10 Questions with ... Christopher Gabriel

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I started as an intern on The Pat Kessler Show (formerly 100.3 KTLK) in Minneapolis screening calls, doing production, writing and producing parodies, serving Pat coffee... whatever was needed. I moved into producing a morning news show, hosting my own Saturday morning program (plus any brokered show that needed a host), producing Andrew Zimmern’s Saturday show and his eventual daily show. When he’d be away filming “Bizarre Foods” for The Travel Channel, I’d co-host the program. My first daily show was on 970 WDAY in Fargo (ND), staying there for six years. I then moved to PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno before coming to 940 ESPN.

1. Let's go back to the beginning- you started as an actor and became a radio guy. How did that happen? What got you interested in radio as a career?

Yeah, it’s been a fun, at times slightly insane, but always fascinating journey! I started as a classically trained actor in New York City doing everything from Shakespeare to Tennessee Williams, British farces, world premieres, shows that closed early because they were pretty bad, shows that got extended because they were pretty good… I worked in front of audiences ranging from one person (that one person threw potato chips at us DURING the show, this was in Scotland) to over 2,000. Along the way I had the chance to work alongside artists like James Earl Jones and Julie Harris. So I was at the City Theatre in Detroit working on a Mitch Albom play. He had seen me in “Tuesdays with Morrie” at the History Theatre in St. Paul (MN) and brought me in to work on his farce, “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel,” with Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theatre Company. I told Mitch over coffee one day I had gotten burned out in the theatre and needed to find a new creative outlet. He suggested talk radio and became the driving force to get me here. Being in radio was really a longstanding dream for me. I grew up with stations like WGN in Chicago and WIP in Philly. I can’t remember a time I wasn’t running to the radio listening to Lloyd Pettit calling Blackhawks games, Merrill Reese doing Eagles games, in college listening to Vin Scully and the Dodgers, radio dramas that would often come on late at night, the early days of talk and sports talk… I consumed radio like it was water. The whole art form – and it is an art form – remains magical to me.

2. While we're at it, how, if at all, did your stage experience help or hurt you as you became a host? Are there commonalities between acting and doing a talk radio show?

That is a fantastic question. Coming from the stage has helped me immeasurably in radio. Preparation is the same; Executing moment-to-moment at a high level is the same. But the biggest area is when things go wrong. So many things go wrong in a live stage production, it’s almost comical at times. They’re usually just small things, but sometimes they’re huge -- and they’re in front of real people looking right at you who paid a lot of money to be entertained. You have NO time to think about solutions… you just spring into action and you make it work. But the thing is this: 95% of the time, an audience doesn’t know there was a problem unless you tell them. That is a direct crossover to radio. Things go wrong all the time, and unless we bring attention to them, the moment passes and both the host and listener are on to the next moment. But when you do have to let an audience know, simply because it’s too obvious that something went crazy, you improvise. You don’t run off stage, you don’t leave the studio… you create in that given moment. Doing that on stage for so many years got me more than prepared for anything that would ever happen doing my program.

3. Let's cut to the present and your new show on 940 ESPN. How did doing a sports show come about -- was it always in the plan, considering that you'd included sports among the topics you'd do on your previous shows? How is the adjustment from talking about general topics to being all about sports going?

From day one, I wanted to get into sports. DAY ONE! I didn’t know if it would ever happen, because my first break was in news talk and people tend to stay in the talk format in which they started. But sports are a passion for me. I don’t care how cliché that sounds; it is absolutely the truth. Growing up with all the teams in Chicago and all but living in Chicago Stadium, moving to Peoria for a few years and following Bradley University basketball, then onto Philly and having Big Five basketball, the Flyers, Sixers, Eagles, and Phillies… I’m a college football nut, was a season ticket holder at Tennessee in Neyland Stadium, going to USC during the Ronnie Lott, Anthony Muñoz days… yeah, I had dreams of sports talk, and now that I’m at ESPN Fresno, I couldn’t be more thrilled.

The adjustment from general topics, politics or news headlines of the day to sports hasn’t been a problem. When I was in Fargo, in particular, I always covered North Dakota State football and North Dakota hockey. Sports always found its way in. But I learned a lesson from the guy I consider the best talk host, sports or otherwise, in the business, Dan Barreiro at KFAN in the Twin Cities. Dan has always found ways to interject a great author, a local or national political issue, finding a different angle on a sports story that might allow for a tie to something societal… it’s like going to a great steakhouse: you’ll get that ribeye or filet, but you’ll also have an appetizer, maybe a Caesar Salad, a vegetable, soup and then dessert. You go for a well-rounded meal, all centered on the steak. Well, that’s the kind of sports or news talk program that excites me. Give me more than what I came for. So I always have a Friday weekend movie preview with Nick Schager from Variety, when Hurricane Irma was approaching, I brought on Todd Borek from The Weather Channel… sports fans do more than consume sports. They eat, they go to movies, they deal with weather, they want to laugh, they listen to music. Who says you can’t interject other things into a sports show? Mitch taught me that, and he was absolutely right.

4. Your show in Fargo and, at your previous station, in Fresno were more varied in their topics than politics. What was your approach to "regular" talk radio, and do you think there's room for that in the present talk radio hierarchy?

Fargo is a tremendous radio market. It’s got some dynamic personalities and is very competitive. When I went there, I researched every other program and realized quickly that for better or for worse, I needed to be different. I was an outsider, so I immersed myself in every imaginable way and it had to begin and end with the program while being deeply dialed into the community. I decided I would do a local show with a national flavor. I wanted news, sports, entertainment and humor. So, no sooner would we cover a major local issue in Fargo or somewhere in North Dakota, JFK Secret Service agent Clint Hill would come on, Andrew Young would come on for MLK Day, Christine Brennan would come on live from Sochi or London, ABC’s Tom Rivers was live from the Vatican when the white smoke came out of the Sistine Chapel that led to Pope Francis…

I did a thing called Listener Correspondents, where listeners three or four times a year would be live from a major event or attraction and paint a picture of what was happening. One gal was live from Lollapalooza in Chicago, another was live from Disneyland at a new ride, and a guy went to Vikings training camp and filed a report live from there. It was different, it was a little risky but it was a way to let listeners know this program is for YOU and I want YOU to be a part of it in a way people in Fargo, to my knowledge, hadn’t experienced. And I should add, in every case, those listeners who did those reports were fantastic.

I absolutely think there’s room for what I did in “regular” talk radio and really, plenty are doing it in their own unique ways. When you have a program director, operations manager, or owner who buy in and give you latitude to create and innovate, some remarkable things can happen. It’s about testing and measuring. In a way, this goes back to your earlier question about similarities between theatre and radio. Theatre is about taking risks. Some work, some don’t. But the only way you figure it out is to take the risk. I’m not talking about shocking an audience to become a headline; not at all. I’m saying doing some different things that are substantive and fun. Some would say “oh that’s just fluff.” I would argue it’s simply giving people more than what they’re expecting.

5. Who are your influences, inspirations, and/or mentors in the business?

Oh, boy, I would not be here today without the help and guidance of some very talented people who took a chance on me at a time that was riskier for them than it was for me. Doug Westerman (KQAL and Learfield Sports) was my first PD and taught me so much about this business. In many ways, I owe my entire career to him. Ben Ziegler brought me to Fargo and his belief in a guy who never had a daily program remains a benchmark moment in my professional life. People who inspired me and remain influences: Dan Barreiro, who I mentioned earlier; Mitch Albom, who many forget with all the things he’s a part of is on WJR in Detroit; Marty Lenz at KCBS in San Francisco; and Pat Kessler (WCCO Television). It was Pat’s radio show I interned on, but he took me under his wing, and, in so many words, said, “here’s your canvas… start painting and don’t stop.” He enabled me to learn, grow, and make mistakes but kept encouraging me to attack radio with a vengeance.

6. How, if at all, do you use social media in conjunction with your show -- is it a marketing thing, a connection/engagement thing, a show prep thing, a hobby, or any combination thereof? And how do you make sure it isn't a distraction from your show duties?

The days of anyone in our business saying “I’m not into Twitter... Facebook… no interest…” are over. I use Twitter, Facebook and videos extensively for the program. It’s an absolute must in how we engage with an audience, how we deliver content to them and how we brand and market the program. My producer, Chris Nieto, and the young lady we call Promotions Goddess Rainie, are terrific at playing major roles in how we attack social media. I tweet out previews, questions and responses before, during and after the program. Chris does the same and Rainie handles the 940 ESPN account along with our Instagram. All of us do the station Facebook. We’ve all discussed strategy and ideas, run it by our owners and little by little have been rolling out a game plan. We’re only a month into the new program and I’ve seen enormous growth in our social media engagement. But no way I could do all of it without Chris and Rainie.

7. Of what are you most proud?

Before I came to Fresno, I worked very closely with the Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead. I’m very passionate about the fact that we in our industry have a huge platform, not only to communicate about sports and news, but about helping others. We need to use that platform to do what I like to call connecting community with community. I know our direct involvement with RACC had a tangible impact on bringing issues of sexual and domestic violence into a sharper focus. The end result was more people learning about what they could do to help… right down to donating shampoo, soap, and other things like that to RACC.

8. When you're not on the air, and excluding your present station, to what do you listen, whether it's radio, podcasts, or streaming, talk or music? And while we're there, what are you watching on TV these days (other than sports, which would be a given)?

I’m a radio consumer. I can listen to it at all hours of every day. I really love listening to other talk hosts to hear the content they roll out and how they approach the work. I will tune in ballgames as well because the art of radio play-by-play is unlike anything else. Who grabs me, who loses me, and why. I’m a big fan of instrumental music, thinking piano now. I will use Pandora at work when I need to focus and block out everything else. I grew up in a household of pianists so it’s like musical comfort food to me. On television, I can’t get enough of “Modern Family.” I never get tired of re-watching “Seinfeld” or anything Andrew Zimmern is doing, be it “Bizarre Foods” or something in that area. And if I start watching “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”… I’m done. I won’t sleep. I don’t have a bucket list written out, but I’d like to do an episode with Guy… preferably when he’s doing a meat-themed show!

9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ______________.

…coffee. Dark roast coffee. A day without coffee is a problem.

10. What's the most important lesson you've learned in your varied career?

Without question, don’t ever allow anyone to limit your professional ceiling; to inhibit what you believe you’re capable of accomplishing. The only person who knows what you’re capable of… is you. I had more people than I can remember tell me getting into radio in my 40’s was ludicrous. That I believed I could get my own program was nonsense. Well, OK. But I really believed I could do it. I didn’t know what level I could reach and I didn’t care because that wasn’t a concern to me. All I was interested in was continuing as a storyteller, using my words instead of those of a playwright. Whatever happened from there on in, so be it. The end game for me is about having a shared journey – a conversation – with people daily. I did that in Minneapolis, in Fargo and now here in Fresno and I couldn’t be happier. It’s the best three hours of my day.