Wichita Rutherford, the podcasting superstar, has just announced that he has moved from Sirius to XM in the satellite radio world.
Wichita’s new show on XM is called The Grand Old Time Machine which is also the name of his upcoming TV show on Blue Highways TV
Kyle Cantrell and the fine folks at XM gave me the ultimate spot for Bluegrass; 5 pm Eastern every Friday on channel 14. (They call that “Drive Time”) As well, I’ll be on for 5 minutes a day throughout the week…
You can read more of Wichita’s thoughts on his blog. What follows here is a special report from one of our roving correspondents, Jim Scott, who had the chance to interview Wichita at a recent event.
WICHITA RUTHERFORD TO ORBIT ON XM
by Jim Scott
Wichita Rutherford; Host of the hilarious 5 minute interview show "5 Minutes With Wichita", Mayor of Bluegrass and Podcast phenom, was the very first Podcaster to get a deal with SIRIUS Satellite Radio. With his three shows; "5 Minutes With Wichita", his flagship, on several channels, "The GrooveGrass Show" on the SIRIUS Stars channel and "Nothing New Here" an hour of old Bluegrass and traditional American music on the Bluegrass channel, his popularity netted him an upcoming TV show on the recently launched Blue Highways TV, car commercials and a gig as pitch man for sausage and biscuits as well as grits and a chain of convenient stores. I met up with Wichita at a an after Oscars party where actors and musicians of the highest caliber of fame and fortune wined, dined and schmoozed until the early morning. He had in tow, as well as in the floor laughing, funny men Jim Carrey, Ricky Gervais and hip-hop icon P Diddy. Confirming the rumor he had flown from SIRIUS to XM, he had a few things to say when we talked…
JS ‚Äì Is it true you’re moving from SIRIUS to XM?
WR – "Well, Jim, the fine folks at XM made me an offer I just couldn’t pass up."
JS – No rift between you and SIRIUS?
WR ‚Äì "Shoot no! I love those folks! They treated me real good. Real good. I’m really gonna miss all the friends I made there; Terry Herd, Joey and Scott and Adam and Rob and especially my good friend, and fishing buddy, P Dub Fenton."
JS – Big bucks huh?
WR – "Let me just say I’ve always wanted enough sausage and biscuits to where I could eat them all day long, non stop. And now I can realize my dream of filling my pool up with them and jumping in and having all my friends over to help me eat them‚Ķ while I’m wearing nothing but a fez encrusted with diamonds and a huge belt buckle with Bill Monroe’s face on it."
JS – So what happens after that?
WR – "I plan to get me one of those big extra large sheets at Bed Bath and Beyond and a huge mattress and put them in the kitchen and hire Emeril Lagasse and Jamie Oliver to cook for me in shifts until I get so fat I can’t get out of the house or off the mattress. I’ll be going for the world record for the most weight gained in the shortest amount of time. Then I’m gonna buy me one of those triangle-golf-tee games at Cracker Barrel and try to finally solve that riddle it for all man kind."
JS – The name of your new XM show is "The Grand old Time Machine", the same as the TV show. Tell me about that.
WR – "Its gonna be like the TV show except for radio. I’ve got this time machine that let’s me travel hither and yon thru time and listen to the old traditional Bluegrass and Traditional American Music as well as listen to new music and talk to people like Alison Krauss and Ricky Skaggs and Doc Watson. Kyle Cantrell over at the Bluegrass channel is helping me a lot with it."
JS – So you could actually travel back in time and visit Ricky Skaggs when he was a child?
WR – "Already did it. He was a precious little boy. Oh, just as precious as precious can be."
JS – And you could see and talk to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs before they hit it big?
WR – "Already did it. And keep this to yourself, before their first show I suggested they wear cowboy hats and matching suits."
JS РReally… What were they wearing before that?
WR – "Painter’s pants with wallet chains, red gloves, Viking helmets, these baggy shirts with different colored squares all over them and what later became known as ‚ÄòBeatle boots". It looked like Picasso threw up on ‚Äòem."
JS – So you’re saying‚Ķ
WR – "I’m saying fashion is my bag, baby. Just looky here at this suit. $150 at Men’s Wearhouse. P Diddy can touch my fashion sense".
JS – I saw you getting interviewed by E (The Entertainment Channel) earlier.
WR – "Yes."
JS – Looks like you’re hanging around with some pretty big names. You got interviewed and everything, why didn’t you use your real name?
WR – "I really don’t think she knew who I was. She just saw me get out of the car with these guys. Actually, I’m incognito. I never use my real name at these things."
JS – She obviously knew who you were, and what was the name you used?
WR – "Ammonia L. Terntworth."
JS – What? WHY?!?
WR – "When I get around these movie people I like to take on the accoutrements of the rich. The Terntworth name makes me sound important and with the first name of ‚ÄòAmmonia’ I sound like I’m a grounded, empathetic, regular guy. A man of the people. I just love it when they lean in and act like they know me during an interview and call me ‚ÄòAmmonia’. It kills me."
JS – What does the initial L stand for?
WR – "I’m not sure yet. Maybe ‚ÄòLutine’. It makes you feel good‚Ķ in a weird way."
JS – Why don’t you have Mitchell (Wichita’s pet monkey and constant companion) with you? He’s with you every time I’ve ever seen you.
WR – "He has that flu that everybody’s getting and wanted to stay at the hotel and watch it all on the TV in the bar. He’s gonna be P-O’ed when he sees he could have been on E. He watches it all the time."
JS ‚Äì Looks to me like you’ve got a strangle hold on the whole publicity thing.
WR ‚Äì "I’m trying, Jim. I’m trying."
JS – When does your new show start?
WR ‚Äì "It’ll be on XM every Friday at 5:00 PM Eastern time on channel 14, the Bluegrass channel. The start date is April 6th. Tune in, I’m gonna be giving a bunch of stuff away."
So there you have it. Wichita Rutherford beaming to you from a new position in outer space, actually low orbit. In more ways than one. I plan on tuning in. Sounds like its gonna get weird. Or… continue to be weird.
