-
10 Questions with ... John Larson
October 27, 2020
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I love music and listening to the radio. I figured out the Power rotations on WLS-AM/Chicago when I was 12 and used to amaze my friends when I would tell them what would be played next, and very often it was!
-
1. Let’s start with the first question…what made you decide to get into radio?
I love music and listening to the radio. I figured out the Power rotations on WLS-AM/Chicago when I was 12 and used to amaze my friends when I would tell them what would be played next, and it was. I listened to Larry LuJack on the bus to school and John “Records” Landecker at night driving around in my hometown Pecatonica Illinois.
2. What was your first radio job and how did you get it?
WFRL Freeport Illinois. I worked a summer picking corn for Green Giant and the guys would talk at lunch. I mentioned how much I like music and listening to the radio in general conversation one day, no big deal. One of the guys remembered that conversation and a couple months later mentioned he had a friend in radio who was quitting his job and he thought I should apply for it. I said they would never hire me, I have no experience, he said worst that could happen is they could say no, but they didn’t. I was hired the day I applied.
3. Can you give us a quick look at your career highlights with stations and positions up to now?
I learned a lot from Carl Hamilton and Jim Wood at WROK Rockford and WGBF Evansville both Top 40’s. My first programming job was WZOK Rockford, my second was to launch WLLZ Detroit’s Wheels in Detroit with Gary Stevens and Bob Hattrick. Bob was a great mentor and I learned a ton working for Doubleday at WAVA Washington DC, and WMET Chicago. After Doubleday sold the stations Pete Coughlin brought me to WCMF Rochester. Together we made the decision to hire the weekend guy Brother Wease to do mornings. That was a lot of fun, Dave Kane was MD and he still is, great guy! After that I went to KDKB in Phoenix to work with Tommy Vascoccu. Tommy was very smart and went on to own stations in Midland-Odessa. A lot changed in radio at that point, as Bob Hattrick died and Fred Jacobs created this format called “Classic Rock”. WIMZ Knoxville was my next stop for Kerry Lambert for three years then Merrell Hansen Hired me at KSD in St Louis where I got to work with a friend of mine JC Corcoran. We had a great time and some big wins. Tom Glade the GM at KZPS in Dallas convinced me to move to Texas. I loved that station and got to work with Alex DeMers and Fred Jacobs to further my education in this industry. It took us 5 years but we took out heritage Rock station KTXQ. Great group of people, we even convinced the Mormon Church to buy an Alternative station since they owned KZPS and would soon own KDGE so we were able to target KTXQ on the young and older ends. Bruce Reese the President of Bonneville Broadcasting loved that music and was on board pretty quickly.
I was in Dallas 13 years before joining Bob Neil and Jay O”Connor in Tampa where we launched the first Eagle “Classic Rock” station for COX. I learned what it takes to be totally focused and disciplined in carrying out a plan from Bob Neil! I give Randy Kabrich all the credit for the blueprint of these COX Classic Rock Stations. Randy is a brilliant programmer. They all did very well and I was very lucky to be asked by Bob Neil to be the Classic Rock Format Leader. I learned a lot from the various COX Programmers, another lucky break for me. After some changes Keith Lawless gave me the Dove and Magic to program. Steve Hunter my Format Leader was very helpful on my first AC adventure with Magic a Mainstream AC and the Dove a soft AC. Keith told me to keep the Dove’s number one 12+ number but grow the station 25-54 Persons, the team grew the station from 12th 25-54 Persons to 1st!! We even won Tampa Bay’s first Marconi. I worked with an amazing group of people on Magic, Eagle and Dove! I was there for 15 Years, took some time off during this crazy Covid time and got a call from Adam Star here in Ft Myers asking me if I would consider programming Sunny 1063 and 96 K-Rock so here I am, sorry it’s so long but you asked, LOL!!!
4. Congrats on your new position as PD for heritage Active Rock WRXK (96 K-Rock). I know you’ve only been in the seat since early September, but what is your early assessment of the station and the market in general?
The market is very competitive with some good sounding stations. We just need to be sure to position our stations properly and I am still in that process.
5. 96 K-Rock has always had a reputation for its personality laden line-up which now includes “Dave & Chuck the Freak” in mornings and long-time personalities “Stan & Haney” in afternoons. How are both of your drive time shows doing in the market?
Two great shows that will continue to grow!
6. With that much personality, how is the station positioned musically in the market and how much new music do you get to expose?
We’re the only Active Rock station here in Ft Myers so my job is to make it sound as good as possible.
7. Now let’s talk about the Active Rock format. What's your take on current Active Rock music and the Rock format overall?
I like a lot of the music and the format is strong in a number of cities. Look at WRIF in Detroit and WMMR in Philadelphia, as two good examples. I’ll have the chance to learn from Bill Weston and Scott Jameson as I work on K-Rock.
8. Prior to this new position with Beasley, you were the Format leader for Classic Rock/Hits for Cox Media, and prior to that, spent many years in Dallas programming KZPS and KDGE. How has this prior experience in different formats framed your perspective of what the Active Rock format can do better?
As you can see from my prior rantings above, I had a lot of great teachers who helped me understand what works for each and why.
9. 2020 has been an unprecedented year with Covid-19. How is 96 K-Rock handling the pandemic both on and off the air?
Beasley Broadcasting is very concerned for their people. Those of us at the station mask up and others work from home. I see people on Zoom that I haven’t met yet!
10. Finally, what do you like to do for fun (hobbies) when you are not in “radio” mode?
I like cigars a little too much but have found it’s a great way to meet people and get the lay of the land. Everyone here is very friendly!
-
-