10 Questions with ... Angelique Perrin

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

I was a theatre major who literally was discovered and placed on the radio. My senior year of college I was the hostess at the Airport Holiday Inn in Greensboro, NC. I was serving coffee with one of my silly accents. Little did I know the guys on the receiving end of my silly skit were a PD and morning man. It's like one of those old Hollywood stories but without the three-picture deal with Paramount, fame, or money. I did go on to produce and co-host mornings shows in WPEG/Charlotte and KPWR/LA. I was the announcer for the Keenen Ivory Wayans Show. My character, Aquanetta, was the voice of BET's Comic View for many years. I've produced a few syndicated shows including "The Countdown with Walt Baby Love." And I've done some really, really cool cartoons. One of my passions is "Café Mocha," a show I am a proud cast member on.

1) Didn't Café Mocha just win an award?

Cafe Mocha just won the prestigious Gracie Award for "A Date with the First Lady" an interview I did weeks before the election. This year, Robin Roberts, Savannah Guthrie and Samantha Bee were just some of the winners. This wasn't our first interview with the First Lady or our first time submitting to the Gracies. Our Creator/Executive Producer, Sheila Eldridge, wasn't going to submit this year. But I kept getting pushed by a couple of professors at USC, so I submitted and we won Best Radio Special. More proof that you can never give up.

Overall, it's the same way I feel about Cafe Mocha. We are halfway through our seventh year and I still feel like many in the radio industry are missing out on this amazing show. We go from serious political discussions with Michelle Obama to a candid talk with Letoya Luckett about her recent break-up, all while playing the top R&B songs. We recently picked up affiliates in Houston and Charlotte. We're headed on the road with Cafe Mocha's Salute Her Awards where we honor local women for their community contributions. The first stops are D.C. and Atlanta in August, New York in September and then Chicago in December. I'm hoping we get to Charlotte this year too -- fingers crossed.

2) What surprises you about the show?

One of the most exciting things about Cafe Mocha is watching PDs go from saying,"Loni Love, who's that?" to her becoming a household name. You should have seen fans in Atlanta lined up trying to get pictures. And the opportunity to have her host events in affiliate markets is real. Loni may do "The Real" during the week, but on weekends and breaks, she's back on the road.

3) Have things changed for women in radio?

It is great to see more female PDs out there, but as I look at the terrain not much else has changed. Most women are still hired to play side chick to the morning man. With the surge in celebrity talent, it is most discouraging to see these women with decades of experience play sidekick to a man with a quarter the experience and for quarter the money. In the early days of pitching Café Mocha, some PDs literally said, "No one wants to hear a bunch of women on the radio." Since then, two new female shows have popped up on TV, "The Talk" and "The Real." Loni Love is actually the anchor for "The Real," which returns in September. Radio needs to catch up to the times especially in the Urban format.

4) Didn't you just add another layer to your resume?

On May 12th, I graduated from the University of Southern California with an MA in Specialized Journalism. Now that I have my MA, I'm in a position to go to any university and teach radio to the next generation. I want to be one of those cool professors who's got this thriving career and brings that real-world experience and passion into the classroom. I also picked up some amazing new skills; who knew I would love web development? I shot and produced a documentary. And met an amazing group of professors and students.

5) What's your advice for air personalities wanting to get into this business?

Learn your craft. No matter what business you're in, you have to know your stuff. There's no question about that if we're talking about doctors and lawyers. Somehow when it comes to entertainment, people think they can just show up and be superstars. Thanks to reality TV that is partially true. But if you want to last and make a living at it for 30 years, you have to find a mentor, find a station and learn as much as you can about the job and the business. It's a lot harder now because weekend jocks are beamed in from New York and overnights are pre-recorded or jock-less. But it's also a lot easier. If you have a solid mentor and a good mic, you can launch your own show. I know a couple of people who have gone on to great success like that and at least one radio group is scouting their talent from podcasts now. Just make sure you have a professional who sits down with you to keep you on track. And network, network, network.

6) Anything new that you would like to tackle?

VO Imaging is one thing I haven't done yet ... radio imaging. It's weird. I started in radio. I'm a radio chick. I've done commercials, cartoons, promos, trailers. I could do voiceover or imaging in my sleep if anybody's looking for a new female voice.

7) What do you see as one of radio's biggest problems?

That we are reactive instead of proactive. Napster. PPM. Pandora. We only change when we are forced to and the changes come from a place of fear. In our everyday lives we know how changes like that work out. The entertainment industry contains some of the most creative people in world, so why are we still doing the same things we were doing 20 years ago? The great thing about radio is that we don't have a $100 million budget at stake. On the local level, we can afford to take risks and make changes to see if they work, but we don't. 'Cause most of our stations are run by people across the country who know nothing about the day-to-day of this town -- except what they read on a piece of paper.

8) Could you share with us those who have helped shape your career?

I have to start with the guys who discovered me in my polyester hotel uniform, Chris Bailey and Shelly Bynum. All the crew who groomed me in NC and continue to be friends, mentors and supporters: you (Sam Weaver), BJ Murphy, Skip Dillard, Cy Young. NY radio vet Johnny Allen for getting me my first full-time gig. My multi-format PDs who didn't see a problem hiring a little black girl to do Rock or Pop or Hot AC -- Bruce Wheeler, Bill O'Brien, David Felker. I would not be syndicated without Tony Gray and June Brody. And then there are the folks who continued to believe I could create, write and produce long and short-form programs -- Terry Foxx, Kirk Stirland, Eric Caver, Sheila Eldridge and my partner-in-crime, Walt Baby Love. I have fond memories of all my PDs. Michael Saunders and ex-wife Stephanie Mills were incredible supporters. She made me believe I could do anything. Rick Cummings and Steve Hegwood really helped me understand the big leagues and what would be required not just on the air, but mentally. Robert Scorpio, Tom Calococci and Tawala Sharp trusted me and let me be me on the air. I love my Baka Boyz for giving me the shot at doing mornings in market #2 and calling me fat every day. My biggest cheerleader, road dog and friend Tre Black was the person I concocted all of these dreams with. We sat in NC dreaming of becoming syndicated, doing mornings in NY, turning my characters into cartoons and we turned those dreams into reality. I will continue to do so without him. #RIP

9) How does the future look for radio?

I taught at my alma mater a few years back and the head of the communications department was advising the students not to go into radio. I'm like, as long as radio is free, then people are going to use it. People like free. The future of radio depends on how long it takes for these hedge fund types and investors to get bored with us. For some time now, our business has been run by people who know nothing about it and care nothing about it except for how much money it can make them. Radio is a creative art, it requires an intimate knowledge of the music, the people, the neighborhoods. Once again, things that the guy in the black suit couldn't care less about. He's the guy who keeps scaling back and simulcasting shows and paying us 20 bucks to voice track because nobody will know or care. But even if listeners can't put their finger on it, they do know, which is why they're taking their business to other free services like Pandora which is also available in the car. As people on the creative side of the building, we are being held hostage until this phase is over. As broke and in debt as some of these companies are, it can't be long before we get our beloved radio back and hopefully it won't be too late to revive her.

10) How does the future look for you?

I just took a year off to get my degree. What's next is finding the next full-time opportunity. I build shows and talent from scratch. I'd love producing a major-market drive time show. Or you know me, I can dish the dirt in middays like a champ. I'd stop by the local college, teach a class a semester and continue what I've always done -- entertaining and educating.

I got into this business doing exactly what I wanted to do making up funny stuff for morning shows. I'm a performer, so I know a part of me is always going to want to perform or write and produce content to be performed. My new level of performance is a captive audience called college students. They're fun. And somebody's got to teach them radio.