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10 Questions with ... Larry Flick
October 30, 2007
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NAME:Larry FlickTITLE:Host, "OutQ In The Morning With Larry Flick" (M-F, 7-11am EST); Host, "Feel The Spin" (Sat, Sun, 12noon-4pm EST)STATION:OutQ, the LGBT channel of Sirius Satellite RadioMARKET:NationalCOMPANY: Sirius Satellite RadioBORN:Bronx, New YorkRAISED:Bronx, New York
BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
This is my current bio: The 2004 Outstanding Support Outmusic Award - honoring special achievements in LGBT music - recognized the role of LARRY FLICK who has been one of the most influential voices in popular music for the past 20 years - and yet he has never sung or played a note! Rather, he has served as a journalist, a critic, and an activist for music and musicians - particularly for the queer community. He is currently the host of OutQ In The Morning with Larry Flick, a daily talk-show on Siriius OutQ, the gay talk/entertainment channel of Sirius Satellite Radio.
Prior to taking his opinions to the airwaves, Flick enjoyed a 14-year tenure as a senior editor/writer for Billboard Magazine, the internationally renowned music business trade publication. During his time there, he scored world exclusives and scoops with such superstars as Madonna, U2's Bono, Alanis Morissette, Britney Spears, David Bowie, Cher, and Metallica, among numerous others. As a result, Flick has become a frequent television commentator on the industry and its artists, offering insights on programs that include the nationally syndicated Access Hollywood, VH1's Behind The Music, and A&E's Biography. He's also been regularly quoted in such publications as People, Time, the L.A. Times, and Entertainment Weekly. Additionally, Flick has developed a strong reputation as a music journalist, often contributing to the Advocate, Vibe, and TV Guide.
Flick started his career during the early '80s, when he toured as a publicist and travel-assistant to Kiss, the Power Station, and Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon. He also served as a creative consultant to Prince and the now-defunct Paisley Park Records.
1. You were a well-known music journalist and radio guest before becoming a full-fledged radio host -- how did the move to radio hosting come about? Who made the call to make you a host, and why?
Like most of the cooler things I've done in my life, working in radio happened by accident. It was June 2003, about a month after I was laid off from Billboard after 14 years. It was also just a few weeks after my 40th birthday. I had a nice, fat severance check in the bank and a plan to spend the summer tanning myself on the nearest beach. I had no intention of even thinking about work until the fall. Then I got a call from a friend of mine at Sirius. He told me that the morning guy on OutQ (the LGBT channel) was leaving, and he asked if I'd be willing to do some fill-in work and maybe audition for the job. My first thought was "no way!" I'd just been freed from the grueling weekly deadline of magazine life. Getting up at 3am to do a radio show seemed like the proverbial act of leaping from the frying pan into the fire. But I did it anyway. I wanted to eventually try out for a weekend show on that channel, and this seemed like a good way to get some on-air experience. I went in with no expectations. In fact, I was told by that friend that the job was probably going to go to someone else. I had nothing to lose. So, I went in, treated it as a lark, and had a good time. I've been there ever since.
2. About what are you most passionate these days?
So, so many things. I'm passionate about gaining equal rights in this country. It confounds and hurts me that so many people are willing to live in a state of unbalance and unfairness, simply because they are afraid of what they don't understand. I will not rest until I am able to marry and protect the man I love in this country the same way that my straight counterparts can with their loved ones.
I am passionate about my work. I have become obsessed with the power of radio. I have always had a little love affair with this form of communication. As a reclusively shy lad, I listened to the jocks on WABC-AM in New York, and later as a teenager and young adult to the rock DJs on WNEW and WLIR, not to mention an army of talk hosts. These folks kept me company when I was lonely. They fueled countless hours of thought. They fostered the part of me who is eternally questioning people and the world. Now I get to be part of that. I am constantly thinking of how to do as well as the people I admire... and maybe even a little better.
3. You're on the same service as Howard Stern and others with audiences that may not be all that accepting of a GLBT talk show, or at least may see the show as a prime prank call target. Do you get a lot of that kind of reaction? What kind of reaction DO you get from straight listeners?
From my experience, OutQ has always been embraced by straight folks. They come to us for a variety of reasons. They might have gay siblings or kids. Or they've heard that one of the hosts is particularly funny or provocative, and they're intrigued Or they're just curious about what they don't know. On any given more, depending on the topic on the table, my phones can go from a soccer mom to a gay trucker to a straight white-collar executive to a bisexual school teacher all in one sweep. It's amazing. We do a lot of queer-intensive topics on my show, but we also do a lot of mainstream stuff. After all, gay folks are just as worried about the economy, for example, as anyone else.
As for prank calls: We don't get a lot of prank calls, but I actually enjoy them. There are few things as fun for me as putting someone on the air who thinks that he's going to shock me. Nothing shocks me. Ever. And I delight in seeing how far I can take a joker before he hangs up in shock. I love pranking pranksters!
4. How do you take advantage of the freedom of satellite -- are there things you talk about that you'd never get away with on terrestrial radio?
Language is perhaps the greatest freedom of satellite radio. I don't exploit to excess. But there is wonderful liberation in speaking without censorship when the heat and passion of a topic takes over. I also love the freedom to explore and take risks in content. I can entertain guests who might not make the grade in terrestrial radio. I can participate in breaking new music, movies, and books. I can sincerely be as adventurous as I wish to be. The only limitations of my show exist in my head.
5. What haven't you done yet that you'd like to do someday?
So many things... I fantasize about writing books and movies. I'm starting to explore the option of teaching. But more than anything, I love telling stories. Mine and other people's. That sounds hokey, but it's true. I think it comes from the fact that I spent so much of my youth too afraid to talk to people. I was brutally, horribly shy... to the point where some of my school teachers thought I was on the verge of severe psychological issues. Everything and anything frightened me. Now that I've learned how to deal with my fears, I want to talk with every single person I can find. I still get shy and reclusive. But I know how to break out of it now. I have so much in my mind that I often stutter and stammer trying to get it all out.
6. What music excites you these days? What new music are you into?
After years of chasing teen idols and disco dolls, I have developed a deep affinity for country music. About three years ago, I was burnt out on the hits of the day, and I was searching for music that was simple and pure and direct. A friend handed me a copy of "Live Like You Were Dying" by Tim McGraw, and I was hooked. I still chase teen idols and disco dolls, but I spend more time listening to songs like "I'm With The Band" by Little Big Town and bands like Sugarland than anything else. There are no tricks, no smoke-and-mirror. Just well-crafted songs performed well. Who can argue with that? At the end of the day, that'll always trump the latest trend.
7. Of what are you most proud?
I feel proud of the fact that I somehow woke up and realized that I didn't enjoy and make the most of my time at Billboard. I was miserable most of the time, worrying about getting the next big scoop and hitting the next deadline. This time around, I'm unbelievably aware of everything, and I am savoring and delighting in every moment of this new phase of my life.
I also feel an enormous sense of pride each and every time I get a letter or a call from a listener whose day is better because they've listened to the show. Again, that sounds a bit trite and hokey, but it's true.
I get my share of hate mail. Those letters never surprise me. Venting displeasure is easy. It comes naturally to everyone, including me. I strongly believe that a lot of people strive to make others feel as unhappy as they do because they don't want to feel like they're suffering alone. It's far less common for people to speak on what they're feeling when they're happy. It's because we're afraid that if we say "yay!" to too many people, someone will rip it away us. Also, we also think that speaking on positive things takes away our freedom to complain later. To that end, the times when people reach out to share good thoughts and say that they've been positively affected in some fashion by my work knock me against the wall. I have a file folder of every kind note that's ever been sent to me. A few times a year, I open it and read the letters. I smile. And I feel proud.
8. Talk radio is a largely conservative field, and, obviously, there's a resistance among some of the folks in the business to gay issues and, particularly, gay marriage or civil union. As someone who was one of the first to get a civil union under New Jersey's law, what would you say, in brief, to those people to explain why they should be more open to the idea?
It's really simple. Imagine if someone looked you in the eye and said "you are less worthy of basic human rights than I am because of..." and then fill in the thing that makes you distinctive. It can be because you're Irish or fat or short or blue-eyed... or gay. I shouldn't have to beg or fight for privilege to do what others take for granted and do frivolously.
9. Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without ___________.
...coffee. I've tried. And I'm a beast without it. Keep it strong and black, please!
10. What's the best advice you've ever gotten? The worst?
During the early period of my time doing radio, I was having an identity crisis. I loved radio, but I didn't know how or if I could ever really fit into the landscape. I sat down with my program director, Dave Gorab, and he asked me a simple question: What would happen if you went on the air and just talked about what and how you're feeling? It was like a cage had been unlocked and I was free to soar. To this day, I think about that conversation Dave and I had. And I follow his advice. I speak from the heart at all times, whether it's about an important issue or the latest Hollywood trainwreck.
The worst? Hmmm... "Be more gay." That's what I was told by a now-former colleague. He refused to elaborate. "Figure it out," he said. I decided to ignore that. Besides, if I was any more gay, I'd probably be a woman!
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