10 Questions with ... Ryan Castle

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• 1994-1996 KATS/Yakima, WA - Fill-in
• 1996-1999 KAZR/Des Moines -PM Drive and Production Director
• 1999-2001 KXXR/Minneapolis - APD/Creative Director
• 2001 WRLR/Birmingham - PD
• 2001-2002 WLZR/Saga - PM Drive on WLZR and Active Rock Imaging Specialist for Saga
• 2002-2003 WZTA/Miami - APD/PM Drive/Creative Director
• 2003-Present KISW/Seattle - OM/Middays

1) What was your first job in radio and some of your early influences and mentors?

I worked for 3 stations in Yakima Washington. Rock KATS, Country KXXS and N/T KIT. I was the do everything kid. Over the course of a day I might work at all three stations. A classic country show in the morning, 6 hours on the rock station in the afternoon followed by running a Mariners or (RIP) Sonics game in the evening. Sometimes I would sleep in the conference room between shifts. Pretty glamorous stuff.

Early on I give Troy Hanson a ton of credit. He gave me that job at KAZR and introduced me to Wade Linder and Dave Hamilton when they were looking for a guy in Minneapolis. He and the folks at Saga at the time, Keith Hastings and Steve Goldstein, really taught me a lot and gave me every opportunity to grow and succeed.

2) What are some of your best early radio highlights/stories before you joined KISW?

I was young when I started. Really young. Imagine being 18 and standing on stage at a Metallica or Motley Crue concert. The great thing about that time is everything I had the opportunity to do was the greatest thing I'd ever had the opportunity to do. That wide-eyed, hyper enthusiastic kid still reminds me every day today how lucky I am to do what I do for a living.

3) Now let's talk about KISW. Besides being the APD/MD, (OM now) you've been doing middays for years now. What makes this station so unique?

At its core KISW is a Rock station. The music and lifestyle is what ties everything together, but it's so much more than just a radio station that plays rock music. This brand is about BIG personalities, BIG shows and BIG ideas.

For example: As I'm sitting here, a team of over 100 people are preparing for our annual Live Day tomorrow. BJ and Migs and The Mens Room do 8 hours of totally live radio in front of an audience. The shows, music, voice over, sound effects -- everything is live without a net. By the time it's done tomorrow at 6pm over 150 people will have been on the stage. It's a massive undertaking from an organizational stand point. The pay-off is a unique, exciting day of incredibly entertaining radio. That's what KISW is about.

KISW Live Day On The Air!

4) On the KISW website it mentioned two features you run in middays: The Morning 12 Pak every weekday at 10am and The Hook Up at noon. What do you do in these features?

The Morning 12 Pak is a carry-over from when Howard Stern was our morning show. After hours of talk it was important to just play music for a while. Same still applies after BJ & Migs.

The Hook Up is our take on the alphabet game or connect the classics. Each song title has to start with the same letter the previous song ended with. Sometimes I let it get a little weird and play something completely out of left field. Walk that line between Oh Wow! And Oh Shit...

5) How is it working between two very high profile drive time shows like BJ & Migs in the morning and The Men's Room in afternoons?

BJ, Steve, their crew and the Men's Room guys are hands down the best in the business at what they do. I'm lucky to work with such brilliant entertainers. What they bring to the table every day raises the bar for everyone on the entire radio station. Just being a "proficient DJ" that "executes the format" doesn't cut it here. Dave has really fostered a culture of creativity here. Let's forget the rules of what people on the radio are supposed to do. What do you got? Let's do something different. Let's be entertainers. With that, I get to come to work every day, hang out with my friends and we make each other laugh.

6) Now let's put on your APD hat. Give us your take on the health of KISW right now. What are its strengths and challenges from where you're sitting?

We're in a great place. KISW has been a top tier adult radio station in Seattle for decades. #1 consistently in all male demos. Our strength is our people, period. From BJ & Migs to The Mens Room to Taryn Daly at night and everyone behind the scenes. This team has been together a very long time now. Everyone knows their roll and they execute. It doesn't hurt that we genuinely like one another and enjoy doing it. The challenge here every day is "what can we do better" and where do we see opportunities for growth.

7) Seattle certainly has a great reputation as an influential city in terms of ground breaking Rock bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden to name a few. How much influence does this music have on how you guys program the station?

KISW has a long, rich history with Seattle music that goes back to the early '70s. According to Jimi's sister Janie, KISW was the only station allowed on in the Hendrix house because we played Jimi's music. We're fortunate to have so many great bands here and to have those relationships with them. It's not unusual to have Mike McCready come by to talk about a charity event in town. He's played benefits for us before too. So have Queensryche and Duff McKagan. Duff, Sean Kinney and I did a radio show a few years ago just for fun. As far as programming goes I suppose we probably get away with going a little deeper on those band's catalogs than most. No shocker, we play A LOT of Nirvana. Next big thing from Seattle: Ayron Jones. Watch out!

8) Now let's talk about the Active Rock format as a whole. What's your take on current Active Rock music and the Rock format overall?

We've seen some of the most promising new bands in a decade over the last few years. Bands like Greta Van Fleet are turning on an entire new generation to the power of rock music. This is a strong, successful, viable, important format. It will be for a very long time. I'm excited to see what the future holds.

The challenge going forward for the format and industry as a whole is growing new talent. Is your radio station the incubator for the next radio superstar? It should be. Your future depends on it.

9) Give me three of your favorite new Rock bands/ and or songs of 2019?

How about 5? Greta Van Fleet, Rival Sons, The Glorious Sons, Ghost, Bones UK.

10) Finally, What do you like to do for fun when you're not in "radio" mode?

I enjoy hiking. I'm also an avid runner - although I wouldn't say I enjoy it. It does however negate the adverse effects of my other hobbies: Food, whiskey and beer. :)