10 Questions with ... Randy Hawke

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• Edinboro University Of PA, WFSE FM 85-91 (My 4 year degree was the best 6 years of my life)
• WRKT Rocket 101/Erie, PA 91-95
• WAPL Appleton/Oshkosh/Green Bay 95-99
• WLUM Milwaukee 99-02
• WJJO/WJQM/WRIS 02-Present

1. It's been 15 years since Madison had an Alternative station. What led to Mid-West Family Broadcasting's decision to bring up the Alternative format to the market on Halloween?

15 years ago alternative was not what it is today. It was going through that phase where it started really becoming more active. Playing the harder rock bands. I believe that is what destroyed Alt in Madison. WMAD, the alt at the time, was beat up by WJJO because it became JJO Lite. When it started chasing us in our own yard, it got destroyed. For a brief time an Alt/Active was on 96.3. Again, to close to JJO, and did not last 2 years.

Alt has clearly found its own way, in a big way. About a decade ago! There is a CLEAR distinction from active rock. That evolution is not represented in this market. Madison deserves to have an alternative station.

2. In the press release you mentioned that "People want to listen to stations through the device of their choice. We don't want to fight them on that; The Resistance will be everywhere you want it to be." Explain.

People want to listen to radio the way they want to listen. Apps, Echo, Streaming, terrestrial signal. My wife listens to The Resistance on her app through the TV sound bar! Think about that, she uses her phone and TV to listen to the radio! Don't be the candle maker saying electricity is a fad. Give em what they want, how they want it. BTW, radio is BETTER on these devices. Look at what stations like WMMR or KISW and THE END in Seattle are doing with apps and Amazon devices!

3. What is the station's coverage area in Madison?

It covers all of the city. Important to our plan is that it is strong south of the city. There is a massive medical software company, Epic, that has a huge campus in the southern suburb of Verona. There are thousand and thousand and thousands of 20 and 30 something's living and working there. They are a key target for The Resistance and the signal basically comes in on a toaster in that area.

4. Give us the 411 on The Resistance 106.7?

The Resistance is an Alternative station 100 percent uniquely targeted to serve Madison Wisconsin. Discovery is the one hill that no one has figured out how to take away from radio. We believe in protecting that hill. We will respect the music that got us here, and we will serve as a constant source of music discovery.

5. Tell us about the music software you utilize to gauge listener reaction on every song on the station, as it plays live.

It's a program called MIXER. We have used it on Jamz and JJO for a number of years. It is a loyalty platform that allows listeners to give their opinion via text, app or stream, on every single song on the air as it plays live. It uses a 1 through 5 scale and more/less for burn. For example if you text a 5 L, that means you give the song a 5 out of 5 but want to hear it less. Listeners are awarded points for rating songs. Those points are redeemed in auctions and a store for concert tickets, gift certificates from clients, etc.

It's a pretty incredible tool. It provides an insane amount of first party data. It also gives us real-time song research. There is a live feed EKG screen that shows you how the song is doing AS IT PLAYS! And the obvious listener loyalty rewards and benefits it provides listeners and clients.

The level of engagement with the listeners unmatched. There is a social aspect to it. Listeners can friend each other and see each other's top songs, etc. We walk the walk on the position, "You Get A Say In Every Song We Play."

I am not sure I would want to program without it. I have the equivalent of call out research and library testing going on 24/7/365.

6. You have been PD of the well-respected WJJO for the past 15 years which has been aggressive with new music at Active Rock. How would you describe yourself as a programmer?

Thank you for the kind words about JJO, we are proud of it. I have some pretty simple philosophies that I try to live by:

Be of service, be exceptional: A radio station MUST be a vital part of the community it serves. The best way to do that is to be of service. Throwing a radiothon once a year is nice, but beyond that. It requires daily work and certainly includes charity but it must go deeper. The station must be an essential part of the very fabric of the community it serves and do it better than anyone else. Do good, be good!

Presentation and Personality Win: Anyone can take the exact list of songs any radio station in America plays and duplicate it. What they cannot do, is present that list of songs in the way that radio station does. Sweepers, promos, service, personalities, events. EVERYTHING MATTERS. It is what makes you, you and not them.

7. How much music overlap will there with WJJO and what is most important to you when making decisions on new music for The Resistance?

It goes to fit. Madison has been without an Alternative because of fit errors. We will not make the same mistakes. It will be on the station it fits on. Having said that, if it fits on both, it will be on both. Rise Against, Foo's, Royal Blood, QOTSA are examples of song both. Portugal. The Man is on Jamz and WRIS.

Fit and MIXER will be important to me in making my decisions. My stations have a clear "Music Identity." Madison knows when JJO is on the radio. We have artist ownership sweepers that say: "When you hear_______, you know it's JJO." The bands we play need to be able to properly fill in that blank. Fit gets it on, and the listeners reaction keeps it on and moving up.

8. What do you love most about working at Mid-West Family Broadcasting?

We never settle. We are willing to disrupt ourselves. We believe in discovery. We are a radio company.

9. What is a typical day like for you?

Gym at 6am. Ear buds in, listening to my mornings shows. 7am to 9am I am with my wife and kids. They are my life. I help get the kids ready. I drive my son to school every day. I get my daughter's snack and backpack ready for her. I need that reminder of the bigger purpose, being a good dad and good husband, to start the day. To the office after that. I meet with my morning shows, do a 10a to 1p air shift on JJO and then all the radio tasks at hand till about 6p. Back with my family till they fall asleep at about 10p. Then I open Netflix and my laptop, work and binge for another couple of hours. Long days? My dad was an auto body man and firefighter working 14 hour days. I am a blue collar kid, I like to work.

10. What will surprise people about The Resistance 106.7?

That we respect and pay homage to our roots. The iconic Smart Studios and Butch Vig created some of the greatest songs in this format RIGHT HERE in Madison. One could argue that a major part of what makes up alternative music came from here. We respect and acknowledge the postmodern rock sounds of the upper mid-west. You start to stack up bands, songs and recordings rooted in Madison, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc. it gets pretty impressive, pretty fast. We will own our heritage and lineage. We are truly Madison's Alternative.

What are weekends like for you?

My kids are super jocks, so Soccer, Football, Baseball, Softball, and Karate. I coach sometimes. We go to Packer and Badger games. My wife's family has an amazing lake place near the twin cities. We spend as much time as possible there. They love the water. I love the deck, cold beer and being the grill master.

What are your hobbies?

It is a bit cliché or hipster now a days but I love vinyl. I never gave up on it. I have had a jukebox that plays 45s for 20 years! I like to find and listen to records. I use to race mountain bikes and I have pledged to myself to get back on my bike in 2018.

First record ever purchased?

Kiss Destroyer. Still have it, and play it often.

First concert?

Sammy Hagar at the Auditorium Theater in Rochester NY. My second, Violent Femmes, Fleshtones and 10,000 Maniacs at the U of R. Kinda mirrors my life! haha.

Favorite band of all-time?

It's like asking which kid I like better. Anthrax is my go to band. I remember hearing Anti Social as a kid and thinking, FINALLY someone that sounds like Kiss and The Ramones. Metallica and The Replacements are very important to me, as is Motley Crue and Pearl Jam. I guess I am a walking contradiction! Oh yeah, Green Day!