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10 Questions with ... Pierre Robert
December 13, 2016
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1. What led you to a career in radio? Was there a defining moment?
I was always going to rock shows in the San Francisco Bay area where I grew up. Whatever was happening I would go to small and large concerts because I always wanted to see the music performed live. And I also bought every record from every band that I like growing up and would always listen to it around the house or in my car. Hello, I drove a 1970 Volkswagen van named Minerva. The vehicle would barely go up to hills of San Francisco in second gear but it had an AMAZING sound system that was always at a high volume. My older brother, seeing that I wasn't exactly making a lot of progress in my life, suggested I become a DJ because I liked music so much. He meant in a club but it occurred to me that I could take that one step further and do it on the radio. So I went to school for it and that was my turning point
2. Can you give us a brief history of your radio career before WMMR?
Well I've only worked at two stations! That's kind of unusual in the DJ world. As I said before, I went to school for broadcasting and got an internship at KSAN/San Francisco. It was a highly acclaimed and legendary free-form rock 'n' roll station known all around the country. I started as an intern but worked really hard and eventually was hired as a gopher. I did everything from file records to get coffee for the DJs. Then one night somebody didn't show up on the overnight program. I called in and the DJ who was on, he asked, "What are you doing?" I said "Nothing." He said, "Get over here now, you're going on the air!" That was my first shift. That led to a regular weekend shift. Eventually the station turned Country and Western ... and destiny led me to Philly. I started working at Essene health food store on South Street but was able to get into MMR after a while in the music department. After a time I got hired for the full-time overnight position and then a few years later, the midday slot for many years. I did three years hosting the morning show then came back to middays where I currently reside from 10a-3p.
3. Congratulations on your 35th year on WMMR, one of the iconic Rock stations in America. How does it feel?
It feels great! But you have to understand that I live very much in present time. By that I mean I've had a lot of incredible moments over those years and so has the radio station (now 48 years old), but both the station and myself are excited about what we're doing right now. MMR plays a variety of newer and older music and is always out in the community so there's always something happening right now that we're excited about.
4. How different is the radio station musically from when you first started back in 1981?
The basic overall guiding principle is the same. MMR plays newer and older bands side-by-side, which is how it should be. You're always fine-tuning the sound so it's never exactly the same, nor are the bands necessarily the same but I introduce young bands like The Struts or bands that have been around for a while like Pearl Jam today exactly the same way I would introduce the Grateful Dead. It's all music but it's meant to be together like a big stew and that's what we try to do.
5. Are you doing any special features or benchmark music programming for the workforce checking out WMMR during the day?
The thing about having been around as long as I have is while staying in current times I can easily pull things from my archives that might apply to an anniversary or special occasion. As I write this, Bon Jovi tickets are going on sale this weekend. On Friday I'll play a workforce block of Bon Jovi and remind folks about the on sale for the tickets. Then I'll play some music from when the entire band was sitting in and playing acoustic with an audience in my studio.
6. How would you describe WMMR's Rock position in the market?
The slogan we use is "everything that rocks." To me it's all rock 'n' roll but on MMR you'll hear everything from Green Day to Jimi Hendrix. It's a balance of old and new that makes it so dynamic to me. And there are no other stations around in this city and not many in the country that do that. It's all become specialized. It's Classic Rock or Alternative Rock or Hard Rock. To me that's nonsense. To me it's ALL not only rock, but rock 'n' roll!
7. Most radio stations with the heritage of WMMR play a limited amount of new music, but WMMR still plays current rock. How important is playing new rock to you personally?
It's vital! There are so many young bands on the rise and it's really fun to discover something that you really like and start playing it. Young bands like The Record Company, Kaleo, and a very cool and quite fun young band from England called The Struts are just amazing! Giving bands like this a shot and turning our audience onto them while not forgetting the older material is what makes it so cool.
8. Give us some of the bands you feel you've personally helped break on WMMR.
I don't know that I've really personally broken a band per se, but if I like a group I certainly add my voice and support of them. On a local level, that would include bands like Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, the Hooters and Beru Review. MMR got behind these bands and started playing them side-by-side with national artists back in the '80s.
9. What were some of the most memorable interviews or moments during your historic run on WMMR?
I shall never forget Mick Jagger walking in to the interview room shaking hands and sitting down and being a couple of feet away from me across the table. Then Keith Richards and knowing that it's going to be broadcast not only on MMR but to over 100 stations around the country. I was just trying to freeze the moment because I've been in stadiums seeing these guys and now they're sitting across the table from me! Then more recently talking with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam along with Matt Cord and Nick McIlwain was stellar! We had been working on getting the interview for almost 10 years!
10. Finally, Is there someone you never had a chance to interview, but wish you did?
There are still a few on my list. While I have spoken with Bono, it's only been in short segments so I would like a longer form interview with him. But the ones that have gotten away totally so far include Elton John, Rod Stewart, Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day, and Bruce Springsteen. They are still on my radar screen and I'm not letting them go!
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