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10 Questions with ... Brew Michaels
September 20, 2021
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I come from a time when you moved every 6 months in search of the next “BIG” gig. Starting from Brown Institute in Minneapolis to Kalispell, Montana and then Billings, Bellingham , Tacoma, Puyallup Washington, Lewiston Idaho, Yakima , Spokane, Seattle, Portland, Maui and finally back where I started in The Flathead of NW Montana for the past 18 years.
1. How would you describe your first radio gig?
I came through on my summer break from Brown Institute, and went to my hometown radio station in Kalispell, KGEZ ‘The Big 600,’ which was a Country station leaning into the Willie and Waylon “Outlaw” music of the time. The DJ on the air when I wandered in was a guy named Charlie Jackson, who accidentally uttered a huge “S Bomb” over the air with the mic open. He then informed me that he had been fired the previous week and if I came in Monday, I could probably get his job which I in fact did. After I hitchhiked back to Minneapolis to get my meager belongings and returned to Kalispell the owner explained to me that they had decided not to fire Charlie after all, but I was welcome to stay and do late nights for free, which I did for a couple weeks until they signed me on for the princely sum of $600 per month. Welcome to Radio. About 30 years later I ran into Charlie again, who was driving a cab in Spokane.
2. What led you to a career in radio?
In 1968 I was in the back seat of my parents car and my older sister was yelling for them to “Play KJR, play KJR!!!!” I decided right then I wanted to be on the Radio. It was ordained I guess.
3. You wear quite a few hats in the building, running 3 different stations and doing air shifts on 2 of them. How do you prioritize your time to maximum effect?
Keep the strategic goals of the station at the forefront but in smaller markets you have to move a significant amount of dirt every day. Sometimes, without much notice. This past Friday I manually edited 6 music logs, voice tracked a 4 hour show on KRVO including a cash giveaway, completed a promotional agreement with a regional concert promoter, went over an aircheck with our consultant, ran the video for a $1000 Facebook Live giveaway on B98, produced a promo for the $1000 winner, finalized a TV schedule for a contest ad, produced a commercial with 2 updates and did an afternoon show with my partner The Freak with various features including Old School Flathead Trivia. Then recorded our 12 Noon Saturday Lunch With Led feature. I have had larger market gigs where the job basically consisted of going out to dinner and concerts.
4. The River had its roots in the AAA world. What was the transition to Hot AC like?
We began at the same as some other AAA stations like The Sound in Los Angeles and WRXP in New York when AAA was strong with crossovers like Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons. We were always more of a Modern AAA with a lot of melodic alternative thrown in and a library that only went back to the 90’s. It worked great for a few years, in fact in 2007 we had AAA’s highest 12+ Arbitron share in the country according to Radio & Records. But as the crossovers dried up and we incorporated more alternative music into the mix on B98 we started to evolve The River into Hot AC. By the time Ed Sheeran had transitioned from “The A Team” to “Shape Of You” so we had to too.
5. You still crack the mic every day on your midday show? What is it about walking into the studio every day that still rocks your world?
Apparently I sucked as an air talent which is why they always made me the PD going back to KISM in Bellingham in 1982. But the on-air part of Radio is always where the fun is and after 42 years of doing it’s about as natural as breathing. I’m in a market where Radio is still a big deal and the connection you feel with listeners, many of whom you know personally, is irreplaceable.
6. Who would be a dream guest that you’d like to have across from you in the studio and why?
Muhammad Ali. Certainly the GOAT. I narrowly missed getting to ride in a limo with him to the Kingdome in 1991, but did get to travel with both Smokin’ Joe Frazier and George Foreman on that occasion.
7. “Local local local” has always been radio’s mantra. Has your station been able to stay visible and involved in the community? Have you been getting back out into the community on a regular basis?
We raised $115,000 during our Toys for Tots Camp out for The Kids this past year as well as 60K during our Wings Cancer Support Radiothon. We really highlight Local Music on KRVO with a Tuesday night spotlight called Local Flow and a dozen or so tracks in regular rotation from our vibrant local music scene. We are totally plugged into this remarkable community that is known as the Last Best Place. Our staff can be heard and seen doing local football play by play, in stadium announcing, ring announcing, coaching baseball and being involved emceeing cool events like this past weekend’s Whitefish Songwriters Festival.
8. What was the Song Of The Summer for The River?
“My Ex’s Best Friend” MGK and Blackbear.
9. What were your favorite stations growing up as a kid? Jock(s)?
KJR/Seattle Channel 95 and Norm Gregory era KZOK plus WBCN and WMMS.
10. Who were your mentors? Who would you say has influenced your career the most?
I’ve done this question before regarding Radio folk and I’ll let those answers stand. In life, my mentors are Jack Kerouac, Henry Miller, Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Hugo.
Bonus Questions
If you had an unlimited budget to pull together a station show, which 3-5 artists would you want on the bill?
Bob, Bruce and Neil would work nicely.
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