Neil Macrae: "Frosty likes my style ... abrasive, witty, fast. I'm willing to set myself up for his stuff; I don't care if people poke fun of me. Frosty needs someone who can fire back. It's not rehearsed; I have no idea what he's going to say. His mike's open when I'm talking, and he'll say things. He's the only deejay I know who's right on top of current events, including sports.
I've always been abrasive. There's not a whole lot of difference between me and the average sports fan talking. I have a microphone. When you get people going to the office and saying 'I missed Macrae, what'd he say?' you know you're doing it. You gotta do a show."
- From 'Top Dog: A History of CKNW, B.C.'s Most Listened to Radio Station' by Chuck Davis © 1993.
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Four things about Neil:
1.
One day in early 1999 Neil came trudging into my studio at the Black Tower lugging a box that must have weighed about fifty pounds.
"Here" he said, "This is for you."
Me: "What is it Neil?"
"My record collection. I know you collect this crap, thought you might want 'em."
Me: "Not listening to music anymore?"
"Yeah I am, but I tossed my turntable and bought a new eight track player. You should check it out, I know a guy at A&B Sound, I can get you one, the sound quality is incredible."
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2.
Neil had a lot of side deals set up with clients that may or may have not gone through the regular channels at the radio station, I learned that it was better not to ask.
I turned out to be the go-to guy for Neil and his "clients," which consisted of a motley collection of pre-pop-up era sports bars and spotty restaurants that were only around for about five minutes and a few other questionable enterprises.
One of them was a guy Neil had hooked up with who was marketing something called the Towel Buddy, a nondescript towel that hooked up to the handle of a golf cart that you were supposed to use to dry your hands on between hitting balls. It retailed for $19.95.
"What d'ya think man?" Neil said to me while I was adjusting the mic. "Well, if I had to guess Neil" I replied, "it looks like something I could pick up for a buck at a Dollar store."
After the session, Neil wadded up the Towel Buddy and tossed it to me. "Here" he said, "you can use this to cry into when you get blown out of this joint in a couple of months."
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3.
As far as I could determine, Neil's entire wardrobe consisted of three pairs of colourful Bermuda shorts and a pair of sandals.
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4.
Neil would rarely read commercial copy supplied by the radio station's Traffic Department.
His usual method was to briefly glance at it, snort derisively, crumple it into a ball, and toss it into a corner of the recording booth.
He would then ad-lib the spot off the top of his head, nail it in one take, open the studio door and amble off down the hall.
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That's all I've got for the stories about Neil that I can actually post. Goodbye pal. GL