-
10 Questions with ... Pat Gallagher
October 29, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
6 years at 92-FM WMAD - that station went dark in 1992. Then 21 years at Triple M, until my position was eliminated. I spent a year out of radio due to a no-compete clause in my contract with Triple M. After a year working as Community Relations Director for a local Food Pantry, I returned to radio as the traffic reporter for Mid-West Family Madison - doing traffic for all of our radio stations, plus a TV station. I was also on the air on weekends on Magic 98 and I started an Active Sports program for our sports station - The Zone. In 2015 I got the opportunity to do mornings at The Corner in Charlottesville, VA .and I returned to Mid-West Family earlier this year.
1. After over 20 years in Madison Radio, what led you back home to do mornings on WRIS (106.7 The Resistance)?
That's simple - the opportunity to come home to a great company and work for and help develop a really well programmed alternative station.
2. Mid-West Family VP/Programming Randy Hawke has been in Madison a long time too. How well did you know Randy and how did this opportunity come together?
Randy and I both worked for Woodward Communications in the '90s - he was programming WAPL and I was programming Triple M - we got to know each other at company management training sessions. We had always wanted to work together and when my job was eliminated at Triple M he called me with an idea for an Active Sports program (Running/Biking/Triathlon/etc.). This time around my name got mentioned at a Mid-West Family corporate meeting for a completely different job - and Randy reached out to me to see if I would want to come home to Madison.
3. What is a typical day like for you with your other duties at Mid-West Family Broadcasting?
My day is split between The Resistance, Magic 98 and The Zone. We have re-introduced my Active Sports program on The Zone (The Active Zone). I spend a good part of my day working in the programming department at Magic 98. My time with The Resistance is split between show prep and working with Miranda on programming and promotions.
4. Give us the 411 on your morning show on The Resistance?
We have the advantage of building the show from ground-zero! There was nothing there before, so we started by just getting me on the air - now we are starting to introduce elements to the show. The first thing we brought in was a news segment - it's the "Punk Rock News"...the same news you can get anywhere else (including your phone), but I play a Punk song when the news is done (...and that makes it all a little better)! Just this week I introduced a fun game that I brought from Charlottesville - "The One Second Music Quiz." It's exactly as it sounds - I play one second of a Resistance song...you tell me the name of the song and the artist that does that song to win tickets to a cool show! And of course there's more to come as we establish the show.
5. How would you describe your on-air style?
Ever heard of NPR?
6. What is your show prep routine?
I'll just use the old cliché - "Life is show prep!" My wife and I went to see Stiff Little Fingers the other night - that morning in the Punk Rock News, we had a story about society's addiction to technology - we had talked about a survey that showed that something like 75% of us have used cellphones while on the toilet. When I went to the restroom at the show that night, there was a guy standing at the urinal relieving himself - and with his free hand...checking his cell-phone. The next morning I played a Stiff Little Fingers song and told the story.
7. What is your favorite part of being on-air?
Community. I've always loved the way that radio connects with and reflects the community.
8. Halloween marks the two year anniversary for The Resistance. What has surprised you most about the station?
It's the little station that could. We don't have a huge signal, but we've got very passionate listeners who seek us out. They love the fact that there is now a true alternative station in Madison! I hosted a sound-check/meet-and-greet with Judah And The Lion a couple weeks back - our General Manager asked me to get pictures to share with the sales staff. The group picture was an amazing cross-section of Madison - young, old, hipsters, and parents with their kids, business professionals, and students - a little bit of everything.
9. What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
My passion for music! I still, and always will love discovering new artists, exposing people to cool new music (or old songs and artists that they may not have heard before), experiencing live music and sharing those experiences with others.
10. Fill in the blank:
I can't make it through the day without hot tea and chocolate...oh, and my wife! Even when we were apart during the move back to Wisconsin, we talked 4 or 5 times a day on the phone - we've been married for 32 years, but we talked on the phone like when we were college kids.
Bonus Questions
I understand you're an avid cyclist. Explain.
When I was growing up, my Dad rode to work every day - 17 miles each way. People didn't do that back then, he was/is a little nuts. I rode with him on the weekends when I was young, but really didn't touch my bike after I turned 16 and started to drive. I rediscovered cycling in 1992 - I was home sick from work and saw an ad in the newspaper for the AIDS Ride - a 500-mile ride from Minneapolis to Chicago. I told Laura (my wife) that I wanted to do it - she reminded me that I didn't own a bike. I borrowed my Dad's bike for training, and eventually got my own and did 3 AIDS Rides. From there I really went off the deep end and did 3 Ironman triathlons (2.4 mile swim/112 mile bike/26.2 mile run), a bunch of half-Iron races (half of all those distances) and several short-distance triathlons. Racing has given me a lot of cool opportunities - including racing a half-Iron in Galway, Ireland!
What are weekends like for you?
These days it's all about getting our house back in order. We rented it out while we lived in Virginia - and the tenants didn't take care of it. So, lots of cleaning, repairs, etc.
What are your favorite places to eat in Madison?
Our neighbor owns a bar that's just down the street from our house - so we spend a lot of time at Mid-Town Pub. Some other places that I love include Pig In A Fur Coat, Heritage Tavern (I believe they are both James Beard award winners), Harvest, Merchant, Brasserie V, Weary Traveler, Sardine, Old Fashioned...and a whole bunch more! My other passion is food!!
Rank your sports teams in order of passion.
Badgers, Packers, Brewers, Bucks and our new soccer team in Madison - Forward Madison!
Favorite new band over the past year?
Barns Courtney played The Resistance stage at The Taste Of Madison and he was amazing! And we discovered Yola at Farm Aid - also an amazing talent!
-
-