"If I had a few more Karel-like fans, I would be bigger than Madonna! He has done so much for me, so much promotion — I can't thank him enough."

Karel is a prominent radio talk show host and entertainment journalist who can be heard on the KAREL SHOW each Saturday and Sunday on KGO AM 810 San Francisco, a 50,000 watt member of the ABC Radio Network. He's also a celebrity Eder-fan who simply adores Linda and does everything he can to help promote her career!

THE VOICE recently chatted with Karel…

VOICE: It's so nice to talk to you.

KAREL: Why thank you. It's great talking to you.

VOICE: Before we 'talk Linda,' would you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your career, which is quite amazing. You've done so many varied and different things over the years.

KAREL: Every weekend is a highlight of my career. The fact that I have a career is a highlight, actually! It's complex — and funny — because I was just talking about this. We never really end up where we think we're going to, or if we do, the journey along the way is never the journey we expected. I certainly didn't expect to be a talk show host. And if I did, I certainly didn't expect to be on the No. 1 network in the country! If you would have told me that in high school, I would have laughed at you. I would have told you I'm going to be on the stage… I'm going to be on the screen… I'm going to be on TV. I've certainly done those things, but it's really a wonder how I ended up where I am today.

I got into talk radio by promoting a dance record. I was a singer. That was something that I loved to do. Truthfully I don't know if I'm a good singer or a bad singer. [laughs] Right now we're getting things up on iTunes; actually my nephew is in a band and I'm very excited that I'm getting his stuff up on iTunes and other places.

I would say that the highlight of my career is that I was able to work with people I love. I was able to be on the top talk radio show on the No. 1 station [KFI] in the country with my [late] husband, Andrew Howard, which was absolutely incredible. It has been an incredible life.

VOICE: Did you start on the radio show with him?

KAREL: Actually I started on the show with a lesbian co-host on a little tiny station that had less wattage than a blow dryer! And when I started, I asked Andrew to go with me. I didn't think the talk radio thing was real! I was out promoting a dance record when someone called the music director of the radio station where I was working and said that they were looking for someone for an entertainment style talk show… and they wanted the host to be gay since the listening audience was going to be in West Hollywood. I took the job because I thought it sounded like fun. I had been a writer for years and years and years for Billboard Magazine and many other publications. That's how I met Linda. I was interviewing her for Billboard. I had many contacts in the entertainment world, so my roladex was pretty extensive.

VOICE: So we hear! A little birdie told us you introduced Linda to Maureen Smith!

KAREL: Well, yes! Maureen was a fan of our (Andrew and me) radio talk show in Los Angeles. After Andrew died, she was working at FOX Family, which was to become ABC Family. She always would hear me talking about the fact that Andrew wrote several children's stories and novels, and then one day she called me out of the blue. She introduced herself as a fan of mine and told me she was the President of the FOX Family Channel. She was interested in talking to me about some of the scripts Andrew left behind and so we met. We instantly clicked. We just talked forever!

Maureen began calling me on the days when she knew I'd need to be called, like on Andrew's birthday. She always tried to incorporate me into jobs there at the network when she could.

VOICE: And you eventually introduced Maureen to Linda?

KAREL: In a manner of speaking! I played Linda on my show all the time on KFI, even when Andrew was alive. And, we played her on our show even though it was a talk show! The station played music in and out of the breaks, and at Christmas time I would insist that it would be Linda Eder's Christmas album. So Maureen became familiar with Linda through my show. When we saw JEKYLL & HYDE in Orange County with Linda, I went on the radio the next day and said, 'Oh, my God! Now I know how people felt when they saw Barbra Streisand in FUNNY GIRL!' A lot of people were interested in Linda Eder so I got tickets to Linda's Christmas concert. I asked Maureen and her husband Jeff if they wanted to go and they did. I told her that afterward we would go back to see Linda because I had written about her and we had also had her on our show already. So we went back to see Linda for a quick hello. They took a picture and Maureen told Linda that she'd be interested in talking with her about future possibilities. Obviously , we know that conversation led to some future possibilities, and now they're best of friends.

VOICE: Did you watch Trail MIX?

KAREL: I did see Trail MIX, which was great! I actually have another idea for them that I desperately want them to do. I went to Ireland and stayed at a place called Mount Juliet, which houses incredible stables. Aiden Quinn, Colin Farrell, and several other actors who live in Ireland have horses there. I told Linda and Maureen that they really need to go to Ireland and do a show from there. We'll see if they do, but when I was there I thought it would be a really great place to do another Trail MIX.

VOICE: The fans would love that! Do you remember the first time you heard Linda sing?

KAREL: It was JEKYLL & HYDE.

VOICE: What was your reaction?

KAREL: It's funny… we saw her in October in JEKYLL & HYDE at the Orange County Center for Performing Arts. Then for my birthday, Andrew gave me every Linda Eder CD that there was, including the soundtrack from JEKYLL & HYDE. He told me he had to go through great pains to get that one!

After JEKYLL & HYDE, we walked out saying that now we know how people felt when they walked out of FUNNY GIRL. I mean we were mesmerized. The Orange County audience is very conservative, yet people were ready to throw everything but their pants at her! [laughs] When she was singing 'A New Life,' the mic went out and we barely knew! I told Andrew, 'That's Streisand… that's Garland… that's a talent… that's something that doesn't exist in nature.' It's a freak, truly! I've said on my show that extraordinarily talented people are freaks because if they weren't, then we'd all be able to do it. We all can't, but these people can and they're freaks… freaks in a good way. I mean even supermodels are freaks. If we all looked like that, then they wouldn't be supermodels.

JEKYLL & HYDE was the most incredible experience. It's one of the things I look back on in my life and say, 'I am so glad I was there.' I worked for Billboard for many years. I have interviewed every major star in the world including Streisand. I have been at every concert since I was 16-years-old because I wrote for papers. I've seen every major superstar from Diana Ross to Madonna. When it comes to music, I have pretty much seen and done it all and written about it along the way. In my lifetime, there are very few moments in that space… in that time. When I saw JEKYLL & HYDE, truly it was the most incredible thing. The next time Andrew and I saw Linda was about a year later. She was at The Wiltern. Andrew was a rocker, so the fact that he would listen to Linda Eder really spoke to me of her talent. Andrew actually gave up tickets to the absolute 'final' tour of Streisand at The Staple Center. They had sent me two $3,000 tickets for the main floor in front of Sidney Poitier and behind James Brolin, and he wouldn't go. He told me to let somebody else, someone who would appreciate it more than he would, go! Yet with Linda Eder, he would never miss one of her shows… never. I remember a time when we were at a concert and she sang 'Don't Rain On My Parade.' I remember Andrew saying, 'Oh, no, she's not!' At the end of the song, he was the first one to jump to his feet and say, 'Oh, yes, she did!'

VOICE: Isn't it simply amazing how powerful her voice is?

KAREL: It certainly is. And in my lifetime, I am so grateful to have been exposed to not just Linda's voice, but also to have interviewed her… actually I can't count the number of times I've interviewed her. She's just so great! In fact, in my media kit there's a piece of video (and you can watch it on the Web). I was at her hotel interviewing her before one of her Wiltern dates after Andrew's death, and 'If I Had My Way' was out. I asked her, 'If you had your way, what things would be different, but not in the world… in your life?' Linda said, 'No one's ever asked me that before.' I said, 'Honey, that's my job.' She really didn't have an answer… she was really happy with the way things were. Linda's such a gracious person to take the time out after sound check to sit down and do interviews. She always tries to come out to the stage door and talk, as you know. You just don't see that graciousness among people that talented, especially when I know, as I'm sure you know, that she'd rather be back at her house with her kid and her horses! So to take that kind of time shows that she really 'gets it'… what this business is about and what it takes to succeed in it.

VOICE: It's a tough business!

KAREL: Without question! The bane of my existence at Billboard and everywhere else is that Linda doesn't sell more records. I remember every time I'd do an interview for Billboard, I'd also have to talk to the record companies. I would talk to the record company executives when she was at Atlantic and tell them that I didn't want them to drop her because I love her records. Also Linda has a very strong fan base with a big following, and it was always my goal to expose her to as many people as possible. But when you have this fabulous secret (in other words gay people especially and others have known about her for years and years), she's almost like our fabulous secret. I don't want her to be a secret because she can out sing any of these divas who call themselves divas today. I could put her on the same stage as Mariah Carey, and she's not only going to keep up, she's going to leap right over her. So to know that and to know the business as I know it, and to know she's got the voice… she's got the looks (she's a beautiful woman), it makes me wonder why she isn't selling more records and it boggles my mind. So whatever record comes out, I always try to do what I can.

VOICE: Like what?

KAREL: One of the things I try to do with my radio show (because talk radio doesn't like entertainment topics and my bosses prefer that I don't do them) is include some entertainment topics. You never hear Rush Limbaugh talk for an hour with some celebrity he likes. With my listeners, I feel that if you just pound them with politics and world events every single hour, they're going to get bored. My listeners also know that when I really love something, I really want to talk about it. And since it's my show, I will. So that's how Linda has been incorporated into our talk show. They never did celebrity interviews on KFI, but yet I had Linda on our show. On KGO they don't do celebrity interviews, but I have Linda on my show. I think it's because the people who listen to talk radio also can recognize good music. If I can open Linda up to 250,000 to 300,000 people who are listening to me at that moment, then I want to do that. I just want everyone to hear that voice.

VOICE: Do you have a favorite Linda song or album?

KAREL: Well, that's like saying what's your favorite food! I have four songs that are staples for me just because of the time of my life when they happened. 'A New Life' is something that I'll never forget because it was the finale in JEKYLL & HYDE and it was incredible. It was recently important in my life after losing Andrew five years ago. We were never apart five days in 12 years. Even though I have a great life, sometimes I feel like I need a Part Two, and that song really speaks about a Part Two. 'Vienna,' I just love it for the instrumental bridge and the power that comes back. 'If I Had My Way' still can make me cry just because I saw Linda do it right after 9/11. It moved her and it moved me. Since I do a talk show where I have to talk about the atrocities in the world each and every week, the sentiment of 'If I had my way, things would be different. Terror wouldn't come from a sky so blue,' is very poignant. It's an incredible, incredible song. There are so many songs. 'Gold'… I love 'Gold.' I hope CAMILLE CLAUDEL ends up being produced one day on a bigger basis. I think it's a great song and a great concept. It speaks to my life because I look back on my life. I've had pretty incredible things happen… from being a nobody who was homeless at one point in my life… to having CNN call and send a car because they want me to comment on this, that, or the other thing… to being in love with Andrew for 12 wonderful years and having his niece and nephew now live with me… to having a family because of Andrew. I truly have 'touched the gold,' and that gives the song a whole other meaning… because life is fleeting.

I remember two days before Andrew died, I was in the yard and Andrew was watering plants in the garden. I thought, I may never become 'Barbra Streisand famous' and I don't know where my life is going to go now… but I have everything I need (my four dogs that I adore, one cat, two chickens, and a rabbit, most of which we got when Andrew was alive). Andrew was watering and there were little chickens running around and the dogs were laying out there. I took a picture of it, and my very good friend, Karen Dittman, has made an enormous painting of it. In that moment, I thought if it were all to end tomorrow, everything in the world I need is right here. I have a man who loves me, a family, dogs, a beautiful garden, a beautiful home. I think that Linda has gotten to feel the same way. I never talked to her about it, but maybe I will some day. No matter what level of success I achieve, my life's been pretty good so far. I think it just gets better in degrees. In other words, it's always good, it just gets better… the trappings get better. You can be happy in a $500,000 home and suddenly you're happy in a $1,000,000 home. The trappings get better, but the emotions don't. The things that make you happy are still the things you love, and those things don't change. So I think I 'touched the gold,' but it is fleeting. At one moment I was able to touch it, but then it was gone. That doesn't mean that I can't touch it again, or grab it, or have it. I realize now that I have touched it, so 'Gold' really does speak to me and I always cry when I sing it. I have the wonderful pleasure of singing it because I used to be a singer. I can sing along with the greatest antidote in the world. It's so much fun because there's nothing like putting on 'Vienna' and 'Gold' and 'A New Life' and just singing at the top of your lungs and holding those notes. I may not sound as good as Linda doing it, but it speaks to my soul.

VOICE: Music does have healing powers… we hear stories time and time again from Linda's fans about how music has touched their lives.

KAREL: I truly believe that music speaks to your soul. One day at work, my editor-in-chief walked up to me and asked me why I wasn't singing. She said I usually sing every day, all day long. I told her I had just broken up with somebody (that was before Andrew). She told me she knew something was wrong. I thought that was funny. People notice when I sing all the time. When I'm not singing, they know something is wrong. After Andrew died, I didn't sing for the longest time. Music would play, but I just wouldn't sing. All of a sudden, I started singing again one day and I felt better. And so it does speak to your soul. When you have this great material to work with and a singer who you know is in the same moment as you are… invested in the music, invested in the lyrics, invested in the sentiment at the same time you are… then it is really a magical experience. It's like when you go to see Linda, you realize that what you get on record and in concert are the exact same thing. With other artists, their concerts in no way resemble their recordings. With Linda, she does the notes… she doesn't go down instead of up (unless she has a cold). For the most part, Linda sings it just like it's meant to be sung.

VOICE: Most of the time Linda far surpasses her recordings.

KAREL: Anita Baker told me once to never put your best stuff on the record first because when you go out there and do it live, they're going to expect you to do the exact same thing. Secondly, it leaves you nowhere to go when you go out and do a live show. She told me that you should be great on a record but not to be your ultimate best. Save that for a live show.

VOICE: That's excellent advice, for sure! Let us ask you this… Linda is currently doing a tour with Michael Feinstein of all duets. Having such an extensive rolodex of celebrity 'friends,' and being a singer yourself… have you ever ventured a duet with one of the stars?

KAREL: That's so funny that you asked that! [laughs] I remember when I interviewed Linda once... I told her I interviewed every major superstar in the world, and I had never once asked to sing with them. I told her it's my goal to sing a little song with her. She asked me which one I wanted to sing, and we just sat there and sang it. I have to tell you that it was one of the highest points of my life.

VOICE: What did you sing?

KAREL: 'If I Had My Way.' We were at her hotel and I told her that song was just incredible. She just started singing, 'Long ago and far away.' All of a sudden, I jumped in and it was really wonderful. We didn't sing the whole thing, but it was just so cool.

VOICE: That does sound quite incredible.

KAREL: Yes, and the great thing is there's still more to come.

VOICE: The best is yet to come, as they say.

KAREL: It's been really incredible to surround myself with such wonderful people, and Linda is one of them. I am so blessed to have shared in her talent.

I did an autograph signing once, and many people brought Anastasia because I adore her. If you don't know who she is, find her and love her. You can only get her stuff basically through Europe, even though she's from LA. I was going to do a show called 'Soon To Be Divas Live,' and I'm still pitching it to several networks. I wanted Linda for my first show because I find so many talents like Linda and Anastasia. Anastasia's from LA… she's sold 30,000,000 albums in Europe, and she's only sold 250,000 albums in the United States. She can't go anywhere in Europe without being swamped and mobbed. Here she can drive right down the middle of Hollywood Boulevard and nobody would even know who she was. I would do a show where Linda would come out for 15 minutes, and Anastasia would come out for 15 minutes. Each week I'd present people like this. It's such a crime that around Christmas time people don't know the best version ever, ever in history of 'Do You Hear What I Hear?' is Linda Eder's version. There is no better version on the planet, and there's not a better Christmas album made out of all the Christmas albums that exist. The best Christmas album on the planet is Linda Eder's.

VOICE: It does make a wonderful Christmas gift!

KAREL: It is the best Christmas album ever made. The arrangements are incredible… the vocals are incredible. When the whole tribal thing starts, you know 'Said the King to the people everywhere,' and then you hear that huge voice just bust over, it's beyond belief. I listen to it when it's not Christmas. I listen to it in June or July… 'The Little Drummer Boy,' 'Silent Night,' 'Ave Maria,' which was my mother's favorite song (I sang it for her at her funeral). You know it's been a bad five years. I lost Andrew and then three years later I lost my mom. Music saw me through… Linda's music, and I don't think she knows. As a talk show host, I get so many people who come to public appearances or send me e-mails that tell me how I have completely changed their lives, changed their opinion, changed their viewpoint, made them vote a different way, made them come out to their parents. They have really made life changes because of me. I can't fathom that because I'm not that type of person. When I went through my grief over losing Andrew and over losing my mom, I did shows every weekend and would talk about nursing home care and long term planning because my mom died in a nursing home. I still get hugs… people just walk up and hug me. I try to understand that… I'm humbled by that. But yet I can't fully understand it. I don't think Linda realizes it fully in her heart. I don't think she really knows. After Andrew died and I was so very by myself, when I heard 'Gold' it gave me a reason to feel better for that moment, genuinely better. I would actually then be able to go on with my day and not fall into a huge deep depression. I don't think we're supposed to understand it. I don't think Linda's supposed to get that. I don't think that any artist is supposed to fully understand it because it would change the way you would do things. I just think it's a remarkable thing that in sharing her gift, Linda can touch so many people in ways that she will never be able to understand. I think the most beautiful thing about her is that her music can touch you in such a special way. It will not be Christmas to me if I don't hear her album, and I don't think she understands that. But it is good because it keeps her focused on her work and the same with me.

I can tell you this from an entertainer's viewpoint. I have people who moderate my chat room for me because I can't possibly do that while I'm on air. I have message boards on my Web site that are moderated by volunteers. I do my Web site myself. I'm a control freak, but I have people who have offered to help me with it. I might be doing a TV show now for CNN… it's all in the works. In the next few years, you might be seeing a whole lot more of me internationally. When it gets to that point, I'm not going to be able to sit there and do the Web site every day. It means so much to me that I have people in my world who aren't there because they get to hang around me all day. They are there because they like what I do and they like the way I do it. They just genuinely want to help. You don't know how much people like you mean to entertainers because you're genuine. When it's people like you who really like what we do and want to give of their talents… your Web talents, your writing talents, the other talents you possess… it means so much. I think that THE VOICE is a wonderful thing. I had a newsletter for a while. I couldn't write it all by myself, and I couldn't find anybody to do it so I just let it go. THE VOICE is such an important aspect of keeping Linda's name out there… keeping her visible and exposing her to new people. I will tell you, it's just so nice to have that kind of support from people who don't want anything from you except to share in your talent. They're really there to try to give of their talent. Art is collaborative and it takes people like you and Linda and all of us to make art. If we don't have everybody doing all these little things, then it's not art. You have to have that support around you that insulates you, and so I would like to say thank you on behalf of Linda and every other artist out there who have people like you who are really genuine and really supportive.

VOICE: Linda's fans are certainly supportive!

KAREL: And that's amazing. When Linda gets off a plane and walks into a room, you have a little applause for her. You don't know how her day has been and it means so much to have that support. And I truly speak from experience. When Andrew died, I was in shock needless to say. I got over 20,000 e-mails and 10,000 cards and letters. I have a whole trunk full of them, and I cry when I just think about that. He touched so many people and when he died, all these heterosexual couples were sending me cards saying they wished they had the same love Andrew and I had. I can't tell you how that helped me get through that time… the support of people who were Karel fans. They were really just my friends… people who help with the Web site, help with whatever. But they were there for me. They offered to answer e-mails for me, opened the cards and then gave them to me. That saved my life, so what you guys do is so important. I appreciate it because I read all about Linda in THE VOICE, and then I can talk about it on the radio.

VOICE: We can thank you for being a part of THE VOICE now.

KAREL: Since JEKYLL & HYDE I was hooked. I decided that as long as I had a voice whether it's on radio or TV, I will do everything in my power to make sure Linda Eder is known. I want people to see her, talk about her, and love her as much as I do!

VOICE: Thank you again for taking the time to speak with us, Karel.

KAREL: Thank YOU! Feel free to keep me in the loop with news of Linda.

We would love to hear from you! Please write to THE VOICE at lethevoice@comcast.net
or feel free to share your comments in THE VOICE section of the Linda Eder Message Board.