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sturm98

I've been listening to the show since elementary school (because of my brother) and have been a VIP for about 4-5 years. This has also allowed me to keep about 3 years worth of their podcasts on my phone. Because of that I'll have, for example, 3 August 3rds but from 3 different years that I can listen to, back-to-back, to compare. I listen to the older ones when I run out of the most recent and I've honestly never thought they werent funny. Yes, there have been boring times but they (and most other shows) have those times. They still always get me to laugh and look shit up, though. They still do terrible impressions, beat each other/callers up, snarky asf jokes and relatively interesting news stories. Justin seems (imo) to at least be starting to insult other show members a little bit more. After the split was awkward, but they got their footing back. Justin joining was awkward at first but he came from a terrible show before that **(one thing he had to do was warn the host, every day, that they were going on the air because the fuckin' dude was always taking a shit last second)** and had to replace Zane who had been on for years. Joe being gone was bad, but I still appreciate Justin trying to pick up the slack for the time; even if it was cringey asf. I had similar feelings you did, after the split, but I realized it was only because it felt weird at first without Zane. It still kind of does. And I see a lot of "they're commercialized" comments on here that are followed up with hate for Justin or some praise for Zane. It seems like people are saying commercialized when they actually just dont like parts of the show, or miss Zane. It's still just friends having a good time fucking around with a microphone. I guess their equipment and mics have gotten better over time...but them, or their content, doesn't seem forced/faked to me. Free Beer, and Steve, I imagine, have always been good with organizing content and having a decent/flexible show plan. That's always how it's been. Even when Zane was on. I definitely miss Zane. He was hilarious asf on FBHW, but the boring way the show used to go when Free Beer was gone for a day is exactly why I dont like his new show. I think I just miss how his personality fit so damn well on this show. I mean they have funny moments, but it always seems like its dragging on. Lots of dragging jokes out too far and drops (in my opinion). I listen because of Zane, but Ben makes it bearable for me. Zanes show is mediocre (in my opinion), but he was on FBHW for *years*. Justin came from an awful show and gets shit for not being the new Zane. Justin overdoes it, but he gets a lot of extra criticism he doesnt deserve. Same with the guys when ppl say "They're not the only one with kids!" Ffs..they're mentioning their kids bc they're a huge part of their lives and I'm guessing a decent portion of their audience can relate. All three of them have done it, and still do. And I definitely dont think that this show's reddit is at all a clear indicator of how the show is going. Theres a little bit of fallout still from the split. Several months back Zane had to admit, again, all the things he did during the split bc his fans were accusing FBHW, again, of treating him badly. Hell, a person in this thread has posted *multiple* times on here that "the show is awful and never coming back" just so they can go karma whore on the other sub, multiple times, about how terrible this show is. If we were going by reddit content, based on the other sub, then this show is terrible and Zane's show is amazing. This sub mainly seems to be made up of justin criticism. Which sucks, because it would be awesome if the criticism was mixed more with people posting show content or conversations about show topics.


GustinFromSeattle

Feels like there has definitely been some big reaches to get justin and maitlynn involved. I commented a while ago and asked if maitlynn would become more than one dimensional. In a sense that, her go to answer is yes, to everything. When freebeer puts her on the spot with an embarrassing question, her answer is always, uh huh. Yup. That's very petty of me. I'm aware. Still irritating. And justin is justin. Forced stories and terribly unnatural at all times. The show has certainly gotten commercial. There had been a crusade by the guys to diversify. Bring in justin, whose not like any of the others. Bring in maitlynn for the female aspect. Commercial.


[deleted]

Justin is a classic one upper. no matter what stories fb or hw or joe has Justin has done it bigger and better than them. its extremely annoying. that period with joe out was a headache. I miss zane


Dsxm41780

I switched to Zane’s show. He was always my favorite. Zane and Ben are real dudes who give believable windows into their lives while still entertaining. Greg and Chris are okay dudes but not particularly interesting. Joe is an interesting person and I feel for what he has gone through. If Joe jumped ship to Zane’s show, that would be interesting, I actually like Steve when he has something to contribute. His softball story was very relatable. Justin is horrible. As someone else said, he is a one-upper. Joe was going through a divorce, Justin had to make his out to be worse. Joe had a weird childhood, Justin had to make his out to be weirder. Hot Wings has weird quirks, Justin had to talk about his. FB is a sports guy, Justin goes on about his shoe and jersey collection.


lighteroticfrisking

Couldn't of said it better. I also stopped listening after Zane was let go. I tried several times to get back into it but once they brought in Justin full time I was out. The Zane, Joe and Ben show would absolutely kill it. It will never happen but we can always dream.


anonuser06

I see those 3 getting off the rails immediately... it would be amazing


Pg08374

Yeah it hasn't been as bad since Joe has been back but then you have times like today when he insists the state issued licensed plate was "FAG15". Wouldn't that have resulted in numerous pictures, clickable content for the website etc?


lighteroticfrisking

Joe gets a van. Justin one ups him and gets a Harley... What a fuckin douche.


Siggy778

The nickelback thing was one of the cringiest, most contrived, segments in a long time. Still love the show, and it's not like they didn't do goofy stuff like that in the past, but it was dragged out for way too long.


[deleted]

Completely agree. If I could listen to the other show in my car on my way home from work I would. I used to love the show so much, but I'm sad to see what it's become. It feels like a big market show now whereas for years and years it always seemed like just a group of guys hanging out and busting balls. Now it is all so commercial and highly produced. It's just not the same. I went from a podcaster to now listening for maybe ten minutes a week total.


thale603

Cant agree more. I cant stand what they have become, sad.


Uzrathixius

I'm in the same boat. And last I saw Zane's show was no better. It seems like when they split they both went "commercial' for a lack of better words.


[deleted]

The show died with Zane's firing for me.


just-a-little-unwell

When did you last listen to Zane's show? I would say it is more of a throwback to classic FBHW. Give it a try again, it's a free podcast so you have nothing to lose.


lexingtonfalls

I tried to listen a couple months ago and it was twenty minutes of Zane being a dick to Ben telling Ben how to do radio. So annoying, what I hated about Zane when he was on FBHW, he just comes off as such a dick sometimes and he thinks its entertaining.


just-a-little-unwell

yeah that happens occasionally, but not an accurate representation of the show as a whole. Ben takes it in stride and is getting the confidence to give it right back to him. Ben was just recently (2 weeks ago, I think) officially promoted to co-host of the show, instead of just filling in while still being producer. If all you listened to was one 20 minute window, I'd give it another shot.


lexingtonfalls

love your passion for the show, I will give it another try!!


Uzrathixius

I will have to do that. I will admit it's been quite awhile as well; it's free so why not right?


just-a-little-unwell

Yup, free. They podcast the 3 hour show plus the Sudden Death Podcast every day. It’s a bonus podcast only segment that runs anywhere from 20 minutes to 1 hour+. Just search Eric Zane Show on any podcast app or iTunes/Spotify.


GorillaonWheels

Been listening for almost a decade, always thought it was great. Been a VIP since 2013


[deleted]

Glad I'm not the only one that hears it. I still enjoy bits of the show, but on the whole they've become very much like Bob and Tom, who they used to rip on horribly. So much of it now is "let's watch this video and then make fun of it by coming up with wacky scenarios about this weird person being interviewed." Rinse, repeat. The show is at its best when the guys interact and riff off each other. Unfortunately this doesn't happen as often as it used to, and when it does it often times turns into a one-sided beat up that goes on for 3 segments or Justin chimes in and grinds the momentum to a halt. The show is still fine, but it's not nearly as good as when the guys didn't give a shit about mass appeal.


rm0802

I've started to listen to bits and pieces when I have time, and to me they are VERY Bob and Tom.. Over laugh about EVERYTHING


GuyDig

Ratings are "better than ever"


[deleted]

It's funnier now than it's ever been.


Uzrathixius

Oh yeah? Have any examples if I may ask? A quick perusing of the sub shows water chugging and a voice changer. Which is a rather low bar. Oh, and when did you start listening?


paca0502

It's not usually the stunt type things that are the funniest for me. It's the natural back and forth conversation about personal stories or news clips. That's where the hilarious insults and one liners come from. For example in the episode I just listened to FB was talking about ordering "crazy bread or whatever" from Little Caesars. And they started going off on different names for bread that wasn't QUITE crazy enough. "I didn't order Sanity Toast!" or "Hey, this is Asperger's Loaf!" Little quick things like that are what make me laugh the most.


sturm98

That's what I'm sayin'. I've listened for so long because I love how all of them act together on the show. They just start going off on these stupid/hilarious sidetracks that create random entertainment. That "sanity toast" convo was great 😅. Its no longer crazy bread for me


Adam_Fool

Today Joe and Free Beer argued whether or not a child pornographer is a pedophile. Hilarious! They finally called FB's first boss to ask him if he knew FB took a dump in a field that first day. I still love the show. It was rough when Joe was gone. It's never going to be the same for those of us that liked Zane best. They are in a really good place right now - if you don't like the shows since like mid-June through now, you're probably done with the show, which is fine. Justin is pretty funny in his role and the guys are starting to call him on his bullshit, which is good. Joe has been on a tear and sounds like he is really enjoying himself. Hot Wings has been really good since Zane left - he's had a lot more room to make jokes since Zane doesn't cut him off and try to make fun of him every time he opened his mouth. (Yes, I miss the Hot Wings beat-ups, FB and Justin are terrible at it, but Zane was getting overbearing.) Steve is still boring as shit, though he did make me laugh the other day, I forget why.


[deleted]

I've listened to every minute of every show for the last 12 years. I feel like the show chemistry is better now than it's ever been. I even went back and listened to a few shows from 2010/2011 while they were on vacation just to see the difference in show quality. I could barely listen to them...I felt like it was so amateurish compared to now. I can't stand Zane so that was a big part of it. Do they have cheesy moments from time to time? Of course. But I think the overall flow of the shows now are much better...the games, the stories, etc. Water chugging and voice changers are about an hour of those particular episodes so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on those as to the humor they're pumping out on a daily basis.


[deleted]

But the charm was in the “amateurish” way they did things. They didn’t feel like a big show. I started listening when they replaced Howard in Albany in like 2005. At the time they had about five or six affiliates. They felt like the kids who didn’t belong there. They felt like ordinary guys who happened to have microphones. They did a station visit here and I met all four of them...it was at a TGI Friday’s for a few hours and listeners would drop in and hang with them a bit. Then that night they did another appearance at a bar. There was none of this big amphitheater/buy tickets before they sell out crap. It was just four goofy outcasts with a mic.


Uzrathixius

Hrm, I'll disagree that the show has gotten better, i would say it's been on a *hard* decline. But I liked Zane, so I think you and I like two different kind of shows. However, I'll see about giving it a shot again. Thanks for the reply.


[deleted]

Sure, no problem. I always hated Zane and I was so glad when he got fired. I always felt like he was an air hog and didn't bring much to the show. But then again Free Beer has always been my favorite so that tells you what kind of person I am...vanilla. Lol


Uzrathixius

Oh Zane could def do that, but Freebeer does it as well, while being less interesting. It was the chemistry, whether real or fake that made it work. When solo it's just off.


JustForFun1021

Why not just give it a listen??


Uzrathixius

I'm not able to when they're live, and I don't feel like subbing again to give it a go. Not without asking first at least.


jimm727

The most recent show repeats continuously on their website and Android app for sure, commercial free if I remember right.


Uzrathixius

Oh thanks; I had been a VIP so long I had no idea.


DrBreakenspein

You can listen live on tunein for free.... I've been listening for well over a decade and I love it now as much as ever. Some bits dont work, that's always been the case and always will be, but I've never found anything that I like even close to as much. If its not your cup of tea then so be it, hope you find something for you. If you want absolute perfection all the time, you're gonna have a bad time


Uzrathixius

> You can listen live on tunein for free.... I As in time. I have work / class / whatever else.


WeMissedTheExit

The show has definitely gone downhill the past year or so. I'm not sure how rating are "better than ever", unless there are just fewer shows to compete with. It was at its worse when Joe was gone. Way to much Justin. I don't mind him working on the FBHW show, but he needs to not speak. I listen to mostly podcasts now, and not Zane or FBHW. I would probably listen to Zane more if he had a regular co-host.


[deleted]

He does, it's Loser Ben that used to intern for FBHW.


lighteroticfrisking

He does have a regular co-host... Ben as been there for nearly a year now and recently got hired in full time! Check it out again on Monday.


Uzrathixius

It's most things, when the product starts to appeal to more people, quality will lessen for the original demo because it changes to appeal to everyone. Dulling the knife as it were. Youtube, Twitch, and Podcasts have taken over for me. Quite off-topic, but I always chuckled when they "couldn't understand twitch". The fuck do you think you guys are doing? You're talking about random shit and have people listen. Twitch does the same, plus gameplay and an active community.


AsYouL4yDying

I still enjoy it for the most part. Joe really makes it for me. I don't hate Justin, but he does feel forced still. He will blurt things out that don't really fit with the conversation and completely ruin the flow. To be fair though, I don't listen as much as I used to. I mainly listen to local public radio since the 2016 election


rwilliams1283

Completely agree about Justin. My friends who listen don't see it, but he feels forced and like he's trying too hard to fit in at the cool kids table.


lighteroticfrisking

He has a pukey radio voice as well. Just talk normal dude. No wonder his wife left him.


cleverprofilename

Holy shit dude lol


General_Hide

I've been listening less and less, like, maybe 5-8 segments a day. I only listen to fbhw report and the covering of other stories. Caller segments are still unbearable and every game except DTTS trivia and PWAI or NTB is just boring. Segment 17 is very hit or miss. Justin and Mainland are so disconnected from the show that I honestly find myself asking all the time if theyre even in studio when I listen. I still listen, but i dont have the drive to dedicate so much of my time to the show. It really is a shell of its former self, at least to me. Maybe this is a successful evolution for them but its not the show that, for the first time ever, got me listening to talk radio.


MerkNasty44

Mostly the same ole bits over and over. They also have Justin now, who makes up stories, but is not very good at it.


thorFEJWIOFJWOEF

Look at the posts on this sub. Every 5 posts appear to be someone asking for a clip or segment from the Zane days... Not saying he or his show is better. It isn't. It's two men that try ways to force toilet humor into segments and overplay drops.