10 Questions with ... Ryan “Elwood” Bjorn

1) What were some of your early radio influences?

I grew up between the Chicago and Rockford radio markets, so there were lots of great options to listen to. The personalities that had the biggest influence on me early on were Jonathon Brandmeier, Kevin Matthews, and Garry Meier on The Loop. 104.9 The X (WXRX) in Rockford and Rock 103.5 (WRCX) in Chicago were two huge rock radio influences on me as well - particularly listening to Lou Brutus during his time in Chicago. It’s amazing that I’m now working closely with WXRX as part of Mid-West Family, and that I’ve had the pleasure to work with and get to know Lou Brutus as part of my career. Few people have cooler stories than Lou Brutus.

2) What was your first job in radio?

My first radio gig was at WPGU – Champaign-Urbana’s Modern Rock, 107.1 The Planet – while I was attending the University of Illinois. Not a typical “college radio station” run by the university for classes and college credit, it was instead a commercial radio station operated almost entirely by college students. Programming, Promotions, Imaging, Engineering, News, Sports, Sales… over 100 people on staff… all students attending U of I, working for the joy of it and the chance to learn every aspect of the business. And for free CD’s.

While many of those creative talents left radio to work in other fields, it’s great to see some of my fellow ‘PGU alumni still crushing the business in Milwaukee, Seattle, Chicago, and elsewhere around the country.

3) Before we talk about your new gig at WQLZ, congrats on a great long run as Brand Manager for WAPL and WZOR in Appleton, WI. What are some of the key things you learned from that experience?

Thank you! I spent eight years (to the day) as Brand Manager for WAPL and Razor, and a little over 19 years at Woodward Communications. As much as WPGU was where I learned how to do the basic tasks of radio, Woodward is where I grew to understand the big picture of what we do in the media landscape, and how to work with others toward success.

• Understand each other’s needs: programming, sales, clients, audience, record labels, artists, promoters, and everyone else we work with all have different motivations and objectives. The better we understand what others are trying to achieve, and the work that goes into achieving it, the better we can balance those needs to maximize mutual success.
• Treat everyone with respect: even the people you may not respect. It is better to have allies than enemies, and no one wants to work with someone who treats them poorly.
• Keep learning: the world is constantly changing, and while we may not be able to keep up with every aspect, one can always find ways to improve and grow. Use your allies’ expertise in areas where you are less knowledgeable.
• Structure with flexibility leads to success: if you can build efficient systems to accomplish most of your needs, you’ll do good things. If you leave some space to be flexible within those systems, it allows for innovation, creative problem solving, and the ability to meet unique situations without panicking or breaking the system.

4) Now let’s talk about your new position as Brand Manager for WQLZ. Being an Illinois native, it must be exciting to be back in your home state. How are things going so far?

Things have been great. There are the obvious small hurdles of getting set up in a new environment, learning different software systems, and figuring out where the coffee maker is.

First up was searching for a new morning show host. We’ve found our new personality, who will begin at the start of October, meaning lineup changes over the next month or so. I’m working with Lou Lombardo in Rockford to analyze our music library and make sure we’re playing the best mix of rock that our audience will love. We’re also reassessing our imaging and have lots of work to do increasing our digital footprint.

We’re also maturing the attitude of QLZ a little bit. Last week we hosted our first “QLZ Golf Play Day” outing at Panther Creek Country Club. I think some people expect rock fans to turn everything they touch into Woodstock ‘99, and that can hurt the format when it comes to revenue opportunities. QLZ is reminding advertisers that rock radio isn’t just for “dudes” in their college dorms. Our audience is men and women in their 30’s and 40’s, attending their kids’ sporting events, working on home maintenance and repairs, continuing their careers, and worrying about health care. QLZ is the audience’s companion for all those moments, and we can show that caring about the community is cool.

5) Can you walk us through the on-air lineup from mornings to evenings on QLZ?

In the morning we have Heff (Kevin Kellam). Heff is also a stand-up comic and writer/presenter for Sportskeeda Wrestling. (I’m very jealous that he gets to attend AEW All Out in Chicago over Labor Day weekend.) Our midday host is Kev (Kevin Wood), another stand-up and personality at WXRX in Rockford. Lars is our local afternoon drive man and has been working at our Springfield cluster in multiple capacities for a long time.

But we’re making moves. Monday, August 30th, I will be taking over the afternoon drive show, and Lars will be shifting to evenings, giving us personality and content for more of each day. And as I mentioned before, we’ve hired a new morning personality who will start on QLZ at the beginning of October. At that point, Heff will move into middays, allowing Kev to focus more on The X in Rockford.

6) How would you describe the music position on QLZ, and how much current rock vs classic rock do you play?

QLZ is weaning off both ends to an extent to really focus on our core of the 90’s and early 2000’s. We have 25-30 currents in rotation at the moment, but there’s discussion of cutting that back to give the songs we’re playing more of an opportunity to gain familiarity with the audience. On the classic side, we dip back into the 80’s, with a touch of 70’s. But again, we’re examining the library to make sure we have the mix of music lined up in the best way to focus on our 90’s core.

7) What’s your perspective on the quality of current Rock music now that you’re back as Brand manager of a Rock station?

There’s so much great music out there! Part of the difficulties for the format, in my opinion, are the lowered barrier of entry for musicians and the diversity of choice. It’s become infinitely easier to produce and release music independently, meaning more choices for the audience. Fans can dive deep into their own niche of the rock world, while broadcast radio still needs to be broad. It’s an interesting balance, and I worry that we don’t do enough as an industry to attract younger audiences. But I think there are a lot of ways we can target those narrower audiences through side channels and digital content, bringing them to our brands in new ways.

8) Now let’s talk about Springfield, IL. I looked it up and there are 34 cities across the country with the Springfield name, and that doesn’t even include The Simpsons fictional town of Springfield. What makes Springfield, IL unique?

Wait… this isn’t the Springfield from The Simpsons? Now I have to rethink this whole thing!

The first thing that got my attention was Abraham Lincoln. There is so much history about Abraham Lincoln everywhere in this city. You can’t turn a corner downtown without seeing a plaque for one of Lincoln’s old law offices, former homes, or where he went to the dentist. Springfield, IL was also the departure point for the Donner Party, so there’s some macabre history there, too.

Springfield is the state capital of Illinois, but it’s not a huge city. There’s a ton of history, but also a lot of opportunities for growth and innovation. And it strikes a great balance between being a little bit off the beaten track, but centrally located for easy travel to St. Louis, Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, Rockford, and Chicago.

9) I know that Ryan is your real first name. Where and how did Elwood come about?

Elwood is borrowed affectionately from The Blues Brothers, one of my favorite all-time movies. My girlfriend recently watched the movie for the first time ever, and she was worried that I might have to break up with her if she didn’t like it. Thankfully, that wasn’t an issue.

Elwood has become my moniker to nearly everyone I’ve met since I started at Kiss FM in Green Bay in 2001, outside of my family and girlfriend’s family who still call me Ryan, and my pre-Wisconsin friends who mostly call me Bjorn.

10) Finally, what do you like to do for fun when you’re not in radio “work” mode? Do you have any interesting hobbies you can share?

After so long in the pandemic plus nine months between jobs, I’d become enough of a shut-in to quote Egon from Ghostbusters and say, “I collect spores, molds, and fungus.”

I do love to travel, although that’s been difficult over the last couple of years for obvious reasons. Largely, though, I’m a consumer of media. I love watching films, television shows, and YouTube channels, listening to podcasts, vinyl records, and live music. And watching the Chicago Cubs - even though they traded away most of the team and are really struggling this season.