Love on the Airwaves Midday host Cindy Michaels tries reality radio as ‘Bangor’s Bachelorette”

loading...

There are many tried-and-true methods for singles to meet each other, including going to bars, gyms, nightclubs, grocery stores and even churches, hooking up at work, setups by friends, personal ads, and dating services, either video or Internet.

But Cindy Michaels, program director and midday show host at WWBX (97.1 FM), found inspiration in reality TV. She’s taken to the airwaves to find her “Mighty Mighty Good Man.”

On Feb. 20, Michaels became “Bangor’s Bachelorette,” seeking the right guy from throughout B97’s listenership. At first, she and afternoon show host Bill Da Butler interviewed potential contestants, trying to find those most compatible with Michaels.

Since April 5, she has been going on dates at local businesses with the 12 finalists, ranging in age from 22 to 34. Activities have included golf, bowling, pool, roller-skating, massage, facials, eating at restaurants and attending a 50 Cent rap concert in St. John, New Brunswick. Listeners have come along, with Butler (her de facto bodyguard) handling around three remote broadcasts an hour on each date. In addition, he records interviews with the men for playback on Michaels’ next show.

“Being in something like this puts you in such a different position than if you were dating normally,” said Michaels, who has been at the Bangor station for seven years, the last 11/2 as program director. “Everything’s on the table. The whole mindset is to be as open as possible. The pressure is off them in this situation when compared to an actual date. I can get to know them a lot better this way than I would on my own.”

Each week, one candidate has been cut, with the field now down to three. Listeners can vote for their favorite on the station’s Web site (www.b97hits.com), but it’s ultimately Michaels’ choice.

“Cindy’s been very cool throughout it,” Butler said. “She puts herself out there. It was a bit of a risk, because she didn’t know these guys at first. It will be hard at the end, because now it’s choosing among friends.”

Unlike many of TV’s reality shows, Michaels was very conscientious from the beginning about protecting the feelings of those men taking part.

“I made it clear that I wasn’t setting up this contest to make anyone feel bad,” she said. “If they’re embarrassed to do something, they don’t have to. This is not a joke. I’d love to find a great guy.”

Michaels is sympathetic since she’s been on the other side. This event had its genesis, naturally enough, as a byproduct of ABC’s “The Bachelorette.” “Valentine in the Morning,” whose national show airs on B97, was inviting rejected “Bachelorette” contestants to appear on his program, and asked women to call in and talk with them.

Michaels arranged with Valentine to talk with one of those contestants, Lonnie, on Feb. 20. Unbeknownst to her, Valentine also lined up another woman who was interested in Lonnie, and turned the segment into a competition. Lonnie selected the other woman, saying that Maine was too far away.

“Bill Da Butler came on the air with me after the interview, and was talking about how Lonnie was a fool for rejecting me,” Michaels recalled. “He said, ‘Cindy, you should be Bangor’s bachelorette.’ Then the light bulb just went on.”

Michaels met with station administrators and sales staff to set up a plan for the competition. Over the air, she and Butler asked men to send in pictures, and a questionnaire was set up on their Web site. There were more than 65 entrants by the deadline of April 1 (“That probably wasn’t the best choice of dates, because many thought it was a joke,” she lamented).

Area businesses have been participating in the event as well. Some provided clothing and hairstyling for Michaels, while others became the sites of dates (more locations are still needed for the last week of the competition).

Many of the dates have featured Michaels and multiple suitors, who take part in challenges to gain some “alone time” with her.

Such was the case on one recent night at Archer’s Arrows in Hermon, the 10th of 19 planned dates. Four men, all dressed in camouflage clothing, hoped that they were on target when it came to winning the affections of Michaels, herself dressed in a slinky white outfit for photos (she later changed into more comfortable camouflage as well).

Michaels, Butler and the four challengers had arrived in a white stretch Ford Excursion, an SUV limo, driven by Doug Pomelow, who now stood by imposingly.

After a lengthy warm-up period, in which arrows flew above, below and to the sides of the targets, it was time for the contest to begin in earnest. Butler affixed cards with activities that the men must perform to the targets. “You got those on poster board?” contestant Ryan Murdock joked.

Adam Bonnell of Oakland was the first to find the range, in fact hitting two cards. His initial task was to recite a line from the love poem to Michaels, while kneeling with a rose stem in his mouth. After some hemming and hawing, he was coached through a line from the Bryan Adams song “Everything I Do, I Do It For You” (appropriately enough from the “Robin Hood” soundtrack).

Next Bonnell had to perform a pickup line with a Latino accent: “Hey, double bubble, you going my way?” he delivered with a true Cheech-and-Chong flair.

Shawn Theriault of Holden was next to hit the mark. His assignment was to do a pickup line with a French accent: “Did it hurt when you fell, when you fell from heaven?” he asked with a flourish, after a moment’s hesitation.

Following Theriault was Randy Lowe of Old Town, the shyest of this bunch. His duty was to give a pickup line with a British accent. After considerable thought and nudging by the others present, he managed, with little noticeable accent, the Bondian “I like Cindy like I like my martinis: shaken, not stirred.”

Last came Murdock, who was supposed to sing a love song to Michaels. Instead, he sang the “Brady Bunch” theme song, with improvised lyrics. “How is that a love song?” Butler asked in disbelief.

Butler then set up another batch of cards, this time bearing prizes, including the treasured 15 minutes of “alone time” with Michaels. Lowe was the first to bag the “alone time” card, which he cashed in almost immediately. The couple, chaperoned by Butler and Doug, headed out to the limo. The remaining three told about their adventures in group dating.

Murdock, 27, signed up because “I’ll try anything once. It’s been great, not at all what I thought it would be. The guys are a great group to hang out with.”

Theriault, 33, was ready for a change: “I’ve been single for a few months, and I was tired of sitting at home with the kids. I just wanted to get out and have fun, and it’s been a lot of fun. You get to experience things you wouldn’t normally. As a single parent, finances are tight, so you wouldn’t get a chance to go to a fancy restaurant. And what red-blooded American man would pass up good food with a beautiful woman on any given night?”

Bonnell, the youngest of the finalists at 22, entered because he was the only one of his group of friends that had a picture available.

“I got a call from Bill, asking me to come up and see Cindy,” he recalled. “And I’m glad I did. She’s a great lady, and I’m glad I’ve gotten a chance to know her. Whoever she ends up with is a lucky guy.”

After Lowe returned, and Bonnell took his place in the limo, he told his story. It turns out that he never actually entered the competition.

“Someone signed me up,” said Lowe, 33. “I got a call from Cindy, and it sounded interesting. It’s not something I would normally do, so I decided to take a chance and do it. It’s been a lot of fun, going out, seeing everyone relate to Cindy and her relating to everyone, and seeing the nervousness go away.”

It’s interesting that, unlike the cattiness among women on TV dating shows, the men here have a real sense of camaraderie.

“It’s everyone getting together and joking around,” said Lowe, who was eliminated Monday. “We’re planning a reunion when this is all over.”

As each elimination day rolls around on Monday, the men almost seemed resigned to their possible fate.

“I sit and listen to the radio, and hope that the phone doesn’t ring, that instead I get an e-mail about the next date,” Theriault said. “But I’ve had a blast, and it’s been definitely worth doing. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

“The smaller the group gets, the more anxiety there is,” Murdock added. “I’ve had a great time so far, so I’m not too worried about it.”

The station’s Web site has received considerably more visitors because of the competition, Butler said.

“People also are asking about it on the phone,” he added. “I work on weekends at Speedway 95, and no one was asking me about anything at the station until this. I’ve worked here for years, and people don’t know my name, but there are people who know these guys’ names.”

Michaels is quite content with being “Bangor’s Bachelorette” through the event’s conclusion May 24.

“I love it,” she said. “It’s great, because all of them are great guys. I’m single, and am open to being in a relationship. I’m more than happy to find a mighty, mighty good man.”

For more information, call B97 at 947-9100 or access www.b97hits.com. Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 or dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.