Local computer guru broadcasts Internet radio show from his den

 

By Terry Oparka

C & G Staff Writer

     Bob Redys looks over the interview questions he will ask his featured guest well in advance of his Sunday morning radio talk show.

     He wants to keep the 5-year-old show fresh and funny for his listeners, some of whom tune in live from the United Kingdom, Canada and Africa. Redys and the “Stars of the Green Room” are determined to deliver clean comedy, loaded with innuendo and double entendre, to their loyal listeners.

     Through the magic of technology, Redys and crew aren’t in the same room. They’re not even in the same city. “Daisy” lives in Warren, “Mystery Tramp” lives in St. Clair Shores, “Wacky Lud” lives in Arkansas, and “Justaguy” relocated to Florida from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And Redys produces and broadcasts the show, “EZ Help, You and More” from the den of his Sterling Heights home.

     Redys and staff transmit their voices using a Dell laptop and a Java Applet program. Listeners may interact online with the Stars of the Green Room during the show. Guests call in, and their voices are transmitted through a phone speaker through a mic.

     When Redys’ wife of 30 years, Wanda, a.k.a. “Snoopy,” heard about the now-defunct Lycos and AlternaCast systems that allowed Web casts, she thought of Bob.

     “I thought it would be a perfect fit for Bob,” said Wanda, who listens to Bob while he does the show. “He’s smart, quick, and has a great sense of humor. Some of the segments are so funny I laugh out loud.”

     Redys recently interviewed Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard on the air about keeping kids safe on the Internet. Following the theme of the show — “Nothing is as it Appears” — he’s also interviewed “the guy who cuts the grass at Ford Field,” Tickle Me Elmo after he was fondled by the Los Angeles police, and the “cousins” of Osama bin Laden and Michael Jackson.  

     Listeners can win a free T-shirt by guessing the names of the songs in the popular segment titled “Name Dat Tune” and find out who Daisy has chosen to win the Bozo award each week, an award for people who have made the news for doing something “incredibly stupid.”

     Other segments include “Twisted Look at the News,”  “Featured Web Sites,” and “Audio Grab Bags.” Each of the Green Room Stars is responsible for a segment.

     This year, Redys and crew hope to feature more independent artists on the two-hour show. They are also working to develop high-quality pod casts.

     Transmitted over the Internet, the show is not regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.

     “We do not have vulgarity in the show,” Redys. A filter on the show’s Web site does not allow anybody to use vulgarity on the site.

     “We use the Red Skelton approach to comedy,” Redys said. Nobody earns a paycheck for work on the show. And Redys, who works as a fleet manager for the American Red Cross, barters for many goods and services needed to produce the show as he can. 

     “It’s fun,” said Redys. “When it becomes a job, we’ll quit.”

     Tune into the EZ Help radio show at 11 a.m. Sundays at www.ezhelp.org/radio. For information about the show, visit http://ezhelp.org.

     You can reach Terry Oparka at toparka@candgnews.com