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10 Questions with ... Mark Devine & Paul Marshall
July 9, 2019
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. We use "Smart Guys ... Acting Stupid." It's intended to make a mockery of pretty much everything. We deliberately and vociferously avoid politics. It's a no-win situation here in Arizona. More often than not, we find ourselves lamenting our own feeble attempts to avoid working. It's a fun show. And I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to do it every day
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Contact E-MAIL:
Mark Davis: mark@kslx.com
Paul Marshall: neanderpaul@kslx.com; paul@neanderpaul.com
1) What was your first job in radio?
Mark: Production assistant ("cart eraser"), WMJQ, Rochester, NY. Now defunct, but not because of my cart erasing abilities, which were enviable.
Paul: Intern/assistant morning show producer/Dub Monkey/ board Op for WZLX/Boston. Followed by my first realization that this is a cut-throat business, when I replaced the guy who hired me on the morning show.
2) What led you to a career in radio and was there a defining moment, which made you realize "this is it?"
Mark: I wanted to stay around music, and radio seemed like a natural fit. I don't know about defining moments, but I think it was a good move to hire an agent early on in my career. I'm pretty good at watching out for my own interests, but how would I know what kind of money to ask for? Hiring an agent to make sure I got paid properly and wasn't at the mercy of management whims helped a lot. These days, Norm Schrutt is my agent.
Paul: I've wanted to do this since I was nine, and heard Dale Dorman on WRKO. I felt like I was on my way when the infinitely talented Michael Coleman came into the dub room, and said, "I need your voice."
3) Before we talk about your morning show, can you give us some of the highlights of your radio career to this point?
Mark: There were a lot of high points with "Tim & Mark," and many more since starting "Mark and NeanderPaul," but at heart, I'm pretty simple. Being able to stay in one market for 30 years, raise kids and stay together with my wife is the highlight for me ... not that meeting Eddie Money wasn't great, it was. :-)
Paul: I've collected some legendary call letters on my resume. It's been an amazing run. Each place has its moments. Programming KDKB. Working at WBCN and WAAF -- two of the stations I grew up listening to. Being part of legendary Active Rockers KRXQ and KQRC. There's a lot more to tell. No time.
4) You guys have been rocking in Phoenix for many years but with different positions at different stations. What was the origin of the Mark and NeanderPaul show?
Mark: I left radio after 16 years of "Tim & Mark" and did real estate. That's a good way to make a living, but not as much fun. I started doing some part-time stuff in town and got a call from KSLX, met Paul, and a few weeks later, we were on.
Paul: I had been rehired by Hubbard after the demise of KDKB. The company had been amazing to me, but my long-term future wasn't into what I was doing. I had been offered a couple of things outside the market, and was told to "hang in ... we have an idea." A couple of conversations later, I was having coffee with Mark. We knew *of* each other, but we didn't know each other. A blunt conversation took place. Neither of us wanted to waste the other's time. We're getting close to doing that for over four years now.
5) Now let's talk about the show overall. If you were to describe the show to someone who's never listened ... what would you say?
Mark: Our tag line is "Smart guys acting stupid." That sums it up pretty well. Jokes, ball-busting, being okay with being the butt of the joke, lots of stories, lots of listener stories, and lots of musical knowledge that neither one of us has to fake.
Paul: We use "Smart Guys ... Acting Stupid." It's intended to make a mockery of pretty much everything. We deliberately and vociferously avoid politics. It's a no-win situation here in Arizona. More often than not, we find ourselves lamenting our own feeble attempts to avoid working. It's a fun show. And I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to do it every day.
6) Is there anyone else on the show with you guys and if so, what are their roles?
Mark: It was just us two for almost three years, so the chemistry is very tight and tough to break into. We now have a producer, who's mostly off-mic, but occasionally pops in and has a fun presence on the air.
Paul: We have a Producer/Phone Screener named "Guido." He's a young, creative kid. We do a *lot* of hoarding of responsibilities. Both Mark and I are fairly controlling, and tend to be self-contained. So, we're bringing him along, and teaching him (what we hope are) skills that will allow him to be fully capable of crushing it in his next position. He contributes mostly to off-air projects like our daily promo, but has been pleasantly surprising when called to perform on the show. He's not a third voice, but can be a good bit player right now. He's very talented, and hope he's feeling fulfilled professionally. We also have someone who handles our social media, and she maintains our Facebook page 24-7 and when we're not on the air, and edits content for our Instagram. She's our online eyes.
7) Describe a typical morning show for you guys. a) What is the process? b) How much show prep do you do and what are some of the key benchmarks of your show?
Mark: It's kind of a two-part day. When the show is over and we're gone fairly quickly. I sleep for maybe 75 minutes, get up, look at stories/news for an hour, write a bit, call Paul, we talk, hash things out, plug things in. There's a lot of prep that goes into it.
Paul: You've heard this before: Everything is prep. Every moment of every day. We do a daily call every afternoon the day before. We'll go over and filter topics. Mark is more linear than I. So, it makes sense that he drive the process each day. He lays it all out, and slots the content. I'm given the basic idea, and we will blueprint a plan. As I'm usually the one to be interruptive, we've played to that facet. We've developed a trust. Mark will feed me the idea. I'll find a joke, or angle, and toss it back to him. It's almost a game. I figure if I can make him laugh, then there's a fairly good chance it was funny. We're both a tough laugh to get. I handle the execution. I run the board, time the sound and editing. Mark likes to handle callers. I like to find angles and ancillary support audio. We have what I believe is a great balance, and are maximizing each of our strengths. Benchmarks include: "The 30-Second Song Challenge," "Dumbass o' The Day," and a revolving assortment of things only we do.
8) Tell us some of the best and most memorable moments to date on the Mark and NeanderPaul Show?
Mark: One that comes to mind was working for months behind the scenes to put a tribute statue to Glenn Frey in Winslow, AZ. It's right next to the Jackson Browne statue. We got the money for it and we made it happen with the folks in Winslow. Having a crowd around and having people going nuts after the statue went in was pretty moving. The AP picked this story up and it went all over; Bob Seger even tweeted about how cool it was.
Paul: For me, there are three: 1. Due to the generosity of our listeners (and clients as well), we've raised over $100,000 in the past two years to acquire service animals for local combat vets via "Mark & Neanderpaul's 4 Pets For Vets." 2. Thanks to our listeners, we've sent somewhere around 75,000 holiday cards to those serving abroad via "Mark & Neanderpaul's 10,000 For The Troops." 3. We installed a tribute statue to Glenn Frey in Winslow, AZ. It's an act that garnered worldwide recognition, and will live on long after this show is a memory.
9) Who is funniest person on the show and why?
Mark: Paul's a faster funny than I am, although I think most people would say we're both pretty quick. The short answer is it's two funny guys. I write a lot of goof songs that we use on the show and I shoot for doing "evergreen" songs that we can use over and over.
Paul: Mark is an assassin. When you're not looking, he's got you. It's always fun for me.
10) Finally, What do you like to do for fun and excitement when you're not in radio mode?
Mark: Simple stuff ... I've been in Phoenix for over 30 years, so my wife and I have lots of friends we hang out with. We travel, see family, go the movies, etc. I'm a guitar player and martial artist so there's no shortage of stuff to do.
Paul: I am the epitome of boring. I stay home with my two rescue dogs (Ace & Lemmy), and watch Looney Tunes. Play guitar. Hang in the pool. On the occasion that I head out, it's usually on my Harley to destinations unknown.
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