", "Stryker" or "Jed The Fish".

- The standard 40, 60, or 90 minutes of commercial free music -When it comes on tonight, it's a straight 50,000 songs in a row.

- It wont have Santa Monica, or any cities snooze inducing city council meetings.

- Appealing to the tea baggers by not playing a single Spanish language song



- Come Christmas time, New Normal won't be blasting holiday cliched music till you're driven to suicide by fruitcake.

- That one hour of community service local radio program that every station tries to stick on at the same time on Sunday morning

- Breakfast, lunch or dinner with the Beatles.

- A tent handing out promo shirts that will only serve as an indicator that your girlfriend doesn't want to put out when it's worn to bed.

- Dr. Demento... Oh wait, not even the radio has him anymore

- No ads for methods on how to detox your system and add years to your life .

- No traffic on the 1's, 5's, 8's, and 10's.

- Dr. Laura and her turkey neck. Ugggggggggh

- Dingo and the Baby, Kevin and Bean, Mark and Brian or any other morning zoo wacky programs to kill time on your morning commute.

- Phrases such as "More music, less talk", "One great song after another", "The station with all your favorites", "Most variety on the radio!"


There you go. With the sound quality being extremely crisp, the format being all new music and it going on for so long without breaks, I'm not sure how you could pass up just setting your media player to stream New Normal Music. The station really is worth the hype and I wish Tom Leykis and Art nothing but the best in this venture.

Radio is dead. Long live streaming feeds.

The New Normal - The Return of Tom Leykis... Sort of

The New Normal - The Return of Tom Leykis... Sort of

Ever since going off the air earlier last year people have been wondering what he's up to or what he will do. Being that he's under CBS contract till 2012, so he can't do his show like he used to till another two years.

Well, that hasn't stopped Tom one bit. His very amazingly informative wine show "The Tasting Room", which every foodie or anyone interested in beer or wine should be listening to anyway airs on Thursday nights at 8 till 10 on AM 1260 which can also be streamed live and you can find a stream of the last episode on his latest venture.. The New Normal Network



Yes, that's right.. he created his own network.. What? Which currently has a countdown clock on it. It lead a lot to wonder what exactly is it count downing to? Here's the answer straight from Tom's own fingers..

The countdown has begun.

As you may know, I have created an audio content and radio syndication company called The New Normal.

Wednesday morning May 12th at 10 AM Pacific Time, The New Normal website goes live for the first time with the premiere of our first original production, and we would love for you to be a part of it.

Many listeners have been clamoring for me to make a return to hosting daily shows. That day will come.

In the meantime, we are proud to announce that our first daily podcast will be coming from two voices you know from our radio show.

Longtime producer and wingman, Gary Zabransky, and that tool of ignorance Dino DeMilio have reunited with me to bring you “The Gary & Dino Show”. These guys for years have been an integral part of “The Tom Leykis Show” and this daily podcast will be reflective of the sensibilities of our show from Gary & Dino’s own points of view.

“The Gary & Dino Show” launches with several episodes to get you started. Add it to your RSS feeds if you like. And be sure to give us your feedback!

The New Normal website is a perfect central location to learn about what we are doing next, to find ways to get and keep in touch, to let you know where we are on Facebook, Twitter, and our websites. You can go there beginning Wednesday morning at 10 AM Pacific time by clicking right here http://newnormalnetwork.com/ . When I come back, this is where you will hear about it first.

But that’s not all. The New Normal will be presenting all kinds of audio content. If what we currently present isn’t floating your boat, bookmark our site and keep checking back. Some content will be heard on radio as well as from our site. Some will be internet-only. Some of this stuff you will NEVER hear on radio (OR anywhere ELSE!).

If you own a small or medium size business, find out how to get in with us on the ground floor of this revolution. Details are on the newnormalnetwork.com website as well.

We are counting on you to help spread the word that we are open for business. Tell your friends to sign up for the mailing list. We are going to be breaking every rule of radio. We will do things you have always wanted us to do. There is no radio station or company in the way. You will communicate directly with us.

So are you ready? The old normal just isn’t working anymore. This is The New Normal!

Tom Leykis

The New Normal

Which makes a lot of sense considering how radio is starting to evolve to something you don't just listen to in your car... or aren't limited to what local stations you can listen to, according to this New York Times article.

THE Internet’s tentacles seem to have no limit, reaching out and strangling CDs, bookstores, newspapers and magazines. Now it has its sights set on the car radio.

Many people are already accustomed to plugging an iPod into the car to listen to their library of Arcade Fire tracks rather than CDs. But now there is a new movement that could really threaten traditional broadcast radio: Internet music services like Pandora, Slacker and Last.fm already popular with computer and smartphone owners, are being tailored by software developers, consumer electronics companies and even automakers to work more seamlessly with car stereo systems. So, while video didn’t end up killing the radio star, this time the Internet might just succeed.

The devices responsible for this trend are smartphones like Apple's iPhone, RIM’s line of BlackBerrys and phones using the Android software developed by Google. These handsets all have free applications that play customized music channels streamed over the Internet using the phone’s 3G wireless data connection. The services are generally free, although smartphone owners typically pay about $30 a month on top of regular voice service for unlimited data usage.

The attraction is that rather than being shackled to the same old hits from local radio stations, listeners can customize the music channel to suit their tastes. Pandora has about 750,000 songs and 40 million listeners. Put in the name of your favorite artist, say Chairlift, and Pandora creates a station that features Chairlift and similar groups, like Metric.

So pretty much if it streams, you can listen to it in your car. Hell, I stopped tuning around and since Tom has been off the air, I have limited myself to NPR news and rarely an instance of listening to some classic rock or kroq's "alternative" options.

So the idea that Tom Leykis' brand is reaching out and giving Dino and Gary Zabransky a show under his network is a clear sign that he's paving the way to a new and interesting future for the internet to reach your car and home listening options.



Not to toss another good example of a station format changing not limiting a show, Adam Corolla's podcast started almost as soon as the old station, 97.1FM which was home to both Tom Leykis and himself, changed format. He's been making huge waves. So Tom Leykis is nothing short of brilliant in striking while the iron is hot for this move to start an online/radio network.

I'm sure that other programs he backs up will have quality behind them that the possibly of radio stations getting it syndicated isn't out of the question, but to have the outlet in itself is a huge door opening in itself.

I know I'll be following these latest developments and listening in. Way to go Tom!

Heellllooooooooo TOM! -The Return of Tom Leykis

Heellllooooooooo TOM! -The Return of Tom Leykis

Today is an important day for Los Angeles history. Today, you see, or for what it's worth, listen to the return of Tom Leykis on our Los Angeles radio air waves.

Now I get into a lot of debates whenever this topic comes up that I really enjoy the Tom Leykis show. Let me get a couple things out of the way. I listen to NPR daily. One of my favorite shows is This American Life and while I do enjoy a nice glass of wine, I really enjoy a nice cold beer at a dive bar. It's the beauty of walking that line. Or for that matter, having some acceptance towards views that aren't your own.

I'll admit, The Tom Leykis Show was pretty intense in terms of his views. But you have to understand that it was a show that had some comical elements to it. Some of the subject matter or his expressed views were a bit over the top, but it was done so on purpose. I would relate it to watching day time talk shows. He expressed a shocking view point and callers chimed in their opinions and got berated by him. It was very entertaining. More to the point, I actually agreed with his opinion on current affairs and matters in politics.



It was open, honest and very brutally direct. It wasn't for everyone and his views towards marriage, given that he had four failed ones, as well as relationships in general were stuff that women hated. He likes to consider himself a feminist, in the same nature that I do - Everyone being equal. Which did question the whole "Who pays" and traditional roles that many women like to reap only the benefits of. Tom Leykis shells out real world advice. Yes, his relationship stuff can be a little extreme, but hey, he's a shock jock.

The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis was NOT the "Tom Leykis Show". You may have been angered by his Leykis 101 segments or educated by "Ask the atheist" or just entertained by his callers level of stupidity. The Tasting Room was not the same show by a mile. The Tasting Room, described like this on its website.

The first of its kind, The Tasting Room is a lifestyle themed program for men with a taste for the finer things in life. From fine wine, high-end spirits, & craft brews to first-rate dining & premium cigars, Leykis covers it all in this weekly two-hour, on-air ride through every man's wish list.

Leykis has proven to be a huge ratings draw with churning discussions that keep Americans listening every day on The Tom Leykis Show. His opinions are thought provoking and his unconventional perspective on dating, relationships and politics have made him one of America's top radio personalities.

It was something that you wouldn't normally hear on the FM dial. Especially not on a commercial radio station. Even if beer companies advertise heavily, it was a lifestyle program that wouldn't be found beyond your local public radio stations. It took the educational aspects of a KCRW/KPCC food show and applied it to wine/beer/food

Considering how much of a foodie I am, and while I'm sure I'm not in the "I have a problem" stage, I love to drink. Wine, Beer and all-ends(high and low) spirits. I like to get out there and try new food and drink all the time, and it's not just to review them. The Tasting Room was a show that had interviews with the makers and it was a good way to introduce you to something you might not have tried on your own. Let's face it, walking into a wine section of any reputable store can be a little daunting and intimidating.



The Tasting Room gave you that education on what different terms meant and how to actually taste and sample a little bit of that good life. I learned a lot from the show and I was introduced to a lot more wines because of it. I may not have had much respect for chardonnay prior, but after tasting GOOD chardonnay, I took trips up to the Russian River Valley to really get some good bottles and tastings.

When KLOS 97.1 changed formats to a top 40's station early last year, it killed the shows that were broadcasting out of there. Namely The Tom Leykis Show as well as The Tasting Room and we have been without Tom on the radio since then. The wait for new shows is over as you see, Tom Leykis is coming back to radio today!

Tom Leykis is returning to local radio. Starting Feb. 25, he will be on KGIL/1260 AM – “Retro 1260 AM” - from 8 to 10 p.m. Thursdays with his lifestyle program called “The Tasting Room.”

While it's not the shock program that the Tom Leykis Show is, I can easily say that I'm extremely happy for this news. It's a great way for you to learn about what you are drinking. And even if you're not a wine drinker, the beer talk that happened on the show as well as the mixology was always beyond educational. I'm sure anyone could walk away from a two hour program and be a better drinker.. and most of all, better bartender for their own little private gatherings at home.



I know I'll be listening in tonight, even if it's an AM station. I mean, when was the last time you even touched the AM dial on your radio? I'm sure most people actually forgot it existed. A little ironic because Tom did mention many times on his other show that AM is where radio host go to die. Considering that there is no FM commercial station that has a talk format, I guess it's the only option.

You know, now that I think about it, I know when the last time the AM dial had any sort of exciting news, it was this day in 1942 when an unidentified thing in the sky caused L.A. to go stir crazy and sound alarms. Yeah, we were in the middle of a war and we were sort of expecting a surprise attack by Japan like they pulled on Pearl Harbor, but in the end it turned out to be some weather balloon.



That may sound like some alien cover up bullshit, right? It's not. During the night of 24/25 February 1942, unidentified objects caused a succession of alerts in southern California. And while 1,440 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition were directed against what was suppose to be Japanese planes, they suffered no losses. Yeah, there may have been reports that four enemy planes had been shot down, and one "landed" in flames at a Hollywood intersection, but those were nothing more than smoke being blown, unlike with Tom, the only smoke blown there is from a nice Cuban Cigar.

So listen in tonight on your AM dial to the Tasting Room with Tom Leykis. You'll be surprised by how much you learn from it. It could be very ear opening.

Now to take myself out with a Lacey Peterson..

The Economy Killed The Radio Star - Blow Me Up, Tom!

The Economy Killed The Radio Star

When I was writing my 2009 dead pool list I would not have put a radio format on it. Not more than two months into this year and I'm already seeing the death of radio. It's bad enough that tonight has the last Late Night with Conan airing. Another piece of my daily life going away, but to lose 97.1 FM so it could be turned into another Top 40's station? Say it aint' so! The Tom Leykis Show has been a daily indulgence that I will no longer have at hand and that's a sad fact.

I can understand Indie 103.1 going under. They were claiming to be indie but that has no market appeal. You have small ratings at best on it. Over in public radio you had the big change in Jason Bentley being the new music director at KCRW was a bit of a change up, but it's business as usual... if you can really call public radio a "business". This format change strikes deep.



When I was young I first heard Tom Leykis on KFI. My mother would have it on in the afternoon after Dr Laura Schlessinger. Back then he was the liberal counter to Rush. He vehemently spoke out against Los Angeles corrupt politicians and leaders and did a fair amount of hell-raising cover a multitude of topics. I think it was because of that exposure that I was more into the news and what was going on around me. I read more than the comic section of the paper to be informed and for fun. KFI eventually laid him off around 1992.

His next gig in Southern California radio was with 97.1FM. He's been around in this current state of the show since 1994 with the big shake up around 1997 transforming the show into what many dislike. For what many consider tasteless, I would consider a breath of fresh air. His material has always been entertaining. A lot of his topics are male targeted and wrongly pegged as some sort of anti-feminist speech. He'd be the first one to tell you that he's all for equality in the sex. He constantly was the voice of reason.


God damn Top 40's format!

Rumors were floating around on Wednesday that the show was flipping format and then franklin avenue broke out with the press release for the upcoming AMP FM station promo.

"97.1 AMP RADIO," A COMPLETELY INTEGRATED ON-AIR, ONLINE, ON-SITE AND MOBILE AUDIO DESTINATION, LAUNCHES ON FRIDAY, FEB. 20

CBS RADIO Diversifies Programming Offerings In Los Angeles With Debut Of Top 40 Radio Station Targeting Young Adults

Amp Radio Experience To Feature Most Popular Current Artists, Interactive Website, Ability to Create Artist Specific Online Radio Stations, Mobile Applications And More

On Friday, Feb. 20 at 5:00PM, PT, Los Angeles listeners, and hundreds of thousands more across the country, will be introduced to CBS RADIO's newest radio station, 97.1 AMP RADIO. Playing "All the Hits," AMP RADIO will combine the power of its on-air position with myriad online and digital applications creating a full 360 degree audio and visual experience for young adults.

The fate of Los Angeles Talk Radio was sealed in that it was now going to be some lame top 40's station targeting the 18-49 Woman demographic. Which is odd since Tom Leykis was number 1 in attracting the 25-55 male demographic for afternoon drive. Number 1! So this isn't a move to put out of misery a dying dog. This show was doing gang busters in getting the demographics. It also was heard around the nation with 22 affiliates across the country.

CBS radio really did a business choice here that I was surprised about. They're basically handing radio over to Clear Channel, and that would be a bigger monopoly than they always preached satellite radio would be. So why change the format? In this tough economic time the cost to run a talk radio station just didn't add up. Especially when you can pretty much fill up an Ipod shuffle worth of music, not hire a DJ, producers, engineers and screeners and let it run with the occasional prerecorded voice over every twenty minutes to keep you grounded. At the end of the day it just comes down that CBS wants to target those female listeners like they did with Jack FM. It's a sad reality, but it's true.



Tom Leykis had something to offer everyone. I don't care if you get offended by him, it's more than likely because it's grounded into some truth. Yes, he was arrogant in saying it. But he had something for everyone. In the last six months or so Tom changed his format up a bit to talk less about how women screw men out of child support and all that and went back to his KFI sort of material. In some weeks the only time he even mentioned anything about sex or relationship sort of "advice" was during the two hours on Thursday during his Leykis 101 class. Leaving the rest of the week to be all about current affair, political and financial advice that was more than welcome.

And when a multi-millionaire who owns two homes, one in the Hollywood Hills and another in Santa Barbara wants to give you financial advice, you listen and you listen well. I don't care if you hated his stance on issues, he is brilliant when it comes to making your money last. He came from a poor home in Brooklyn and he made himself all that money by hard work, sweat and sacrifice. You'd be wise to listen to him when he had something to say on the subject.



As for his much controversial Leykis 101 segment was harsher than it really sounded. All the advice given on that was pretty much common sense and based on logic. If it was brutal in any way, it's just because it was honest.

The purpose of dating is for sex?
Well... duh. As nice as it is to watch a movie or try some new place to eat is, you can do that with friends and not have to spend money for the other person.

Don't spend more than $40 on a date?
It's only logic. If they like you because you spend $100 on them but not when you only spend $20 on them.... well, they're with you for the sole reason of getting monetary value out of you. Not to mention that they'll

Three date rule - No sex by date three and it's done with
Like baseball, it's three strikes and you're out. If there's no sexual chemistry by date three then you really do need to stop dating them because you're just their friend who's buying them outings.


The Professor is in

This was all common sense. He always suggested men stay safe and hell, all this advice was great for women to know what guys are thinking. It's rooted in on common sense. And if that was too much to an extreme his range was one that he would go the complete opposite and talk about how women in abusive relationships should leave at once.

His show also captured a killer. One disgruntled female caller called in and confessed to killer the father of her child because he didn't pay for child support. See, now Tom always says that you should pay whatever you are legally suppose to. But this lady came out and confessed to a murder of over ten years. From Flash Friday to Ask the Atheist to the very talked about ways he took people out (JFK, African Tribal, Lacy Peterson, etc.) there wasn't a moment that wasn't entertaining of the show.



Leykis has also been doing a Wine and Spirits show called The Tasting Room for about two years now. It is all about the good stuff to drink. As an advocate of good wine and good spirits. If you were ever turned off by the sex topics, the tasting room was for you. It was beyond informative and offered many many helpful advice about what to drink, how to get it cheap and how to enjoy the good life. Oddly enough before the tasting room came about I started drinking more and more wine. So the topics on there really helped me in so many ways.

It seems that Tom Leykis has been there every step of me growing up and being who I am. A well informed individual. I often get told that I'm up to date with just about all the current events on what's happening. That I soak information up and I thank The Tom Leykis show in all its different forms has been there shaping me to who I am. 21 years later I'm face with a situation I have been faced before. No more Tom Leykis on the radio.... at least for a short time. I'm positive that he'll still be around. Book potential and all.



My only regret is that I didn't go out to a wine event a couple months back at The Foundry that Tom was hosting. A pairing of wine and meals.. But that's not too bad. I'm fully expecting one trip to the Santa Barbara wine country to run across his path when he's in a local market picking up supplies for his ranch and I'll thank him for all that he has done for me growing up and all that I'm sure he'll continue to do to me as being a major influence on my life. I would say that he's up there in influencial to me as Hunter S. Thompson or Tony Bourdain.

He told the OC Register this:

Tom Leykis reflected Thursday on his role as the last talk voice to be heard on 97.1 FM before it switches at 5 p.m. Friday to AMP Radio, a Top 40 hit music format that has been described as "fun, up-tempo and hip."

"I have no regrets," he said in a phone interview. "I have nothing bad to say. There is no good scandal here."

Leykis, 52, said he started on KLSX Labor Day weekend in 1997. He found out Feb. 12 that Feb. 20 would be his last day there. "I was not surprised. It had been a rumor for some time. CBS has been pretty generous to me. I am financially well off," he said.

"I'm broadcaster. This is what we do. To say you are looking for the next opportunity is like saying you are looking for a relationship. I don't look for relationships. They find me. If you think I am polishing up on my résumé and putting it up on Monster.com, the answer is no.

"I don't owe anybody anything. CBS has been remarkable – way different than Howard Neal and David G. Hall at KFI. KLSX has such a history and has had a great run – they wanted me to be the last voice heard on the station," he said.

I like that. He's not going to look for another gig or put his resume on Monster.com, he'll let them come to him. With the #1 show in males 25-55, it shouldn't be a surprise to see him pop up in some shape or form in the next year or so. It's going to be tough to not have Tom on my daily commute. I have about 20 gigs of his old shows to keep me company on my Ipod though. It'll be the best of whenever I need it.


Say goodbye L.A. Talk Radio...

And with that....... Blow me up Tom!