10 Questions with ... Woody Fife

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

WNRQ/Pittsburgh, WPST/Trenton, KNRK/Portland, KPNT/St. Louis, K-Rock/NYC, WKQX/Chicago, and Live 105/San Francisco, and ALT 987/Los Angeles.

1. Congrats on the syndication of The Woody Show, which began a little over a year ago in St. Louis. What was the big turning point that led to the show being picked up by so many Alternative stations in 2017?

Thanks! Syndication had been talked about for quite some time, but we had to win in LA first. Obviously, that had to be our first priority. Then, when we renegotiated our contract with iHeart last year, there was also a deal on the table with Premiere for syndication. iHeart has a lot of opportunities within the company, and they had been looking for a show that would be the Elvis Duran or Breakfast Club for the rock/alternative format. We have had an agreement to be exclusive to iHeart stations ONLY for the first 8 months, but that time is up very soon. At that point, we will be getting cleared on A LOT of stations outside the company.

2. What is the most challenging part of evolving the show from L.A. to a national syndicated show?

There wasn't much to that part outside of the technical operations. We are the same show today that we've always been. I've never been a believer in talking local for the sake of local. Content is like music, play the hits. If there's something happening on a local level that's REALLY interesting, it's probably interesting on a national level. But if it doesn't rise to that level...why go with it? I tell my friends who are hosting local shows the same thing. We should ALWAYS have our BEST content on the air at all times. Where it comes from doesn't matter. If it did we would ONLY listen to music from local bands, watch TV shows produced locally, see movies shot in our local market, etc? But we don't. We are here to entertain.

3. How does it feel to be on so many stations and how do you localize The Woody Show for all your affiliates? Will you be doing personal appearances in any of the syndicated markets?

It's an interesting challenge! I love it. The more ears you have on your show, the more opinions, the better stories you'll get when you go to the phones or texts during topics. It allows me to be pickier and really get the BEST people on the air. As far as localizing, we aren't a "smoke and mirrors show"... we aren't trying to pretend that we're in the studio right down the street in__ (your city here) ___. But we DO acknowledge where each person is calling from and look for content that originates from our affiliate cities. We also cut a bunch of custom breaks for stations promoting their station features, promotions and the other air talent. It's REALLY important to us that the station be engaged with the show, as much as we are with them. That's the only way it works. Some PD's send over more stuff than others, but the more the better....keep it coming! And yes, we are planning to make PLENTY of market visits. We just did one in Albuquerque with 104.1 The Edge in December and it was great!

4. A few years ago you told me your positioning statement for the show is "Insensitivity Training For A Politically Correct World." Explain.

Well....it's pretty simple. I felt there was too much pandering, too much phoniness, and too many people constantly worried about what they say and how they say it. So we are just saying that: 1) we don't do that and 2) you will always get an authentic set of opinions from a variety of different personalities on The Woody Show. Keep it 100....that's what the kiddos call it (I think :)). The key here being authenticity. Not saying things or taking up for an opinion just because it's "shocking" or politically incorrect. These days I think (hope) people see through that garbage. I believe that in a world full of bullshit, authenticity is our most valuable currency.

5. Your bio says The Woody Show is highly interactive, socially engaging, "appointment radio." Listeners, in their own words, call The Woody Show "authentic," "raw," "unapologetic" and describe it as "recess/happy hour on the radio." Tell us about all the different benchmarks from Crap On Celebrities, The DUI-Q, Freak Of The Week, etc.

Like any show, we have benchmarks. Some are news based like Crap On Celebrities (entertainment news), some are straight up voyeuristic (Freak of the Week), but there are a TON that I rotate around, in and out of the schedule. I am constantly challenging my team to come up with the next BEST benchmark. We've discovered/developed many by accident. Like the guy who accidently invented post it notes. The real challenge is sounding fresh while you balance: the features that the listeners STILL love with keeping the show evolving and leaving room for experimentation.

6. Talk about show prep and character development with Ravey, Greg, Menace, and Sebas.

Truly the biggest asset I have with this show is the staff. Unlike most shows where it's an "arranged marriage," I got to handpick every hire.

Ravey, who I have been friends with since I was 17 years old. We worked together at a small suburban station outside of Pittsburgh. Friends immediately. Beyond being the biggest female voice on the show, she is the "lord of nerd culture," talks sports better than most anyone I know, and she knows me inside and out. So she can challenge me in a way that others just can't.

Menace, besides being a co-host is also my social media/digital guy. He keeps the show going "after the show." He's also the 2nd biggest female voice on the show. He knows everything about every lame reality show out there. He knows more about purses and shoes than any man should ever should. He's been with me since Live 105/San Francisco.

Greg Gory was the local board-op/traffic report guy for the Howard Stern show when we arrived to take-over mornings at Live 105 in San Francisco. I knew as soon as I met him that I wanted him to stay on as our producer. He's a dynamic personality. So it wasn't long after that I realized he was miscast, and I made him a full player/co-host. I call him the dumbest smart guy that I know. He can speak so intelligently on so many REAL topics, but yet can't wrap his head around technology to the extent that he's still watching/listening/watching CD's and DVDs. Thank God he has his partner, Mario to help him when we can't be there.

Sebas is my Executive Producer. I had been a fan of his work LONG before we ever worked together. I hired him after we started here in Los Angeles. He's been an incredible addition to the show. I mean that strictly from a professional standpoint. He's one of the most socially awkward weirdos I've ever met. He's got his degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech, and is a member of Mensa. But it works for me, and more importantly, for The Woody Show.

There are so many other people on my crew behind the scenes that make the show what it is: Cameron Louis (Associate Producer), Brett Brady (Production Director), Randy Chavez (Video Producer), Julianne Miller (Phone Screener) and Danielle Krickl (Board-op).

Everyone pulls their own weight when it comes to the show prep. Everything hits my desk, and I'm like the editor in chief. I decide what I like and don't like for the show, and then I'll figure out where it goes and develop a show schedule. I swear, every morning I end up with enough prep to do the whole week of shows.

7. I know you guys are good friends. How frequently do the four of you communicate when you're off air and does that contribute to the success of The Woody Show?

We are in constant contact with one another. I am SOLD on the idea that doing a (good/successful) morning show requires that you give it 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Your content is all around you. That's not to say that you shouldn't have a life......but if you're doing it right, THAT is show prep too!

8. Tell us about The Woody Show podcasts and the show's social-media footprint.

Social/digital is EXTREMELY important for every show, but especially for a show like ours that is so engagement heavy. We include our listeners in every aspect of what we do. We want to be available everywhere they are. The platforms have their ups and downs in terms of popularity, but we're on all of them. We like Instagram best. We podcast the show each day, and also offer extra content with our "Woody Show MORE Show" and "Nerdin' Out" podcasts. We also post daily/shareable in-studio video clips on our YouTube and social media channels. I would still like to see Nielson make a ratings system that takes into account AM/FM, streaming and podcast listening.

9. You have spoken very openly on-air about your new PD Lisa Worden and posted a nine hour tribute to "Mike The Show Killer" Kaplan, your ex-Program Director. For those who missed it, give us a recap and discuss the challenges of having a new PD?

Before he left iHeart, we took great pleasure in torturing Mike Kaplan. Mike has been one of my best friends for over 20 years. The guy was even in my wedding. This gave me more room to really get into him when he would be a pain in the ass......hence the "show killer" nickname. The listeners really got into it too. It made for some great content. But at the end of the day, they knew how much we loved Mike (as a friend, not as management), and most importantly, so does Mike. The nine hour tribute is a product of my production director, Brett. He has ALL of our audio, and he went through and isolated out Mike's voice from a number of conversations, and strung it all together, and looped it to be nine hours long. It's a greatest hits of Mike trying to "spit it out" and falling all over himself.....as well as some pretty disturbing revelations.

Lisa Worden is our new PD, and we are psyched to have her here. I've known Lisa for a long time as well. She brings a lot to the table that I'm excited about. Not just for our show, and our syndication, but for ALT 987 as a station. We have a great foundation, and now it's time to add some more dimension to an already great station. I can't speak for everyone on staff, but for everyone on The Woody Show it hasn't been a challenge at all. It was the smoothest transition I've ever been a part of. Lisa is great, and I'm excited to be a part of it.

10. What are you most proud of from the past four years at ALT 98.7?

When we got here there were a TON of people betting against us. I had close, personal friends telling me that coming to do mornings in Los Angeles was "career suicide." But like a lot of crazy people, I decided to go ahead and bet on myself. It was a huge risk, for sure. I had it made in St. Louis at KPNT. I had built a monster morning show from the ground up, and was working for a great company with Emmis. But when I considered the upside potential, and saw the assets and resources that only a company like iHeart could offer, I knew that it was a risk worth taking. Then we got here.....and it was an uphill battle even within our own hallways. The tone of our last 10 Questions was very different than this one. So, I guess I would say that I'm most proud of the way my team and I overcame adversity. We stuck with it, ignored all the noise, and did what WE knew we could do....... win. The rest took care of itself.

What are weekends like for you with your family?

Lots of sleeping in! Maintaining my schedule during the week BLOWS, so for the most part I like to hang close to home. I have two young kids (8 and 5), so we're busy running them to their activities, or doing something fun together. We go to Disneyland a lot. Other than that, I make sure to get a babysitter set up for either a Friday or Saturday night to get my wife (who is a stay at home Mom) out of the house, and out to a dinner without crayons and that includes cloth napkins.

You're a massive Pittsburgh Steelers fan. What are your favorite sports and which teams do you follow the closest?

I like the NFL the best, but I'm also into hockey and baseball. The Steelers are my team. I'm obsessed. It's just automatic when you and your family are from Pittsburgh. You really have no choice. The Penguins are my NHL team.....again, the Pittsburgh thing.

You were rocking' an L.A. Dodgers hat at Alter EGO. Have you jumped on the bandwagon?

Nah...the hat isn't a Dodger blue...it's gray, and just says L.A. on the front of it. It's more for when I'm in L.A., reppin L.A. Although, my son's little league team is the Dodgers, so it serves double duty.

What was your big takeaway from hosting the first-ever Alter EGO concert at The Forum?

Everything that iHeart does with their events, locally here in LA or a national tent pole event is top of the line. It was incredibly smooth, especially for a first year event. I had the easiest job that night. The real work was done by Tom Poleman, Brad Hardin, John Sykes, the entire iHeart national platform team, and our local L.A. marketing/promo team. We're already looking forward to next year!

Anything else you would like to add?

Yes.....SHAMELESS PLUG TIME: If you're a PD/OM/GM in need of a morning show, please contact our affiliate rep, Lynn Gay at Premiere Networks. Call her, she's fun! But do it before your competition does. HA!