10 Questions with ... Keith Dakin

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

WHOB in Nashua NH right out of Syracuse. Quick time in promotions at WFNX in Boston before MD/Afternoons at WDYL in Richmond. 7 years at WFNX from AMD to PD and then a variety of different roles here in Connecticut and within Connoisseur - WPLR, WEZN, WFOX, WDRC, WDRC-A.

1. Welcome back to Alternative! Always enjoyed catching up with you when you were in Boston and Richmond. Hard to believe it was the early 2000s when were in Richmond. Flash forward and tell us about what led to the launch of Mod 102.3 on September 18th.

When our CEO Jeff Warshaw bought the translator and moved it into New Haven, we knew we wanted to do something different with it. Our competitor in the market was skewing very 90s and not really exposing the audience to anything new. We worked with Warren and the crew at Coleman and saw that alternative from now was something we could latch onto. So we developed this station that would focus really on the last 17 years and blend some different elements into the mix.

2. Since you have deep roots in the format and are passionate about alternative music, how special is it for you to program Mod 102.3?

Oh it's great. This is the music I'm most passionate about and I've missed it a great deal over the last few years. It's really been exciting even doing the music log. This sounds totally ridiculous I realize

3. When the station launched, GM Kristin Okesson said, "Choosing the indie/Alternative format for 102.3 was an obvious choice because New Haven clearly wants a station focused on the last 10 years of Alternative music." You added, "Alternative/Indie music didn't die in 1997." How would you describe the new sound for New Haven?

The trendy thing to say is "watch the streaming charts" but for this station, it does make a lot of sense. You have records like Lord Huron, Moon Taxi and Petit Biscuit that are streaming like crazy with minimal to no airplay. Mod is going to find and champion those songs. We also are going to grab from other formats like EDM and Hip Hop if they fit. We are playing Marshmello w/ Khalid because it streams, it connects to the younger end, it's certainly a smash and we believe it sounds great with our core 2000s bands like MGMT, Killers, etc.

4. Give us the 411 on the station.

The station covers most of the New Haven metro and currently has two jocks. One is Ed Oliveira who has moved with me all across the eastern seaboard. He worked with me in Richmond, Boston and, in CT, for the last 5 years. Christian Turnquist is our other jock and just started in the business a year ago. He was an intern on "Chaz And AJ In The Morning" which is our big show on WPLR, and he just gets it. These two will be the faces of the station with Tristan Haller and Meghan Boyd working behind the scenes to make sure our digital and promotional efforts are top notch and in front of the right people.

5. You wear a lot of hats at Connoisseur/Connecticut. Explain your role.

Yeah it's busy, but I love it. I work with two unbelievable programmers in Kevin Begley and Allan Lamberti. The three of us work together to run 1029 the Whale and the Talk of CT in Hartford, Star 99.9 in Bridgeport, 959 the FOX in Stamford/Norwalk and legendary rock station WPLR in New Haven. We also have a standalone website CTBOOM.com that had just about 3 million page views last year. To make things even more interesting I also help with other Connoisseur properties like our brand new online/app hip hop station Satori, Allentown's alternative Spin and mainstream 90s rocker the Shark on Long Island.

6. What are you most proud of from the past 7 years as Regional Operations Manager at Connoisseur/Connecticut?

The ongoing success and recognition of WPLR has been amazing to me. The station, in the last two books, had its highest ratings in a decade. Chaz And AJ, the morning show, won a Marconi last year. This year the station was nominated for two Marconis and a Crystal award. We've raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities and it is the only station I've ever worked at that literally everyone I meet knows what it is. It's truly thrilling to be a part of such an unbelievable history-- 46 years in the same format.

7. What was your biggest takeaway from your 7 years at the legendary former Alternative WFNX/Boston?

Update your resume when they can't pay the electric bill? Kidding, kidding. WFNX is, of course, known for breaking bands and being a difference maker in the Boston music scene. But for me, it was about discovering and nurturing talent. WFNX had a junk signal, but we hired some great people. Big Jim Murray is the funniest, most creative person I've ever worked with. Now third voice on 985 the Sports Hub in afternoons and has more twitter followers than most DJs in Boston. Fletcher was my APD and the guy I went with to the 99 restaurant with a lot, and now he runs the Alt stations in St Louis and Des Moines for iHeart. Mike Snow was my promotions director who worked with zero budget and a lot of elbow grease. He has since invented and now runs the Boston Calling music festival. Then there is Kevin and Ed who I still work with every day. That place was a breeding ground for talent. It's just too bad we never had the resources to utilize those folks back then. So find good people, hire them, nurture them, turn them into stars...and then hope the radio station doesn't go out of business.

8. What is your favorite part of your job?

It seems cliché to say but it's the people. When you are younger, you are always looking for "like minded" people. When I walked into my first radio station it was a shock to the system. "Oh...the like minded people are all here!" This continues today with the air staff, the programmers, web team, production folks and extends to my general manager Kristin Okesson who is truly passionate about the art of radio. It is not just numbers and spreadsheets to her, but also making sure brilliance comes out of those speakers (or app, or Alexa, or on social). I have also been very lucky to have a strong relationship with our CEO Jeff Warshaw. He is unlike any CEO I have ever worked with in that he loves radio, loves our stations being in his backyard (corporate HQ is 20 minutes down road), and just wants to win so bad. I also love getting texts from him about what songs he thinks could be hits on STAR and MOD.

9. What do you like best about living in Connecticut?

I live in a very nice small suburban town right outside of Hartford. I have two little girls who go to a great school, who know half the people in our supermarket and we can be in New York City or Boston or at their grandparents in less than 2 hours. Watching them grow and take this town and make it their own is truly one of the biggest joys in my life

10. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?

Hot dogs seem like a bad unhealthy answer here? I'll go with medium ice coffee from Dunkin Donuts.

What are weekends like for you?

It's all about adventure! I try to do as many fun things as I can from Friday night to Sunday afternoon. We can get to a lot of places from CT so most weekend involve driving somewhere!

What are your hobbies?

Does "looking at charts" seem too weird? I'll go with pop culture. I'm hyper passionate about media, so when it's not kids or radio, it's usually something related to movies, TV, or music.

Best concert this year?

Mumford and Sons at this year's Boston Calling was incredible. They are an amazing band that just needs to make their "Joshua Tree" and then they are playing stadiums all over America.

Favorite new bands?

Catfish And The Bottlemen have impressed me with everything they've released. I was able to see their live show and it did not disappoint. They've got a Strokes thing happening that I love. I also love The National but I guess they don't count as new?

Still making lists?

Ha ha! Constantly. Would you like to know my top favorite moments of 2016 because I certainly have that written down?