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10 Questions with ... Rick Roddam
June 4, 2007
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NAME:Rick RoddamTITLE:Morning Co-HostSTATION:KLLYMARKET:BakersfieldCOMPANY:BuckleyBORN:10/21/76 New Bedford, MARAISED:The "Burbs" of Chicago and Denver
Please outline your radio career so far:
KLLY/Bakersfield, CA Morning co-host; KWYE/Fresno, CA Mornings; KRZR/Fresno, CA APD/MD/PM Drive; KILO/Colorado Springs, CO Nights; Voice-track monkey KURQ/San Luis Obispo, CA; KMRQ/Modesto, CA; and KIXA/Victorville, CA.
1) What was your first job in radio? Early influences?
Working weekend overnights for $5.25 an hour at KILO/Colorado Springs. I was influenced by all the Denver Rock jocks including Lewis and Floorwax, Dean and Rog, Uncle Nasty, Willie B, and Ross Ford at KILO.
2) What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment, which made you realize "this is it"?
My defining moment came in junior high school when I heard the old "nightly nuke" bit on Z-Rock. A couple years later I won a KBPI "Wrap that Rascal" key chain outside of an Ozzy show and I knew someday that would be me asking trivia questions about David Lee Roth's junk.
3) What do you view as the most important issue facing radio today?
Radio is like a married guy going through a mid-life crisis. We need to bring back the passion before the audience leaves us for someone who will pay more attention to them.
4) What is the biggest change that you'd like to see happen in the business?
I'd like to see the terms "Trivia" and "Caller #9" and "spin the prize wheel" banned from radio forever. I'd also like to see Arbitron diaries distributed in prisons and every station under a 2.0 share should be automatically flipped to Spanish.
5) What impact will the firing of Talk show Host Imus have on radio and the media in general?
Any interest group looking for some publicity can threaten an entire industry with an empty threat on company letterhead. Until broadcast companies grow a backbone and tell Al Sharpton to suck it, then we're all in jeopardy.
6) Who is your favorite artist you have met?
I once met my musical hero Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) before he swore off "meet and greets". There were at least 50 people waiting in line to kiss his ass but Maynard didn't say a single word. Instead he looked each fan directly in the eye and signed a question mark on all the placards.
7) Please describe the best or worst promotion you've ever been part of?
Cher was coming to town of the first of her many "farewell tours". To celebrate the occasion, our Rock station began a search for "The Ugliest Woman in Fresno". I looked damn sexy in a red camisole, breast-feeding a cabbage patch doll at the bus stop.
8) What's the closest you ever came to getting arrested for an on-air stunt? Or did you actually get arrested?
A local politician had been busted for soliciting prostitutes, so we sent him an anatomically correct inflatable woman named "Weezy" to his office to help him cope with the shame. 30 minutes later, 9 California Highway Patrolman returned the gift, deflated from what appeared to be a puncture wound to the abdomen. It turns out the Assemblyman's office had told the CHP that they were under a suspected "terrorist attack". My "freedom of speech" sound bite on the 11 o'clock news that night was surprisingly profound.
9) What was the biggest gaffe you've made on air? (dead air ... forget a mic was still on ... etc.)
Repeat after me kids, "There are no homosexuals in the Hell's Angels". Tweaked out bikers aren't the most tolerant group of people.
10) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?
Don't bore the living hell out of your audience. This is show business and I'm an entertainer. Telling everyone what car dealership you'll be hanging out at on Saturday does not qualify as entertainment.
Bonus Questions
1) Most of us have known or even worked for a "colorful" owner/GM/air talent. Care to share a story? (The names can be changed to protect the innocent).
Greatest story ever. We had an overnight guy/aspiring Satanist who was delving into the art of hypnotism. He, along with a few friends, perfected this art on the conference room table with a young board-op. And yes, the board-op whose innocence was shattered on the conference room table that fateful morning just so happened to worship at the OM's church. Good times.
2) As you look back over your career ... any regrets? Missed opportunities?
I used to harbor delusions of "major market" grandeur, I thought of it as a reward for years of sacrifice in the smaller markets. "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride" as they say. Nowadays, I'm just thankful that I don't have to work a real job.
3) Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _________?
Showering.
4) What is the best advice you would give to young programmers/promotion people?
You could be turning a wrench for a living, remember to have fun at work everyday and the rest will take care of itself.
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