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10 Questions with ... Mark Christopher
March 10, 2009
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NAME:Mark ChristopherTITLE:Afternoon HostSTATION:KNWZ-KNWQ (K-News)MARKET:Palm SpringsCOMPANY:Morris CommunicationsRAISED:Hemet, CABRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Musician, host at WWTN (Super Talk 99.7 WTN) and WLAC/Nashville, KTRS/St. Louis, K-News/Palm Springs
1. How did you get into radio? Why radio? How did your musical background prepare you for talk radio, if it did at all?
I discovered talk radio when I was a young musician driving home late at night after gigs in Los Angeles. I found that after 3 hours of playing loud music, the last thing I wanted to hear driving home was more music.After forgetting all about AM radio years prior, I thought I'd see what was going on over there. First I discovered KFWB -- "give is 20 minutes and we'll give you the world" -- news radio. I loved the chatter, but hated hearing the same thing every 20 minutes. In scrolling though the AM dial, I discovered KFI. It was all over after that. I was hooked.
I spent years touring with various music artists around the country and the world, and no matter where I was, I found the nearest talk station to listen to. I'm a very passionate and opinionated person, and it wasn't long before I started calling radio shows when I had a thought. One day, while living in Nashville, I called into Darrell Ankarlo's radio show. After the show, we spoke, and he suggested that I would make a good talk show host. Long story short, I wound up on the air doing weekends at WWTN. Within a year, I was doing weeknights at WLAC and I've been doing it full-time ever since.
My music career prepared me for this phase of my life in a number of ways. First, I've been to 39 countries over the last 25 years. I've seen the wealthiest and the poorest of the world's population. I've seen things and learned things in the real world that you simply cannot learn at Harvard or Yale (no disrespect to any of you Ivy Leaguers). The other thing is more basic to the art of performance. Working in recording studios and having to perform for 30-plus thousand people on a regular basis made it quite easy to sit in front of a microphone and entertain people on the other end of the radio.
2. About what are you most passionate these days?
Money, taxes, government spending on all levels, federal, state and local; obviously the federal stimulus bill, the mortgage bailout and TARP 1 & 2 as well as the California state budget mess. The common theme for me is government malfeasance that ultimately leaves taxpayers holding the bag. What bugs me most is that some media personalities are so focused on Republicans vs. Democrats that they cloud the fact that both parties are equally to blame for this entire mess.
3. Since arriving in Palm Springs, what have you found are the differences in doing talk radio there as opposed to places like Nashville and St. Louis? What are the particular features and challenges about doing talk in a place like Palm Springs -- the demographics, the attitude, the lifestyle? Did growing up on the other side of the mountains in Hemet help you adjust to the new market?
The main difference between the three markets you mentioned is that Democrats in California are far more liberal than those in the South or the Midwest while Republicans in the South tend to be far more conservative than Republicans on the West Coast. As far as growing up in Hemet, the only thing it prepared me for is the brutally hot summers in the Desert. But it's OK... it's a dry heat.
4.What sets you apart from other political talkers?
I guess what sets me apart from other "political" talkers is the fact that I'm not all about politics. Back in the day when I was a listener, I got sick of listening to the same political song and dance every single day. I mean, how many days in a row can you talk about abortion, taxes and immigration? The listener in me says "I GET IT ALREADY!" There is more to my life than politics, and I figured that I couldn't be the only one who felt that way, so my show is about what my friends and I would talk about over a beer, or what the family would discuss after dinner. Politics will certainly be a part of it, but there's way more to life than just that.
5.How do you see the Obama administration affecting talk radio in terms of material -- good, bad, indifferent? Is it easier for a conservative or libertarian host to come up with material with a Democratic/liberal administration, or does it not matter?
I can't speak for anyone else but for me it doesn't really matter. I can find plenty of things for which I disagree with President Obama. On the other hand, I also found many things for which I disagreed with former President Bush. I'm suspicious of all politicians.
6.Who was the best interview subject you've had on your show? The worst? The one you want the most who hasn't been on yet?
I suppose I should mention some political figure like Colin Powell, or Condi Rice, or Harold Ford Jr., all of whom were great guests, but my favorite was a man named Larry Kane. He was a DJ at WIL radio in St Louis in 1964 and was able to accompany the Beatles on the entirety of their first tour of the U.S. which included the Ed Sullivan Show appearances. He not only had the classic radio voice over the ISDN but was a wealth of historical knowledge and allowed me and my listeners to be a fly on the wall for one of the most historical musical experiences in American history. For me it had everything: first, hearing about one of my favorite musical acts of all time. Second, being a touring musician myself, hearing what touring was like back in those days and third, hearing from a guy who worked in radio when radio was king of the music industry. I can't imagine doing an interview that would be more personally satisfying on so many levels and based on the overwhelming response the listeners liked it too!The worst without question was Leon Redbone. It started out with short questions and one word answers and ended minutes later with long questions and one word answers. What a waste of time. "Why did you even call me, man?"
As for who I want most in the future? No one in particular but then my show is not guest driven and I'm pretty unimpressed by status or celebrity.
7.Who are your mentors, inspirations, and/or influences?
I'm inspired not by the political views of a host but whether or not I would listen to them regardless. Living in Los Angeles I heard Rush Limbaugh and locally just loved Tom Leykis, Joe Crummey, and Michael Jackson but the one guy who I would always try to catch was Marc Germain (Mr. KFI/Mr. KABC). I also enjoyed Larry King late night (my favorite was when he would do the "why you up" show).When touring around the country I discovered Mike McConnell and Bill Cunningham in Cincinnati, Spike O'Dell in Chicago, Bob Grant in New York and Neal Boortz in Atlanta, among others.
What I learned from all of them is the mechanics of a good radio show regardless of topic or politics. I work every single day to perfect that part of the job.
8.Of what are you most proud?
Whether it's music or radio, I've been able to make a living doing what I love since I was 19 years old.
9.Fill in the blank: I can't make it through the day without _____________..
Family, friends and a few cups of coffee. If you're talking specifically about my work day I'll say All Access. Sounds like I'm pandering, but it's true.
10. What's the best advice you've ever received? The worst?
I don't know if you would call this advice, but as a teenager I was fired from some lame club band by some exceptionally lame singer and an old drummer friend of mine told me, "this is not the first time you'll be fired by someone you would never hire." I think this is especially true in the radio business these days.The worst advice I received was from some ex radio personality who told me to find someone I liked and copy what they do. I figured there was a reason there was an "ex" before "radio personality" and didn't take that advice.