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10 Questions with ... John Clay Wolfe
July 21, 2020
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1. You took an unusual route to being on the radio, ending up with parallel careers on radio and in car auctions; how did that come about? What’s the origin story behind the radio career?
Had a big career in my 20s in the wholesale car business. Moto-Cross crash /spinal chord injury at 32 put me in a wheelchair, and I realized I had to reinvent my newfound paraplegic self. I did some stand up in college, opened a couple of live music venues in DFW spring of 1993 at 19, and promoted concerts for that early 90s rock movement, Tripping Daisy, Toadies, Dave Mathews, Blues Traveler, 311, etc. Then got into the cars so I could make some real money. I finally twisted the arm enough of Cumulus market manager Lindy Parr in Wichita Falls TX to give me a Saturday morning slot on a small market Texas station to try out this concept I had in mind of an entertainment show with a button inside it where I would bid to buy people's cars live on the air. It worked, and all these years later Cumulus (via Lindy) is our #2 company in syndication behind iHeart.
2. Describe the show for the uninitiated. How is it different from everything else you'll hear on weekend radio? What can listeners expect from the show?
Saturday Morning Live (much like SNL schtick, but Saturday morning). Saturday morning cartoons for adults. 80% entertainment/schtick, 20% cars. The car segments are much like "Pawn Stars," when they put Eric Clapton’s signed guitar on the desk and said it takes 10 thousand, and Rick said great, I’ll give you $500. Same thing when a guy calls in with his Mustang that Carrol Shelby signed, and he tells me 3 times during the call that CARROL SHELBY SIGNED IT, then I have break the news to him that Carrol Shelby would sign anything you put in front of him, like literally anything, and your Mustang is worth 20 grand, not 30. He tells me to go to hell, but comes back two weeks later to sell after he’s shopped around and realizes I was right. Those calls provide a lot of entertainment, and drama because 1) It’s live, 2) It’s real, and 3) It’s a large cash transaction. The callers from Alabama and Oklahoma seem to be the most entertaining, because they’re completely unreasonable. I typically start the call with “Oklahoma hardass on line 6’ and I ask how many miles are on your truck, 180,000 or has it just gotten broken in at 200,000, and do you think your payoff is double what it’s really worth? There's a jet airplane that I bid on air two weeks ago for 300 thousand -- I think we’re making a deal with the guy -- and we’ve also bought numerous 100+ granders on live national air. After 25 years in the biz, I know what cars are worth, and love buying exotic 'Rarris, Lambos, Rolls, Bents, McLarens, Vipers etc. I bought a 1993 Mustang Cobra with 13k miles from the original owner -- an 80 year old woman -- on air, and she said “I like the way you lay it out straight and I listen every Saturday for years.” She said it takes 15 thousand, I said I’m giving you 25 thousand because you have more car than you realize, and she was so happy. We were happy too when it broke a record at Barrett-Jackson in Vegas.
3. Your name's on the show, but you have a few sidekicks/co-hosts/other voices with you. Tell us about them -- what roles do they play on the show, and how do they interact with your role?
Surround yourself with PROS that make you better. JD Ryan -- 40 years on air, big Dallas DJ for decades, but had his best run in the 2000s as Russ Martin’s right hand air man. Stern was the morning show, and Russ/JD were was the only same stick show to consistently beat Stern in a major. Mike Turley was a board op/producer at KTCK (The Ticket) Dallas who got fired for lining up a Rob Zombie interview at the stick that JD was on. JD and Russ were cancelled when Russ got in trouble with the law, so I grabbed JD and Turley 10 years ago. Then there’s Bobbo… Bobbo was a morning man in that same small Texas town where I started; he is a true radio head. He would listen to my afternoon show on 1230AM and leave me voice mails telling me he’d love to fill in if I ever needed a hand. Long story short, that was 12 years ago; he picked up his flag and moved to Dallas, as funny, and ridiculous with his bits/skits/impersonations as ever. Bobbo is one of those genius kinda cats, but is all over the place. Bobbo and I arguing on air is very George Costanza vs Jerry Seinfeld at the coffee shop, and the best content we produce, IMO. My wife says JD and I remind her of Kenny Powers and Stevie from "Eastbound and Down" -- not that JD is weak like Stevie, but I typically deliver with some crafty, but arrogant/delusional comment, and JD quickly comes in with a “he didn’t really mean that, he meant this” clean up counterpunch. I’m the singer, Bobbo is lead guitar, JD lays down the bass line, and Turley on the skins.
4. You're on Sports stations, Rock stations, Alternative stations, Country stations... who's the target listener for what you do? Describe the kind of listener you're attracting and what you do to bring him in.
First and foremost, we want them all; that’s why I look at 12+ ranker #’s when considering affiliates. The “target demo” is men 20 to death. I notice the women P1’s are 40-60 and the men start in age about 15 years ahead of our women listeners. If Korn is on the playlist, it will take longer to build our show versus a solid Classic Rocker. Classic rock audiences have more money, they have better cars, they’re older, and they enjoy our observational humor more so than the guy with piercings and KORN tattooed on back of his neck. (I like Korn, btw, especially their drummer, but no tats to date). Ironically, Country seems to work well. We’re currently interviewing with a big country stick in Atlanta. Lastly, I gauge our ratings not on the 1.5 PPM meters that are available on a Saturday morning, but fan mail/feedback. What I’ve learned is we are basically ratings neutral. We won’t bring your station up in the book, but we won’t bring it down either. However, after a couple of years, the buzz from the show makes it across your market with a very high AQH passionate crowd.
5. How has the pandemic affected your show? Are you producing the show remotely, or in the studio, and is everyone working together or separately?
It was 11 years ago at old CBS, now Entercom, KRLD-FM Dallas, when I quickly realized the engineer at CBS (Jay Marks) could care less about our out of market network connectivity on competing sticks. We built our own studio to manage the then small 3 market network via ISDNs and have network control for the future. This studio helped tremendously during COVID, and truth is, Bobbo/Turley/JD and myself just kept doing the five hour show in person, figuring if we got the 'Rona, we’d all get the 'Rona. We’ve been using Westwood One’s bird since 08, and they do a great job with new affiliate setup.
6. Who have been your influences, inspirations, and/or mentors in the business?
Stern (duh, common answer), because of Howard's ability to talk loose and personal, leaving the listener the feeling that he was a true friend, a touchable/untouchable. Cowherd did the same deep dive on Howard to create his own style, but Colin’s one two punch, ADD cadence to his storytelling has a steady, rhythmic tempo that I picked up back when he was new on ESPN. Then, of course, there’s the one and only El Rushbo… his ability to go solo for hours on end is a craft that DJs will never feel the pressure of. I still shake my head at how Rush does what he does.
7. Of what are you most proud?
The comeback. I was on my ass, broke, crippled, divorced, mom died, wife left, dog died, bankrupt, stuff that good country songs were written about before tractor rap came into vogue. Today, we’re nationally syndicated on some of America’s top rock sticks. Also my car company, GMTV (GivemetheVIN.com) is now America’s largest wholesale vehicle distributor for past two years. 2020 revenues for GMTV should hit the half billion mark, and I used radio to make it happen.
8. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What's the goal for you and the show?
True coast-to-coast every-market blanket national syndication within the next 4 years. I’ve had good interviews with folks like Joe Walsh, Simon Cowell, Rob Halford, Chevy Chase, etc. I am a good interviewer, but to raise the bar on the show, we need to get back to booking big names like before. Howard has ruined his show with long form interviews -- for FM, I believe in 2 minute clips throughout our 5 hours show, and point them to the podcast for the long form. My business goal for GMTV is to buy/sell 100 thousand cars in a year; we're currently pacing 28,000 for 2020, and basically need to grow 4x to hit it.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _______,
...Starbucks, Skoal, sleep and my family. Wife and the 4 kiddos make the grind worth it for me.
10. What's the most important lesson you've learned in your career so far?
Stay paranoid, because someone is out there trying to knock you off. Give up when you’re beat, but do not give up if you are not. Whatever the things are that inspire you to dig deep and press, keep them close by in order to keep your pilot light lit, and stay on track. Silly things for me that trigger memories that motivate me be it music from an era that reminds me of why I do this, or some old car, or just being around things that get me jazzed up. I’ve been working for a big picture since I opened that first bar in college at 19. When you have success, it’s easy to say this is great, we made it…that’s no good, keep your head down working to finish the job, you can high five yourself when it’s time to retire.
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