OK, not really. 

The great Bryan, myself and the blogger known as Andrew's Dad met tonight in a secret undisclosed location, somewhere on the East Side of Seattle, to swill beer, plot the takeover of the world and make fun of Ken Schram.

We opened the meeting of the circle of trust by performing the secret war dance, handshake and then shouting "Holy Shnike" three times while bowing towards Mecca (Indiana, population 355).

OK that may not be how it went down.

Andrew's Dad and I met Bryan at one of his favorite hangouts in Kirkland, where he and his remarkable wife had gone to enjoy dinner and some trivia.  We wanted to drop in and toast his new opportunity in radio LA, and to thank him for the support he has given local bloggers over the last year or so.

A's Dad and I arrived early and ate at the bar.  First time I have met him, and it was nice to finally meet another local blogger.  He is a warm sincere guy who takes great delight in taking about the Andrew in his title, his son (obviously).

Finally we located Bryan and joined his party for a quick chat.  Bryan's wife is a wonderful woman who is his total equal, and far better then he deserves.   She invited us to stay and chat for a bit, which we took her up on.

It was a fun time of trading stories and laughing, even if it held that bittersweet sense of goodbye.

Like it or not though, Bryan was always a big fish in a small pond, and sooner or later his accomplishments would have carried him up and out.  His departure from KVI was a surprise to all of us, but he was (again) very pragmatic when discussing it.  He could have acted pissy and made a scene but chose to move on and find a new home for his ideas. 

It’s a done deal. When reached via his ATT smartphone, Bryan commented that he, his wife and their (Bank of America) banker are “decidely ecstatic” with the agreement that KFI signed.

“Returning to the LA market ( via his brand new LA-mobile from Valencia Range Rover) has been a goal since I left KROQ in the 90’s. After detours in Reno, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Sarajevo, Portland, Baghdad, Monroe and Seattle, I realized that LA has the best of all of those delightful places! 

 Why me? I don’t know. Dozens of the nations top hosts wanted the coveted and rare opportunity at KFI. I got off the ( Southwest Airlines) plane without an aircheck or a resume, and I had the job the next day. I remember my new boss, Robin Bertolucci, saying ‘Number 18 station in the number 13 market?! …..That makes sense because you do some of most self-indulgent radio I’ve ever heard! But, you’re well groomed (BedHead) and you don’t steal…so take the job please.’

And then I’m all, ‘Okay.’  And she’s all, ‘Cool. When can you officially start?’

So I’m like,’ January 21^st! Cuz I have to go home and pack our junk and sell my (Olympic Arms) assault rifles and take my favorite bloggers to Sport Restaurant to get loaded.’

And she’s like,’Wicked. I’ll tell R and R to stop the avalanche of applications.’

People have asked, ‘Does KFI stream?’ Stream!? Stream??!! You can hear it ON YOUR RADIO!!! From Costa Rica to Prince Rupert!! And it’s not even full strength!!”

Bryan then mumbled something about Trader Joes in Totem Lake, cheap Dutch beer and prosciutto.

Congrats Bryan!

This was in the comments of this post, so I am reposting it for your enlightenment.

Thanks all. However, let me clear something up. Schram had nothing to do with my ouster. Kenny may have loathesome political opinions, but he’s a stand up guy. If I had been paired with him from the outset, The Tators would be killing Limbaugh and Dave Ross 9-noon (maybe not Limbaugh).

Regardless, Schram is a pro and (off air) a really good guy. Where I’m going (back) to, it’s all about good radio. Not boring authors or inside baseball “live Iowa coverage” at 8pm. Or forced banter. It’s good radio. Period. If you’ve ever heard Jim Rome’s sportstalk, that’s my new show. Only, I get to use the WHOLE newspaper. Any-hoo, I’ll keep Karl (LSU) updated as events warrant.

So let the rumours die, Ken did not get Bryan canned.

It is official, we can now bid farewell to Bryan as a region.  Bryan emailed me the official news (gee, It's an EXCLUSIVE!) and he wants you all to know his good fortune. 

I personally will miss him, and will try to call down to his new radio home occasionally, just to keep him on his toes. 

Expect it Bryan!

So, with a bittersweet smile, LSU says:  Congrats Bryan!  This is nothing you did not deserve, and I hope they know how lucky they are to have you.

So....I work in Los Angeles (again). KFI (640am -LSU) has offered me the 7pm-10pm gig and my peeps are working things out. Needless to say, it's a bit of a step up.

KFI is hands down the number one news/talk station in America( the #1 english station in LA) and jobs there happen once in a generation. Pretty good for getting off the plane without an aircheck and going on that night.

But Program Director Robin Bertolucci is the best in the business and she knows what she wants as soon as she hears it. When I was fired ( on Veteran's Day weekend...as I recall) Robin called me before I got home.

"So...now will you come to LA?"

I'll start next week and we'll be moving down there over several weeks time. I'm obviously very excited about all of the opportunities that having a show in LA represent, but I'll always miss Seattle. It's home and it's where I started in talk radio. I've been doing the KFI show from Clear Channel in Seattle, and I gotta say..I could get used to that. However, the move is unavoidable. Having started in KROQ LA in 1992, I know the area and the shock will be minimal. Housing prices are plummeting (luckily) and it appears to be a cosmic confluence of factors calling me back to that town.

Syndication? Maybe. If that happens, Karl will be one of the first to know.

Bryan will be guest hosting at KFI 640 am this week.

Today from 3-7 and the rest of the week 7-10

If you can tune in via the internet, enjoy the shows.  He hasn't lost his wit.

The KFI website also saves the shows in pod cast format, so save your favorite for later enjoyment.

Bryan has been guest hosting at KFI 640 am in LA from 7-10pm.

Podcasts of his shows are here:

http://kfiam640.com/cc-common/podcast.html

It was great to hear him.  I even heard him slip and say KVI instead of KFI. 

Whoops...

KVI responds:

Thank you for taking the time to write us with your concerns.   We certainly understand you are not happy with the recent changes that have been made on KVI.  

As we continue to evaluate our programming on KVI, please know this was a difficult decision for us.  Ultimately, we needed to look at the strongest programs on KVI from a ratings and revenue standpoint and make some hard but necessary business decisions.

Bryan Suits is one of the most brilliant, quick-witted people we know.  But unfortunately his wisdom, experience and side-splitting humor failed to gain ratings traction against his competitors.  We believe the local, political talk show The Commentators will have a better chance competing during the important afternoon drive time period (it will be the only show of its kind on the radio in that timeslot).

(Not anymore, it is now up against David Boze...)

We wish Bryan all the best and thank him for his service to the station, and more importantly, his service to our country.

We hope that, in time, we have the opportunity earn you back as a listener.

The real answer?  We care more about the money we will make from Dr Laura.

Fools.  They sacrificed quality, and more important, substance for smarmy feel good pap.

Bryan and I have been in touch, and when his latest prospect solidify, he will let me know and I will pass it on here. 

Meanwhile he left this note at Sound Politics:

You can contact me directly via youtube. Search for KVIBryan. And please enjoy the entertaining videos of my dogs.

In the meantime, I'm going to Montana to shoot a bison. I would love to be back on the air in Seattle again, but the time might be right to bite on some longstanding opportunities elsewhere. Either way, I'll post a note through Karl at leaningstraightup.com

I need to say, the Seattle conservative is a great listener. Always blunt and honest, never sycophantic (to me). We are the minority here and it's been an honor to talk to you for three hours daily. Of course, you may run into me at Cabela's, the WAC gun shows or The Wilde Rover in Kirkland (wednesday trivia night). For now, thanks a bunch. I'll probably be a regular poster here because I've got all these annoying thoughts and no outlet. My wife gives me lists and shuffles me off to the truck in order to have some peace. Skank (in a good way).

And as ever "....but I don't have a pool."

Posted by: Leisurely Bryan on November 13, 2007 05:39 PM

Bow Chicka Bow Bow.

As always, Bryan has a standing invitation to blog here.

Finally, I want to thank all of his supporters for the comments and emails I have gotten for him. 

I knew I liked him, but it is gratifying to see I was hardly alone.

KVI defintely scored an own goal here....

With the Seattle area still reeling from the firing of Bryan Suits (KVI has still not responded to my request for comment) we now learn that rival KTTH has also dropped a morning favorite.

The Sytman and Boze show ran against Kirby Wilbur, but now it is the David Boze show and it is running at 3-6 against the commentaters, and was replaced in the 5-9 slot by Glenn Beck

Like Bryan, Dan has been excised from his radio station's page, with no notice I can see.

Dan's website says:

Being the ridiculously blessed person that I am, I have a little extra time off this November. I hope to talk with you soon. In the meantime I'll leave you with my favorite quote from President Ronald Reagan:

"Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music."

Dan Sytman
November 16, 2007

Now, knowing that his severence likely depends on an an anti disparagement clause regarding his former employer, I don't take his light hearted attitude too seriously.

But I return to my previous question:  Why are so many local shows going bye bye?  Granted, Glenn Beck in the morning is a nice thought, I enjoy his show.  But I don't know if David Boze can carry the 3-6 slot solo.

Time will tell.

Like Bryan, my best wishes to Dan, and I hope he lands on his feet.

UPDATE:  I have been in contact with Bryan, and hopefully he will be back on the air somewhere soon. 

I don't know any details, but this is Bryan we are talking about, and you cannot keep him down.  He seems very optimistic.

I passed on some of the comments, and I am sure he appreciates the support.  I will continue to pass on your messages and comments.

He also promised to keep in touch and let me know where this road takes him, and I will pass on anything I can.

Finally, I emailed the station for comment.  No response.

OK, this is a local thing.  Apologies to non-Seattle readers.

So there I was, at work this afternoon, and I realized it was time for the afternoon entertainment called the Bryan Suits show on talk Radio KVI.

I opened my shortcut to their internet stream, and....nothing.

So I open their web site and find all traces of Bryan gone from the site, and a complete lineup shake up, with apparently no warning.

I finally got some confirmation (such as it is) on Blatherwatch, a local leftist site that enjoys trashing conservative radio:

Bryan Suits, 1999-2007 R.I.P

The Bryan Suits Show, afternoon drive (3-6p) was abruptly dropped from the KVI line-up Friday afternoon. His picture has been purged from the website like a bad dream.

One less live & local talk host in town, one less host to fry.

..

Suits had been languishing in the ratings for over a year, and this move was much predicted, especially by us.

When Suits returned to his KVI talk job in March 2005 after a year's deployment in Iraq, P-I radio columnist Bill Virgin wrote, "When you've been on the front lines of a war, and history, talking about the latest outrage in Olympia or the Michael Jackson trial, Bryan Suits concedes, 'is going to seem mundane.'