By now, you've surely heard the story about radio jock extraordinaire Anthony Cumia getting fired by SiriusXM for his recent Twitter rant so we're not going to get into it. Whether you stand by Ant or not, life moves on. There'll be no apologies necessary when his HD video podcast “The Anthony Cumia Show” hits the web on August 4th and the lines of dialogue open up. And make no mistake, these lines will be very open.
In the spirit of exercising freedom of speech, there'll be no rules, no restrictions, and no bosses to tell him what to do so if you're looking for something to be offended by, The Anthony Cumia Show will no doubt do just that. For the rest us who are looking forward to watching him succeed, we'll be tuning in to see what he'll do and say next because finally, “Now we're talking uncensored.“
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OC Weekly: (Ali Lerman): So I know you'll be doing your show Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EST. Is there an option for running over that time?
Anthony Cumia: Yeah, yeah. That's pretty much the set time but it could run over. I could also do a special event on a Friday because that'd be the best day to do a party show with a live audience or with people around the pool or something like that. There will for sure be a set schedule but that doesn't mean that we can't just go completely off the mark and do anything, anywhere, at any time really. [Laughs.] There'll be no restrictions as to when I broadcast.
Speaking of having a live audience, have you given any thought into having contests in order to be part of that scenario?
Yeah I was planning on doing some kind of contest for either being in the live audience or maybe with Halloween coming up, doing a contest to come to the big Halloween party I throw every year. You know, a couple of people, a couple of guests, things like that. You sign your life away and then you get to come down and hang out! [Laughs.] As far as a live audience goes though, there are always people here. It's kind of a strange place. [Laughs.] There is always someone here wondering around so there won't be a huge live audience all of the time but occasionally, for an event or something, I'd definitely do that!
Well I have an idea if you are looking for one. Instead of picking on Erock, maybe listeners could make a sweet little parody number about the chick who assaulted you.
[Laughs.] Definitely, yeah! That's a good idea. I absolutely plan on having the audience involved with making parodies or production. We already had one guy make a piece that was really great so we popped it up on the site and tweeted it. Some people are pretty talented out there! Most are not, but some yes. [Laughs.]
Any chance of the “usual suspects” from the O&A show making cameos? I mean, I'm sure Bobo would sell his left nut to get on the show.
[Laughs.] If there is an angle that works, sure. I think we could get anybody on. Even them. Not just for the sake of having them on though, then no. I did have Bobo over for one party and he puked all over the floor of the studio. It was quite the display. [Laughs.]
Oh I saw that on “Live From The Compound.” It was unreal to say the least. It's going to be fun to watch because as a viewer, every day you'll tune in and never know where you'll be!
That's pretty much it. There are enough places around here that would make sense for certain things. The typical interview with a mic, it doesn't have to be that anymore. We have the ability here to run the camera inside or outside. Why not do it outside or at the bar? It doesn't have to be at a desk with a mic, you know? It'll be the whole atmosphere of hanging out kind of like that “Playboy After Dark” show Hugh Hefner did with interviews and music. We'll just take it into today with technology and the people that I know.
Now for the people who have to tune in late, they'll be able to see replays right?
Yep! Right when the live show is finished, it will go up for a download for the people who are subscribers. They'll be able to get an audio feed and/or video feed, whichever suits them best. We're also going to get an app together shortly after the launch for all of the phone platforms. This all had to be rolled out so quickly, I'm quite frankly stunned at the speed in which this is coming together. I have a lot of really good people working on it so some things might take a little longer than others but, we're getting it all together. Within pretty much a month, I was fired and now I'm up and running again. [Laughs.]
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It really is crazy that you guys bitched for years about what SiriusXM promised and never did and then they whack you, and you've done all of this in a month. Maybe they should've hired your crew.
Yes! [Laughs.] We really wanted to do stuff but we were shut down on every suggestion. No we couldn't do this or that, no it's not in the budget, or they'd look into it but they never did. You know, we were always put on the back burner with those guys over there so maybe it is the old “blessing in disguise” thing. I was getting tired of their bullshit and now there is this fun and exciting thing and yeah, it's going to be great!
So of course the fans want some reuniting action but in your perfect world, what would happen when Opie and Jimmy's contracts are up in October?
You know, I really have no clue what Jimmy, Opie, or SiriusXM has in store when their contracts are over. I know during the years after the merger, we had some issues with those guys so if they can clear it up and re-sign, that's great. We'll have to see though because over the years, they pulled some real bullshit on us. It's such a strange situation because we worked together for 20 years and it's always been the Opie and Anthony show. It's strange to imagine pulling those guys into this thing because it's going to be my show. If we could find another venture that the three of us could do, like if a morning thing pops up and I can still do this show? Fine! I'd love to work with them again. Yes!
So then come August 4th, in another perfect world without a website crashing in 30 seconds, how do you envision The Anthony Cumia Show?
[Laughs.] We're doing a lot of testing to make sure everything is up and running well! I've got the studio working here and yeah, as far as dishing it out to the web, we're making sure that everything is good for the August 4th launch. The subscriptions are coming in everyday so let's just say that we're on target. [Laughs.] It's really going to be uncensored! This isn't the, “Oh lookout we're satellite or a podcast withholding to this, that, or the other thing.” This is opening up the floodgates of anything that can be imagined. It can all be done and said. This will be real uncensored radio. I'm sure people will bitch, be offended, and be looking for something to do to try to shut me up or get me thrown off of something but you know, I think we finally found a place where I can say what I want! It's my house! [Laughs.] I'm in my home for the love of God! I'll say whatever the fuck I please! [Laughs.] It's going to be really cool.
The premiere of The Anthony Cumia Show is August 4th so be sure to go to www.AnthonyCumia.com to subscribe and pick up some fantastic merchandise. For more of Anthony, follow him on Twitter @AnthonyCumia and the show @TheCumiaShow.
See also:
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Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.