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10 Questions with ... Terrie Carr
July 26, 2022
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. I am thrilled that HARD ROCK has finally decided that women have their place in our format. Not two women but lots of women. This is the part of our format that has really evolved. We have hard rock tours filling arenas, women topping the charts (and women buying more tickets to rock shows than ever too!)
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1) What led you to a career in radio?
My love of music and rebellion! My house always had loud music playing. Rock, R&B, Opera, Jazz, Classical. My parents loved music. And I became obsessed with radio as a kid. I used to steal my dad's keys so I could go into his car and listen to WABC and dream about playing music like the DJ's did when I grew up. When I first heard Allison Steele and my dad told me that Jimi Hendrix wrote a song inspired by her. That was it. Done. I wanted in.
2) What was your first job in radio and early influences?
WRAN an AM station ironically located next door to WDHA was my first gig. Playing Christmas music on a reel-to-reel tape. I remember looking at DHA on my way to WRAN as an 18-year-old kid thinking "One day I’ll be THERE"! WDHA always had the coolest guests...Alice Cooper, Bernie Taupin all the hair bands, Ozzy....everyone went to WDHA! I was inspired by the few women who were doing it. Alison Steel, Carol Miller and Carol Ford. They made it happen and I wanted too as well.
3) How long have you been at WDHA and what makes the station so unique?
I have been there 30 years! More than half of my life (with the exception of five years that I left to work at other stations in 2005) 5 owners, every musical genre and trend and lots of artist breaking. It's been so exciting to have played a part in musical history. I remember giving away tickets for Nirvana Unplugged in New York thinking "do people want to see these guys unplugged"? I checked it out and I’m so glad I did! I remember broadcasting live in NJ from one of the first Lollapalooza shows,.- Ozzy, Slash, Geddy Lee, Halford just hanging out in our hallways and greeting fans on their way out in our parking lot. It's home. WDHA is New Jersey's home. Our almost 50-year heritage makes us who we are. Everyone in N.J. has a DHA story. Our station belongs to the state and our listeners. It is a community that I have never experienced anywhere else. Thankfully people can listen anywhere now with the technology available. I have listeners who moved out of state ten years ago, but still check in daily. It's an amazing love story.
4) You’ve been doing middays on the station for years, but can you tell us about the rest of the full-time on-air lineup?
I am so lucky to be surrounded by amazing talent and great people. The WDHA Morning Jolt is hosted by NY Veteran Jim Monaghan who has been with us close to 20 years. Jim is our resident musician, musicologist and deserves credit for being a successful one man show. Jim makes The Jolt completely interactive- His first hour is broadcast live on Facebook, his last hour is live on Instagram. Listeners are encouraged to join the show and get involved. He has been doing that for years. Artists jump on the feed, clients too.... it’s unique. He has also incorporated a few of our part time staff to be a part of the show interactively which is very clever. Jim is live six days a week. He does a specialty show live every Sunday Morning- "All Mixed Up" . In the 20 something years he has been with us I think he missed two Sundays.
Mike Anthony had MASSIVE shoes to fill in Afternoon Drive when we lost station legend Curtis Kay to Cancer in 2020. Curtis was a big fan of Mike's talents, and it really feels like Curt is still with us in some way. Mike is similar to Curt in personality yet has brought his own passions to the show with his "Metal With Mike" feature (Metal is VERY popular in Jersey!) and gets the Facebook page buzzing with his "First Call/Last Call" interactive feature where our listeners build the "quitting time set" and we get some valuable listener info daily!
Rockturnal with Scotty B rounds out the staff as we have a KILLER LIVE night show with "The Southern Fried Maniac"! Scotty was on our sister station The Rat and when I had an opening and he applied. Scotty's energy and ability to connect amazed me. There is no one like him. He has a "Rockturnal Brigade" with a cast of listener characters that drive the show every night and he is truly one of the most talented and engaging people I have ever met. And he LOVES that nighttime vibe. There is something to be said for live, killer talent at night and we have the best.
5) WDHA has long had a reputation as a “tastemaker” station, playing lots of different styles of Rock. How would you best describe the music on WDHA?
It's funny when we do any sort of research or polling with our Jacobs friends, THAT is what comes up with the highest scores. The VARIETY of rock. Variety is not necessarily a term used in rock radio, but our listeners see us as the beacon that provides the rock fan with a journey through eras, sounds and styles. The real common thread is sonically we LOVE guitars and respect both rock history and breaking new artists.
6) What's your take on current Active Rock music and the Rock Format overall?
The format needs what we've always needed.... SONGS! I am thrilled that HARD ROCK has finally decided that women have their place in our format. Not two women but lots of women. This is the part of our format that has really evolved. We have hard rock tours filling arenas, women topping the charts (and women buying more tickets to rock shows than ever too!) I have an hour of female rockers I feature on my "Queens Of Noise" show- Friday's at 2p and I'm super proud of that.
7) What are your three favorite artists or songs of this year and why?
In keeping with the previous question, I have to go with the ladies- In no particular order I LOVE Dorothy- Rest In Peace- her vocals, her presence - She is a mega star.
Lilith Czar is such a talent- Rock performance art. She is so unique- Her record is KILLER.
Plush and The Warning are AMAZING!! Under 21, playing like monsters, bringing it on tour.... both records are absolutely incredible. Hard Rock LIVES!! –
8) On the promotion front, the station has always done cool and creative things like your latest idea…the “WDHA Parking Lot Party”. Tell us how this came about and who are some of the artists that have rocked your parking lot?
Lol basically it came out of being "covid careful" - everyone that knows me knows I'm kind of "germophobic" as it is.....we missed having artists in studio with a listener audience and I'm more comfortable outside. We have this beautiful bucolic parking lot that is quite large so when Crobot mentioned coming in to do a few tunes I called Lorraine Caruso and said "How weird would it be to put them in the parking lot and contest 50-60 people" Thank God Lorraine knows me and my crazy Lucy Ricardo ideas and she agreed.... HOME RUN! What a blast- we brought in a sponsor, feed people and now our listeners can't wait for the next one. We had an amazing time with Coheed and Cambria who are the masters of acoustic and Giovannie and The Hired Guns are next. It's the trifecta. We contest on air, so people listen, online so people click and onsite so our community can interact with us. Bands do 4 tunes, we eat, hang… and it's team building for our whole staff too!
9) You’ve also done some great artist interviews with your “Reconnect With Rockers” feature. Tell us about that.
Reconnect With Rockers has been incredible. I have done hundreds of interviews with legends like Nancy Wilson, Michael Anthony and Suzi Quatro to 80's, 90's and new artists. It's the one positive thing to have come out of Covid. Getting the chance to get face time for a good chunk of time with artists when they are in a relaxed, private environment has been a dream come true. And it has been sold out for sponsorships for three years now! WIN!
10) Finally, I know you’re a huge dog lover, and the station has been doing “The WDHA Ultimate Rock Dog” calendars. How did this promotion start and how many years have you been doing them?
Since 2010. When I came back to WDHA. I needed to use my voice to help bring attention to the massive overcrowding and euthanasia in local shelters and dispel the myth that shelter animals are broken. They are not and make the BEST pets. The first calendar we did in house with listeners submitting their own photos! The Ultimate Rock Dogs calendars look much better now with the help of our photographer Joe Frazz who brings it all to life. We have raised thousands of dollars through the years and it has been so fulfilling and truly my legacy. They sell out in record time every year, ship all over the country (and the world) and 100 percent of proceeds goes to our local rescue groups. I'm so proud of them and the whole WDHA Rock N' Ruff Rescue Program. As we all know dogs make the best drinking partners and loyal companions and if I can only figure out how to get them diaries......that's my next goal!
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