10 Questions with ... Brian Phillips

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

KUGR-FM/College Radio/Washington State University Pullman, Washington (GO COUGS!)

KONP-AM/Port Angeles, WA. Started summers in college board opping Mariners games. Ended up mornings and PD after college.

KXRO/KDUX/Aberdeen, WA. I lived there long enough to learn why Kurt Cobain was so depressed.

KXRX/Seattle, WA Morning Show Producer/Weekends/Xtra Hour specialty co-host with one of my all-time favorite people Scott Vanderpool. I was a fly on the wall at one of the greatest personality stations ever built. Amazing. It was also the early 90s in Seattle so that was timely.

WWCD/Columbus, OH... Mostly mornings, middays sprinkled in here and there. Was once APD under Andyman. Now Production Director and mornings. 28 years? It's flown by. Still having fun!

1. How did you first become interested in radio?

When I was 7 or 8 my best friend Kevin got a tape recorder for Christmas. We set that up with his kiddie record player and played radio. He was the host. I was the sports guy. We only had one 45. CCR's “Fortunate Son” was in power rotation. I'm still not clear on how he got his hands on such a cool record. Anyway, I read every college basketball score in the Seattle Times for my report. Good thing we didn't have a PD because that was some bad radio.

2. You’ve been at WWCD since 1994. What’s it like working at an independent locally owned Alternative station?

It's fun! We've had a couple of close calls over the years, but Randy Malloy, our owner, will not let the dream die. At this point nothing really scares us. It's gratifying to be at a place that truly is embedded in the community in so many positive ways.  

3. You’ve seen a lot of changes over the last 28 years in Columbus. What are a few things that you will never forget about WWCD?

We've lost some great people over the years. Andyman is known to so many to this day throughout the radio in music worlds. He was a beautiful man. He introduced me to my wife of now 25 years and counting. Mase has been gone almost two years. He was such a fun person. We shared a love of so much of the same music. I'm so thankful we had time to become friends before we lost him. I miss both those guys like crazy. We've had a lot of fun along the way. Top of mind is our two trips to the Jameson distillery in Dublin, Ireland for St. Patty's day. Unbelievable experiences. Hundreds of concerts. Bonnaroo. I could go on for hours. I am blessed. Randy and I have stories. Some we can even tell.

4. Tell us about Mornings With Brian Phillips.

It's just lil ol me these days. We play 8 or 9 songs an hour. I like to tell stories about the artists. What experiences I've had with them personally. What I saw of them live. I do Trending Topics at :17 and a shorter version of that as "Fun Sized Trending Topics" at :50. It's a little hard news, some lifestyle stuff, but the meat of the dish is weird news. Humans are really freaking odd as it turns out. I'm a sports fanatic so I hit that at :40. (Not the entire newspaper of scores however). Artist interviews. At some point we hope to throw open the doors again and have comedians drop by, athletes, etc. like the before times. Every Friday Columbus Humane and Pet People drop by with a dog or kitty and we find em a home. We've placed dozens!

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

I try to be conversational. Relatable. There's one person you can always get away with making fun of, and that's yourself. I give myself a hard time. As Mase told me all the time "we ain't curing cancer." I try to remember to not take myself too seriously. 

6.  What is your show prep routine and tell us about Fun Size Topics?

I whip out the laptop after dinner at home and go on my nightly deep dive for strange news. Fark.com is invaluable. There's some great reddit feeds including Florida Man. I write as much as I can find the night before. It usually takes an hour or two. In the morning I hit Wise Brother prep to round things out with more content and sound. They do a tremendous job there.  

7.  What do you love most about being on-air?

I feel creatively fulfilled even after all these years. I never get bored of this stuff. How cool is that!

8.  What is a typical workday like for you?

Up at 4:30. I let my dogs Greta and Penny out. Penny has to be negotiated with to come back in as she is a silly Golden Retriever. Greta is a white German Shepard and she's not into nonsense. I live in Westerville so that's a good 20 minute drive in. Show 6-10. After the show I'm on to prod and meetings. Pretty standard stuff.

9.  What would surprise people most about you?

Some little people call me grandpa. I think I'm pretty cool for an old fart.

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

Coffee. In my face. Now.

What are weekends like for you?

Live music. Columbus Crew games. Family. Kayaking. Hiking. Playing with the dogs. Fantasy Football and baseball junky. Growing tomatoes and making sauce and salsa. Yard work.

What are your favorite places to eat in Columbus?

There's this carry out pizza place that's been around about 60 years. My wife introduced it to me, and I have it two or three times a month. Terita's! So good.

Rank your sports teams in order of passion.

Mariners (I enjoy suffering it seems) Seahawks, WSU Cougar Football, Columbus Crew, Columbus Blue Jackets. Maybe someday the NBA will bring back my Sonics!

First record ever purchased?

Kiss "Rock N Roll Over" on Cassette!

First concert?

Scorpions Spokane Coliseum. 1984.

Favorite band of all-time?

Replacements

Favorite new band over the past year?

Snarls (Columbus, OH band. Just released an ep produced by former Death Cab For Cutie member Chris Walla. Watch out for them!)

Anything else you would like to add?

I've probably already said too much. I will add though that I'm thankful for my lovely wife Christina putting up with this passion of mine all these years. She's a healthcare consultant and has a real job. Love you babe!