10 Questions with ... Chris Michaels

NAME:Chris Michaels POSITION:PD/afternoon drive STATION:WABB 97-5 MARKET:Mobile, AL OWNER:Dittman Broadcast Group

Please outline your radio career so far:

Started out doing promotions for both WAPE and WFYV in Jacksonville, FL; ran the board for the Lex & Terry morning radio network; Metro Traffic in Jacksonville doing afternoon-drive traffic for WAPE/WFYV/WJBT/WXMQ/WROO; weekends/swing at WAPE 95.1; nights/APD/MD at WERO in Greenville-New Bern, NC; weekends at WDCG G105 in Raleigh; and PD/afternoons here at WABB/Mobile.

1) How would you describe your first radio gig?

I was so blessed to get my start at the radio station I grew up listening too, WAPE 95.1. I was hired in the promotions department first, but I really wanted to be on the air. Cat Thomas was the PD at the time, and I made a demo in the production studio. I gave the tape to Cat, and asked him every single day for two months if he had listened to it yet. He said, "No, not yet, but I will, I promise." Finally, one day I popped my head in his office and asked him the same question again, "Hey, Cat, have you had a chance to listen to my demo yet?" He looked up, and said, "Actually yes, and I didn't think it was that bad. I'm going to give you a shot and you're either going to sink or swim; the ball is in your court." I'll never forget that day.

2) What led you to a career in radio?

I use to stay up late listening to Billy Goat on WAPE 95.1. He was doing 10p-2a weeknights, and he was hilarious. His 10p-2a show was packed full of fun, real radio, and everyone loved him. I use to call him all the time when I was 12 years old and finally one night I asked him if I could see the studio, and he said yes. My mom drove me up there, took him a 12-pack of Budweiser, and he let me answer the request lines. I was hooked from that day, and I knew that this is what I was going to do with my life.

3) How would you describe the radio landscape in your market?

Mobile and Pensacola are two different markets, but technically we could put the two together. The Mobile stations boom into Pensacola and the Pensacola stations cover Mobile, so we have a lot of variety. We have a heritage Urban station, a heritage Country station, and then we are the heritage Top 40 station in the markets. Those are the three big stations. WABB has gone back and forth from being a Rhythm-leaning Top 40 to a Mainstream Top 40 station over the years. I like to stick with being a straight-down-the-middle Mainstream Top 40. There isn't another Top 40 in the market, so rather than competing with the heritage Urban station, I'd rather do our own thing, and own the music we play, such as Fall Out Boy, Britney Spears, Akon, and even bands like Thriving Ivory, who do really well here -- and you can only hear those records on WABB. We are fortunate to have music research; Rock songs and The Fray records test extremely well for us.

4) What's one thing that would surprise many people to learn about you?

Well, I haven't announced this yet to Net News, but my wife is 13 weeks pregnant. The secret is out of the bag! Oh yeah, and I am obsessed with peanut butter.

5) Could you give us a little insight into your on air staff?

The staff here at WABB is great. The Morning Guys with John and Q-Tip start the day off, and they have really connected with the audience well here in Mobile. John Marty is the host, and he brings a lot to the table. He's very witty, and he can impersonate anyone. Q-Tip is the popular guy on WABB. I can't even go to lunch with him without someone stopping him. Our midday personality, Cherish, recently left us to pursue a job with the local Fox station, so Lu Valentino is auditioning for the position. Lu is one of a kind. Always happy, very energetic; she connects well on the air, and hands down is the most dedicated person. I do afternoons and Snapper holds down nights, where he has a busy, phone-intensive night show.

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

I would have to say it's a toss-up between Geller at WDCG, and Toby Knapp at WIHT. Geller is amazing; his creativity is endless. Toby Knapp is hands down the funniest jock I've ever heard. Toby doesn't need any phoner or bits to make his show entertaining ... he's just Toby, and I love it.

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

Well, it would definitely be WAPE/ Jacksonville. Growing up, WAPE was a fun radio station to listen to ... all of the jocks were great, they were everywhere in Jacksonville, and their promotions were always the best in the market. I also listened to WFLZ a lot, too. WFLZ is still one of my favorite radio stations in the country.

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

Being able to connect with people, and be a part of their lives. It's a great feeling when I meet listeners, and they comment about something they heard on WABB, or thank me for sending them to see their favorite artist in concert. Radio is just fun, and I can't see myself doing anything else with my life.

9) What is the one truth that has held constant throughout your career?

Stay positive, and avoid the negative people. Just do your job to the best of your ability, and don't focus on the rumors you hear.

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

Step up to the plate, and always ask what you can do to help. I see this all the time now, where the part-time talent only wants to work certain hours, two weekends a month, so they can go to the beach ... and yet they wonder why they get overlooked for a full-time position. Also, there is no room for an ego these days. I had a female e-mail me a few weeks ago about a job here at WABB. I called her back, and 10 seconds into the conversation she said to me, "Don't you know who I am?" I once had a part-timer who told me that he didn't want to do overnights anymore on the weekends because no one was listening. People like that won't survive in this business.

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

From the Top of the Empire State building, this is Z100...New York's Number one hit music station. I use to listen for that every hour...lol.