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>>People Conversational sport >> Late-night radio host wiles the hours away with jock talk and metal
by CHRIS BARRY Photo by Jason Felker
Bio: This
spunky downtown resident and inspiration for the Grim Skunk mega-hit
“Looking for Gabbio” has been shaking the local sports radio
scene to its very core lately with his Sports Weekly phone-in show on
CFMB 1280 AM. A self-confessed “AM radio junkie” and ex-guitarist/singer
for early 1990s speed metal sensations Homicide, Gabriel’s radio
style has been described as a cross between Jim Rome and Howard Stern.
Sponsored by an Internet casino, his show is especially popular with
“young people” and among the betting population, who faithfully
tune him in to pick up the latest hot gambling tips. “Gambling
on sports is magical, it’s electric, it makes you feel like you’re
really part of it. We win people money on this show.”
When he’s
on the air: Tuesdays and Sundays from midnight till 2 a.m.
Why he feels
his show is such a phenomenon: “Because we do stuff that the
commercial stations wouldn’t touch. Radio in this town is so sterile
that young people are turned off by it. What does it say about the Montreal
radio market when the best station in town is from Vermont?”
Some bands he
plays on his show when he isn’t busy yakking about José
Canseco or some spectacular save Ken Dryden made in 1972: Korn,
Motörhead.
Somebody he
really looks up to: Local sports loudmouth Ted Tevan. “Ted
Tevan is the icon and he’s very underrated. He hasn’t received
the love that he deserves from this city because he’s not afraid
to speak his mind.”
How to beat
the seven-second delay so you can say something stupid like “Bababooey”
to him on the air: Speak intelligently at first, gain his confidence,
and then, when he is least expecting it, throw out your offensive pearls
of wisdom.
Are the Expos
gonna go all the way this year? The odds are 150 to one against
the Expos winning the pennant.
The odds against
the Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup this spring: Sixty to one.
Childhood ambition:
To become a pro hockey player.
Current ambition:
To see his show syndicated to other markets. “Winnipeg is already
on board.”
Something his
grandfather did: Played for the Montreal Canadiens in the late 1930s.
Something his
uncle did: Played hockey in the NHL.
Something Gabriel
almost did: Play pro hockey in England. But the offer came in at
the same time his band was preparing to tour with DRI, so he opted for
a career in heavy metal instead.
Hobbies: Playing
sports. Gabriel is rumoured to be one ass-kicking street basketball
player.
Musical preferences:
Joe Satriani, Korn, Seal.
Last book read:
Gotti: Rise and Fall, by Jerry Capeci and Gene Mustain.
Words of wisdom:
“Don’t be afraid to go for it.” :
Comments? dimwit@openface.ca
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Name:
Gabriel Morency