Ron profile picture

Ron

waiting for my real life to begin...and then some.

About Me

Well...outside of turning 40 recently, having this strange affection for disaster films (not sure quite WHY that is), and my passion for writing and 80s music, I have hosted Portland, Maine's only 80s music program, STUCK IN THE 80s, since 1996, on Greater Portland's award-winning community radio station, WMPG-FM. I have also served as Music Director for WMPG since 2001. During that time, I have interviewed and met my favorite singer, the incomparable Cyndi Lauper. I have also met Ali Shaw of Cranes, Aimee Mann, the fine duo that is I Am The World Trade Center, and Elvis Costello. In the past, I have met Robyn Hitchcock twice, Kelly Hogan and The Jody Grind (in 1990; great band live, by the way), Max Weinberg of Conan O'Brien and the E Street Band, and somewhere exists a picture of me in 1985 (many years and many pounds ago) with Connie Chung. If I find it, I will of course put it on the site here.80s music has been such an important part of my life, even before the 80s started, and always will be. For me, a great deal of the music from 1979 defined the music of a decade - the NEXT one. I am a proud 80s enthusiast. I find myself buying books, memorabilia involving everything 80s. I can't get enough of it (or out of it), hence the name of my show, STUCK IN THE 80s. A dear friend once said to me that I am original at being nostalgic. Truly one of the best compliments I have ever had.I am also a writer - a write music reviews for this great local Internet publication called The Bollard - visit it at thebollard.com. Very cool indeed. I am also in the process of writing more - a children's book; a screenplay about the high school reunion I would have LOVED to go to; an 80s music reference book; a book about WMPG; the next great American novel - all of which I hope will happen sometime soon.I have been a resident of this great city of Portland, Maine for 13 years (wow, I moved here when I was in my 20s!), and I sure do love it here. I was married for nearly 6 years to a great woman and divorced in 2005. Although it didn't work out, we remain good friends to this day, exchanging music and e-mails and postcards (actually, I think she has sent all the postcards) while we are living in 2 different parts of the world.I am also a recovering Catholic (see Kevin Smith's fantastic film DOGMA for more on that). I believe in God, and know God is with me, but lost interest in sermons that were all about money and not enough about religion and peace and faith. And, I do have faith. Buddy is always with me in my car (Buddy is short for the Buddy Christ; again, see DOGMA for more on that, too).Since the middle of 2000, I have been a survivor of a pituitary tumor, which affected my weight, my testosterone, my thyroid, my adrenaline. Not so much fun. Some days are better than others. "One Day At A Time, sweet Jesus." Wasn't that part of the theme song for the TV show ONE DAY AT A TIME? Sorry...just a joke :)As for companionship, I am not really looking for anyone right now, but I'm not ruling it out either. Mostly, I am just looking forward to enjoying the second part of my life, which will hopefully include romance, marriage, kids, dogs and a book or two in there somewhere. Time will tell I guess.As for jobs, well, of course I would love to be at WMPG full-time, but my dream jobs would be (in no specific order): involved in getting the DVD box set for WKRP off the ground and into stores (my wish came half-true - there will be a WKRP Season 1 box set in stores April 2007); a liner notes writer for RHINO or SHOUT! FACTORY; an 80s programmer for VH1 Classic; the program director of an 80s radio station here in Portland. However, Portland, Maine radio stations are just not ready to go for an all-80s format...or they are just holding off on calling me for the moment :)

My Interests

Outside of most things 80s, I love music in general, movies, walking, dancing (don't do that as much as I would like, but I am dancing more), some TV, writing, cats and dogs (I have a 18-year-old cat named Pumpkyn), collecting Coca-Cola bottles, cans and other related memorabilia, watching Boston Red Sox games (both on TV and whenever I can get to Fenway), photography and traveling. I have traveled to many parts of the U.S., three provinces in Canada, London and Ireland (twice). My two favorite places outside of Maine have to be the Grand Canyon and the Cliffs of Moher (on the Western coast of Ireland) - both absolutely beautiful. What am I not interested in? MySpace.com e-mails that come to me all about sex or people who do not have similar interests to my own. So, if you want to contact me, please keep that in mind. In the meantime, take care and be good to yourself!

I'd like to meet:

Cyndi Lauper (again - I could hang out with her and talk for hours! She's so great!), Madonna, Debbie Harry, Peter Gabriel; the late, great Michael Hutchence, John Candy, Johnny and June Carter Cash; Sting, U2, just about anyone involved with pop, new wave and alternative music from the 1980s. For movie and TV actors and actresses, it's hard to say. I'd love to meet with the casts of CHEERS and WKRP (my two favorite shows of all time), as well as Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Dave Letterman, Conan O'Brien, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Jim Carrey, Julianne Moore, the beautifully brilliant Tina Fey, Kevin Spacey, Bill & Hillary Clinton, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the legendary William Shatner. I would also love to meet Writer/Producer/Actor/Directors Kevin Smith and Edward Burns, as well as the fantastic and funny Denis Leary, Co-Creator/Writer/Producer of RESCUE ME and a brilliant show ABC didn't know what to do with, THE JOB, and also the lovely Janeane Garafolo. Outside of that, I can't think of who else I would love to meet, although if I do meet someone famous, I hope to just shake their hand, say HI and THANK YOU...things I should have done when I met Elvis Costello. I just fumbled all over my words, and then some. As for historical figures, the usual suspects I guess - Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln (whose birthday I share), Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, Johnny Carson, Ben Franklin, Thomas Edison, Pope John Paul II (I have a feeling he would have maybe chuckled at the "recovering Catholic" thing - I'm not sure).

Music:

Favorite songs include "(Don't You) Forget About Me" by Simple Minds, "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper, "The Safety Dance" from Men Without Hats, "Pop Muzik" by M, "It's My Life" by Talk Talk, and just about anything by Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, Madonna, INXS, Duran Duran, Tori Amos, U2, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, Dead Can Dance, Mojave 3, Kate Bush, R.E.M., Johnny Cash, Sting, Depeche Mode, Robyn Hitchcock, Peter Gabriel, Prince, Billy Bragg, Joe Jackson, Love & Rockets, the great Philly band The Hooters, recent synth-pop bands I Am The World Trade Center, Freezepop and Ladytron, Enya, The Waterboys, October Project, The Dream Academy, my favorite "new" artist, Regina Spektor, and many, many more. Favorite albums include SHABOOH SHOOBAH by INXS, SHE'S SO UNUSUAL by Cyndi Lauper, HOUNDS OF LOVE by Kate Bush, HATFUL OF HOLLOW by The Smiths, SIGN "O" THE TIMES by Prince, THE JOSHUA TREE by U2, LITTLE EARTHQUAKES by Tori Amos, DIVA by Annie Lennox, RIO by Duran Duran, NERVOUS NIGHT by The Hooters, FISHERMAN'S BLUES by The Waterboys, OFF THE WALL by Michael Jackson (a much better album than THRILLER I think), SO by Peter Gabriel, THE SERPENT'S EGG by Dead Can Dance, Gorecki's SYMPHONY No. 3 (released in the early '90s on Nonesuch Records) and recent albums like SOVIET KITSCH and BEGIN TO HOPE by Regina Spektor, SPOON & RAFTER by Mojave 3, HAS BEEN by the great William Shatner and the fantastic self-titled covers album from NOUVELLE VAGUE.

Movies:

My favorite movie of all time didn't become so until recently, after many viewings where my heart was pounding out of my chest each time. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND starring Jim Carrey (who should have had his third Oscar nomination with this movie - he has had none so far, much to my dismay) and starring the wonderful Kate Winslet (who was rightfully nominated). The screenplay was written by screenwriting god (and Oscar winner) Charlie Kaufman, whether he thinks he is a screenwriting genius or not. Such a beautiful movie. My second favorite movie is THE PRINCESS BRIDE (a movie I will always adore). I also have this strange penchant for disaster movies like THE DAY AFTER, DEEP IMPACT, ARMAGEDDON, the second half of TITANIC and THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, among others. Other favorites (in no particular order) include: FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, BRAVEHEART, THE SECRET GARDEN (1993), AMERICAN BEAUTY, ADAPTATION, ELECTION, THE WEDDING SINGER, GROSSE POINTE BLANK, BIG FISH, THE SHIPPING NEWS (a terrific and underrated film starring Kevin Spacey & Julianne Moore), BETTER OFF DEAD, the AUSTIN POWERS trilogy, the STAR WARS movies (of course), the AMERICAN PIE trilogy, REALITY BITES, THE TRUTH ABOUT CATS & DOGS, FORREST GUMP, PULP FICTION, WORLD TRADE CENTER, THE TRUMAN SHOW, MAN ON THE MOON, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, WALK THE LINE, SLIDING DOORS, TOMBSTONE, the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy, the BATMAN movies (all except BATMAN & ROBIN; BATMAN BEGINS was a great comeback for the franchise), THE PAPER (a great underrated 1994 Ron Howard movie with an excellent cast led by the artist formerly known as Batman, Michael Keaton), the movies of Edward Burns, all of John Hughes' 80s movies and all of Kevin Smith's movies.

Television:

My favorite TV show of all time is CHEERS (a recent TV LAND Legend Award-winner). My second favorite is WKRP IN CINNCINATI (finally surfacing on DVD in April 2007 with MOST of its original music - c'mon everyone, authorize those music rights, already!). Other favorite shows (past and present) include: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (both the old campy version and the new kick-ass version), 24, SCRUBS, THE JOB, RESCUE ME, HEROES, SEX AND THE CITY, FRASIER, FRIENDS, SEINFELD, SOUTH PARK (Chef will be missed), SPORTS NIGHT, SIX FEET UNDER, MY NAME IS EARL, THE OFFICE (both U.S. and U.K. versions), 30 ROCK (Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin in the same show - just great), most of VH1 CLASSIC (Eddie Trunk just bugs the crap out of me), TV LAND and the GAME SHOW NETWORK...oh, and I watch THE WEATHER CHANNEL when I can :)

Books:

Okay, I've got this real bad habit of buying books and not finishing them. But, as far as authors go, I love John Irving, Steve Martin, Nick Hornby and the non-horror stuff from Mainer Stephen King. I am a collector of screenplay books, from Kevin Smith to Edward Burns to Steve Martin to other favorites like ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, AMERICAN BEAUTY and GOOD WILL HUNTING. I also collect books about 9/11 and I also love 80s reference books (you should check out TOTALLY AWESOME 80s by Matthew Rettenmund and THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF CLASSIC 80's POP by Daniel Blythe), plus I am a big fan of THIS IS UNCOOL: THE 500 GREATEST SINGLES SINCE PUNK AND DISCO by Garry Mulholland and THE VIRGIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR MUSIC (a fantastic behemoth; I hope to finish it someday!).

Heroes:

Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Deborah Harry, Charlie Kaufman, Johnny Cash, Peter Gabriel, Casey Kasem (who indirectly got me into broadcasting), Thomas Edison, Abe Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, anyone who gets George W. Bush out of office before 2009 (not you, Dick!), Edward R. Murrow, William S. Paley, George Wildey of the New England School of Communications in Bangor, Maine, Kevin Smith, Denis Leary, Steve Martin, Robin Williams, Dave Letterman, Michael J. Fox, John Cusack, Matthew Broderick, Jim Carrey, William Shatner, Janeane Garofalo, INXS, John Candy, former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the folks who lost their lives on 9/11 and their loved ones, my good friend Michael (who has been the most influential part of my music life over the course of 20 years), my best friend from home, Pete Small, my dear friend Shawn in NYC, my mom and dad, my family and my beautiful dog, Oscar, who gave me much life and joy and many, many laughs in the 7 years I knew him; he was and is someone I will always consider to be the closest thing to the son I'll ever have. I love you and miss you, buddy... more than you'll ever know.