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10 Questions with ... Christian Hall
August 9, 2022
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. After developing the X brand for 15 years, it was weird to inherit one (SONiC). But there are a lot of similarities that made the transition an easy one. The biggest one being any successful ALT is only successful if it can create a unique inclusive space for its audience. It’s truly the most diverse of formats musically, so you need to expect that from the audience as well. Once you embrace, they’re all here for discovery, it drops the worry of having to do everything perfect. This audience won’t vilify you for trying something new, even if they don’t like it. That goes for the content from the hosts as well. It’s what they’ve signed up for.
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
My radio career started in my hometown volunteering at local stations when I was 16 before heading off to broadcast school in Toronto (shoutout to Humber). From there I was lucky enough to land a gig at Q107 as an op, which then landed me some overnights on-air shifts in Hamilton at Y95. I jetted off to Vancouver in 1998 for overnights and weekends at Rock 101 where I was given my first programming opportunity that eventually grew into an APD/MD role at Rock 101 and CFOX for the newly formed CORUS. I left for Winnipeg in 2002 for my first PD gig at Power 97. My next stop was launching Q107 Calgary as the PD in 2004, and then was hired to build and launch X929 for Harvard in 2007. Did that gig for close to 15 years before heading back to Vancouver for my current role.
1. How did you first become interested in radio?
Is WKRP too cliché? It’s a combo of that and being exposed to radio at a young age through a family friend who was on the air. Once I saw my first control room, I was hooked.
2. After 15 years at Harvard Broadcasting in Calgary, what led you to Rogers Sports & Media in Vancouver?
It was a fluke more than anything. I wasn’t even aware the job was still available. I made a call to a friend of mine at Rogers simply looking to find out who landed this job as I wanted to make a recommendation for some talented friends of mine who were recently let go. When I was told the job was still available, I asked what was taking so long? Then the conversation shifted to my interest, and after many more conversations I took the gig. I think what drove me was the challenge of what the future of JACK and the Classic/Adult Hits space could be to remain relevant for the incoming generations occupying A25-54. Add to that, the allure of returning to Vancouver and joining a company that remains very bullish on the radio business at large, and here I am.
3. Take us back to the buzz you created with a 30-hour loop of Rage Against The Machine "Killing In The Name Of" to launch SONiC.
It went pretty much as we planned…I’m kidding. This one went nuclear, and no one predicted it. What I felt we did right going into it, was the song selection, and the role of the on-air team for the day. Anytime someone asked me what the song would be, they’d make a face when they heard RATM – Killing in The Name. Some looks of concern, some pure joy, many pure fear. The point is the song brought out a visceral reaction which cemented that it had to the be the song. Every jaded radio folk out there would roll their eyes at the stunting as it’s not new, but we’re not doing it for them, it was for the audience. The stunting had two jobs. One: Be a cleansing fire to the existing audience that the station is making a change, and chances are they’re not going to dig it, and two; ring the alarm that something new was happening and if this song was in your wheelhouse, you should pay attention. The song did this perfectly. The on-air strategy for the day was two-fold as well. It was the first opportunity for the incoming on-air team to get into the control room and familiarize themselves with the space, and it allowed them to take calls and play along with the day. They had a few rules, don’t be an asshole to anyone upset about the change, if the callers played along, then air the calls, and most importantly, reveal nothing, not your name, and not what the station was up to.
What we didn’t predict was how the internet would take the day and spiral it into all these insane stories.
Before that, let me say this…it’s never fun to let good people go, and the KiSS team caught up in this are all excellent people, who bear no blame for the outcome of the station they were on. This was a business decision to better position ourselves in the market, and they unfortunately were impacted by that decision. I’ll sing their praises to anyone who asks about them and would welcome an opportunity to work with them again one day.
I had to get that out there, because the idea of any of them being involved in the stories that grew from the stunt, make these stories all the more ridiculous. Stories like:
The recently released on air team have barricaded themselves in the control room playing the song in protest. Engineers upset over the changes take over the signal to play the song in protest. Our signal was hacked by pirates out of protest to the letting go of the KiSS staff.
This was insanity made more insane by the number of news publications that ran with one if not more of these theories. The more responsible articles would phrase it as “we’re not sure what’s going on…but it could be this” But many flat out reported it as a siege of the station and it only added more and more fuel to the day. Once Tom Morello and then RATM’s socials shared the stories, that was it. The phones wouldn’t stop ringing, the online tuning metrics for the day were off the chart, the TikTok’s started pouring in It was nuts, but we just held the course. Reporters who made it through to the control room got nothing from the on-air team, as they just kept airing the calls and stretching their legs on their first day.
The global attention was fun, and we’ll look back at it fondly as that time we did that thing. But the goal was always local. Cleansing fire. Sound the alarm. Make noise. Feels like we stuck the landing on that one.
4. When you launched the station on June 30th you said, "We’ve seen huge success with our SONiC brand in Edmonton, serving listeners who are looking for an alternative to pop music. We know there’s an appetite here in the GVA and Fraser Valley to launch this exciting format, with a stellar lineup of new local shows. We can’t wait for listeners to meet this fantastic group of entertaining personalities who are unapologetically themselves, and all share a passion for alternative music." Tell us about why you are so excited about the SONiC on-air lineup?
For one, I’m very familiar with the majority of them, having worked with many of them during my tenure at X929. (Calgary is very much a leap pad market to Vancouver or Toronto in Canada.) I was used to losing great talent to these markets while working at X929. So, to land in Vancouver and get to reunite some of the team, it felt like leaving the Oakland A’s after playing Moneyball for 15 years to joining the Red Sox (no way I’m saying the Yankees). Angela Valiant, Andrew Berridge, Alex Carr, Carly Meyers, Marc Michaels, and Katlynn Millions, all spent time at X so my confidence in them being able to execute the on-air vision for SONiC was a slam dunk. Jay Brody is someone I hadn’t worked with, but I was a fan of the stuff he was doing on the edge in Toronto, so pairing him with Carly (whom he worked with at the edge) came together really easily. Getting the chance to work with Garner Andrews (aka the wildly successful morning host on the OG SONiC in Edmonton) to develop a fun weekend show for Vancouver was a treat as well. Adding a new talent like Darren Worts to the lineup is just a bonus and getting an opportunity to put talent on the air who don’t even come from radio like Graham Clark is what makes me love this gig. And yes, I made a point of listing everyone on-air (so far) to show there’s still some stations out there in radioland that believe in talent.
5. Give us the 411 on the SONiC brand and imaging?
That’s a better question for Al Ford. He and the OG SONiC team in Edmonton get the credit for developing such a solid brand. After developing the X brand for 15 years, it was weird to inherit one (SONiC). But there are a lot of similarities that made the transition an easy one. The biggest one being any successful ALT is only successful if it can create a unique inclusive space for its audience. It’s truly the most diverse of formats musically, so you need to expect that from the audience as well. Once you embrace, they’re all here for discovery, it drops the worry of having to do everything perfect. This audience won’t vilify you for trying something new, even if they don’t like it. That goes for the content from the hosts as well. It’s what they’ve signed up for. What dooms failing ALTs are the ones that latch on to one flavor and beat it death. The audience bores easily…you gotta keep them engaged or you’re toast. And the imaging? It’s super rad, I love it. We have seven voices, Vanessa Marshall and Ron Tarrant are the leads for SONiC and our Rock Brand nationally, but here we went and added 5 more voices to reflect the diversity of the valley and the lower mainland. Stichiz, Kunal Dudheker, Kyle Chapple, Rick Kumazawa, and Claudia Choi really give us a unique sound that reflects the region perfectly. (props to Paul Kaye for the idea) Lastly, none of it would make any sense without Jeff McKnight stitching it all together, his prod-vision is ridiculous.
6. How would you describe yourself as a programmer?
I tend to not get in the way of an idea. If it fails, let’s not do it again. If there’s something there but could be better, let’s figure it out, and make it better. But you won’t know if you don’t try, so clear the runway and see if an idea takes off or not.
7. What is your favorite part of your job?
Working with the on-air team.
8. Explain the station’s coverage on 3 signals in Vancouver, Chilliwack, and Abbotsford. Plus, how you use smart speaker to promote that SONiC Radio is everywhere?
It’s a very large region we’re covering with the three signals, I want to embrace that, it just makes us sound so big…we’re the new kid in town, but we don’t have to act like it. As for smart speakers, it’s your second antenna, or in our case our fourth. It’s as important as the position on the dial. Nothing solidified that more for me than the stunt day…95% of the videos posted were people listening on a smart speaker. The joke used to be that no one buys a radio anymore, it just comes with something else you purchased. Now everything has a smart device embedded in it. Smart fridge? That’s a radio. Smart TV? Radio. Smart Toaster? Radio. You get the point.
9. What may surprise people most about SONiC – The New Alternative?
Musically, SONiC is experimenting with some older hip-hop. It feels like a missed opportunity for the format at large. It’s a difficult flavor to just add to a heritage station like the one I came from, but being the new kid on the block lets you set the rules from day one. What’s more punk than some of that early stuff from DRE, Snoop, etc.? We played the shit out of all these other “rule breakers” so why not them? If Beastie Boys can be a staple, why not them? Alternative is meant to be the alternative to what’s on other stations, so what’s more alternative than that these days? It got zero airplay when it was originally released (especially in Canada) and still doesn’t get much today, even after the Superbowl. Alternative is the land of misfit toys, so it feels like there’s room for them here. On-air, we may surprise you simply by the amount of talent and the level of talent we’re coming to the table with. Vancouver’s on-air landscape is pretty stoic. I worked here 20 years ago, and when I got back here, most of the people here then, are still here. It’s not to dismiss from their talent, but the largest of the markets can get stagnant recycling the same bodies. Vancouver could use some new blood. SONiC has that.
10. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ___________?
A certain letter of the alphabet.
Bonus Questions
What are weekends like for you?
Outside. Bike. Hike. Whatever. Just get outside.
Favorite food?
Sushi…another bonus coming back to Vancouver.
Favorite drink?
Scotch…the worse thing about coming back to Vancouver.
Rank your sports teams in order of passion.
Red Sox, Red Sox, and Red Sox.
First record ever purchased?
ZZ Top – Eliminator
First concert?
Springsteen – Born in the USA tour. I thought every concert was supposed to be 3 hours after that.
Favorite band of all-time?
Led Tool Jam
Favorite new band over the past year?
It was almost a year to the day since leaving X and launching SONiC. My year was spent focusing primarily on JACK. I only heard COIN – Chapstick for the first time a couple months ago. Call me crazy, but I think that song has legs.
Anything else you would like to add?
Radio isn’t dead, but we’ve got too many out there slowly killing it, they gotta go.
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