10 Questions with ... Decker

1)What was your first job in radio and any early influences? 

My first gig in radio was right out of college. I was hired at the radio group I had done my internship with, R.P. Broadcasting in a little town called Bemidji in Northern Minnesota. They initially hired me as a sales guy but after seven very unsuccessful months at that they moved me to the on-air side. I started on the air doing an afternoon shift on WMIS-FM which at the time was a light AC station. After some convincing my boss, Mark Ricci, and I turned it into a hybrid classic rock/active rock station. I was there for six years and did basically everything you can think of in radio. It’s a small market so I wore many hats, from play-by-play to event set up and doing emcee work on a frozen lake when it was 26 below zero and even some mailbox repair. I did it all.

My influences came from my time growing up in Appleton and listening to the old WOZZ and of course WZOR which was the station I was listening to when I decided to get into the biz. I have always been enamored with music so I didn’t really pay attention to many DJ’s until I started on the air and realized that was a pretty important part of the job. I met a few buddies who at the time worked in Fargo, Gunner and Chow, and saw what they were doing and tried to do my own spin on that. I had asked what makes a good DJ in their eyes and they just said, “being genuine to who you are and people will respect it.”

2) Before we talk about your new gig at Razor, you were most recently the MD and Afternoon host for WRQT (95.7 The Rock)/La Crosse, WI. How long did you work there and how did that experience prepare you for working at WZOR? 

I worked for WRQT from November of 2018 until this past June. It was a short stint but in that time, I learned a lot about how impactful a rock station can be in a community if run properly. The OM there, Jean Taylor, knows her stuff when it comes to event planning and execution and the rest of The Rock Crew work hard to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. We also became a monitored station when I was there which helped prepare me for the amount of music calls I take now! I was just a small market MD but learning the ins and outs of that side of the gig was super helpful.

3) You’ve been rocking WZOR for well over a year now, with your predecessor Cutter in the seat before you, before moving to mornings on sister station WAPL. How are things going to date?

So far things seem to be going pretty alright! We happen to have very similar music taste which makes for an easy transition. Plus having a guy like that at your disposal to bounce ideas off of is always a huge help. Now I just have to see how long it takes before people stop calling me Cutter at events.

4) Have you tweaked anything musically since you took over as MD?

We actually made some pretty big changes to both WAPL and WZOR in the year I’ve been at the helm. We found that classic rock as a format is evolving and we wanted to be one of the forefront stations of that evolution so we had a 5 hour meeting in February and decided to move in a direction we feel classic rock is moving. We dropped a lot of the 70’s ballad-y stuff and decided to lean into the 80’s hair and 90’s grunge as a pillar of the station. Because of that we had to change WZOR as to not compete against ourselves. We took all the 90’s grunge and 80’s hard rock that had been in Razor’s playlist and threw it over to APL. WZOR now focuses on music made in the 21st century and really leans into the era of music that Razor was born into.

It definitely was a risk to take out a ‘format pillar’ on ZOR and an even bigger risk to throw that sound onto our flagship classic rock station BUT after this past ratings book we found that it was a risk that has and will continue to pay off. Moving away from the 90’s on Razor has given us freedom to give more up and coming bands spins which we have seen as a huge positive for us as well. I’m very excited about the future of both APL and ZOR after these changes.

5) WZOR has always been “tastemaker” station, especially when it comes to new rock and metal. Why do you think the Razor audience responds so favorably to this Rock mix?

It’s a hell of a thing being a station that people look to, to discover new bands and a responsibility I do not take lightly. An easy answer is our audience has good taste but I think the way Razor has been programmed for over 20 years has conditioned our audience to expect these types of bands. “The Cutting Edge Of Rock” is our tagline and I feel like our audience loves being the first ones to know about what’s new. I personally love the sound of Active rock these days. From bands like I Prevail to Bad Omens and Lilith Czar and Beartooth, the future is bright for rock and we here on Razor couldn’t be more excited about giving an outlet for the future of rock and metal on our signal.

6) Do you do any special music features on your Afternoon Show?

I do a Razor Three Way every afternoon at 3, and I am continuing the Razor Indecent Exposure every afternoon around 5:45 where we play a song we’ve never played before and let our listeners tell us what they think of it.

7) What's your take on all this great new Active Rock music out now, and how do you think this is impacting the Active Rock format overall?  

I freaking love the new stuff! I look back to when I first started programming and being scared to put a song on that might have a harsh sounding singer and now we have bands like Falling In Reverse and A Day To Remember making breakdowns ‘radio friendly’ which is truly a dream come true. I’m excited to see where bands will push the format and how programmers nationwide will evolve to the new sounds. I think the national audience for rock want harder and faster songs and if I can do anything to make that more of a reality I will! Active Rock is really at the edge of making a huge comeback and I’m stoked to be riding the wave!

8)What are your three favorite artists or songs of this year so far and why?

1. Beartooth: Riptide. The song is so groovy and heavy. Its infectious energy permeates through the signal and seeing it live last week was one of the raddest moments of ‘22
2. No Apologies: Papa Roach. These guys just keep sending out bangers and legit one of the best live shows you’ll see all year.
3. Turnstile. The whole album is a banger and they might be the most exciting band in Active rock.

9) With a lot of the pandemic behind us, and bands touring again, what are some of the tours that Razor will be involved with in the months ahead?

We have so many shows coming to the area it’s hard to pick from! We just had Bad Omens, Beartooth and ADTR which was one of the most intense shows we’ve had. I Prevail next month is going to be amazing, In Flames will be sick. Ghost is wrapping up their latest tour on September 23rd in Green Bay with Spiritbox, who is definitely the future of heavy music, and that will be the best show EVER! Lots to be stoked on!

10) Finally, I know you are a huge Green Bay Packers fan. How do you think Aaron Rodgers and the team are going to do this season?

If the Ayahuasca can somehow get Aaron and the rest of the Packers to win more than one playoff game this year I’ll be pleased! Here’s to hoping!