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10 Questions with ... Darren Marlar
February 4, 2008
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NAME:Darren MarlarTITLE:Morning Show PersonalitySTATION:WQFL-FM (101QFL)MARKET:Rockford, ILCOMPANY:CCN CommunicationsBORN:11/1/1968, Kansas City, KSRAISED:Olathe, KS (still my hometown)
Brief Career Synopsis:
OM/Creative Services and drive time at Christian AC KCNW-A and Children's KCAZ-A/Kansas City, Country KFKF/Kansas City, Bott Radio Network Christian Talk Network Operations Manager, Christian CHR/Rock KCWJ-A/Kansas City PD/mornings/creative services, started Marlar House Productions with freelance production, voiceover and station imaging, and the UnNamed Daily radio prep service, creative writer for multiple outlets, and presently a stand-up comedian and morning host/creative services Christian Hot AC WQFL/Rockford, IL.1) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?
My first radio gig was at KCNW-A in 1990. I didn't really have any influences early on except that a couple of friends were working at the radio station at the time. They did the night show and were completely off the wall with their sound effects, parody commercials, sketches, etc. It was amateurish but they were having fun on a tiny little AM Christian station. I didn't think that was possible. I had just been fired from a bank job a couple of months earlier for having (and I quote) "too much personality," so a radio job seemed perfect. I walked in the door, applied for a job, and when I was told they didn't have anything for me, I heard myself use the words, "I'll work for free." They took me for the sucker I was and had me show up every morning at 5:30 to help out the morning show guy (who was also the PD) until I had to leave for my real job.
2) What made you want to get into the radio business?
At the time I thought it'd be a great steppingstone into the music business. I was a singer and songwriter back then, and I figured working in radio would teach me the ins-and-outs of the business so I could maybe get my songs recorded and play them on the radio. It didn't take me but maybe six months to realize that working in radio was not going to help my music career at all, but by that time I was addicted to it and wasn't about to let go. I still continued singing and writing songs up until about 1999 until radio finally consumed all of my creative passion and snuffed out any chance at being a rock star. (My being 300 pounds with a face like Danny Partridge kinda snuffed out my chances for a music career too, I think.)
3) What can Christian radio do in order to break through to a mass audience on a more consistent basis?
Program your station for what your target demo wants, not for what you think they need. Does "Becky" tune in simply because your station has a verse of the day, daily devotions and scheduled prayer times? She can get all of those things on her own; what does she need the radio station for? Some people think that's what a Christian radio station is supposed to sound like. But why? I do my best to create a morning show that is entertaining, fun and exciting, and if I'm going to have a spiritual message, I do what I can to make it engaging and creative while getting the message across. Remember that the songs you air already have the love of God in them, and that's about 75 percent of your broadcast hour. Why not make the remaining 25 percent as much fun as possible? Give people a reason to come back for more. If it's true that up to 30 percent of your listeners aren't believers, wouldn't it be wise to make the station as entertaining as possible for them, knowing that they are also getting the truth fed to them during the songs?
4) How do you prepare for your show each morning?
It seems to be a continual, never-ending process. I begin preparing for the show almost immediately after the previous show is over. At ten o'clock I record any interviews that I might have scheduled and as soon as they are recorded, I record a morning show promo that will air for the next 21 hours telling listeners what the phone-in topic will be for the next day and who our special guest will be. I then edit the interview to make it as short as possible (no more than five minutes long, three minutes if possible). Combine this with any quick production or voice work that might need to be done and I get out of the station by about 11:30 or noon. Wednesdays and Thursdays I create Friday movie reviews and edit movie trailers to fit in as I speak with our movie critic. I prep from home after lunch, sorting through prep from years past for celebrity birthdays, holidays, or things like useless facts, dumb criminal stories, one-liners, etc. I search websites for news items I can use as kickers, which is the most lengthy part of my prep time but the most satisfying as it forces me to do some creative writing for a punch line for eight news items a day. I usually finish the writing portion of my prep by 5 or 6 p.m. I get up at 4 and make my way to the station for pre-production. From 4:30 until about 5:45, I pre-record as much of the show and insert all of the pre-production into the automation system. Doing this lets me spend more time checking e-mails and fielding, recording and editing phone calls live during the show. This is especially helpful as I do not have a morning show producer. From 5:45 to 6:00, I'm setting up the studio for my show with index cards, reminders to hit on various subjects each time I open the mic, getting a refill on my coffee and printing out the show prep for my co-host so she can set up punch lines, as we do celebrity news together, etc.
5) Who is your favorite on-air personality not at your station?
I might get fired for saying this but Mancow is my favorite. I don't care for all of the topics he has, of course, but I listen to the production value of that show and it's inspiring. Every single minute is filled with something engaging. I know his fans are afraid to flip the station because they might miss something. That's my goal for my audience, and I strive for it each and every day.
6) What are some daily/weekly/monthly tools that you use to stay on top of the growth and changes in the Christian format?
None. Seriously. While I love Christian music, I've not really found anything that keeps my interest when it comes to reading about the industry or the artists. When I used to work in Country radio there was a weekly magazine called "Country Weekly" (I think) that was great for this kind of thing; you could open it up and read about how Reba crashed her tour bus four days earlier and that it was all due to an armadillo getting caught in the engine. It was fresh, topical stuff that was great for on-air use. Christian music doesn't have anything like that. I want to know what Bebo Norman is doing THIS WEEK, not in the next year or two. I don't care that Smitty thinks his new album is his best work yet, or that Amy Grant is on yet another Christmas tour. That stuff is boring to me. I want to know that Rebecca St. James got a speeding ticket last week and that she insisted on paying the ticket even though the officer wanted to rip it up as soon as he found out who was driving because he's a fan. I want to know what Jeremy Camp's kid's first words were, and how he and his bride reacted. What did Steven Curtis Chapman's wife get for their anniversary this year? That kind of stuff would make great radio.
7) What is your most precious memory in life so far?
It's the second date I had with my now bride Robin. We went to a place called "The Martin City Melodrama" and saw a stage version parody of King Kong. They asked a woman from the audience to come up on stage and Robin volunteered. They tied her to a pole and asked her to scream when King Kong's hand came from off stage to "grab" her. It was hilarious but she pulled it off perfectly. And her scream was deafening. She totally threw herself into the role. I knew right then and there that she was the one for me.
8) If you could have one job outside the entertainment business, what would it be and why?
There are jobs outside the entertainment industry? Honestly, I'm not sure I'd ever want to do anything outside of show business. I even have difficulties deciding what career I want WITHIN show business. Right now I do a morning radio show and perform stand up comedy. In the past I've wanted to be a full-time singer, songwriter and actor. I ran my own radio imaging company for a while and loved it, had a show prep service, everything I do seems to be related to the entertainment industry.
9) Who has had the biggest impact on your life: professionally, personally and spiritually?
My bride in all three areas, hands down. Before I met Robin I was in radio, but my desire to better myself and excel in my career just didn't get the fire it needed until I met her. I became a new man after marrying Robin. She's supported me in everything I've wanted to do and has never spoken ill of my desires. She was with me through the "I want to be a rock star" years, the "I want my own syndicated morning show" years and now the "I want to be a comedian too" years. She also inspires me spiritually. She's the prayer warrior in our home and she loves digging in and getting involved in ministry opportunities. She's inspiring. To borrow a line from Jack Nicholson in "As Good As It Gets," she makes me want to be a better man.
10) Define funny. What makes something funny?
If I could answer this question, I'd be the richest man alive, as there are thousands and thousands of people asking this very question each and every day as they prepare to take the stage as a comedian, step in front of a microphone for a radio show, look into a camera on TV, or sit at a kitchen table and write their weekly newspaper column. I'm a guy that writes comedy for a living, both for my radio show and for my stand-up comedy act, yet I can't find a way to define "funny." It's such an intangible. The dictionary says funny is something "causing amusement or laughter." But that doesn't really help a comedy writer or performer. I guess funny is simply what makes you, personally, laugh. And if you can express that thought or action in such a way that it makes others laugh as well, you have been gifted by God.
Bonus Questions
1) What is in your CD player or on your iPod right now?
Huey Lewis and the News, "Fore." Yeah, I know it's old, but I just got it out of the cassette case two days ago. I was feeling nostalgic.
2) Do you have any musical guilty pleasures?
Besides Huey Lewis and the News?
3) Cat or dog person?
Neither. I prefer beef.
4) If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want with you and why?
A spoon, a vat of hot fudge and a giant glass of milk. Oh, wait a minute, that's for a DESSERT island. Never mind.
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