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10 Questions with ... Christopher Rude
February 26, 2008
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NAME:Christopher RudeTITLE:Host, "The Rude Awakening"STATION:WCNN 680 The FanMARKET:AtlantaCOMPANY:Dickey BroadcastingBORN:Oceanside, NYRAISED:California and all over the South
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
I've done morning shows on rock stations for most of my career, from Rock 105 in Jacksonville to WKLS/96 Rock in Atlanta. When Clear Channel started killing off all the great rock radio stations across the country, I was fortunate enough to get a call from John Dickey (Cumulus) and David Dickey (Dickey Broadcasting) who wanted to know if I'd ever thought about sports talk.
1. What made you decide to go into radio?
Loneliness? When I was 5 years old, my mom & dad divorced and we moved from New York to California. I went to Vine Street Elementary School in Hollywood. I used to sell lemonade in front of Desilu Studios. When I was 10, my mom remarried. My new stepfather was a design engineer (Sprint & Spartan ICBMs, C5A, Viking spacecraft, etc); that meant lots of traveling and always being "the new kid in school." My best friend became my record collection and my sense of humor (which was heavily influenced by a British mom who loved to laugh!!) Radio was the perfect opportunity to combine the two things I loved most, music & making people laugh.
2. About what are you most passionate?
My kids (Lennon, Max, Zoe & Austin), music, playing guitar, Daisy Duke shorts, mini skirts, Frank Zappa, and the Beatles.
3. After years of being a music radio personality, you made the switch to sports talk. How did that transition come about and, besides talking more and talking about sports, what other things, if any, have you found different about doing your show for the fan as opposed to when you were at 96 Rock?
As I mentioned above, I didn't like the direction the industry was taking. A lot of very talented people and a lot of very good radio stations were being destroyed. When you rip the heart (the talent) out of a radio station, what do you have left? A juke-box. Rock radio had reached its lowest ebb; time for a change. Admittedly, I was nervous about the transition from shock jock to jock sniffer, but John & David Dickey convinced me I could be successful in this format and as it turned out, they were right.
4. Atlanta is often perceived by those outside the market as not caring a lot about sports other than college football, an impression that probably arises from the empty seats at Braves and Hawks games. What kind of sports town, in reality, is Atlanta? What gets your phones going the most?
Atlanta is a huge sports town! We get the bad rap because we're not a sports town like Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. College football is king. You wanna light up the phones? Knock the Bulldawgs!
5. What's the most outrageous moment in your radio career, the one you look back upon and think "I can't believe I got away with that"?
When we turned the control room at 96 Rock into a make-shift mobile army surgical hospital and gave away free scrotum piercings. Actually, I didn't get away with it. Every other radio station in town taped the bit and sent it to every advertising agency in the country. I was amazed at the number of guys who showed up to get it done!
6. You've been on the air in Atlanta for a long time now, so... What's the most important thing you've learned about radio, and life, from your career so far?
How to be a survivor.
7. Who are your heroes?
My mom. My sister. My family. I don't really have heroes.
I greatly appreciated the work of the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and James Bond.
8. What do you do for fun?
I had a band called "Pale White Sausage" for years. We were kind of a cross between Pink Floyd & Weather Report. We were a cover band, but we did covers of songs nobody had ever heard. As a single dad (with custody) doing the band thing is impossible. So, I like to cook & eat, watch movies, listen to music. I really dug loading up my Zune with all of my favorite music. I got through most of the CDs. Now, i have to tackle the 5000 albums...
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ____________.
...a nap (anybody who does mornings can relate!!!).
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
Best advice? Be who you are, don't try to copy anybody else. There's only one Howard Stern.
Worst advice? Wow, that's a tough one, there's been so much... "You're not hurt by what you don't play." This came from a PD who is no longer in the business. You are hurt by what you don't play, especially if it's a song that's burning up the request lines and your listeners have to go across the street to hear it! C'mon, dude, trust your instincts. By the time the research comes back it'll be a recurrent.
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