Feb 15, 2010
Whatever Happened to Brian and Joe, the longtime morning duo on “Mix” WMVX FM/106.5?
They’re glad you asked.
“We’re the two busiest out-of-work guys you’re going to find,” Joe Cronauer said.
He and partner Brian Fowler were laid off last April in the latest round of nationwide budget-cutting by WMVX’s owner, Clear Channel Communications. Since then, they’ve endured their longest stretch off the air since teaming up for the first time on Akron’s WONE FM/97.5 in February 1988.
Native Clevelanders who grew up in Parma and attended Ohio University together, the pair started their run on WMVX in 1998 after working at “The End,” WENZ FM/107.9, and WMMS FM/100.7.
Illustration by Brian FowlerFive months ago, when their no-compete period ended, they launched a Web site, brianandjoeshow.com, featuring blogs and what they call “showcasts,” which are 20- to 30-minute daily podcasts of material they’d be doing on a regular show. The segments can be downloaded or streamed online.
“It’s one-stop Brian and Joe shopping and totally free,” Joe said.
“It’s tough to train people to go to a Web site every day, but response has been great,” said Fowler, who noted they have “actual sponsors.” The biggest, KeyBank, even provided promotional T-shirts with a cartoon of the duo drawn by Fowler.
Cronauer does weekly Friday features for “That’s Life,” the Robin Swoboda show on WJW Channel 8, which both he and Brian have guest-hosted.
They still host 8 p.m. Thursday shows at Pickwick & Frolic’s Hilarities. And they’ll continue a 17-year tradition of St. Patrick’s Day broadcasts on March 17 by playing the House of Blues with their band, the Endorsements, from 9 a.m. to noon.
“It’s been amazing, the outpouring of support,” Joe said. “The hope is for people to still have contact with us, and to land back on the air. There are some possibilities out there.”
-- Tom Feran
