Circling The Drain cover art

Circling The Drain

Circling The Drain

By: John E. Bozeman & Jay Harper
Listen for free

About this listen

 Circling The Drain is a show about the current state of the music and radio businesses as well as culture in general! Hosted by John E. Bozeman and Jay Harper along with Jim McCarthy as Co-Host/Executive Producer. John has had a storied career in music and talk radio, most notably as the Executive Producer for the late and legendary Phil Valentine. Jay also has has a long career in radio as Announcer, Play-by-Play, Voice and On-Camera Actor. He was also an Artist Rep for MCA records. Jim McCarthy ALSO has had a tremendous career in radio since 1996 and has since brought his consulting/producing skillset to the podcast world. Circling the Drain is produced by ItsYourShow.co2025 Music Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Ron Allen on Nashville Radio, Jack FM, and What’s Next :: Ep 29 Circling the Drain Podcast

    Ron Allen on Nashville Radio, Jack FM, and What’s Next :: Ep 29 Circling the Drain Podcast
    Mar 11 2026

    Longtime Nashville programmer Ron Allen (96.3 Jack FM, Y’all Country) joins Circling The Drain to talk about 20 years of Jack FM, the changing face of radio, and how local personalities still matter in a streaming and AI-driven world.


    Ron walks through his journey from Tulsa and Wichita to Nashville, the heyday of big-budget radio, and what has been lost as companies cut costs, shrink staffs, and push more national and digital initiatives. He explains why training grounds for new talent have disappeared, why making a living in radio is harder than ever, and why he still believes there is a long life left for terrestrial radio if it leans into its strengths.


    You will hear candid insights on Jack FM, Y’all, iHeart, HD Radio, Big D & Bubba, WSM, KDF, and the battle for country listeners in Nashville, plus stories about Phil Valentine, building the Moose brand, and keeping stations “local” even without a full live staff.


    Timed Highlights
    1:44 Ron Allen introduced and his Jack FM background
    2:31 Jack FM hits 20 years in Nashville and the power of simple billboards
    3:24 Why some stations still get branding and billboards wrong
    4:15 Suites, perks, and how radio culture has changed over the years
    5:31 Company culture: radio vs non-radio employers
    6:37 What radio felt like in the 80s and 90s compared to today
    8:16 Cost cutting, AI, and multi-market programming on the horizon
    8:54 Would young Ron choose radio today?
    9:29 No more “farm teams”: the disappearance of training grounds
    9:43 Why it is hard to give hopeful advice to broadcasting students
    10:21 Content will always be needed, but the distribution is changing
    11:14 Why existing radio talent are undervalued as content creators
    13:49 The need for young talent and how broadcasters should mentor them
    14:32 Pay reality: when fast food gigs beat full-time radio salaries
    16:16 What actually sells with advertisers now: spots vs digital
    16:43 Tip of the hat to iHeart’s digital operation
    18:16 Why local personalities like Moose still beat automation and AI
    19:30 Radio’s built-in advantage: licenses, scarcity, and reach
    20:21 Nashville ice storm: when radio’s immediacy really matters
    20:42 Stations off the air and the business impact
    22:09 How Jack and Y’all stay “local” with limited live staff
    23:32 Are big groups more invested in digital than in their over-the-air product?
    25:14 HD Radio, subchannels, and having transmitters but no content
    28:06 When digital investment does not flow back to better radio
    29:39 “Facebook is free”: social replacing traditional marketing budgets
    30:59 How Jack and Y’all actually use social media and street teams
    32:27 The blurry line between promotion and spam in social feeds
    33:17 Why putting sponsors on as guests hurts host credibility
    34:21 Remembering Phil Valentine and why honesty on air works
    36:17 What traditional music radio has that Spotify and Apple Music do not
    36:34 Personality, locality, and effortless music discovery
    38:59 Contests, trips, and experiences listeners cannot buy themselves
    39:12 Turning Moose into a recognizable, real-life brand
    42:12 Launching Y’all and tapping the 80s–2000s country lane
    46:16 How competition in Nashville country radio shifted
    48:03 Inside baseball: KDF, WSM, iHeart, and market strategy
    50:00 Moving Big D & Bubba and how audience migration could have been handled
    54:05 Using a powerful signal well vs treating it like an afterthought
    54:48 Ron’s favorite formats to program and why they still excite him
    56:00 How he fell into adult hits and Jack-style radio
    58:00 Why adult hits plus 90s country is his dream combination
    59:27 Wrap up and closing thoughts
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Hauntings in Nashville: Hank Williams’ House, Ghost Cats, and Messages from Beyond :: Ep 28 Circling the Drain Podcast

    Hauntings in Nashville: Hank Williams’ House, Ghost Cats, and Messages from Beyond :: Ep 28 Circling the Drain Podcast
    Mar 4 2026
    From Civil War battlefields to the legendary Hank Williams house on Franklin Road, this episode of Circling The Drain dives deep into hauntings, strange coincidences, and emotional encounters with the other side.Johnny B, Jay Harper, and Jim McCarthy swap eerie and heartfelt stories, including: – Ghostly music in Phil Valentine’s old cabin – Cold rooms and strange phenomena in Hank and Audrey Williams’ home – A child’s disembodied “Mom” in the middle of the night – A ghost cat that still roams a family home – A terrifying choking encounter in a haunted Arizona hotel – Dreams, premonitions, and final goodbyes from parents, friends, and radio legends They also touch on ley lines, New Orleans voodoo, Civil War and Revolutionary War history, and why Middle Tennessee may be one of the most spiritually active regions in America.If you’ve ever wondered whether loved ones can reach out after they’re gone, or why certain places just feel heavy, this episode is for you.02:25 TV news stories, anchors with no pants, and pre-show haunting chat 03:06 Phil Valentine’s haunted cabin and mysterious violin music 04:43 Blood in the dirt: Civil War battlefields around Middle Tennessee 05:37 Cannonballs through walls and soldiers hung in the trees 06:15 Hank Williams sightings at the Ryman and ghost stories on the Opry 06:43 Inside the Hank Williams house on Franklin Road 08:13 The record slows down, temperature drops, and the room turns freezing 09:48 Was it Hank Sr. or Audrey Williams haunting the house? 09:59 Audrey’s strange death, unpaid taxes, and a bedroom that stayed cold 11:07 Partygoers who swear they saw Audrey among them 12:17 Cancelled checks in the attic and lost Hank-era artifacts 13:15 Using the Hank house as the ultimate pickup line 13:57 The light-up “Williams” bar and the home’s later famous owners 14:30 Music Row history and the loss of classic studios like the Sound Shop 15:24 An older Gallatin home, a ghost child’s “Mom” and the phantom cat 17:20 Anniversary trip through haunted Arizona hotels 19:13 The Prescott hotel choking incident and an angry prostitute’s room 20:59 Taps on the shoulder at the San Carlo in Phoenix 23:13 Songwriter Gary Gentry, summoning Hank Williams, and “The Ride” 24:12 Opry performance of “The Ride” that blacked out the Opryland complex 24:53 Audrey’s line that became “The whole world calls me Hank” 25:53 Haunted office building at 1111 on Music Row and the lonely sisters 26:36 How Nashville and Music Row have transformed over the years 27:19 Jim’s wife and early apartment hauntings in Nashville 29:17 Blacklight evidence of something dark under the carpet 30:09 New houses, old graves, and why everywhere might be a burial ground 30:21 Being buried on your own property in Tennessee and HOA jokes 31:08 Growing up in Connecticut vs. haunting-rich Southern states 31:58 Kansas hauntings and pioneer tragedies 32:23 New Orleans, Charleston, voodoo, slavery, and haunted cities 35:04 Marie Laveau’s grave and cemetery tourism gone too far 35:35 Celebrity graves, offerings, and questionable “tributes” 35:48 Ley lines, Topeka, Nashville, and energy crossings 37:10 Do spirits linger? The group’s take on the paranormal 37:18 Jim’s brother, a psychic, and a dream of their father 38:34 A promised breath on the neck after death that actually happened 40:30 A mother asking permission to die and passing the next morning 43:10 A last-minute decision to visit Dad just before he passed 44:36 A father’s final advice about appreciating time and people 45:01 The day Johnny lost his best friend, Dave White 46:07 Sudden death of a radio mentor and seeing him at the station 48:05 Praying for Phil Valentine and a feeling that “everything’s going to be okay” 49:05 Interpreting peace as a sign of a loved one’s safe passing 49:50 Repeated dreams of Phil and why some people show up more than others 50:15 Dream appearances by parents that feel more like visits than dreams 52:27 Hugging Mom in dreams that feel absolutely real 53:13 A dream of Phil checking on his son and Susan confirming the details 54:56 A Christmas card from Phil and a layoff ten minutes later 55:27 Breaking the heaviness with humor about haunting Jim’s dreams 55:39 Vegas, the mob, and bodies under new construction 56:18 Lake Mead receding and bodies in barrels 56:37 Johnny’s fascination with the mob and Michael Franzese 57:09 Jim’s Henry Hill story at the Spearmint Rhino 59:00 The Godfather bit, Philadelphia, and a real mob warning 59:54 Mob involvement in making The Godfather and “The Offer” series 1:00:59 Haunted bungalows near a dam in Chattanooga and nervous dogs 1:03:13 Why women and children often sense things first 1:03:21 Dogs reacting on the day Johnny’s grandfather died 1:04:04 Threatening to haunt listeners who do...
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Bennie Shipley: From Small-Town Radio to Country Music Legends :: Ep 27 Circling the Drain Podcast

    Bennie Shipley: From Small-Town Radio to Country Music Legends :: Ep 27 Circling the Drain Podcast
    Feb 25 2026
    Radio veteran and voiceover pro Bennie Shipley joins Johnny B, Jay and Jim for a deep dive into the golden age of radio, the rise of country music superstars, and the evolving world of voiceover in the age of AI.Starting as a 15-year-old kid at WLCK in Scottsville, Kentucky, Benny went on to WCDS, became a hometown celebrity in high school, and eventually made the massive leap to powerhouse Nashville station WSM. Along the way he worked alongside legends like Harold Hensley, Ralph Emery, Marty Robbins, Lefty Frizzell, Alabama, Reba McEntire, and many more.Bennie shares hilarious and heartfelt behind-the-scenes stories: stars tossing pebbles at the studio window to get on the air, Marty Robbins prank-calling the station, early days of Alabama before their first hits, and the creative chaos of producing a full “Country Christmas Carol” with country stars on reel-to-reel tape.He also opens up about building a successful national voiceover career, losing part of his vocal range, rebuilding it with help from Vanderbilt’s voice clinic, landing a huge McDonald’s campaign, and his honest take on how AI is impacting human voice talent today.If you love classic country, radio history, behind-the-scenes music industry stories, and real talk about the future of voiceover, this episode is for you.Timed Highlights 0:00 – Opening banter and intro to “Circling the Drain” with guest Bennie Shipley 2:30 – Growing up in Scottsville, Kentucky and starting in radio at 15 3:40 – Becoming popular in high school after landing a job at WCDS 4:50 – First radio paycheck, buying a color TV, and early radio memories 6:00 – Glasgow days, part-time to full-time, and a generous station owner 7:20 – Landing at WSM in Nashville and working with Harold Hensley 10:30 – Culture shock: small-town kid meets big-city country stars 12:00 – Marty Robbins stories, late-night calls, and emotional listener reactions 14:00 – Waylon, Willie, and Kristofferson at the door… and one unforgettable “no” 16:00 – Lefty Frizzell’s praise, friendship, and a heartbreaking last phone call 17:30 – Discovering Alabama before they were famous and spinning “I Want to Come Over” 19:20 – Early visits from “The Alabama Band” and watching their rise 21:00 – Music director days at WSIX and getting in trouble for playing unknown artists 22:30 – Programming battles and ultimately being proven right about Alabama 23:30 – Working with Gerry House, Jerry Minchew, and legendary Nashville radio voices 26:00 – WSM moves, Music Country Radio Network, and working with Charlie Douglas 28:30 – Creating a full “Country Christmas Carol” with country stars 30:00 – Producing on reel-to-reel: razor blades, tape, and homemade sound effects 31:40 – The Country Music Hall of Fame archives and the lost master tape 33:10 – Theater of the mind and why radio was magical before cameras 35:00 – Transitioning from radio to serious voiceover work 37:00 – Early feedback, blunt advice on appearance, and refining the “whole package” 39:10 – Breaking into studio work at Sound Shop and earning respect the hard way 41:20 – Losing vocal range and the scary moment in a session you can’t deliver 42:50 – Vanderbilt voice clinic, scopes, therapy, and rebuilding the voice 44:30 – Strange but effective vocal exercises: water, straws, and “curly” sounds 45:40 – Rethinking delivery: moving out of “radio voice” into higher, lighter reads 46:40 – Landing a major McDonald’s national campaign and how it changed his life 48:20 – Paying off debt, buying a condo, and the chain of events that led to meeting his wife 49:50 – Gratitude for songwriter/producer Milton Blackford and “Me and My RC” 50:50 – Reflecting on a full career and the importance of documenting radio history 53:10 – Being called a “legend,” radio luncheons, and old connections resurfacing 54:30 – AI, radio’s future, and what today’s tech is missing: human nuance 55:30 – Why authenticity, vinyl, and real voices still matter to younger audiences 56:30 – Wrap-up, where to find “Circling the Drain,” and closing thoughts with Benny Find more episodes and extras at: circlingthedrain.netFollow Johnny B:https://www.facebook.com/john.e.bozemanFollow Jay Harper:https://www.facebook.com/harperjeffFollow Jim:www.jmvos.comCircling The Drain is produced by It's Your Show dot Cowww.itsyourshow.co
    Show More Show Less
    58 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.