The Legendary Walton & Johnson flanking that imported Yankee Mike McCann, Times-Picayune TV Focus, June 1983
It’s kind of funny after all these years and all this time, but I’m still asked about the ‘Mike McCann’ thing.
After all, most disc jockeys (as we were called back in the day) or air personalities on the radio used a stage name or alias for on-air purposes. Perhaps this gave us a more dramatic & imaginative persona, but it also assured us some form of anonymity and privacy. Some form.
A Pennsylvania native with roots further back in Austria & Hungary, and with brothers & uncles who’ve actually mined coal for a living, I’ve long been proud of the family name ‘Ziants’, but never used it on the radio.
The Ziants Boyz (L-R) Tommy (coal miner), Micheal (radio/recording dude), John (Ohio coal mine boss), Steve (newspaper writer/sports editor) … on vacation, Holden Beach, 1994
In fact, through 12 years on-air, all through my tours of duty in Harrisburg (WKBO), Saint Louis (KSD), Nashville (WLAC), and Philadelphia (WIFI) … I was known to the masses as John Saint John!
And it really worked. I could play on and riff on that name all day long … ‘Philly’s one radio saint – that ain’t’, or (in St. Louis) ‘preaching the gospel according to St. John from the banks of the Mississippi’, and … well, you get the idea.
Micheal Ziants ON-AIR at WKBO Radio, Harrisburg, PA as John Saint John rocked the state capital for years, 1973-1978
Without a doubt, the radio days/daze in Harrisburg, PA are among my favorite memories through all these years. “And don’t forget to smell the flowers along the way, ’cause we’re only here for a short while.”
** Micheal as John St. John, On the Air @ WKBO Radio, Harrisburg, PA **
Pre-MP3/Downloads – in the days of 45 rpm records – a WKBO Radio weekly music survey, charting record sales … with John Saint John
In fact, some of my best pals & brothers-in-arms from along the banks of the Susquehanna now belong to the ages and pages of broadcast history.
Your names – and broadcast contributions – are now the stuff of Legend.
** Micheal as John St. John, WLAC, Nashville, 1980 **
But you know, names, people and places will always change … and upon my arrival in New Orleans in 1983, so did the “John Saint John” thing.
a full-page ad in Sunday’s Times-Picayune promoting WQUE’s Mike McCann
Q-93 (owned at the time by Insilco, an international silver company, really) employed a mid-day jock (who still today does production for Entercom’s WWL) by the on-air name of STEVE St. John … a jock that I would have to follow in afternoon drive! Uh-oh.
WQUE management loved what I had been doing on-air in Philadelphia, and flew me down to hire me in June of 1983. But the name had to go!
Oh well, (sigh) what’s that old Billy Shakespeare line about, “A rose by any other name…”?
So, ‘Mike McCann’ was born. And in one fell swoop, Q-93 hired me for afternoon drive … and these two crazed characters out of Beaumont, Texas – Walton & Johnson for morning drive … all in that one fateful week!
** Mike McCann On the Air @ Q-93/WQUE-FM, along with Walton & Johnson, May 1984 **
Now, at that point in time, John & Steve had only been together for 5 months as a team, having met for a breakfast and formed their alliance just a half year before – in Beaumont.
I had been a top-rated and tested major market air personality for years, and was looking to do mornings at Q, but management had other ideas. And that is the subject for yet another blog… another time.
What’s in a name? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.
L-R, Heath Allen, Theresa Andersson, Micheal Ziants, Rich Lenz – during a break from the original HEALING HOUSE sessions, Airlift Productions
“For years, I have worked with Micheal Ziants and Airlift Productions recording songs for Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network. Mike’s attention to detail is legendary, but his commitment to the kids and the challenges they face goes far beyond that. He gets it. Professionally, he’s as good as it gets. Everyone SOUNDS better after a session with Mike. And no matter what the audio project, you FEEL better after a session with Airlift. That’s “Z” truth! — HEATH ALLEN, WDSU-TV Reporter, and Veteran Guitar Picker
Fellow muses – and co-authors – JAMES PATTERSON & BILL CLINTON sharing a moment.
Hired by the Hachette Book Group in NYC to record and narrate the AudioBook version of best-selling author James Patterson‘s latest thriller, I had no idea what I’d signed-up for.
Or how far down the “rabbit hole” I’d have to go.
But when you’re invited to audition for a title by one of the world’s best-selling authors, and by one of the world’s leading AudioBook producers… well, you do it.
“The Chef” CD Artwork – Narrated by Micheal Ziants, Airlift Productions, New Orleans
Set in New Orleans over Mardi Gras, “The Chef” unravels the tale of Caleb Rooney, detective in the NOPD by day, and celeb food truck operator by night.
Throw into the mix: the FBI, NOPD brass, a police shooting by our hero, recipes (yeah, recipes, it’s called “The Chef”, after all), sex, an ex-wife, a new flame, Middle East extremists, Muslims, “red herrings”, NOLA tourists, travelogue-style descriptions, Mardi Gras…. and terrorists – and you’ve got yourself quite a rabbit hole.
Co-written along with Max DiLallo, a Los Angeles-based screenwriter, this one is certainly getting some mixed reviews around the planet at the moment (did these folks all listen to/read the same book?), but it was my task to READ THE WORDS.
While, at the same time, give LIFE to the characters!
And what characters – from the sassy ex-wife Marlene to the new flame Vanessa…from the NOPD chief to arrested ne’er-do-wells… from a Middle East terrorist suspect to his bitter widow!
Witness but a small sample in this video “trailer” that I produced for the YouTube krewe here…
Taking direction from producer Lisa Cahn via the Airlift Productions phone-patch, we recorded all the narrative across November and December 2018, with finished audio edited by Tim McCarthy at A-1 Sound Studios in New York.
And what a thrill the entire process turned out to be!
After all, Lisa informed me shortly into our recording sessions that Mr. Patterson listens to all his AudioBooks so, “Micheal, you’re the voice in his head right now!”
Really? As if!
With over 375 million books already sold to this date, and with all the characters this character has already cooked-up…. isn’t there enough traffic there already?
Steve Scalise & Airlift Mike during a break from “Back In The Game”, Airlift Productions NOLA, October 2018
“Mike, I can’t thank you enough for the great job you did coaching me through the audio recording of my new book, “Back in the Game!” Since this was the first book I’ve ever written (and recorded), it was all new territory for me. You made the entire process go very smoothly, and I am incredibly happy with the final product.
I appreciate all you did to bring this book to life. You know you are really good when both James Carville and I are in complete agreement that you are great to work with!!” — CONGRESSMAN STEVE SCALISE
