Johnny’s wild ride: Brandmeier brings new life to WGN

Jonathon Brandmeier

From the moment Jonathon Brandmeier signed on at 5:30am Friday (and spilled water all over his audio console), you knew this wasn’t going to be like any morning show you’d ever heard on WGN-AM (720).

Before his first break, he cut to the chase (“The hoopla around this is embarrassing,” he confessed), and painted a verbal portrait of his new playground, taking listeners along on a rollicking roll-call of his cohorts scattered around Tribune Tower and, in the case of weatherman Tim McGill, at WGN/CLTV studios on West Bradley Place. Veteran newsman Steve Bertrand sounded more delighted to be on the air than any time since he’d mixed it up with Kathy O’Malley and Judy Markey in their midday heyday.

For the next three and half hours, Brandmeier blew the doors off the Tribune Co. radio flagship, bringing more energy and spontaneity to the news/talk station than it has experienced in a generation or more.

It was compelling, it was exciting, and it was unpredictable. Really, when was the last time you heard anything like that on WGN?

Those who thought they were listening to a “train wreck” or a “test show” (Brandmeier’s own self-deprecating descriptions of his debut) missed the point. One of his enduring charms is that he always pretends to be confused and disorganized. It only seems as if Johnny’s taking us on a wild ride without a road map. But don’t kid yourself: He knows exactly what works and what doesn't, and how he’s coming across on the air at all times.

I’ll happily take Brandmeier’s barely controlled chaos over the dull efficiency of his know-it-all predecessor, Greg Jarrett, or the other format-following robots on WGN any day of the week.

At least two points during Friday’s show were flat-out home runs — Brandmeier’s in-studio conversation with a warm and witty Governor Pat Quinn, who played along by reading a Trump Hotel commercial and matched Brandmeier quip for quip, and a hilarious phoner with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who delivered a brilliant, impromptu riff on his favorite movies that morphed into a hilarious tale from his childhood. (For comparison, just recall Emanuel’s testy and cringe-inducing interview on the debut last May of ABC 7’s Windy City Live.) With perhaps the exception of Bob Sirott, I can’t think of anyone who could have disarmed the governor and the mayor so quickly and brought out the best in both as Brandmeier did.

Chicago’s two newspapers were critical of Brandmeier’s opener, even as they conceded he’d had only one week to prepare. The Tribune’s Steve Johnson said it was “not up to the level of polish listeners would expect of WGN or its new morning man.” The Sun-Times’ Mike Thomas called it an “exceedingly bumpy maiden voyage” as well as “disjointed and gaffe-filled.” They also took Brandmeier to task because his “cuts to and from commercials were uncharacteristically choppy” and he “blew past several official break times.” Tribune uber-blogger Eric Zorn called out Brandmeier for making a dick joke.

Jeez, guys, lighten up.

What I heard was an unpretentious pro who loves being on the radio and seeing how far his talent and imagination can take him to entertain listeners. Why should we care if he hits his commercial breaks on time or screws up “live reads” of ad copy? Let his bosses worry about that — if they’re foolhardy enough to try to rein him in. "They gotta tear down that wall and let the Lebanese horse run," Brandmeier told me after he got off the air.

In radio, beauty is in the ear of the beholder. Listen for yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, and behold a true artist at work.