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10 Questions with ... Beau Gunn
September 12, 2022
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Interned with The Penguin during the fall semester of 2004. After graduation, I worked briefly at the Home Depot before attaining a sales job selling for the cluster that comprises Sea-Comm Media. After about eight months of sales, the PD and MD were let go by Sea-Comm Media. I volunteered to help keep the music fresh while management looked for a suitable replacement. After a few months of this, I was offered the PD/MD position of WUIN. I eventually became an on-air host as well, and now I couldn't imagine life without radio.
1. How did you become interested in radio?
I was at a bar event that 106.7 The Penguin happened to be at. I got to talking to then-PD and mentor Mark Keefe. As I asked him questions about the station, it became apparent that radio is a pretty cool gig.
2. The Penguin just celebrated 19 years on the air. What did you do to acknowledge this milestone?
For this year’s 19th birthday celebration, we hosted JJ Grey & Mofro at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater. JJ is one our core artists, and he loves playing GLA. He even treated the audience to a mash up of Rufus Thomas’ “Do The Funky Penguin”, which happens to be the first song we ever played on air. .
3. Most surprising record of the past 12 months?
It is hard to nail down just one record, so I will give you two. Dawes’ Misadventure of Doomscroller would be my most surprising record of 2022. First, I really hadn’t seen any promo around it, so when it dropped in July, I was genuinely surprised. Upon hearing it, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the band pushing themselves to new heights. The songwriting is always top-notch, but the musicianship, the extended jams, the harmonies, all of it just blew me away. It’s my favorite record from this year.
Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under is a close second. That young man has a bright future, and it is evident from the first note of that new record.
4. What do you like best about your job?
Connecting people. Whether it’s through playing an artist that bridges the gap between parent and child, or through connecting our listeners to local businesses, or music fan to artist. Connecting people has become the most rewarding part of my job, and I sincerely believe it is what I was put on this earth to do.
5. What are some of your biggest challenges as an independent station?
Convincing some of the population that radio, when done right, is an important and valuable tool for our community. Some of the larger clusters have done a fantastic job of losing the public’s trust over the years. We set out to show our community that independent radio can be just as magical as it once was.
6. What would surprise people most about the station?
Other stations may be in this same boat these days, but I think it would be the size of our staff. We have 2 full time staffers (self-included) and 1 part time staffer. That make up the entire staff at WUIN.
7. What type of features do you run on the station?
"Putumayo World Music," "Acoustic Café”, Etown, Grateful Dead Hour with David Gans, The Friday Night Panic Jam
8. In addition to your duties at the station, I hear you own and operate a concert production company. Tell us about it and how you manage to juggle both jobs?
The concert production company (Beau Gunn Presents) was formed somewhat by, after hosting a Tift Merritt show at Greenfield Lake Amphitheater for The Penguin's 5th birthday. As the years went on, we added more and more shows to the calendar. This year we produced forty-two shows, with the majority of them being Triple A artists. As you might imagine, the radio and concert world co-exist pretty easily together. I do try to utilize my contacts from the label side of things to help us get relevant talent at the right times. At the end of the day, I am surrounded by a great staff that keeps the train on the tracks.
9. Of all the skills you have gained through the years, is there an area you'd like to improve?
Station Imaging, For years I have felt like less is more. I have a goal in the coming months to dramatically improve our imaging.
10. If you wanted to completely change careers today, what would you do?
Go work for a non-profit helping people. No doubt about it.
Bonus Questions
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time away from work?
Boating and traveling to see concerts.
Last non-industry job:
Home Depot.
First record ever purchased:
Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill"
First concert:
MC Hammer w/ Boyz To Men and TLC. Yikes!
Favorite band of all-time:
Widespread Panic
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