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Interviews An Interview With Unkle Jonathan at Fryed Rock Radio
Interviews An Interview With Unkle Jonathan at Fryed Rock Radio | An Interview With Unkle Jonathan at Fryed Rock Radio |
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| Written by Hank "Hitman" Hart | |
| Thursday, 10 June 2010 | |
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Hitman: Unkle, this is an honor for me to be speaking with a legend in radio! Growing up in New Jersey I was lucky enough to be within the listening area of one of the greatest FM stations of all time, WNEW-FM in NYC. Fryed Rock Radio reminds me so much of WNEW in the aspect that anything gets played! Could you share with our readers how the birth of Fryed Rock came about?
Unkle: Totally by accident. It started out to be a homemade website to put voice work samples on in hopes of finding a station to land at. The timing was terrible due to the economic environment and Stations were letting people go. Over the years, I've kept in touch with Jack Daniel (Clear Channel) and Ric Ballew (Smokin' Bluz) both of whom I worked with at WROQ in Charlotte, and was getting advice from both to go internet and try to scratch out a living until the crowd caught up with it... and here we are.
Hitman: Can I take you back to your youth and ask, when did you decide this was what you wanted to do, instead of being a rock musician?
Unkle: I was infatuated with radio from an early age with the element of surprise that it offered along with the creative input from the disc jockeys, I was always intrigued with the aura that radio put out. I won a scholarship for acting, but I figured a starving radio guy would be better than a starving actor because radio was closer to home, and that’s where the food was.
Hitman: You became well known at such an early age, what do you think it was that was within you to keep on keeping on in an area where the chances of making it, may even be more limited than being in a band?
Unkle: The burning desire to do something that I was obsessed with, and also, the immaturity of not knowing the meaning of the answer “no.” Also, my cousins on both sides of the family got that special "Music Gene", and l had to study and work for the little bit of technical music knowledge that I have. It was clear to me that I'd never be the 4th member of ZZ Top. Radio afforded me a creative outlet and the opportunity to be around the music and its makers.
Hitman: I did non-public FM radio for four, what do you think that really makes Fryed Rock stand out above the competition beyond the format?
Unkle: The mechanics of the way that I’m trying to program and promote. I’m trying to offer on the internet the same kind of radio that I was intrigued with as a youth. I feel, for quite a number of years, with what terrestrial radio corporatizes and the mechanics of what their consultants tell them to do; it has stifled the element of creativity and also the element of surprise from radio. When a radio station is only rotating between 200 and 400 songs on a daily basis, there’s not much surprise left as to what is going to be heard musically.
Hitman: What I liked finding out about you was in your past you hosted, “Southern Fryed Rock Weekends”. As you are well aware, our online magazine, Southern Fried, is a niche magazine with very loyal, passionate fans of that genre of music. Some of your favorite southern rock music is?
Unkle: There’s not much that I don’t like. Having grown up in the south, the integration of rock, country, and blues spoke to me deeply. I felt like a part of the music I was hearing from that genre before I was actually ever a part of it. They were writing and singing about things I could relate to, places I could relate to, a lifestyle that was familiar, and there was also an element of geographic locality in it. I liked the music of the early Charlie Daniels band with Tom Crain; I liked the jazzy aspect that Paul Riddle brought to the Marshall Tucker Band, the triage of guitars from the Outlaws, the raise-hell attitude from Lynyrd Skynyrd, the funkiness of Wet Willie, and the heavy blues base of Elvin Bishop. I could go on and on and you could probably write an entire issue of your magazine on how and what I feel about southern rock and roll.
Hitman: Getting to speak with you, one thing that is obvious, it has nothing to do with it being about you, it’s all about the music. Do you sense in today’s music industry, there is a greater focus on the individual more than the music?
Unkle: Absolutely. With the change that’s been done in country music, the onslaught of crap that’s been run through American Idol, with the hip-hop people out there, it seems to me that’s it more about the artist’s image. I think the music has suffered tremendously. And I can’t stress that enough. I’m thoroughly disappointed with what’s happened in the music industry. There are good bands, excellent musicians, and excellent music as well that’s out there with no avenue for mass listener-ship. Fryed Rock receives CD’s and inquiries on a weekly basis from artists who, back in the day, would probably have no problem getting a record deal. It’s pretty obvious to me these days that unless you look a certain way, dress a certain way, and are considered extremely marketable to the masses, there’s absolutely no chance through the established record industry for an artist or band to have their works heard. That my friend is a travesty.
Hitman: Fryed Rock in many ways is your whole life in the sense you work at it all the time. Can you give us a sense of just how involved you are beyond just playing the music?
Unkle: I’m a one man band. I deal with business decisions, marketing, networking, listening, recording, writing, producing, it goes on and on. Fryed Rock is a 24/7 radio station and I'm thankful for the "auto" button on my programming software.
Hitman: In your years of being on the air, best guest was? And best concert you’ve ever attended, any type of music?
Unkle: I probably had the most fun with Doug Gray from the Marshall Tucker Band; the reason is because I didn’t do just a fifteen or twenty minute interview with him. He drove up from Spartanburg to Charlotte and actually was a co-host on my entire show one day. We played some tunes I wanted to hear, I let him pick some songs he wanted to hear. We bantered back and forth, we talked about music, we talked about cars, we talked about other artists, and basically we had a four hour fireside chat on the radio. After which, we spent another ten or twelve hours back at my place where we talked in depth about things that will remain within those walls. At the time, I was humbled with some of the things he shared with me. As far as concerts, there literally has been too many, spanning too many years, too many artists and too many genres for me to ever pick one. I will say... my first Bruce Springsteen concert; I was never the same after that. I've seen some doozies, Ha!
Hitman: While listening this evening to Fryed Rock, I heard “Changes” by Black Sabbath. It’s amazing now seeing Sharon Osbourne recently on Donald Trump’s, Celebrity Apprentice. Brett Michaels from Poison was the winner this year. Do you think the general public’s perception of rock starts has changed dramatically from the days of Elvis, through The Beatles all the way up to now?
Unkle: I think the current “general public” is a different public today. Speaking in general terms, the general public, what is main stream these days, grew up with Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper. What was unacceptable to the Elvis crowd is now the norm for our crowd.
Hitman: Getting back to the southern rock genre, what songs, those nuggets, not the usual hits, would you recommend to our readers, if they had to be limited to adding only ten to their I Pod?
Unkle: Hitman you'll get me in trouble here... ZZ Top’s “Sure Got Cold After The Rain Fell”, Wet Willie’s “Everything That You Do”, “Angel City” by Warren Haynes, “Spendin’ Cabbage” from Blackfoot, “Hurry Sundown” from The Outlaws, “I Should’ve Never Started Loving You” by The Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Am I Losing”, Derek Trucks Band’s “This Sky”, Charlie Daniel’s Band “Birmingham Blues”, The Allman Brothers “Statesboro Blues.” Those were simply the first 10 into my head as a result of being the last 10 I've heard.
Hitman: Where do you want to take Fryed Rock from its point now say, to a year from now?
Unkle: First and foremost, into profitability. I’ve built and supported Fryed Rock from savings, from relatives, and anywhere else I thought I could grab a dollar to pay a bill or buy a piece of equipment. I’m not in this to get rich. I’m in it because I love it, I always have, and if I can do what I love to do, which is expose people to music that should and deserves be heard and pay the overhead, I will consider it a success
Hitman: As you and I discussed on the phone, at one time being an FM jock was in a sense being an artist. Having that freedom to segue songs to put forth ideas, concepts, make statements, was something the listeners really got into. Any moment you can remember where something was played on a station, whether it was one of the ones you were on, something you played, or something you heard, that is stamped in your brain forever? For me, it was Dennis Elsas of WNEW who played Poco’s “Keep on Trying” into The Eagles, “Try and Love Again” into The Outlaws, “Hurry Sundown”. No theme there, no commonality in the songs, but the harmonies and guitar sounds on those songs just fit perfectly, and now 33 years later I still remember it.
Unkle: I’ve done a gazillion segue’s in my career both by accident and by design that afterward, I said to myself, "whoa." I’ve also done segue’s that I’ve had listeners call up and comment on. I think by being somewhat of a musician, and being able to hear the music the way I hear it and having an inherent sense of knowing how the next one is going to start out, probably 99.9% of my segue’s have been done on feel alone. There’s only been a few times that I can recall having actually planned two songs to play solely based on what I thought I could do with the segue. Sorry but I can't remember which ones.
Hitman: What can our readers here at Southern Fried do to help support Fryed Rock Radio?
Unkle: Listen often, and tell their friends if they like it. And if they don’t like it, don’t tell anybody. We are trying to build our listener-ship to achieve the numbers that will make Fryed Rock attractive to advertising sponsors. With internet, there's a lot of ways to offer Sponsors exposure without actually having recorded commercial breaks on the audio and that to me, is alluring in and of itself.
Hitman: I’d like to go back to your younger days again with this question. I often ask musicians who influenced them. For a person in your profession, who were the jocks that you listened to, the ones that you learned from, tried to emulate to form your own distinct style?
Unkle: Chuck Britain, from Big Ways, Dean Parks from 96 Rock in Atlanta, and David Blue who was at 95Q before I arrived. David Blue was the real deal because he picked his own music and offered a boatload of variety. Very, very, very much like Fryed Rock. Hint.
Hitman: People walk around with their own private radio station in the form of an I Pod. In many ways, it’s come full circle where one’s song selection may be similar to what one heard on AM radio in the 60s. The range from The Beatles to Temptations to The Four Seasons certainly is one that the I Pod owner can re-create, and then plug in while driving in their car. Would you say this little “toy” has hurt radio more than anything else?
Unkle: Yes and No… I think radio hurt itself. When music is determined by people that don't know the difference between a guitar and a cowbell, nothing good is going to come from that. For years on end the Consultants preached...familiarity, familiarity with the music. That's exactly why you have stations playing the same 12 songs over and over, day in and day out. Nothing personal to L.S., or the song, but I don't need to hear Freebird twice a day...every day. The internet and the IPod simply offered people an avenue to get what they're NOT getting from radio...something different, something new and most importantly, respect for music in general. Fryed Rock plays Joan Armatrading and Frank Zappa, Jackson Brown and Molly Hatchet, Harry Chapin and The Outlaws. Granted, there has to be continuity, but not much. Whether those combination's work or not depends on how it's done, and that's where I come in.
Hitman: I found the early days of FM educational in the sense that it exposed the listener to so many great artists. Do you think radio should have the responsibility to do that?
Unkle: Yes I do… I'm totally old school in my opinions, dreams and desire's of and for radio on whatever medium that one receives it. I'm not necessarily suggesting that radio should revert to the programming of the 60's and 70's, but when I can almost name the next song up, I'm no longer interested. The publisher of a printed magazine asked me recently what Fryed Rock offered that most do not, and my reply was, "variety, and the element of surprise."
Hitman: You certainly have some great stories in your lifetime in the biz, is there one you can share with us involving a southern rocker?
Unkle: I have a books worth of memories and stories but here's a good one; Artimus Pyle and Me, our arms around each other and crying on stage at PB Scotts concert hall in Blowing Rock NC. He had braces on both legs and had just finished playing his 4th encore with his APB, which was an instrumental of Freebird, played with the spotlight shining on a lone empty mic on front center stage. I just got chills again.
Hitman: Having been a DJ, a Music Director and also a Program Director do you think in the current state of radio, there is a greater separation between those roles than in the past? Today the difference from being a “jock” to those other roles that are more involved in the business end creates conflict in what one wants to play and what one has to play…hence Fryed Rock Radio?
Unkle: Those roles in these times are more often than not, done by the same person. Big box stations are under the same strain that we all share in these tough times. Cutbacks have forced station management to take on more responsibilities and do more, with fewer resources. At Fryed Rock, the only conflict I have is with time. There's simply not enough of it.
Hitman: Well “Unk”, let’s stay connected and we will continue to keep our readers updated about your station.
Unkle: Thank you Hitman for having an interest in Fryed Rock, and for taking the time to talk with me. I love your website and visit often.
Unkle Jonathan
FryedRock.com Album Radio |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 July 2010 ) |
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