Oates Brothers on Ringside Rap

The Good
Ringside Rap is a tremendous show and Les Thatcher is able to create an environment that helps .  The Oates brothers, Ted and Jerry, have great careers behind them and they are able to give glimpses of its significance here.  Great stories of Jack Brisco, Dutch Mantell and especially mythical bookers Leo Garibaldi and Tom Renesto take this to a level of exceptionality that these shortish radio interviews rarely hit.

The Bad
The time is just too brief on this one as trying to say much about the careers of the Oates Brothers together let alone separately or as promoters just cannot be done in an hour.  While the banter between Rich, Les and Mike is good, it is not the highlight of the show and I often fast-forward to the interview.  It also seemed like while generally positive about the business, they were pretty negative about today's product, rising stars and all that.  Fair criticisms, but unwanted when there is so much history to explore.

The Rating: ***1/2

"Cowboy" Bob Kelly on Ringside Rap (2/25/2010)

The Good
Here's a great idea, take three distinctly different (but all excellent) pro-wrestling people together and have on a great host.  Ringside Rap features Rich Tate (whose Peach State Pandemonium site is one of the best resources of its kind), Mike Sempervieve (whose work with Zach Arnold, Dr. Keith Lipinski, Bryan Alvarez and others has made me a big fan of his) and Les Thatcher (a highly experience veteran with a great on-air personality) together and sometimes they have on some unique guests.  Just listening to these three talk about the winter of 2010 has some entertainment value, but that pales in comparison to the appearance of "Cowboy" Bob Kelly.  Here's why this is an "epic win."  Those three hosts are all great in their own way.  Rich Tate poses some solid questions, Semp "sits under the learning tree" (as he says) and Les Thatcher talks about every rinky-dink arena throughout Louisiana and Alabama to get Kelly going.  Well, Cowboy Kelly needs no pushing.  He is a storyteller of the first order and I was glued to this interview.  The Gulf Coast is often underplayed, but if you know a little about it, this is a wonderful listen.  From Don Fargo's shenanigans and Maw Bass's major heat to Ken Lucas's workrate and the Cajun fans before the Mid-South era, Bob Kelly is able to really inform and entertain throughout.  I also thought a different side of Les Thatcher came out because he's so often talking about current goings-on that one forgets he working in the Southern heat and experiencing amazing things.

The Bad
I don't know if I'd call this a perfect interview, it was a bit sorted at times and only ran for an hour.  However, it was never dull and I enjoyed every bit of it.  This shows how the right conditions and chemistry make for a great interview more than well-researched chronology and such.  I stumbled across this and will definitely be tuning in to this show again.

The Rating: ****1/2