10 Questions with ... Mark Arsen

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Including terrestrial stations and more recently, internet broadcasting, I've been a radio broadcast host since 1989. I'm a rock radio guy at heart but I also dabbled in talk radio the last 10+ years of my terrestrial radio career. From my first time on the air at WKNC at North Carolina State University (Raleigh, N.C.) to my current internet streaming station Radio Free Raleigh, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for local rock born in the Carolinas. With the exception of a straight-up classic rock station I hosted nights at during the mid-nineties, I've been able to program to some degree, local rock and alternative artists over the years at Rock 88 (WKNC), Rock102.5 (WERX), WRDU106.1, Rock 103 (WRCQ), and now on Radio Free Raleigh (internet). I left radio full-time in 2016 to segue over to social media marketing for a major, locally owned automotive company where I continue to use my broadcasting skills in the form of a monthly automotive podcast and video series called Zero To 60.

1.  How did you first become interested in radio?

I grew up in the seventies listening to hometown Top-40 rock n' roll station WKIX-AM (Raleigh) and their morning host Pat Patterson. He was funny on the air and had a great following. I always thought that being that guy you heard "inside the radio" would be cool, especially as I grew older and would listen to DJs at night while making road trips to Greensboro to see the big rock bands in concert. By the time WKRP in Cincinnati was on TV, I was hooked.

2.  Take us back to when you and Bob The Blade Robinson started up RadioFreeRaleigh.com and why you decided to launch a 24/7 online streaming station.

Blade and I had been friends since we first met at WRDU in 1996. I had come over to WRDU after our companies were merged. He hosted afternoon-drive at WRDU, and I hosted nights. We were fortunate, years later, to work together again at the former "96rock" (WBBB-Raleigh) where he co-hosted afternoon-drive and I was a part-time weekend on-air talent (and full-time producer at sister station WPTF-AM, the news/talk station). When Curtis Media Group flipped 96rock in favor of a "no DJ, more music" adult hits format in November 2011, Blade was out of radio for good and I was done with commercial FM rock radio. We met almost a year later because we were saddened by the history and current state of rock radio in the Raleigh-Durham market. So many great rock stations had been blown-up over the years like WQDR going country in 1984, WRDU106.1 flipping to country in 2006, then Talk in 2010 and finally, our 96rock was gone too. So, in November 2012, a year-to-the-day that 96rock ended, Blade and I launched Radio Free Raleigh - "Your Radio Alternative" on Live365.com. We wanted Radio Free Raleigh to be a place where people could hear some of Raleigh's favorite rock radio DJs, all of whom were no longer on the air at that time and hear them play some of the great rock music they once played on Raleigh's greatest FM rock stations. That was the original idea.

3.  The station’s focus is local. Tell us about the on-air lineup of former Raleigh-Durham rock radio air personalities.

Yes, #WeLoveLocal is our alternate branding statement or hashtag if you will. We are really fortunate to have some really great, former Raleigh-Durham radio icons and talent with us now in the form of Donna Reed (WRDU), Ted McKay (WRDU/ KZPS), Bob Dumas - Bob And The Showgram (WDCG), Bob The Blade (WRDU, WBBB, WSFL), Dave Tripp (WXQR, WRDU), and Kilbey (WKNC). In previous years since our launch, Radio Free Raleigh has also hosted former WRDU rock jocks Kitty Kinnin, Tom Guild, Brian McFadden, Bob Walton and others.

4.  Give us the 411 on how you came up with Radio Free Raleigh’s broad alternative music mix. The station is positioned as “playing a nifty selection of '90s to now alternative rock, & local indie tunes with a Southern-fried twist!” You mentioned a 60/40 mix of local/indie rock from the Carolinas and national label artists from the 90s to now.

Yes, about 60% of our music mix is from alternative rock and alt-country artists with some connection to North Carolina, South Carolina, or Virginia (our local region) and thus, our "Southern-fried" element. Our local artists are mainly indie types but in some cases, especially with heritage local bands like The Connells or Corrosion Of Conformity, some are label artists too. The remaining 40% of our music mix consists of what I'd call major label alternative artists from the nineties to now. So, for example, in a typical music hour you may hear songs from Smashing Pumpkins, Kings Of Leon, The Veldt, New Reveille, Cage The Elephant, Ryan Adams, Sofi Tukker, The Connells, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, R.E.M., The Pinkerton Raid, and Superchunk. It's actually a very "radio friendly" listening experience in that I make sure to choose songs that may have been staples of rock or alt-rock radio along with a few interesting album cuts and mix those staples with lesser-known local songs but songs that regardless of their familiarity to the listener, are just good songs. Sonically, our local indie songs match well with the familiar artists and songs in terms of production quality, song craft, tempo, etc. I use my experience as a PD at Rock 103 in Fayetteville and as APD/MD at WRDU to curate just the right mix. When you hear Radio Free Raleigh, you get a professional radio listening experience through the music, DJ presentation, and brand imaging. We are not like most internet streaming stations, we could be a terrestrial station if we wanted to be, but then, we'd have to play 15 minutes of ads per hour, and that would be a drag, LOL. 

5. You have quite a lineup of specialty programming from Mellow Monday, New Wave Wednesday, and Throwback Thursday. Explain.

Because Radio Free Raleigh is not a "24/7 live" radio station, (we're all volunteering our time and talent to the cause), we highlight our on-air talent at specific times of the day and week. For example, Donna Reed hosts Melow Monday at 6 pm, where she plays an hour of rock and alt-rock on the mellower side, like Sublime and Squeeze. Her show is replayed at 10 pm, which is a novel concept for traditional radio, but then again, Radio Free Raleigh tries to be a bit unconventional. Dave Tripp hosts "Y2Tuesday" at 6 pm and 10 pm which is a show dedicated to the alt-rock released from the year 2000 to now, it's a play on words to the "Y2K" issue everyone freaked about at the turn of the millennium.

The Bob And Lu Show is a podcast that we just added Wednesday nights at 6 pm as sort of an "over-the-hump" experience. Our New Wave Wednesday show has moved to 10 pm each week and features a fun selection of American and British new wave/modern rock hits and album cuts from that era. Ted McKay, "The Rock n' Roll Professor" as he was known at his last FM gig at KZPS/Dallas, hosts our "Throwback Thursday" at 6pm and 10 pm. Ted's show really is a homage to the classic years of WRDU 106.1 when it was an album rock format (1984 to 2000). He features artists and songs of that era and drops a lot of rock n' roll knowledge on you too.

Bob the Blade launches our listeners into the weekend every Friday at 5 pm just like he use to do on WRDU with his signature "weekend kickoff montage and Blade "bits of wisdom" throughout the show. Blade is followed by Kilbey and the Homegrown Hour at 6 pm and 10 pm where we focus on the newest local indie music and occasionally feature an artist interview or concert promotion. Donna Reed's "Spotlight Conversations" podcast streams live at 7 pm Sunday nights as she speaks with music and radio industry guests. Outside of our specialty shows, Radio Free Raleigh features a continuous rotation of our special alt-rock/alt-country mix as "Your Radio Alternative."

6.  Tell us about what led to adding former longtime WDCG (G105)/Raleigh morning show host Bob Dumas to your weekly on-air lineup as The Bob And Lu Show podcast that airs every Wednesday night.

After Bob exited from WDCG in late 2019 after 27 years of leading the Raleigh-Durham morning-drive market, he and his wife Lu Dumas began the "Bob And Lu Show" podcast. Lu reached out to me recently about their show and after listening for a bit, I thought it would be great to welcome them onto our collection of former Triangle area rock jocks and maybe in a way, allow our Radio Free Raleigh listeners to once again "hear BOB" on the radio, or at least on our streaming radio station. Their regular podcast is available anytime on various popular podcast sites like iHeart Radio, Apple Podcasts, etc., but by playing their Wednesday episode "live" on RFR365, it gives listeners a unique "in the moment" listening experience through us. Bob And Lu does a great job talking about real life situations in a funny way, that any married couple can relate to. We are very fortunate to have such a Triangle radio icon join us, and I look forward to their presence on "RFR365" into the future. 

7. How has the station grown over the years and tell us about your audience? 

The toughest part about building and maintaining a streaming radio station is that there is a lot of competition. Like anything in this digital world, there are thousands of other choices for people to make as far as what they want to listen to and where they go to listen to it at. So, first and foremost, launching and building RadioFreeRaleigh.com as an "alternative to radio" listening has been and continues to be our biggest challenge. We continue to make steady strides in the right direction, but it does take time. My biggest push to get our brand out in front of the public and especially music listeners in our area, has been to partner with various music related businesses and social influencers in the Raleigh / Triangle area.

We've been helped by music artist and venue production company Deep South Entertainment, we've been an ongoing media partner with the Hopscotch Festival, we partnered with a local music venue and indie artist site called "Imurj Raleigh", and most recently, we are helping to promote Grassroots Live at Shakori Hills through a series of "pod-based" outdoor concerts near Pittsboro, N.C. as we slowly climb out of the COVID era. We also try to make contact with and invite interactions with as many Triangle and North Carolina based alt-rock/alt-country indie artists as humanly possible. They are great at helping us build our identity by being our cheerleaders on their social media and while our listenership is infinitesimal compared to a terrestrial radio station, it has grown exponentially with our #WeLoveLocal focus.

8.  How much has Radio Free Raleigh evolved over the years?

We began as a way for local rock listeners to hear some of their favorite FM rock DJs playing some of the greatest rock ever made but we have evolved into more of a full-service alternative rock station with a local music focus that is actually less about the DJs now and more about the music, especially on the local level. It's an evolution that has helped Radio Free Raleigh grow far beyond the original concept while still holding onto to some of those heritage roots.

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

Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, or a good Johnny Cash cover of a Chris Cornell song. What did you think I was going to say, coffee? LOL!

10.  What would surprise people most about you?

My age. I like to think I'm much younger in how I act and live my life than my actual age would predict. Rock N' Roll and fast cars keeps me young. Probably having two kids a bit later in life helped with my youthful outlook too.

What are weekends like for you?

I'm usually doing something outside or going on a roadtrip. Fresh air is always best!

What are your favorite places to eat in the area?

Snoopy's Hot Dogs & More and Mellow Mushroom.

Rank your sports teams in order of passion.

Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Hurricanes, N.C. State Wolfpack and Duke Blue Devils (that's not a typo).

First record ever purchased?

The 45 single of "Renegade" by Styx

First concert?

Ozzy Osbourne on the Diary of a Madman Tour

Favorite band of all-time?

AC/DC

Favorite new band over the past year?

The Pinkerton Raid (Durham, N.C. - check 'em out)

Anything else you would like to add?

Just give Radio Free Raleigh 10 minutes of your listening time and I bet you'll make us one of your favorites.