By Rick Kaempfer
ERIC & FRIENDS KEEPING ON
W
hen Eric Ferguson started work-
ing at WTMX (The Mix), the stu-
dios had just moved from Skokie
to downtown, and they were considered
state of the art for their time. That time,
unfortunately, was the '90s. Now, he is
working in state of the art facilities again--
brand new studios that are still under semi-
construction. “Like anything new you’ve
got to get used to it,” Eric explains. “I knew
where all the bodies were buried before,
and now it’s sort of like re-learning the
wheel a little bit. But surprisingly it only
took a few weeks to get back in the rhythm.
It’s visually nice, that’s for sure. It’s great to
be working in a facility that is so modern
and attractive.”
just say, ‘Here we are, warts and all.’”
Of course, the stars of Eric’s show have
always been the listeners anyway. All the
pre-show planning goes into figuring out
ways to incorporate the audience. “I’m
always amazed what works and what does-
n’t,” Eric admits. “We do share stories about
ourselves, but it always has to spin back to
the listeners, and to their contributions.
There will be times when I’m prepping the
show that I think ‘Oh man, this will be a
home run,’ and it gets nothing. And then
sometimes a thing I prepare as a transition-
al device explodes and I can’t stop it. I love
when that happens – that’s pretty cool. I
really do trust my instincts most of the time,
but there are occasional surprises.”
L to R John "Swany" Swanson, Mellisa McGurren, Brian "Whip" Paruch, Cynthia Solak Denicolo
He and his cast-mates have certainly
earned the new digs. “We’ve been doing it
for 23 years now,” he says. “Just started our
23rd year and I feel like the first two or three
years were break in years, and in year 3 or 4
or we hit, and we’ve been fortunate enough
to continue to deliver the numbers the com-
pany expects of us. I think we’ve been #1, or
close to it, for seventeen or eighteen years
now. I try not to dwell on that too much
because it feels like that you’re just waiting
for the end of it. I try to look forward and
not back.”
The elephant in the room, naturally, is
the one significant cast change that hap-
pened last year. Eric’s long-time on-air part-
ner Kathy Hart left the show. The ratings
were unaffected by the move, but I asked if
the dynamic inside the studio had changed
significantly. “Not really a big shift,” he
admits. “I feel like we’re doing the show the
way we’ve always done it, with the people
who are here. There has been a renewed
sense of energy. Every time there is change
and the dynamic shifts, people get up on
their toes a little bit, and ready to go. It cre-
ates a new [and] exciting energy and allows
us to explore new things. In the long run,
while that was a difficult and surprising
transition, it’s worked out for us.”
It has led to more substantial roles for
Melissa McGurren and Brian “Whip”
Paruch, but Eric doesn’t want to quantify
exactly how he sees their roles today. “Their
roles have constantly evolved, and I don’t
like to categorize us into specific roles,
because I want everyone to be their natural
reactive selves. They are real people, and I
want them to be themselves. That’s what
the audience likes most about us, in gener-
al. We’re authentic. We’re not actors. We’re
not trying to be something we’re not. We
16 illinoisentertainer.com november 2018
One of the biggest surprises over the
past few years, in addition to Kathy’s
departure, was the health problems Eric
endured. Those are now in the rearview
mirror as well. “My health is good right
now. I’ve been able to take care of the issues
that arose because of my schedule and the
lifestyle that was required, and finally, my
body said ‘enough.’ So I’ve readjusted my
life – I go to bed a lot earlier than I used to.
You can never underestimate the amount of
sleep you need to remain sharp. And as I get
a little bit older, I need a little bit more. From
a health perspective, I’m feeling much bet-
ter.”
Has he ever given a thought about how
long he can keep doing this? “I do have
those thoughts. There was a time in my
career when I was thinking about the end,
and trying to figure out how to end it with
a nice clean bow, but those thoughts are not
as prevalent anymore because I work in a
perfect environment, I really do. I work at a
radio station that lets me do what I do unen-
cumbered, and gives me that creative flexi-
bility. I have an ownership that is clearly
behind me, and I can feel it, in the way they
treat me--and the way they behave towards
me--and that’s a truly rare occurrence in this
industry. It’s a tremendous feeling. And
those moments when that alarm goes off,
and I sigh, I remember all that I’ve got going
for me here. I’m not exactly breaking bricks
for a living. I enjoy myself, and I’m making
good money doing it. Why would I choose
to stop that right now? There will be a day.
I’m closer to that day than I am to the begin-
ning, but I’m not there yet. My only goal is
to leave while we’re still doing good work.
The audience still seems to like what we’re
doing, and as long as they are with us, we’ll
continue to do it.”