10 Questions with ... Phlash Phelps

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

• WQSR/Baltimore (intern)
• WLAS/Jacksonville, NC
• KOJM/Havre, MT
• WKYN (97KYN)/St. Marys, PA
• WKHI (100KHI)/Ocean City, MD
• WTHZ (Z103)/Tallahassee, FL
• WKMZ/Martinsburg, WV
• WDJB (B106)/Ft. Wayne, IN
• WSSX (95SX)/Charleston, SC
• WPXY (98PXY)/Rochester, NY
• WTCF (100.5 the Fox)/Saginaw, MI
• WJKC (Isle 95)-U.S. Virgin Islands
• KITI (Live 95)/Centralia, WA
• KRXY (Roxy)/Olympia, WA
• WCKZ (Z102)/Ft. Wayne, IN
• SIRIUS XM-60's on 6-USA
• 17 years of AM and FM radio
• Almost 17 years of Satellite Radio

1) What led you to a career in radio?

Grew up in Baltimore and won $50 on B104's Dollar Days with Willie B. when I was 15. Went to the station and my dad asked if we could see the studio. Willie was on the air and I knew this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to intern there... thought I had it, but found out they had too many interns for that summer. Now, across the street, WQSR (Q105)/Baltimore was also Top 40 and had a contest to identify 14 songs in a collage that was 10 seconds. Figured it out and called ... Waylon Richards asked me how old I was. I was 17 and he tells me there's a disclaimer running on the overnight that I had to be 18 to win (a trip to Rio). I gave him all the answers and he said, "If you were 18, you'd be going to Rio" Someone else won. Next week, the contest was to Hawaii with a new collage, called the answers in to my sister after the first play and by the second play, she had won a trip to Hawaii with my answers. When I found out, I called Waylon and he had me come to the studio. He dropped needles on records and I knew all of them. He said, you can intern for us or win all the rest of our trips. I decided to take the internship. Then my sister and brother in law took me to Hawaii with that win.

2) How would you describe your first radio gig?

Cashbox Magazine titled their article on me in '87, "Now You Have It, Now You Don't" as I kept thinking I had a job and then I didn't. First job took 23 tapes but the second took 143. My first job at WLAS/Jacksonville, NC doing afternoons on an AM Stereo Country station. I wanted to do Top 40 radio but was told to get experience doing any format. This is where I started the Phan Clan with an oath inspired by listening to Joey Reynolds airchecks. I had a cart with the SFX of a needle dragging off the record. We played 45s on the turntables and at the end sometimes I'd play the SFX and dump the song so it sounded like I was ruining the needle. Guess it was believable as the engineer complained and four months after starting, the PD was fired and then so was I.

3) You've been in the business for awhile. To what do you attribute your longevity?

I've just done a show that's based on me having fun and not sounding like another radio show. My boss, Lou 'Simon Says,' "I can't figure out if your show is a local show being done nationally or a national show that's local." One of my favorite messages came from Scott Shannon who told me, when he listens, he knows it's me because no one else on the radio sounds like me. Thank you Scott. I talk to each caller about where they are and luckily, I've driven all of the country, airchecking radio and learning about every market, roads and places so I relate locally to almost every caller in the country about their city.

4) Who are some of the greatest jocks and programmers who you've had the privilege of working with over the years?

Kym Landers (Mitch Zatto) aka Hollywood Haze (KC & Cleveland) was the one who called me Captain Flash ... a character based on Don Imus' Flash in NYC. I liked it and it stuck. Mitch took me under his wing when interning in Baltimore and gave me an incredible tape of '60s and '70s radio. This was what I wanted to do so I based building my show on the jocks of Top 40 radio. I've worked with many greats here at SiriusXM from Lee Abrams and Dave Logan, who hired me, to Lou Simon and Kid Kelly, who I work with today.

5) What makes your station unique? How would you compare it to other stations you've worked at?

This is the only radio station I think anywhere that has personalities with 254 years of on-air experience on one station. Is there another? Thanks to Cousin Brucie's almost 60 years on the air. We have Pat St. John, Dave Hoeffel, Lou Simon, Mike Kelly and also Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits with a weekend show. What I like is every show on '60s on 6 sounds different from the last one. We do shows that are all unique to who we are.

6) Being somebody who spends a lot of time on the road, which states have the best and worst roads?

Last year when I turned 50, I decided to return to all 50 states before I turned 51. I traveled on my own vacation time and weekends and completed all 50 again in nine months, four days ... saving Hawaii for last. Worst interstate I've ridden on lately is I-55 in south Mississippi, just north of Kentwood, LA (Britney's home). One of the best roads to drive is the Beartooth Highway in Montana and Wyoming just for the views, as long as it's open and no snow. I've driven in 2,347 counties around the 50 states (yeah, I have a counter that keeps track) ... only 795 left I've never been in so I'll be testing those roads soon.

7) How many miles are on your car now? What was your most recent road trip, and where will the next trip be?

Just got back from a weekend trip to Arkansas and Mississippi ... it was a three-day weekend so I can get that far and back. My 2012 car is now at 380,700 miles on it. My 2005 had 353,000 when I got rid of that one. How many get 700K plus miles out of two cars? I'm getting close to completing the 417 National Park sites of the U.S.A. so I try to pick up more every year. I have 56 more to go.

8) "Local local local" has always been radio's mantra. How do you translate this to the national footprint of satellite radio?

The way I've done it is by knowing America. My mom used to buy me a new Rand McNally map every year at Christmas and I'd study the roads and cities. Then when I got my first job and boombox, I'd aircheck local radio and I learned pronunciations ... decided to tape radio in every market. By 1993, Watertown, NY was the biggest city in America I'd never been in ... so I drove there. I completed every U.S. market and when Art Vuolo called me in May 2000 to tell me about satellite radio, I knew I could relate to any caller about their area. Art sent my video to Lee Abrams and Dave Logan and saw me shooting rubber bands at CD players and crazy bits. I was called to come to DC and they asked me to do the '60s channel ... I was playing Nelly-Country Grammar at that time but said, yeah I'll do it. Had one year to learn the '60s before we debuted on the satellite in September 2001. So now when I get a call I talk to that one person about their area to make it local between me and the caller. Then I do the same with the next caller. That's how I can make national radio local.

9) What's the most unbelievable on-air bit you were allowed to do?

I created a daily bit based on American Top 40 as Phlashy Phlashem. I worked at so many radio stations and never stayed long. Five years was the longest in Ft. Wayne, so when I was about to break my longevity record on '60s on 6 in 2005. I did a top 17 countdown and as Phlash Phlashem introducing airchecks of me on the other stations by length of employment. Then on the 17th day, we got to my #1 longest job,which was the '60s on 6. I even had extras to play of me on the air in Guam, Saipan and Triple M-Melbourne, Australia. Then I got to meet Casey later that year.

10) We've heard your listeners have done some pretty amazing things for you; can you tell us about some of them?

I have incredible listeners who have done so much. Lamar Billboards in Northeast Pennsylvania have created three billboards for my show that they make and put up for free promoting my show and my travels. The current one is still up on I-81, mile marker 189.4, northbound in Scranton. I had a racehorse named after me -- "Phlash Phelps" -- and he was turf racehorse of the year 2015. Listeners have made and sent bobbleheads, one of me in a car with a plaque. I had one made of me as a POP! Toy this past year. Idaho's former Governor Kempthorne had a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol in D.C. on my 14th anniversary saying how I bring America together. Then Gettysburg built the box to frame it made from a witness tree from the battle and Gettysburg Address. Quilts, posters, 3D photos, personalized chocolate boxes. I can't thank them enough to see how much they care.

What's the best sweeper/liner you've ever heard?

The one that got me on the R&R Video Aircheck in 1990. I had airchecked WSTH in Alexander City, AL, and their legal ID had about seven cities in it. I then went to work for WKMZ/Martinsburg, WV that used Mitch Craig (as every station used him). Our ID said WKMZ/Martinsburg, Winchester, Hagerstown, Chambersburg. We also had cuts saying Leesburg, Fairfax and one saying Charles Town, Berkley Springs. I edited all of them together, then went through all of my airchecks that had Mitch Craig saying cities across America. I made a 49-city legal ID that ended "and from Wedowee to Maui." I memorized all 49 cities and lip-synced it to the video over the intro of Escapade. Mitch Craig was asked about it and he didn't know I made it. As soon as he found out, he wanted it to use on his demo. Art Vuolo then saw the video and added me to that R&R Convention Video in May 1990 ... who followed me on that video? Pat St. John on WNEW FM/NYC ... Art could foresee the future as Pat started following my show 25 years later on 60s on 6. I still get asked about that legal ID even today.