Show Spotlight: Funday Sunnies
A nutty impersonation, impromptu dancing, a corny joke – you never know just what you’ll get when Russell Bridges, host of Funday Sunnies, walks into the station, but you know it’ll be entertaining if nothing else! Russell takes his comedy seriously, which is evident in his weekly playlists; he also takes community radio to heart, always ready to lend a hand and get involved. Here Russell gives us a dose of his humor and insight into his show…
What can you not stop listening to these days?
I listen to everything and anything so to give you a sense of what I listen to, here is my recent search history:
- Bloodhound Gang
- Girl Talk
- The Lonely Island
- Spose
- Flight Of The Conchords
- Oprah
What is going on in the Treasure Valley that you’re excited about?
Wow, this is a great question! My first answer is Treefort Music Festival. I know it is almost a year away but that festival has pleased me every year and I am stoked to see how the little seedling blossoms!
There are so many fun events and activities going on in the Treasure Valley and the two that I have yet to participate in are the Emmett Cherry Festival pie-eating contest and The Eagle Fun Days Rocky Mountain Oyster-eating contest!
Do you have a ritual surrounding your show? You know, a ritual meal or a certain artist you have to play?
Kind of… For every show, just before I go on, I do a few deep breaths and then I strip down to my birthday suit and host the show naked. Also, I do have a particular chair I like to sit in as ritual…the leather “Captain’s Chair.”
How long have you been doing Funday Sunnies? What drew you to take on the show?
What drew me? Well, I was drawn naked once, in an art class in college. That may be part of what drew me to take on challenging endeavors like a radio show.
A few times, I’ve been told I have a voice for radio and when Radio Boise hit the 5-year mark I saw an opportunity to share my love of comedy with the Boise community. I have loved comedy for as long as I can remember. I love laughing and I love the perspective that all comedians have.
My first show took place on October 24th during the Fall ‘16 Radiothon!
For those who may not be familiar with your show, how would you describe its sound?
The sound of my show will vary from listener to listener. I think it usually sounds something like laughter, maybe something like this: LOL or MWAHAHAHA! hehehehehe! Hoo Hoo Hoo! Tee Hee Hee! JAJAJA!!
I play comedy bits from well-known and not-so-well-known comics. Also funny music and skits and bits and what-not!
Side note: for those who may not be familiar with the show I would like to suggest that you live on the edge a little more and pull an all-nighter on a Sunday night to hear the show live… then you’ll have a true appreciation for your Monday morning! Then and only then you could cure your ‘Case of the Mondays’.
How did you discover Radio Boise?
I love this story!
Hyde Park Street Fair 2008. I walked up to the merch/ info table and met Wendy Fox who was working the merch table and fielding all of the questions from the patrons. I immediately signed up to be on the mailing list as a volunteer, snagged a shirt and a few stickers, fell in LOVE with Radio Boise, and just kept hanging around. All the people became homies so I NEVER LEFT!
Ha!
What other shows do you listen to?
The Wreck with D.J. Jason D was the first program that won my heart and kept me tuning in to the station. I just couldn’t believe the tracks I was hearing on the radio… in Boise! I love how real the music is, it acts as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one’s behavior.
I also love Tennis Court Disco, Bangers and Mashups, Smoke and Mirrors, Big Chunks of Plastic, The Blues Block, Drift Correction, Strange Brew (archives), The History Of Boise Rock, It’s Now Right Now, Guilty Pleasures, High Wild & Free, and… pretty much every show! DANG!!
What other kinds of things do you do in your life?
I like to be naked whenever possible! And floating the Boise River, snowboarding, working the chairlifts up at Bogus, ride my bicycle, drink good local beers.
Why do you believe volunteering for community radio is important?
It is the meat and potatoes of community radio. I love telling people that the programmers are volunteers and don’t get paid. I think volunteering my time makes the love for the station that much better. It lets me know that sharing this form of entertainment is worth more than some monetary compensation. It is worth my love for the comedy and the community’s love for non-commercial radio.
What comedy do you find yourself inexplicably drawn to?
I absolutely love the older comedians from the 50’s through to the 80’s. But honestly I am drawn to all of it…. It begs for me to put on my headphones, take off my clothes, and have a good hearty chuckle!
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