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10 Questions with ... Rusty Waler
October 3, 2005
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NAME:Rusty WalkerTITLE:Programming ConsultantMARKETS:100 stations in over 60 marketsBORN:Corinth, MississippiRAISED:Corinth, Mississippi
Brief Career Synopsis:
You, your readers, nor I have the time or patience. I like to say that I was never good enough to get a job at a GOOD station, so I had to get jobs at BAD stations...and try to TURN THEM INTO good stations.
1) Rusty, you started in radio at a very young age, what first attracted you to radio in the first place and do you think kids are still drawn to radio?
Given the "double-speak" in the broadcasting business..."you started in radio at a very young age"...really means "your're older than Methusaluh", aren't you? And no...I ain't!!! But, to answer your question...yeah, I still run into kids who are still drawn to radio. It's on a different level, and on a different plane...and sometimes I don't quite understand why. But I realize they experience the same "sirens call" that I experienced in the late '60's...and what's 4 decades between friends and "radio-nuts." To answer the "what first attracted you to radio" question; after much badgering, my mom took me (and my brother Harold...now my business manager)...to visit a radio station when I was 7 or 8. The DJ (the late-great Buddy Bain) let me start a record on one of those BIG OLD turntables. I was infected...but the infection lay dormant for several years...and then manifested itself as a "full-blown" epidemic.
2) What types of music were you drawn to as a kid? Did you always like Country?
The first music I ever heard was Country.
Bottom line, before getting into radio...I wanted to be a music educator. So my influences beyond Country Music were everything from Sousa marches to Aaron Copeland compositions, to Big Band arrangements, to the Top 40, to early Album Rock, to blues (I've always been a big W. C. Handy and a Furry Lewis fan), to Jazz, to symphonies, to...Heck, If it had two notes in a pleasant succession...I'd listen to it, and probably enjoy it.
3) When did you decide to become a consultant and why?
When I did mornings for Sam Phillips' "Big River Broadcasting's" Florence/Muscle Shoals Alabama CHR WQLT. He had a gentleman from Memphis visit us occasionally and his name was "Bill Thomas." There have been several Bill Thomas' in radio...and I'd venture to say that I've worked with (and respected) them all. This particular Bill Thomas was our Consultant. He'd come in...motivate us...raise our spirits...tell us (in most complimentary terms) what we were doing wrong...and more importantly, what we were doing right. I only met the man once. All my other input was filtered through either my General Manager (Chuck Manson...now retired in Panama City, I believe), or our Program Director (Ron Wallace...now at WKDF, Nashville). After one particular visit (when Mr. Thomas was at least minimally complimentary of my performance), I went directly home and told my wife "I wanna' be a Consultant some day!
As bad as we may think things are today...remember...it's possible that was the first "positive re-enforcement" I'd had in probably two years...this was in 1975; so things weren't really any better in "the good ole' days".
4) How do radio stations win today? There's so many choices- iPods, cell phones, video games etc. How does a PD keep his/her station important in this changing landscape?
Through constant programming and imaging innovation, and an intense commitment toward constant "local intimacy."
5) What do you tell programmers, in terms of making it local, when they don't have much of a staff or a budget?
Integrate locally intimate terms (names of local peer influentials, neighborhoods, communities, local characters, etc.) into your voice tracking and imaging.
6) Programmers have more jobs to do today than ever. What do you tell a programmer who has no time to listen to music?
Just refer to our weekly report. You'll still be okay. Sadly, too many programmers really don't have the time to listen to music.
7) How important is it that a programmer be familiar with Country music? By that I mean more and more OM's etc., are programming Country as an "aside." Doesn't that hurt the format if the PD has no passion for the music?
We truly don't have the "Country advocates" inside the stations like we did "in the good ole days." But many times a great programmer without a passion for the music will win over a poor or mediocre programmer with all the passion in the world.
8) How do you rate the current state of the music from Nashville? And what new artists are you high on?
I'm extremely high on the new music from established artists, as well as the music coming from the newer artists. We are on a roll! I like Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, Jason Aldean, Trent Tomlinson, and, of course, Sugarland has really hit a home run!
9) In your career, you've seen the life of current songs go from very short life-spans (12-13 weeks) to where we are today. How do you feel about that and can you play a current 30 weeks and still be excited about that song? To me, it seems like we're beating some of these things to death.
As one of the people responsible for that "evolution"...I'll take "the fifth."
10) What are some of the highlights and special moments in your career, you've had so many it seems, can you name one or two?
Being a part of the team that launched WZZK in Birmingham will always stand out as a highlight of my career. Also, having the opportunity to work with so many of my heroes. To this day I'll be in a meeting...thinking, "Wow, I'm sitting next to (___)!
Bonus Questions
1. Why have you stayed in Iuka, Mississippi all this time and what restaurants do you have in town for lunch?
Why would anybody want to leave "The Cosmic Center of The Universe? There are so many I couldn't possibly name them all...Ha! I'll have to say Ellie's Snack Bar, for a sandwich. She makes a great (Honest to GOD) Slugburger . For a meat and three...you can't beat Norma's Country Cupboard.
2. When did you start playing the drums and do you still play?
I started in the seventh grade, and I still "bash around in the basement", sometimes.
3. For such a famous consultant, you keep a very low profile. What do you say we get you up on stage at the Disco Party this year, and you play "Wipeout?"
(1)- I believe drums are rhythm instruments, and should not be used for "soloing".
(2)- I'm really too young to remember that song.
(3)- Yeah, that sounds like something I'd do, (insert sarcastic tone) doesn't it?
4. What CD is in your car/truck right now that will surprise us?
Stoney LaRue...a Texas artist that Rick Lovett at "The Ranch" in Fort Worth turned me on to. He has a killer voice, and his singing is so expressive. Also Percy Sledge's "Greatest Hits."
5. Was your town affected by Katrina and did you and your family have any problems?
Not really, except our phone service at the office, and our cell phones aren't back to normal, yet.
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