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10 Questions with ... Tige & Daniel
January 4, 2015
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tigeanddanielonline
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tigeanddanielTige and Daniel transitioned from local morning show duo to dynamic syndicated nights show in the Summer of 2014. In their own words: "We've been best friends in real life for over a decade. We're like a real life Burt and Ernie except that we don't live together nor are we puppets. Well actually, Tige is kinda like a puppet to his wife. He's married to a lady. Welcome aboard!"
1. Tige and Daniel, thanks for taking the time for 10 Questions! Congrats on your move to iHeartMedia Nashville - let's back up first - how did you guys team up in the first place?
Tige: I was a Program Director and Morning Host in Auburn, Alabama, and I hired Daniel to do part time work on game day Saturdays. We hit it off and made it a goal to do mornings together one day, which happened when we went to WGTR in Myrtle Beach.
2. Radio teams are like marriages in some ways - tell us how you work things out when you disagree about a bit or how part of the show should be executed?
Tige: Funny you say that because listeners say to us "y'all sound like an old married couple!" I think we really started hitting our stride when we didn't hide our disagreements. There's comedy in conflict, right? One morning we were on air and presented to the listeners: "Today Tige wants to talk about A, Daniel wants to talk about B. What sounds better to you?" The irony is that the best part of that show was the disagreement and listeners taking sides, not the actual topic that was eventually chosen.
3. Describe the show for us - is it bit driven? Characters? Listener interaction? What's the basic plot of the Tige & Daniel show?
Tige: I'm married and Daniel is not, and that dynamic is an endless trunk of content. Mostly though, the show is highly topical - if it's in the news during the day it's on the show that night, and it's our job to find the story angle that no one has thought of yet and present it in a way that is relevant to our listeners.
4. Your show has expanded across a few markets, it's been my understanding that local stations still control the music and you're giving them between-the-songs content. How do you maintain a connection with the songs and artists, which Country fans seem to want from personalities in this format?
Daniel: We maintain a connection with the songs and artists by being fans ourselves. I can't think of any artist that hasn't been super nice to us. When people treat you so well you can't help but be fans of them.
5. Have you changed anything about the show since it's expanded across multiple markets? It was working well in Greensboro and Myrtle Beach prior to that - Have you stayed with the same formula?
Tige: It's really the same show. It's a bit tighter than a morning drive show but I think it's also taught us to really shave off the extra stuff and get to the point more quickly.
6. Nights have traditionally been a great laboratory for personalities to develop their game. But you've already done mornings successfully before this show - is your goal to be back in mornings at some point - and if so, do you hope that's in a syndicated context?
Tige: We could have stayed on mornings longer but when this opportunity arose, we were excited about doing something totally different - a fresh start with huge potential. The conventional wisdom is that the morning drive is where it's at, but we look forward to carving out our own home in another daypart.
7. What about listeners you're talking to each night - do you sense any difference in age, sense of humor or any other nuances from a national crowd versus local listeners?
Tige: The audience is probably a bit younger, but from our perspective not by much. We were really excited that we hear from same people we'd hear from in the mornings. Instead of listening on the way to school they're listening while running errands.
Daniel: The audience certainly seems more laid back than in the morning.
8. You guys just made the move to Nashville - I know it's still early, but what are your first impressions of Music City?
Tige: Nashville is really great - there's an electricity you feel just being here. Anyone who works in Country radio should make a pilgrimage here.
9. Tell us what radio personalities you listened to growing up that influenced you to get into the biz and/or what your on-air persona is.
Tige: The first I remember was "Hot Ron Anthony" on WABB in Mobile, AL. He was just larger than life to me. I envisioned him broadcasting from a slick high rise surrounded by limos and ladies. That's testament to how good he was. Later on Dan and Shelby at WKSJ. Sometimes I look in my phone contacts and see "Dan Brennan" and can't believe I can call him if I wanted to.
Daniel: I used to listen to this guy out of Cincinnati, Ohio. I think his name Dr. Johnny Fever. I don't think he's in radio anymore. I heard he went on to be a teacher.
10. What radio personalities do you respect and admire now?
Tige: Bobby Bones is right up there. For whatever reason he took us under his wing and he is a big reason why we have been given a shot on a bigger stage across multiple markets. That's just a good guy- a person we can never repay who helped us along. The only thing he asked in return is that we do the same for someone we might discover who deserves a bigger shot.
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