Hire me! I do Radio!

Here I am on the air as a guest, on "The Big Show with Dave and Joe", on 5/14/08.

Here's some random bits from my webcast in 2007- showintro / chickenhauler / jerryatric / monkeydriver / Ten-Keys Video /  

I began my radio career in 1991 as an intern for the Stan Wallace Show on 1050 AM WLIP Kenosha. After a few weeks, he let me read the news. I had to read the AP wire, type out whatever stories I was going to do, then read them live on-air. I did that for about six months, then got out of radio and back into trucking for the next ten or fifteen years.

Once I started writing my column for Ten-Four Magazine, and became an expert of sorts, I started to get calls from radio shows. Matt McAllister was the first, followed by Truckin' Bozo, Bill Mack, and a few others I never heard of and can't remember. I was on some of these shows multiple times. I even heard a few trucking shows talk about me and read my articles while I was driving a truck. I later was able to get onto Johnny Brandmeier's show which was huge at the time. I was always introduced as an expert on what causes traffic jams. We'd take some calls and people would always argue with me about what they thought caused traffic jams. The phones always lit up because this is a pretty hot topic. After all, most listeners are driving. But, of course they can never stump me because I am the real traffic guy. I straighten out a few people, then promote my CD and website. I always had a lot of fun and don't mind it when I get into a morning zoo type environment. Although, if I had my own show I would not be a zoo. I would just be one animal, probably an armadillo.

After all those interviews, I started to get the bug to really do my own show. And why not? I am a huge fan of radio. In twenty-five years of trucking, all I ever did all day long was listen to different radio shows from all over the Country, all day (I even go to sleep with the radio on). I am very familiar with the players, the markets, the formats, you name it. And, I am an expert in a field (which I created). If I had my own show, it would be very unique. It could be syndicated very easily because every metropolital area needs to learn the information which I pour out. I would be the only afterneen drive show that is acually concerned about driving in the afternoon.

It is a fact that, if everyone drove like me there would never be another traffic jam, road rage story, or even an accident. And I honestly believe I can change the world with this knowledge. I mean, why should we have traffic jams? Nobody likes them. People just don't know that they are driving around causing them. I could teach them how to prevent them instead. I'm a man on a mission. And with your help, we could rid the world of those pesky traffic jams.

Why not give me a shot? I'm always available as a guest. And my ambition is to get my own show or be part of a current show. Here are a few airchecks (below) to give you a sample of my voice and personality.

/ showintro / chickenhauler / jerryatric / monkeydriver / Ten-Keys Video /

Here's a little more about me and what I'd like to do. I am a very streetwise guy who grew up in Chicago and San Francisco. We always moved a lot because my dad, Geno Skaggs was a session bass player, who worked for John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, Ike and Tina Turner, Johnny Big Moose Walker, I could go on. He was one of the first white blues guys, who started the whole San Francisco North Beach Blues Scene. I want to mostly play upbeat blues bumper music. I am also a musician (check me out on youtube), so I could do an ocassional parody or make some background music. 

I've lived in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kenosha, rural Wisconsin and Indiana, South Carolina, New Jersey and Oregon, so moving is nothing new to me, in fact, I find it quite exciting. I've done a lot of different types of work over the years and have owned at least a dozen businesses of my own. So, I am fairly knowledgable about starting a business and being an entrepreneur. I have worked for over 100 companies in at least fifteen different fields and have been a mechanic, salesman (everything from cars to vending machines), retail clerk, store manager, business manager, employee supervisor, driver supervisor, dispatcher, orientation speaker, public speaker, cab driver in Chicago, construction laborer, ambulance chaser, and, of course, a web designer, writer and truck driver who delivered just about everything, from diapers to machinery.

I like to be funny too. I do a few voices and would like to do some funny bits here and there. I would mix it up with drivers ed, personal stories, funny bits, an ocassional fake character, some upbeat blues music, I would touch on politics from a Conservative point of view, find some cool news that nobody talks about, like, people saving themselves with guns, talk about bad accidents and what the driver did wrong, the trucking industry, how easy it is to make money in this great Country. I am always optimistic and upbeat. I am very straight-forward, not easily offended, passionate about some things, and genuinely concerned about people. I believe in God and Creation. I believe you can always succeed as long as you work hard. I will always keep up with current events and always be prepared with a show outline, a few pre-recorded segments, some good news, weird news and some really cool bumper music. I would ocassionally let a whole song play, one or two a day. 

I'd never run out of content because I can always read one of my 100+ articles (some below), and elaborate on it. Plus, I can ocassionally play a track off my audio CD (below).

Please call me at 574-896-2177

Or email at info@bigcitydriver.com

Thank you for listening,

Ken Skaggs

 

Truck Driver Education Source

Big City Driver is dedicated to trucking safety. Webmaster and founder Ken Skaggs has dozens of articles that promote Trucking Safety and Safe City Driving from a drivers perspective, but professional enough for Trucking Company Safety Departments. Here at Big City Driver you will find true stories and serious driver education lessons, like Tales of the Tailgater, Wind, the Silent Killer, Preventing Preventable accidents and Holidays and accidents. You will also find funny and entertaining stories, like Chickenhauler School, Monkeys can Drive and Driver Cuss-Out.There are lots of anecdotal, true stories and inspirational stories and articles.

In this line of work, it's easy to get depressed, gain weight, and lose touch with reality because of the long periods of time gone from home that many drivers experience, not to mention the aggravation of New York City, other big city dangers and aggressive drivers. It's important for todays professional drivers to be smart enough to learn how to stay calm under pressure and keep their sense of humor, which is not easy, and, try to look at daily driving hazzards scientifically instead of emotionally, and learn to relax and entertain themselves.

Many experienced truck drivers love to talk about the good ol' days, of course I am no exception. Because of all the trash-talk on the CB lately, some will argue that there was a time when drivers had class, but in my twenty-five years of trucking, I found that they still do, and even more now than ever. I think it's an age thing, or, just common sense.