10 Questions with ... Barrett, Fox & Berry

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, and Tracy Berry - known professionally as "Barrett, Fox & Berry"

This trio has entertained Eugene, OR radio listeners for 20 years at KKNU, earning consistent ratings success, industry recognition, and now membership in the Country Radio Hall Of Fame Class Of 2018. These three personalities are deeply rooted in their community, helping to raise more than $1 million annually for local charities. "Barrett, Fox & Berry" are three-time ACM Small Market Personality Of The Year winners (2012, 2014, 2016) and the 2006 CMA Personality Of The Year honorees. The team has also garnered three Marconi Award nominations, describing their show this way: "A fun, uplifting, and informative program that gives listeners a smile and brief respite from their daily challenges through their shared love of Country music." All Access caught up with all three members of the team, who graciously tackled the following "10 Questions."

1. Let's begin by asking what induction into the Country Radio Hall Of Fame means to all three of you. What you think it says about your radio career?

Bill Barrett: Induction into the Hall of Fame is a true, unexpected honor. When Lon [Helton] called with the news we were stunned.I've been on the air for 48 years and never ever thought something like this would happen. I love what I do and radio has been very good to me. This is certainly icing on the cake for all the years work, early rising, community events, and putting up with Tim. ( and I mean that in the nicest possible way)

Tim Fox: Once the gob-stopping shock of the news wore off, it sort of felt like we should drop the mic and walk triumphantly off the stage to the Shady Oaks Radio Retirement Center. But, a) I don't have enough money for Shady Oaks; and, b) we are having too stinkin' much fun every morning to quit.

Tracy Berry: I'm still honored and somewhat speechless about the induction. So much of the credit goes to Bill and Tim, who've been tremendously supportive, hysterically funny, delightfully annoying (they call themselves "the brothers I never wanted") and so very kind. To me, this induction recognizes both our work as a team and the importance of locally-owned Country radio. We're blessed to have John Tilson as our owner and Jim Davis as our Program Director. We live in a special place, have loyal listeners and work with great people.

2. How did you all originally team up?

Barrett: I was doing Mornings, Tim was on mid-days at KUGN-FM. New competition went on against us. I had been a solo act for some time, we needed a team. Tim and I talked and liked the idea. My nickname was the Bear, we talked to the boss about a team named the, "Bear and the Fox". It clicked, we had immediate chemistry. Tracy Berry joined us after our move to KKNU and the rest is..as they say...history.

Fox: Bill was a solo morning show act - a sad, lonely solo act. I followed him on middays; the ratings spiked up sharply at 9am when I came on. Ha! At that time (1996), consultants thought morning show teams were THE thing to do. They started flying in potential partners from all over, but Bill and I really enjoyed hanging out and wanted them to give us a try. Management was worried that two boys in the morning wouldn't appeal to our female 25-49 target. Eventually, they acquiesced. First book together, we shot right to #1 in all dayparts and we've stayed there since, proving that yes, the ladies LOVE "Barrett, Fox & Berry." Tracy joined shortly thereafter.

Berry: I was working in local television and filling in occasionally on our sister station, KMGE-FM, when Jim Davis bought me lunch and asked whether I might fill in on New Country 93 from time to time. I said it sounded like fun. A day or so later, he called and asked whether I could fill in when Bill and Tim started on KKNU the following week. I "filled in" for two-and-a-half years, then cut back a bit while producing syndicated television across the country, then came back full-time and haven't looked back. Best 20 years of my professional life!

3. What station or personality did you listen to most growing up and how did either - or both - influence you in pursuing a radio career?

Barrett: I grew up south of San Francisco and listened to all the great jocks on KSFO, KYA and KFRC. Don Sherwood, Gene Nelson, Dave Diamond, Bobby Ocean. Russ "The Moose" Syracuse and the, "All Night Flight", on KYA was the coolest thing I had ever heard. He was so relaxed, funny and original. I wanted to be him. My first few years on the air were me trying to be him, I eventually found myself.

Fox: I barely listened to radio. I didn't know what I was going to do after high school, although I knew college would be a good idea - even with my questionable grades. I just loved music (mostly Earth, Wind and Fire) and thought, "Gee, I think I'll try radio." So, off I went to the radio program at Mt. Hood Community College, where my grades remained questionable. I'm sure my radio instructor thought to himself, "This guy doesn't stand a chance."

Berry: When I was a little girl in Southern California, I remember riding in the back seat of the family station wagon listening to KMPC "AM 710" with Dick Whittinghill, Gary Owens and more. When we visited relatives, a bit of KHJ-AM with Robert W. Morgan, Geoff Edwards and the rest of the crew. When we lived in the Bay Area, it was KSRO in Santa Rosa as well as KFOG in San Francisco. I tuned into several Denver stations during my year in Littleton, Colorado. In Eugene, I listened to KUGN-AM in the mornings and in the evenings I had the Philco-Ford radio in my dad's Ford LTD sedan tuned to KGO, KFI, XERA, KGW, KEX, KING, occasionally KSL and any other clear channel station that came through the midnight ether.

4. Tell us about your first radio job and your first-ever live break on the air. Certainly, you remember both, right?

Barrett: I had a shift on the campus radio station, KUWR. My first paying radio job was KLME in Laramie, Wyoming. I ran the board for, NBC Weekend Monitor, it was a crazy, live, strictly by the clock format. My first break was an ID, it was five seconds long and my voice cracked, yep totally embarrassing.

Fox: Technically, I guess my first radio job was the campus radio station "KMHD" where our "signal" covered the campus and maybe 100 yards beyond. I was basically unconscious with fear and shyness and might have soiled myself, although I don't remember, and I didn't save the underwear.

Berry: So many firsts: On KRVM-FM, my high school station, I remember the first morning music show and my fear that I'd send the record needle skittering when I started the first song. Later, there was the terror of handling color commentary at first football broadcast and later play-by-play. My first commercial and first Country radio station, the now-defunct KATR-AM, gave me a part-time job starting the summer of my junior year. I was 16, had my third-class radio license and a lump in my throat as I ran the Sunday programming block, programming that included the Gospel Hour, Cowboy Church and Inside Music City. It was a three-hour shift and I would spend at least half of it nervously anticipating the 30 seconds when I opened microphone to deliver a 30 second weather forecast.

5. Mentors, everybody has a few of them. Who was it for you that helped you, challenged you, and made you believe you could actually make this a career?

Barrett: The first radio animal I met in college was Al Bowker. Al was from the LA area and had worked at some of those stations. His boss radio airchecks were amazing. Steve Broomell worked at CBS labs. He returned home to Wyoming and was our genius, chief engineer. He really gave me an education on the tech side of broadcasting. Finally, John McMullen. Mr. Mac was our teacher and advisor at KUWR. I'll never forget, after reading a newscast in class, he suggested I pursue a different career path. He was so delighted when I called him years later with the news of our first CMA award.

Fox: Two! In radio, it was an almost famous Portland, Oregon jock named Jon Williams. I contacted him and asked for help. He listened to airchecks I mailed to him for over two years helping my performance and ego immeasurably. In life, my mom, for sure. She lived in Portland, and after just two years at my first job (KTIL in a town of 3,500), she called to tell me about a weekend job at KEX, the number one station in Portland. I reminded her that I was working at one of the smallest markets in the state, and that KEX was number one in the biggest market in the state, and it would be futile for me with my paltry experience to even entertain the idea of applying. She insisted; many times. I applied and got the job over like six billion (my best recollection) other more experienced jocks. That moment alone kept me in the business. I thought, "Hmmm, maybe I'm okay at this." Thanks, mom! I love you and miss you. Moms always believe in you.

Berry: My parents and kid brother helped shape my offbeat sense of humor. I learned to use my brain and keep my eyes and ears open. My high school radio teachers at KRVM-FM , Bob Rathman, the late Brian James and Michael Canning, had infinite patience and were generous with their time and managing my youthful enthusiasm. Don Hein and the crew at KLCC-FM, where I continued my experience with public radio, helped me refine my reporting skills. At my first commercial station, KATR-AM, we changed format when the top morning team briefly jumped to our station. Dale Reed, Wendy Ray and Fred Webb were bemused but very supportive of my 17-year-old self. And at KEZI-TV, I worked with remarkably talented journalists and photojournalists who were creative, supportive and cared deeply about the community.

6. As a morning team, I'm sure you're always involved with listeners and within the community. At what point did you feel a sense of responsibility to the Eugene community?

Barrett: We are a local radio station. Local means just that, we know what's going on, we know what our listeners need, and we make a point of LIVING in our community. We go through everything with our listeners and we are there for them, and they are there for us.

Fox: Immediately. That's probably the primary thought that floats around my hollow head. These microphones can do SO much good for so many in need. We use them for that purpose every time we get the chance. And, they WANT to help. All you have to is ask politely, and they come through every time.

Berry: From the moment I moved here in high school. We moved a fair amount when I was a kid. But once we got settled in, Eugene felt like a real "home town." Coming from a news and public affairs background and from a family that did its share of community and volunteer work, it was a given that my career would be shaped by my community involvement. And we have so many amazing people and organizations in Eugene-Springfield!

7. There's industry-wide concern about the thin on-air talent pool and its lack of development. How will we get younger talent ready for prime time, and where will we find younger creative types, in a time where radio isn't seen as cool as it once was?

Barrett: I lay the lack of young talent at the feet public radio. KUWR at the University of Wyoming was a student station. We ran it, programmed it, loved it. There were 25 or more broadcast students, on the air, doing news working behind the scenes. When the Corporation for Public Broadcasting took over, the student station went away. Here is a case in point, KLCC was a student radio station in Eugene. Years ago when it became an NPR station, it was moved off campus into downtown Eugene. Where are the students?. Where is the live learning?. We need to tell people what radio can do for them. We need to reintroduce people to local radio. There needs to be more local ownership. "Build it and they will come".

Fox: For one, network with local/regional college radio programs. We've spoken at several and get asked back frequently. They are hungry for contact with working pros. Also, promote internships. Lots of us caught the radio bug by interning.

Berry: It is a challenge but the good news is that there are some remarkably talented young people out there, many of whom I encounter each year at the Country Radio Seminar and at the awards shows. They have backgrounds in music and marketing and sometimes broadcasting or production and I am, frankly, in awe of their energy and versatility. I think the challenge for radio is to recruit them and nurture them. That's not always easy when other fields, from promotion to music development, might offer potentially more stability and opportunities for promotion. But in the same way people mentored me I hope we can all be strongly supportive of them.

8. The dynamic with three different people in the room is always challenging - have there been times when you're at each other's throats OFF the air - and how do you work through that, knowing the show must go on?

Barrett: We have always had a good relationship. There have been a few - and I mean just a few - flare ups, but they are handled immediately. We respect each other, and get along really well. Hell, we been married almost as long as we've been married (Make sense?).

Fox: Honest answer. No, we RARELY even have the smallest spat. It just works. This particular combination of people and personalities is extremely rare. We all come from diverse upbringing and backgrounds, but we truly love and respect one another. Pathetic answer, I know.

Berry: Never at each other's throats. In any relationship, there can be disagreements and misunderstandings. But we all like each other too much to let them become permanent obstacles. We talk through things that come up; sometimes effortlessly, sometimes with a bit of angst. But we like each other and like working together and that sets the tone for everything else.

9. You've been around a long time - and in the same market. Was there ever an opportunity to leave, and what made you say: "This is our destination"?

Barrett: I moved from Wyoming back to the Bay Area and worked at KLOK in San Jose. After almost a year I knew the big city was not for me. Blind dumb luck brought me to Eugene in 1976. I got married in 1986. KEX called with an offer in Portland. Our first child was on the way. My wife and I talked about for 30 seconds, and I turned them down. I knew Eugene was home.

Fox: Living in this part of the world is THE bomb. This will sound like a commercial from the Oregon Tourism Board, but fishing, hiking, hunting, the coast, excellent skiing in the winter, moderate weather, the Pacific Crest Trail, the Track Capital of the USA with Hayward Field and the Oregon Ducks. Why would we want to live anywhere else? Great place to raise kids. I have one. Tracy has none. Bill has 12 (not a typo).

Berry: I had some radio and TV offers in my previous jobs but always stayed because I loved the community and the people. Once I partnered with Bill and Tim, I never thought about going elsewhere. It's too much fun and such a comfortable fit.

10. I know it's hard to pinpoint one or two things, but - what has been your proudest moment in radio, either off-air or on-air?

Barrett: Proudest moments ... wow, that is tough. Our first CMA, third ACM were amazing. Being inducted is huge, stunning, humbling. I guess I'm most proud of our Barrett, Fox and Berry partnership. We have been together for over 23 years. I work with the most talented, caring, professional people in the business. I'm proud of what we do together, how each have our own strengths and how we have been able to keep it fresh, creative and fun. I'm proud of my 48 years in the biz, but most proud of my time with Tim and Tracy.

Fox: It's probably the many, many tiny moments of connection with our awesome listeners. Like the time I was walking along a street with my then 6-year-old daughter when a road-rage incident unfolded right next to us. A driver screeched to a loud halt ten feet from us, and the car behind him almost rammed him. The driver in front stomped to the car behind and he began a verbal tirade that sounded like it could escalate. I grabbed my kid and ran away as fast as we could. I could see the passengers in his car, a wife and two young children, who looked on in horror as their husband/dad completely lost his cool. I talked about the shameful incident on the air the next morning and called the guy out for his atrocious behavior. The phone rang. It was him. He sounded completely deflated and ashamed of his behavior. He said he often experienced anger issues, and that his family was actually afraid of him. He promised me on the air that he would seek counseling, and he did. I feel like moments like that make a difference.

Berry: It's no single thing but all of the small things that tie in to that commitment to community service: hearing from a mother that our focus on services for families and children changed things for her kids for the better; comforting listeners as we covered the Thurston High School and Umpqua Community College shootings and aftermaths; highlighting the hard work and outsize fun that comes with living and working in our part of Oregon, as well as the state's astonishing natural beauty. And the listeners. Always, the connection with the listeners. They're the best.