10 Questions with ... Shredd & Ragan

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Shredd Little league Baseball announcer at age 14 (1977-78). High school station WEPS MD/on-air (1979-1981). KHITS 104/Reno Nights (1987-88), WPHD/Buffalo overnights/AM Drive producer (1988-1989), WUFX (The Fox)/Buffalo AM Drive producer (1989-91), Rebel Radio 14X/Buffalo PM Drive APD/MD (1990-1991); WGIR/Manchester, NH AM Drive/PM Drive (1992-93), and WUFX/WEDG AM Drive /PM Drive/AM Drive (1993-present).

Ragan Nights at WQEQ/WXPX/Hazleton mornings at WBNE/Benton, WZMM/(Wheeling), and WQWK/State College. And in Buffalo, afternoons at WGR, and mornings on WUFX and WEDG.

Nights at WQEQ/WXPX/Hazleton mornings at WBNE/Benton, WZMM/(Wheeling), and WQWK/State College. And in Buffalo, afternoons at WGR, and mornings on WUFX and WEDG.

Shredd My first job was at the little league field in Elgin, where I had played. I striped the fields, worked the electric scoreboard and was the PA announcer. I took High school radio classes. We had a real station that we did air shifts and broadcast high school sports. I realized I liked playing music and making jokes better than play-by-play. Influenced by Steve and Garry on The Loop in Chicago, later Jonathon Brandmeier.

Ragan My father was the play-by-play man for the local high football and basketball teams, and he'd bring me along as the spotter and statistician and I just enjoyed it. In addition, I could pick up New York City stations clearly, so I'd listen to Imus and Stern and they were a big influence on me wanting to do morning radio.

2. You guys do a Comedy/Talk show with no music. Tell us about Shredd & Ragan Morning Show and the rest of your team.

Shredd We have a great Producer Jim Jacka who works his butt off and we have and have had great assistants over the years that contribute both behind the scenes and on air. Four hours with no music requires a lot of material and our crew is often scrambling to gather sound and info on breaking topics. They often help assemble things even as we are on the air.

Ragan It's four hours of riffing on the news, sports and local stories, interviews with local and national celebs, lots of talk about the Bills and Sabres, and touring comedians. Listeners call in with either a set topic or something going on in their world. We have a few set games and benchmarks as well. We have produced parody segments or scripted phone ins. So, it's a mixture of off-the-cuff and scripted.

3. Explain your role on the show.

Shredd I co-host the show and go back and forth with Tom, I put together and do our sportscasts. I also run the board while Tom does have his own mixer and plays clips from his side as well. As most shows we spend more time prepping than we do on the air, plus all of your typical responsibilities of dealing with Sales, Promotions and fighting with engineers to get the tools we need.,lol

Ragan We're lucky because it’s a big collaborative room. We have Jim Jacka our producer who's writing our benchmark games, booking guests and keeping the podcasts and on-line /social-media show running. Evan James our assistant is hunting down audio and contributing to social media and bits. This gives me and Shredd the ability to focus on the on-air content for four hours, so I'll usually set-up the segment or break and then we'll start riffing on it. In addition, I'll grab news segments and stories from the night before to use on-air. Jacka and I will trade off writing pre-produced segments with everyone's input.

4. How would you describe your on-air style?

Shredd Positive, energetic, ballbuster, and funny.

Ragan It's true for many, you begin trying out other styles before you settle into your own voice. I try to remember the basics, get to the point, remember to speak to one person and don't waste a listener's time. They're giving you their attention, give them a show and try to make it count.

5. What is your show prep routine?

Shredd I take in a bunch of news before I come in, local, national just to see if we are missing anything. We prep mainly after the show for the next day. Interviews are recorded, bits are developed, ideas are thrown around. Get a plan laid out. At home in the evening taking in news, gathering sound bites. Try and watch some stuff that will be topical.

Ragan We'll take a few hours after the show to gather and plan ahead, find new subjects and segments, write, record interviews and bits, all the basics. I like to have as much ready as I can the day before with a basic outline of the show set. At home, I'll watch a few local and national newscasts looking for audio and then go online for a final update before bed.

6. What is your favorite part of the show?

Shredd The four hours on the air. The spontaneous stuff. We have our stuff that we have prepared but we don't have jokes written, like our Niagara Falls Police Blotter, we have crazy crime going on, but we riff off each other’s stories. I don't know what he has and vice a versa. We have comedians in studio often and sometimes you just don't know where it's going, but it goes.

Ragan The on-air part, when a bit hits or there's a great reaction from listeners where you're really connecting with them and they're calling or texting their own material because they're enjoying it.

7. What’s it like working for “Evil Jim” Kurdziel, who started as your morning show producer?

Shredd Did he put you up to this question? He started as an intern who used to come in with a necklace that you could lock your bike up with. A real padlock. I like to think we helped shape him into good manager. Seeing how things work from all levels helped develop his leadership skills. He no longer wears the padlock, but still may show some questionable fashion choices from time to time.

Ragan He picked it up right away and became a great contributor and sounding board for the show. He was and still is a big fan of the show and huge contributor to its success. His role now, in addition to all his programming duties, is to keep us on-track, contribute ideas and keep the wolves at bay.

8. What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Shredd You never see the reaction from those listening, so you really don't get the instant gratification unless like I mentioned a comedian or a guest on the show is cracking up. The rewards come when you meet people out and they tell you about something they loved or how you help them through the morning. I recently posted on Facebook a link to The Edge's 25th anniversary page asking for them to share their favorite memory of The Edge's 25 years. I got way more than the web page did. People just started rattling off different things we did over the years. That was special, I didn't remember some of this shit.

Ragan When someone says, "You get me through the morning," or "you made me laugh on a miserable day." That's it. We're all up early, we're all trying to get through the grind, if we're making it better, we're doing our jobs

9. Who is your favorite on-air personality and why?

Shredd Growing up in the Chicago Market I listened to many legendary DJ's. Larry Lujack, John "Records" Landecker, Mitch Michaels, Sky Daniels, Patti Haze. I think that Steve Dahl and Garry Meier really sit on top of my list alongside Jonathon Brandmeier. They were the ones that really made me want to pursue this career.

Ragan Don Imus and considering his complicated past that may sound odd but his early work and produced bits like the Rev. Dr. Billy Sol Hargis and the theater-of-the-mind segments he cooked up with Charles McCord had a huge influence on me. I loved his "screw you" attitude and the way he paced his show. He had huge faults and shortcomings but as a radio pro, he was one of the best.

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

Shredd Stretching. Sorry I quit all my bad habits and after many years of hardcore riding Jetski's, Snowmobiles, motorcycles and skiing I have beat this body up. Guess I also could have said CBD

Ragan A working computer.

What are weekends like for you?

Shredd They have transformed from extreme sports to family (although we still ski and jetski) I coach a Fastpitch Travel team that my daughter plays on. I occasionally will take out my 1969 Firebird even if it's just to team practice.

Ragan Banging a hammer into some part of my house, catching up on exercise and sleep, taking in a movie, and spending time with family and friends.

Where are your favorite places to eat in Buffalo?

Shredd The Remington Tavern and Seafood Exchange, followed by One Eyed Jack's BBQ and Kabob and Curry Indian restaurant.

Ragan Kuni Sushi, Ming Cafe and any pizza joint in Niagara Falls.

Rank your sports teams in order of passion.

Shredd Chicago Cubs, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Sabres and Stewart Haas racing

Ragan Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland A's, Brooklyn Nets, Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.

First record ever purchased?

Shredd Aerosmith Toys In The Attic

Ragan ELO - Out Of The Blue

First concert?

Shredd Cheap Trick

Ragan Eddie Money and I think he was hammered.

Favorite band of all-time?

Shredd Led Zeppelin

Ragan It's a tie, The Beatles and The Clash .

Anything else you would like to add?

Shredd I'll just say that never in my wildest dreams did I ever expect to spend 30 plus years in Buffalo, NY. Reading this you may say who would want to? It doesn't get you gigs on national TV shows, but there is something to be said about surviving in one market for the majority of your career. Never having to move the family to different states and new schools, having a relatively stable normal life. Sure we had offers to go bigger, but it takes time to build a following and not a lot of companies want to give that time. I have friends who have bounced around their whole career and have been to top 10 markets and are still looking for something stable. We have been lucky and I have no regrets.