They say good things come in bizarre packages, and that's exactly the case as David Boylan's Lick the Plate zany celebration marks 15 years on air with its 2,000th episode. If you think of radio as a predictable endeavor, well, you're not tuned into Lick the Plate.
A Milepost Draped in Multicolored Fabrics
When you're browsing through colorful avenues of radio fame, it's hard not to trip over the Scottville Clown Band—their mix of costumes, comedy, and community spirit fit like a glove with Boylan's flavor-centric expedition. Originally born out of Boylan's Coast News column back in 2007, this show's grown to be so much more than a mere culinary critique.
From Roots in San Diego to Wings Across Michigan
Boylan's show first carved its niche on San Diego's 102.1 KPRI, later extending its wanderlust-driven reach to Entercom stations like KBZT-FM 94/9 and beyond. This thing's not just about stuffing ears with grub reviews—nope. It's about delving into tastes, cultural influences, and oh, the music that chefs and notable guests groove to when they're not wielding knives or growing produce.
Picture This: The Clown Band Roams the Airwaves
Dial forward to 2015, and we find Lick the Plate not just migrating geographic locales but sustaining its bizarre yet engaging fusion of food and melody in Detroit-Windsor markets via CIDR-FM 93.9 The River. It's a bit like watching a juggling act with tomatoes thrown in—unexpected, but deeply satisfying.
The Clown Band's Comedic Consonance
In its 2,000th episode, Boylan handpicked the Scottville Clown Band, a group bedecked with history notes as colorful as their attire. Since 1903, they've unified diverse professions under one motto: play hard, jest harder. Their mission extends beyond chuckles, funding youth music scholarships that might just produce the next band leader for Boylan's show a century down the line.
It's mightily fitting that Boylan would invite them along for a milestone this big. In his own host-fueled words: "They embody the lowbrow to highbrow range that’s been our signature from day one."
Widely Relatable? Not Quite.
Let’s not kid ourselves, this isn’t a format that's equal parts for everyone. Lick the Plate isn’t gunning for mainstream appeal, and that's its strongest suit. Appealing simultaneously to radio purists, culinary outliers, live performers, and even Great Lakes surfers, it is as eclectic as radio gets.
"I've followed Lick the Plate since they landed on 93.9 The River and always loved the style and originality it brought to commercial radio," observed Dave Kim, the enthusiastic Ferndale Radio Program Director.
From Airwaves to Sound Waves to Surf Waves
If you thought the program stuck to traditional elements, well, prepare to be surprised. Boylan’s annual "Fish Stories" might seem niche, but their entertaining blend of fishing antics and storytelling has captivated audiences from the Pacific to the Detroit River. Add to this Boylan’s zeal for surfing, and you have one radio show that casts its reel wide—and keeps reeling people in.
This celebration doesn’t just highlight a chronological number; it reinforces a philosophy that spans personal interests, local vibrancy, and story-sharing. As Lick the Plate quips through 15 years and 2,000 shows, it's clear that culinary radio can be as rich in spirit as it is in content.
