The Josh Innes Show - Latest On The Radio Show

Episode Date: August 6, 2025

I know I keep telling you guys that I'm up against it in Detroit..This isn't a lie. I can honestly say that this is the toughest challenge I've ever faced in radio. It's very rare that a radio station gets ZERO phone calls..even for a giveaway. But, it's exciting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Yes, all right, good. We've got a better volume on that now. What's going on? It's Josh. Glad you guys are there. Appreciate you listening to the podcast. Appreciate you sharing the podcast. Appreciate you telling your friends about the podcast.

Appreciate the fact that some of you are listening to the radio show podcast as well. That's very cool. It is, trust me, it is appreciated. I know I've brought this up a lot. I know I keep talking about it, like at least once a week or whatever, maybe even more. But I have an uphill climb right now in Detroit. Like I'm doing the show, and I think the show sounds pretty good. I really want your feedback, honestly, because we're looking for people to fill out this radio show.

So go search for the Josh Innes show, WLZ. It's a red and black logo. And listen to some of the pods. There have only been eight shows so far. And we did some shows with a dude who was up here last week. And then we've had another gal named Aaron who came up here. And she's done three shows with me this week. But she's done radio in the past.

It's not her first rodeo. She worked in L.A., Phoenix. a bunch of places, actually, and she's got a history in doing sports. So I think we sound pretty good, but probably, like, she's somebody, I think, sounds good on the show, and I have two spots I need to fill. And I have no idea when they're going to fill these spots, to tell you the truth. I mean, this whole thing's been kind of a wacky process, as I've told you. I started talking with these folks in March, and I didn't even get here until July.

And the plan was to have a show in place and be ready to go when we launched. and we launched a week and a half ago, but at this point, we don't have a show. We have me. And look, I'm enjoying it, and it's a job, and I like it, and I like the city a lot, and I like the people I work for a lot. I think it's going to be a good thing. But when I tell you that this is an uphill climb, I have never experienced anything like this before.

Actually, let me play a couple commercials, and we'll continue. And I know I've told you this. I've been in spots before that, actually, I really haven't. When I really think about it, like $7.90 was an uphill climb, but the expectations were not that of being a powerhouse radio station. Like, the expectations were to get decent numbers and make revenue, and that's fine. And that's the biggest salary I've ever had was there. But outside of that, everywhere I've gone is a big time station or a leader in the market that was kind of dormant at the time and just needed a kick in the ass. I was the kick in the ass, or one of the kicks in the ass, but I think certainly was a helped in bringing in a new era at 6-10.

But 6-10 was always the leader in Houston, and it just needed someone to come in and kind of rejuvenate it. And Gavin really did that. And then me coming in there and moving to afternoons after a year, I think, was a huge part of that. Texans getting good was a huge part of that. There were a lot of factors. But that was a sleeping giant, so to speak, that had been kind of neglected for a while. And John and Lance had left, and there were lawsuits. There were a lot of things, but it just needed a kick in the ass, and we gave it that.

We go to Philadelphia, where Angelo's kicking ass in the morning. Midday's kind of okay. Afternoons, not doing well against Missonelli. But that's a big time, top two or three sports station in the country that just needed someone to come in and give it a little drive. And I did that, and I helped kind of rebuild that thing, too. Then I got whacked, and then it really went to the stratosphere when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl and won.

but, like, it's not like I was going into a news station or a station that had a ton of competition. Like, I went into those two situations in pretty good spots, and we talked about Nashville. While Nashville wasn't a powerhouse station, they had been around for 20 plus years, the only classic rock in town. They were airing a crappy syndicated morning show that people weren't listening to. You put on a local morning show, people listened to it, and I got a lot of bonuses. So this is a different animal. Like, I'm sitting up here this morning, and, like, I'm just trying to get anybody to call or text, right? I'm doing low-hanging fruit shit.

Now, I'm also doing some stuff that's really good. Like, we're doing fun stuff and we're laughing and we're doing good bits. And, like, it sounds good. Like, I think the show itself sounds solid, okay? I'm not going to blow myself, but I will say that it sounds solid. It's a pretty good show. But I'll throw out questions that at any other radio station I have ever worked for, whether it be all the way down the totem pole to like ESPN in Houston where I was on for a year working

for free, whether it be at 610, whether it be, it doesn't matter. If I ask questions like, hey, it's Salay Moon Fry's birthday. Who did you have a crush on when you were a kid? Like, who was your childhood celebrity crush? I would get hundreds of texts. The phone lines would ring, and I'd have content that way if I needed it. Like, I like talking with callers and interacting. I think it makes the show sound better. I'm not. dependent upon callers for interaction or for listenership, but I like having callers there because I think it moves the conversation along. It makes you sound like you're engaged and the city's engaged with what you're doing.

When I tell you that this phone at this radio station does not ring, I can say the most offensive shit. It used to be like I'd go into a place and if I used the word penis for some reason, which is topical now because you got dildos being thrown at sporting and events, if I just said penis, I'd at least get 10 people calling saying that's offensive and they can't believe that I'd be allowed to say penis on the radio, right? Like, that's how this place, that's how it would be anywhere. Here, I, like, I could not get shot in Detroit.

Like, and that's the uphill climb we have. The other day, I did guess the animal fart, which is something we started doing in St. Louis, a completely stupid bit that was born of a story. there's some show prep story about how some funny video of a cow farting or something and then we started looking up animal farts and then we started playing a game called Guess the Animal Fart So I played this fart yesterday

Oh hold on Let me try it again Hold on I played this fart yesterday A fart yesterday A fart with a fart with a fart with a fart with a fart with a fart with a fart diabolical laugh. And I played that yesterday for Assis Ansari tickets. Now, Assis Ansari is not going to be the sexiest name for people to covet on a rock station. I like Assis Ansari. I think he's funny. But it's not like that someone like, you know, whatever. It's not like it's heart tickets

or something for a rock station. So I figured there'd be enough prize pigs that would at least want those tickets. When I played the guest the animal fart, Not one person called. And I set that thing up three or four times, not one person called. This is a true uphill battle. Like almost any radio station in the planet would just have people waiting to call it. Just by accident, people would wait to call it. By accident, people would wait to text.

And the only text messages I'm getting for the most part, I'll get a occasional ones. Now, granted, in the defense of the audience and the radio station, they've had syndicated morning shows on here forever. And when I say syndicated, it ain't like a big time morning show. It was me out of Nashville and my buddy Spencer out of Birmingham after I left. It's not like this station's been loaded with anything local and it hasn't been loaded with like a big time syndicated show that might get some mileage. It's been me out of Nashville and my buddy out of Birmingham. That's it. That's what they've had for the entirety of their existence for the most part. So the audience hasn't been trained on what the local number is. The audience hasn't been

trained on the phone number, which actually gives me a good idea for some web content. Good job, Josh. That's what I got to do. I got to start going to the station social media and putting together videos that show people the phone number and the text number. So maybe they'll engage with the show. Because it's hard. You'll be sitting here. And like I used to make jokes about how like, oh, I don't know if anybody's listening, but you always knew on WIP someone was listening. Hell, you knew when you did the AM show on WIP on 6.10 a.m. when the Phillies were on, you knew that somebody was listening.

There are days that I'm doing this and I'm like, I wonder if anybody's listening. Because, like, I get text messages from basically one dude who used to listen in St. Louis. Like, that's where all of the text messages for this show come from, man. Like, that's what's going to make it rewarding, like super rewarding, whenever. we turn this thing around and become a player. But this is truly, you talk about David versus Goliath. Like, we're a Goliath in the sense that we're run by the biggest media company there is, an I-Heart.

We are a David in every other aspect. We are chasing mega-successful Heritage 50-year rock station. We are chasing sports station. We are chasing 35, 40-year running classic rock station. We are chasing some behemoths, some monsters. So if we can climb out of where we are, which is, you know, like our starting point is like 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th. If we get to top five, they're going to throw me a parade. If somehow we climb into like the top three, which again, whether it being men, whether

being men 1849, men 2554, it doesn't matter. If we somehow get into the top three for any period of time, they may make me president of the company because we got some big morning shows in our own building, some very nice people that have giant morning shows. Like it's kind of fun It's fun being the underdog But if you're the underdog and you don't treat it the right way And you don't handle it the right way

It can be a giant failure and feel terrible I think we're handling it the right way by being on the attack It's still very early in the process But I think we have to take advantage of where we are As an underdog and do underdog shit We have to punch up That's who we are Like I'm used to being in the position where

We're on top and I still punch down because I can't help but shit on people. I'm in the position now where I need to be slugging up, up, up, uppercuts, taking shots at the big dogs. That's the only chance we're going to have to be successful. So when I tell you that I show up in the morning and look, I think the show sounds good. At least I'm not by myself, although I will be by myself tomorrow and Friday, which sucks. So hopefully you guys listening to this will call this radio stage.

That's actually what I want you to do. This is a test for anybody who listens to the podcast. It's a challenge. So here's the phone number of this radio station. 877-988-1067. Of course, you can listen to it live on the IHeart Radio app. You can listen to the podcast of it. Go leave a review on Apple or Spotify or whatever.

That would help me out. But I know you guys are listening. I need you to be part of this show. Like you say, I hear Jim on the show. I use Jim on the show because no one calls. Although I got a call from a weirdo in Canada yesterday who was angry that I was shitting on Canada for the wildfires and killing our breathing here, but like a lot of people don't call.

Here's where I need you guys tomorrow. This is a challenge to the members of GIST Nation, now the all-up Innes Nation, whatever. Tomorrow morning between 6 and 10 East, so 5 and 9 Central, wherever you are, 877-9-88-1067 is the number. I'm going to be up here by myself tomorrow. I need interaction phone calls fun to make this thing sound like it's a good fucking time. I have to fake it a little bit. Although if you're calling, it's not going to be fake, but like I need something to generate any sort of pop, any sort of buzz, any sort of energy.

Because at this point, like Andy used to say this, callers beget calls. If someone hears someone call, other people will call. So I'm going to have to fake it with you guys. My loyal group of people who listen to the podcast and are great, I'm going to need you to actually call my ass tomorrow. on whatever topics we're talking about and shoot the shit with me and make it sound like people are listening because look, real talk, we're not flush with listeners. This is a true challenge. If we get this thing to a level of success, which I think we will, it is going to be a monumental.

It is going to be a monumental epic accomplishment. It will be a gigantic victory. So, like, this is not bullshit. is not like, you know, us against the world. This is not, hey, we're in sixth place, but we're a sleeping giant and a couple of good moves here and we're number one. This is, we are out of sight, out of mind. People don't know we exist and we have to pull up, we have to just go out and beat the shit out of people is what we're going to have to do. It is going to be old school radio warfare, and that is our only hope to be successful. So tomorrow, test for you guys,

Write this number down, 877-988-1067, or just text me in the morning as well and interact that way, whichever way you want to do it. You know, I love you guys. This is going to be a fascinating thing and follow the podcast for the radio show as well and like it and review it. And then send me messages and let me know what you think. You are my sounding board. You are my loves. I love you, sons of bitches. So listen to that.

Tell me what you like. Tell me what you don't like. I need you guys. I'm up against it here. I love you. All right. More to come.