“Monster RX 93.1… Good Morning everyone! Time for the Top 10 for today…”
Anyone in the local radio community would know what radio program The Morning Rush or TMR is. The radio show itself is about a topic for the day and picking the Top 10 entries, sent in by listeners, about or relating to the topic, be it serious or not. They also mostly talk in English which is what I liked ever since, because I’m not really a fan of those radio shows that speak in all-out Tagalog/Filipino and also discuss about local news and stuff. I’m not against it, but TagLish is just more my genre plus the topics and news TMR talks about are international showbiz which I’m more interested in as well.
Chico and Delamar are the pioneer hosts of the show, then after a while, Gino Quillamor joined in and they were called The Kikay Barkada. In time, Delamar and Gino left because they focused on their own families. Delamar even migrated to the US. Now, it’s Chico accompanied by three other hosts or DJs Hazel Hottie, RicaGGG and Markki Stroem.
I just love the dynamics of these four DJs. You can tell they’re friends even off-air. They can agree and disagree on air and it’s fine. They shade and tease each other and it’s fine. They have such good chemistry with each other that it seems like they were all meant to work together. I always find myself laughing out loud because of their witty humor, be it laughable or eye-rolling because of its corny-ness. Nonetheless, they’re really funny most of the time. Of course, they even get into serious topics about life, even scary ones but with which, they can turn into something funny in the end.
The guys and the girls each have their own bonding moments off-air. Chico and Markki get along because they’re both into Pokemon, while the girls, Hazel and Rica used to be roommates. Of course there are other factors that make their bond special aside from those I mentioned.
Since their program is scheduled from 6-10am, I don’t always get to listen to them because waking up in the morning is always a struggle to me. So I listen to them through podcasts. I started listening through Apple podcasts in 2016 but now I listen through Spotify.
Anyway,
The reason I’m writing about them is because they’re one of the groups or shows that relieve my stress and anxiety in this pandemic. I just love listening to the funny entries from listeners and banter between the hosts. They just really give me so much comfort in these trying times. I like how Markki always puts it, “it’s like therapy.”
Plus now, listeners can even interact with them live because they do a Facebook Live during the last hour of their program. They can read your comments and react to it in real time as opposed to just listening to their comments and reactions on the curated entries in the Top 10.
I guess the reason why they clicked with me, is because I can relate and also learn from them. When they talk about their experiences or about what they like and dislike, about their habits and even the TV shows they watch, I can mostly relate to them. And since they each have different preferences, they’re vocal about what they like and don’t like even if they’re the only one among the group who disagrees with the others, and the others openly accept that.
They have the kind of friendship dynamics you wish you’d have in real life. I understand that they’re co-workers and that they have to keep it that way in order not to feel awkward at work but of course, as a listener, who’s mostly alone, without much friends, it’s what I long for.
In this day and age, where people are kind of like walking on eggshells when it comes to voicing their opinions on certain social issues, you’d wish you’d have that kind of comfortable relationship where every one could just accept and understand each other, even with different opinions. And most importantly, learning to add humor and laughing things off without taking offense.
So, more power to the Shady Foursome and kudos to the laughter they bring to their listeners and Facebook Live viewers!
Live the life you LOVE 