Improviser: on-air, onstage, & online

Frank Murphy is joined by opera singer David Crawford, who is also teaching and coaching opera students at the University of Tennessee. Frank tells David about Taylor Swift’s cover of “September.” She sings “Do you remember the 28th night of September.” Earth, Wind & Fire sing about the 21st of September, which is nine months before Frank’s birthday. Frank enjoyed watching David in the Metropolitan Opera production of Rigoletto, set in Rat-Pack era Las Vegas. David wore a custom-made jacket. HBO’s Behind the Candelabra also wanted the fabric. David played Angelotti in Marble City Opera’s production of Tosca. Marble City Opera’s upcoming shows are Heartbreak Express, The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, and Susannah. David has a full-time job as a lecturer and coach in vocal performance at UT. He hints about an appearance in an opera this season. Frank has a theory that WCBS-FM in New York plays extra Billy Joel songs because he is local to the area. He also thinks that other classic hits stations around the country base their playlists on the Joel-heavy playlist of WCBS. Frank and his wife Jere went to a late dinner at a restaurant with a popular bar. They thought they heard a terrible karaoke singer but it turned out to be an entertainer playing his keyboard and singing Billy Joel and Elton John songs. David likes to sing “Baby Got Back” when doing karaoke. David likes watching Emmanuel the Emu on YouTube. The videos originally appeared on TikTok. Frank thinks he gets more than enough emu on YouTube because of Liberty Mutual’s commercials. Frank associates LMU with Lincoln Memorial University. Their team name is the Railsplitters and their mascot is Abe, as in Lincoln. The team name at David’s high school was the Fighting Quakers, which was changed to the Hustling Quakers. His college’s team was the Battling Bishops. He then went to a university with a team named the Terriers. Frank’s theory is that team mascots should be predators like the Hawks but not the Doves. David suggests a team named the Vultures. David saw a dove with a smaller bird in its talons. Frank was the emcee for the Sweet Goodness Donut Challenge at the Tennessee Valley Fair. There seemed to be an unusually large number of volunteers eager to help with the doughnuts. He thought he was being recognized by a viewer or listener but it turned out to be his backyard neighbor. Several teenagers have started cutting through Frank’s yard from the neighboring subdivision. A homeowner from the other subdivision came up the hill to ask if they were Frank’s kids because they also cut through his yard. This episode is sponsored by The Middleburg Barn at Fox Chase Farm. The Middleburg Barn is a perfect venue with rustic luxury for your wedding or special event. Located 40 miles outside D.C and 25 minutes from Dulles Airport. Visit https://www.themiddleburgbarn.com/ or call (540) 687-5255. Sign up for a 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus and get a free premium selection that’s yours to keep. Go to http://AudibleTrial.com/FrankAndFriendsShow Come to the Secret City Improv Festival on September 30 and October 1, 2022 at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Use the discount code FRANK at checkout for 25% off when purchasing tickets at https://secretcityimprovfest.com/tickets Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/ Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow and hit the bell for notifications. Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Spotify, Apple, Google, iHeart, and Audible. Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com Find us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh Thanks! #knoxville #knoxvilletn #knoxvilletennessee #davidcrawford #operasinger #schoolmascots #marblecityopera #universityoftennessee #classichits #classichitsradio #oldiesradio

Frank Murphy is joined by Kathryn Frady of Marble City Opera. Frank bought rechargeable batteries at the suggestion of Erik Dobell. He got some no-name batteries that came in a plain wrapper from Amazon. Frank, his wife Jere, and Dr. Frank Jr. PhD went to the Dexter Cider Mill in Michigan. They bought some McIntosh apples, ginger snap cookie mix, apple cider doughnuts, fresh cider, and hard cider. The doughnuts are made with apple cider syrup. The taste reminded Frank and Jere of Crutchley Crullers, which used to be sold in the Hamptons. Frank and Dr. Frank Jr. PhD opened two different flavors of hard cider but were surprised how much was in the bottle. Frank brought back two 500ml bottles of hard cider to share with Kathryn. They will drink the traditional hard cider today and save the bourbon barrel cider for another day. Frank and Jere bought new vitamin organizers for the trip. His friend Kumi urged him to take vitamin C, vitamin D, melatonin, and zinc every day. Frank got concerned because he forgot to take his nightly vitamins and zinc one night. He got a scratchy throat the next day but now thinks it was an allergy to mold. Frank also takes some immunity boosting gummies each day. Water leaked into the container with his Airborne and elderberry gummies, partly dissolving them. Kathryn accurately guessed that Frank drank the melted gummies. Speaking of gummies, Jere bought some “Michi-gummies” as a gift for the Rocket Brothers. Kathryn thinks the Michigan-shaped gummies look like slightly misformed animal shapes. Kathryn and her husband James once went apple-picking in Michigan. There were picnic tables overlooking the Huron River behind the cider mill. There were a lot of wasps trying to get to the cider and doughnuts. Frank ate his doughnut while standing on a picnic table to be near the huge kitchen exhaust fan. The exhaust blew the wasps away from Frank. Frank arranged to meet his friend Bean at a Cracker Barrel halfway between Crossville and Knoxville. Frank told the hostess that he was there to meet a tall guy. When Bean walked in, she asked if he was there to meet the short guy. Bean has been doing his podcast from his wife’s bathroom. Frank wonders why he didn’t use his own bathroom. Frank has an idea for fake Airpods. They would allow you to ignore people because you’re pretending to be listening to something important. Kathryn and her husband had an encounter with a woman at Jason’s Deli who accused James of stealing her free ice cream. Kathryn saw her again a few days later at the church where Opéra Louisiane has its offices. This episode is sponsored by Audible. Sign up for a 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus and get a free premium selection that’s yours to keep. Go to http://AudibleTrial.com/FrankAndFriendsShow Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/ Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow and hit the bell for notifications. Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Spotify, Apple, Google, iHeart, and Audible. Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com Come to the Secret City Improv Festival on September 30 and October 1, 2022 at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Use the discount code FRANK at checkout for 25% off when purchasing tickets at https://secretcityimprovfest.com/tickets Find us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh Thanks!

Frank Murphy is joined by comedian and author Alex Stokes. Alex is known as “The Beer Comedian.” His Waking Up in a Brewery podcast can be found at https://www.facebook.com/wakingupinabrewery or through his website, https://www.beercomedian.com/ Alex has written several books including Messing with Tourists: Stupid Answers to Stupid Questions. He got much of the material while working in a ticket booth on the Gatlinburg strip. He finished writing a third installment of the book series but his laptop crashed and he had to rewrite the whole book from scratch. When Alex visited colleges with his son, he stopped at breweries along the way to book future comedy gigs. Frank suggests that Alex check out the breweries near Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Frank Jr. recently completed his PhD. One of Alex’s sponsors is the Tennessee Cider Company, where Frank and Kathryn Frady recorded the See More Smokies Insider Edition episode found here: https://youtu.be/MqC_MeNJno8 Frank, his wife Jere, and Dr. Frank Jr. visited the Dexter Cider Mill in Michigan. They bought a jar of maple syrup as a gift for the neighbor who watched their house. Alex thinks it looks like bourbon. Frank also bought some hard ciders to have when Kathryn Frady visits. Jere bought a Graeter’s Ice Cream gift card to get extra gas points at the supermarket. They had planned to stop at the Graeter’s in downtown Cincinnati but decided to avoid traffic by continuing on to the Graeter’s in downtown Lexington instead. When they got to Lexington, they got stuck in traffic headed to Rupp Arena for a country music concert. Alex would go to a brewery to write his books, rather than stay home and get distracted. Alex and Chris Travis have so far recorded Waking Up in a Brewery at 28 of the 32 breweries in Knoxville. Alex and Chris have started their own version of bar trivia called “Waking Up In A Brewery Presents: This Beer Tastes Funny!” Frank and several others were tagged in a Facebook memory by a former co-worker. When Frank looked at the list of the other former colleagues who were tagged, he discovered that one of them had unfriended him. On Saturday, October 8, 2022, Waking Up in a Brewery will host the Bruce Street Brewfest in Sevierville. Learn more here: https://brucestreetbrewfest.com/ This episode is sponsored by BoneZones.com (don’t forget the S). Buy books and other merchandise autographed by Body Farm founder Dr. Bill Bass at https://bonezones.com/ Mark your calendar for the next Dr. Bill Bass event at Historic Cherokee Caverns on October 24, 2022. Sign up for a 30-day trial of Audible Premium Plus and get a free premium selection that’s yours to keep. Go to http://AudibleTrial.com/FrankAndFriendsShow Come to the Secret City Improv Festival on September 30 and October 1, 2022 at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Use the discount code FRANK at checkout for 25% off when purchasing tickets at https://secretcityimprovfest.com/tickets Find us online https://www.FrankAndFriendsShow.com/ Please subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://YouTube.com/FrankAndFriendsShow and hit the bell for notifications. Find the audio of the show on major podcast apps including Spotify, Apple, Google, iHeart, and Audible. Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com Find us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/FrankAndFriendsShow https://www.instagram.com/FrankAndFriendsShow https://www.twitter.com/FrankNFriendsSh Thanks!