Improviser: on-air, onstage, & online

Frank Murphy and Becca James hosted the Fair Food Throwdown at the Tennessee Valley Fair on September 7, 2024. The contest is open to the food concessionaires at the Fair. This year’s winners were: Sweet Tea/Lemonade – The Fillin’ Station Frozen Beverage – McGrotha Foods Corn Dog – Queen Bee’s Concessions Deep Fried Food – Red Box Grill International – Denenie Weenies Funnel Cake – Queen Bee’s Concessions New Fair Food – Pizza Emporium Americana – Clean Smoke BBQ Candied Apple – Fairview Trinity Church Caramel Apple – Big Apple Concessions Frank and Becca also emceed the Sweet Goodness Donut Challenge at the Tennessee Valley Fair on September 12, 2024. Local donut shops enter the annual competition, which is the brainchild of Chef Rachel Reagan, who runs the Culinary Arts Stage at the Fair. This year’s winners were: Best Yeast Donut - The Ultimate Doughnut Shop Best Cake Donut - The Ultimate Doughnut Shop Best Specialty Donut - Cinnalicious Cinnamon Rolls Next year’s Tennessee Valley Fair runs from September 5 to September 14, 2025. Tickets and information will be available at https://www.tnvalleyfair.org Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com 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, iHeart, Podbean, and Audible. Thanks! #easttennessee #knoxville #knoxvillepodcast #tnvalleyfair #tennesseevalleyfair #fairfood #funnelcake #donuts #doughnut #deepfried #picklepizza #ube

Frank Murphy is joined by his friend Kathryn Frady of Marble City Opera. Kathryn will sing in Marble City Opera’s free concert at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Sunday, September 8, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Cathedral Concert Series. Reserve a free ticket at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cathedral-concert-marble-city-opera-tickets-993732870767 Frank and Becca James will emcee two food competitions in the Jacob Building at the Tennessee Valley Fair. They will host the Fair Food Throwdown on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. and the Sweet Goodness Donut Challenge on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Frank is distracted by the kinesthetic tape on Kathryn’s arm. He recalls a time that she was disappointed when her tape was visible in a newspaper photograph. Someone recently asked her if it was a tattoo. Frank put some new items in the Frank & Friends Show merch store after he designed some merch for Marble City Opera, including pet shirts. Shop online at https://www.marblecityopera.com/store Frank took posters for the Cathedral concert to several libraries. He got stuck in traffic near the library in Sequoyah Hills. After sitting still for about half an hour, he realized he was stuck in a school pickup line. Frank buys a Knox County Schools coupon book every year but barely uses it. He did use a coupon to get free Oreo dust for his grandsons’ ice cream cones at Cruze Farm. Kathryn says she hadn’t previously noticed that Frank can be somewhat OCD. After the Marble City Opera concert at Cherokee Caverns, Frank was particular about giving Kathryn a poster from the middle of the pile. He used to only buy newspapers from the middle of the pile. His sisters once pranked him by cutting holes in his newspaper. Frank saw his neighbor’s son at the supermarket but the guy didn’t recognize Frank. A few moments later, Frank recognized the Dancing Blue Shirt Guy who was in a viral video recorded last year at a Vols football game. 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/ including Body Farm t-shirts. Contact BoneZones to hire Frank to give a presentation about Dr. Bass and the Body Farm. Frank picked two Brown Turkey figs before they were fully ripe because some nocturnal animals have been taking figs, even if Frank had put the figs in lace drawstring bags. Frank saw a “Charlie Brown” fig plant at Lowe’s and asked the cashier for a discount. Kathryn suggests that they take the camera to various locations she is considering for Marble City Opera. She also thinks there should be a reality show about the opera business. Jere’s sister and her husband visited Knoxville over Labor Day weekend. They went to several nice restaurants including Lonesome Dove for lunch on Saturday and Aretha Frankenstein’s for brunch on Sunday. Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com 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, iHeart, Podbean, and Audible. Thanks! #easttennessee #knoxville #knoxvillepodcast

Frank Murphy is joined by his friend Dave Fennell. Frank and Dave used to improvise together as members of Einstein Simplified. The audio of the Frank & Friends Show is available on the website and smartphone app of FUN 105.9, where Frank is a deejay. On Fridays, he pays homage to one of his radio mentors by stretching out the phrase “it’s Friday.” One of Dave’s ancestors is John Tipton, who was a rival of John Sevier. Tipton was opposed to the State of Franklin. Frank recently wrote a question for Tennessee Scholars’ Bowl about the State of Franklin. Dave is wearing a Hawaiian shirt that was a gift from his daughter. Frank buys neckties from the Ladies of Charity Thrift Store at 120 W. Baxter Avenue in Knoxville. Frank made plans to meet someone for coffee but forgot what the person looked like. He found the person’s photo online. When the other guy arrived, he didn’t eat or drink anything. 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/ including Body Farm t-shirts. Contact BoneZones to hire Frank to give a presentation about Dr. Bass and the Body Farm. Frank and Becca James will emcee two food competitions in the Jacob Building at the Tennessee Valley Fair. They will host the Fair Food Throwdown on Saturday, September 7, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. and the Sweet Goodness Donut Challenge on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. Dave doesn’t like Circus Peanuts, which he spied on Frank’s candy shelf. Frank defends Circus Peanuts, saying they are like the marbits in Lucky Charms. Frank’s grandson Artie bought instant oatmeal, which Frank mixes with hot coffee instead of water. Artie also likes older candies like Circus Peanuts and Necco Wafers. Frank and his wife had hotdogs for dinner recently but there was very little spicy brown mustard left. Frank tried a new technique to get the last of the mustard out of the container. During dessert, he spilled some custard on the kitchen counter. Last year, Frank met Ricky the Dragon Steamboat at the Fair Food Throwdown. Frank’s television interview with Ricky aired recently on East Tennessee PBS. You can watch the interview online at https://www.pbs.org/video/up-close-with-ricky-the-dragon-steamboat-qiz67j/ Frank recorded an interview with Colleen Cruze of Cruze Farms. She got Frank to drink some buttermilk on the air. When Frank and Jere went to dinner at the Cruze Farm Pizza Barn with their grandchildren, an older gentleman complimented them on saying grace before their meal. Frank likes that he can still answer a call on his iPhone after it has gone to voicemail. He is irritated by police shows when the phone rings for an unusually long time before they answer. A recent survey claimed that iPhone users are more extroverted than Android users. Marble City Opera will present a free concert at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Sunday, September 8, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Cathedral Concert Series. Reserve a free ticket at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cathedral-concert-marble-city-opera-tickets-993732870767 Support the Frank & Friends Show by purchasing some of our high-quality merchandise at https://frank-friends-show.creator-spring.com 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, iHeart, Podbean, and Audible. Thanks! #easttennessee #knoxville #knoxvillepodcast #knoxvilleimprov