Look at that...it seems just the other day we chose to celebrate another marker or slice of time. So, this month marks the 30th anniversary of working with NY Giants, defensive end
Michael Strahan and NY Jets wide receiver,
Wayne Chrebet on the Tops Appliance City radio spots here in New York.
It's August of 1995 and Tops was sorta the new guy on the block. Yes, that's correct, this was before we ever heard of Amazon or Ebay. Tops wasn't likely to be threatening any of the other electronic czars like; Crazy Eddie's, The Wiz, Newmark & Lewis, etc. Tops was branching out and wanted to make a splash with Up-and-Coming footballers.
Geezering back aways, I remember producing commercials of celeb/political voices on a TEAC 4-channel R/R (The very same the Beatles used). These cats were fly-by-nite electronics joints like Battling Barry's House of Audio and Hi Fi Fo Fum. They were there one minute...gone the next.
Some of these characters had reputations, warranted or not. One of the most notorious was; Crazy Eddies's. It made its way into the pantheon of plot twists in the movie The Accountant.
Back to my new best-buds the Wayne'ster & Mikey. It was cool to be in the company of these guys. I was in between "Strapz" and Mister 3rd down aka The Green Lantern while they were talkin' game shiz. Bigger-than-life and there wasn't a stitch of temperamental discourse between them.
But first get this, N.Y. Giants R/B, Rodney Hampton was also booked...as the star attraction. He was the Big-Cheese, though he retired after the 1997 season. A prior commitment made him a no show. So, the three of us headed into the sound booth and aside from a few tips I passed on re: high energy nuances, I familiarized them with the rules & regs of Radio-land...(:30) or (:60) seconds means just that, even though there were some gems that were discarded because they ran long.
Yet, these guys are pro's and were quick studies. We got along on all fronts and had some fun doing The Tops & Sharp Monday Night Live Football Sweepstakes promos! I played the part of the noisy play-by-play sportscaster in the (:30) second radio spot below. Point of interest on that characterization of the sportscaster...it was a necessity. There was sooo much copy they wanted to impart. Geez, the title of the sweepstakes alone had nine words to it...and it was repeated three times. There needed to be a reason to go really fast talker dude. And P-by-P dudes - talk fast. Take a listen on the link below the VU Meter.
The session went great at Compositions Studios, now the
Story House Condo. Everyone got along and the director's 2 kids showed up to get a glimpse of some real football stars...or stars to be. And out came the camera and these guys had the kids holding footballs, shaking hands, gosh, even I had a chance to get a few shots with the players.
Could this be a captured moment-in-time for the potential 'Wall-of-Fame'? So, I asked for a copy. Be good to be sure they'll actually send a copy of our group shot. Sure, they say they'll mail it, but even with the best intentions, it's tenuous. Same with commercial dubs.
Back in 1995 Social Capital hadn't been invented as it exists today. So how do you hedge your bets to get that all important photo that proves I ain't no slouch. I'm professional enough to be with the big-leaguers. Plus, it would be cool as hell to have wallet-sized proof to show my brush with fame ...at least for that week anyway.
Wait-a-minute, wasn't there a Modell's sporting goods store that I passed on the way over to the studio? And don't they sell football jerseys? Geez, I gotta go to Moe's! 'Course, the way my brain was percolatin' I'd settle for a street vendor. There it is - Modell's. It's open. They sell tons of jerseys and WTF, they're on sale!
Hey, if I can get back to the studio with these jerseys while everybody is still there, I could have a run at -
MVP.
With breakneck speed I headed back to the studio. Once there I found the gang was still mulling around as I mentioned passing by a Modell's and figured my nephew would love a signed Giants jersey from...but, you know, so would Shlomo and his brother Uri I bet. I'll take 'three' please. So I said, after clearing my throat while handing the director's son's the two jerseys, if Michael & Wayne...wouldn't mind terribly signing a few jerseys... A resounding "give 'em here" followed. The Jets & Giants were equal to the task. I sheepishly handed Mike an additional Giants Jersey for my nephew who's a gigantic Giant's fan.
Guess it's no surprise to see that the director kept his word and sent the pic of Wayne, Mike and me. And the social capital I got from my nephew lasts till this day. He assured me that he hasn't worn the jersey, washed the jersey or shown the jersey to just any spectator who wouldn't appreciate fully...its majestic glory. It's ensconced below.
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