10 Questions with ... Brian Holmes

NAME:Brian Holmes TITLE:APD/nights STATION:104-5 WSNX & weekends on 92.5 KISS FM/Toledo MARKET:Grand Rapids, MI OWNER:Clear Channel

Please outline your radio career so far:

1990 - Intern, WFLZ (The Power Pig)/Tampa
1991 - weekends, WRXB (Star 16)/Tampa-St Pete
1992 - APD/afternoons, WIDO (Jamz 104)/Tuscaloosa
1992 - overnights, WZBQ (Z102)/Tuscaloosa
1993-1994 - mornings, WRXB
1995-1999 - traffic reporter, Metro Networks/Tampa
1995-1997 - weekends, WTMP (1150 Jamz)/Tampa
1995 - weekends, WYUU (U92)/Tampa
1995-1997 - nights, WSRZ (Oldies 106)/Sarasota and OM, WSPB/Sarasota
1997 - PD/afternoons, WTBB (97X)/Panama City (now WYYX)
1997-1999 - nights, WSRZ and OM, WSPB/Sarasota
1999-2000 - traffic reporter, Airwatch America-Clear Channel Traffic/Tampa
2001-2004 - weekends, WFLZ (93.3 FLZ)/Tampa and talk producer, WFLA/Tampa
2005 - APD/afternoons, WFFY (Fly 92.1)/Ft Walton Beach
2005-present - APD/nights, WSNX/Grand Rapids
2005-present - weekend VT'r, WVKS (92.5 KISS FM)/Toledo
Webmaster - ThePowerPig.com and Q105TampaBay.com

1) How would you describe your first radio gig?

I was 15 years old at the time I got my first internship answering request lines, and of ALL stations, it was The Power Pig. I have NO CLUE how I ever talked them into letting me in the door at 15, but I'm forever grateful to then Pig Promo Director Darcel Schouler! I was so young, but I absorbed every single thing I heard and saw. (Don't worry guys, some things I heard I still keep to myself.) I got crash-coursed in personality-driven, guerilla radio at 15, and some of the stuff never made sense until years later.

My first on-air gig was as a traffic reporter for a little tiny Urban station in St. Petersburg called "Star 16," WRXB. I was 16 years old and the only white guy on an all-African-American staff on the south side of the city. The owner, Gene Danzey, and PD Rob Simone saw something in me and gave me a huge break. They later hired me back to do mornings for a year at 18.

2) What led you to a career in radio?

Listening to The Power Pig. Plain and simple. I decided way early in life that the career path I was going to take was going to have to be fun. I wasn't going to be miserable in a 9-to-5 job that I hated. Listening to certain jocks as a kid at some points gave me chills -- I thought it was so cool. Every time that happened, it made me go for the radio gigs even harder.

3) What is your favorite part of the job?

Making people smile. Lame as that may sound, I like knowing that I can go in a control room every day and make 60,000+ people laugh every night. That's extremely satisfying to me. And in today's radio landscape, hopefully my show is a reason that people don't leave terrestrial radio for satellite, Internet or iPods. I also hope that in some way, that that the personality radio I am doing today is some sort of inspiration to upcoming jocks because personality radio is in danger of dying.

4) Could you give us a little insight into your on airstaff?

I know everyone says, this but we have such a tremendous staff at WSNX. We have an entire staff of jocks who do SHOWS, not SHIFTS.

-Our morning show is Puddin's Playhouse, headed up by Puddin', who did mornings at 98 Rock/Tampa and nights at Kiss/Cincy and WEBN/Cincy. He brought that edge that we needed in mornings. He is teamed with Riley, who came to us from WFLZ/Tampa, and Internio, the stunt guy and guy in charge of eating strange things we want him to eventually puke up.

-Middays are held down by Michelle Taylor, VT'd from Channel 9-5-5/Detroit. She has done an incredible job for us and has taken us all the way to #1. Gotta love that for a VT'd shift.

-Afternoons is our Program Director, Eric O'Brien (EOB). He is what makes this station work every single day. He is teamed with our main mixer, DJ B-Side, at 5pm with a mix show called the Beatdown, which is consistently the highest-rated drive-time hour in the market. I don't know how to describe this guy other than he is a radio ninja combined with the energizer bunny -- times 10.

-Nights is myself, Holmes & The Freak Show. I have a co-host, Big Mac, who came from the most unlikely of places, the Christian station in town. You never know where you will find great talent. The show has held in the #1 18-34 slot for five straight books now.

In this past winter book, our middays, afternoons and nights, plus most weekend dayparts, were all #1 18-34, with mornings #3. When Puddin' started in January 2006, there were 15 shares between him and #1. Now there are only four shares.

Giving credit where it is due, we're able to achieve this because we have extremely supportive upper management that allows us to do what we do to win, including EOB, GM Skip Essick, Regional VP Doug Montgomery and Brand Manager Dom Theodore.

5) Who is your favorite air personality not on your staff, and why do you like them?

Broadway Bill Lee, when he was on WKTU/New York, for his ability not only to entertain, but to rhyme it every single time. Bubba The Love Sponge was a huge influence in his Pig days. Today, when I want to learn something new, I listen to Beau on Channel 9-5-5/Detroit's afternoons.

6) What was your favorite station to listen to when you were a kid?

Oh man, hands down, The Power Pig. When that station launched in 1989, I was 15 years old. I literally remember reading about the format change in the newspaper one morning before school and ran into my bedroom to listen and was immediately addicted. These guys were having SO MUCH fun on the radio. I skipped school and took my battery-operated mini-boombox and hid wherever I could in the neighborhood and not get busted. When the batteries ran out, I went behind a 7-11 store and plugged in to an outside electrical outlet. I wasn't going to miss one minute. They had me and the entire market hooked. Before that, I listened to Q105/Tampa non-stop and Power 103.3 KHTR/St. Louis before that.

7) Do you have a favorite hobby outside of radio?

There is life outside of radio?

8) What music do you listen to when you're not working?

House, Techno, Dance. I miss Florida breaks and mix shows from down there, they just don't really exist in Michigan, nor is there much of an audience for it. I stream Energy 92.7/San Francisco A LOT. And I really miss Energy 92-7 and 5/Chicago!!

9) What is it about our industry that keeps you wanting to do it for a living?

I get bored very easily. I've self-diagnosed myself as having A.D.D. Radio constantly changes, so I am never bored. However, with that kind of constant change comes emotional ups and downs as well. I'm just lucky I've had more ups than downs.

10) What advice you would give people new to the business?

NEVER burn a bridge. You never know if that board op or street teamer may become your next boss. I can recall meeting Dom "Domino" Theodore when he was just weekends and a production assistant at The Power Pig in the early '90s. He not only became my best friend and mentor in this business, but also my future program director, then an extremely successful large-market programmer and brand manager, but we never would have thought that then. Also, never start to believe your own hype. When you do, you're done.

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

"It's a fact: Q105 plays the most commercials. Don't believe us... check 'em out! We'll wait.... (four-second pause) ...see what we mean?" (Pig snarl sfx.)

When The Power Pig launched in Tampa in 1989, Q105 was best known for its extremely long stop sets and DJs that talked and talked, sometimes up to 20 minutes an hour. The Power Pig control room was equipped with a Q105 monitor that could be easily accessed on the board. The Pig jocks would simply wait to hear Q105 enter a stop set, then the next sweeper they would run would be this one. Listeners would punch over to Q, hear spots, punch back to The Pig and here the second half of the sweeper. It was BRILLIANT. There are SO many more, but that tops them all.