Fishboy, MD/Nights, WKRZ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

There’s something to be said for a hometown boy that gets his dream radio gig in the market he’s lived in his entire life. Fishboy knows WKRZ all too well as a fourteen year station vet, and more importantly he knows the audience he plays to. An avid music enthusiast, Fish has an uncanny feel for the hits that make sense for the legendary Top 40 he lives for, while he rules nights in the market with consistent 20 shares. 

By Fred Deane
Fishboy owns nights in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in more ways than one. His ratings success speaks volumes and his interaction and intimacy with his listeners resonates just as profoundly. The man knows how to read a room, and in KRZ’s case he’s the ideal jock for the job to keep nights in the fast lane for this heritage Top 40 station.
WKRZ has been in the Top 40 business since its original sign-on back in October of 1980 and has been a successful player in the market ever since. So it stands to reason that its personnel has extensive longevity and loyalty to a brand that has been so dominate for so many years. With heritage personalities like Fishboy, Rocky (in mornings), afternoon legend Jumpin Jeff Walker, and solid leadership from OM Mike “”OD” O’Donnell along with the quality ownership of Entercom, a machine like KRZ keeps running at a premium level. Fishboy’s been a crucial part of the overall success of the station as evidenced by the huge numbers he continues to pull down at nights and in his role as Music Director where he utilizes his acute ability to keep his finger on the pulse of the music that matters for KRZ.

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I have to start with the obvious…how did you get the nickname Fishboy?
My name actually evolved from a high school nickname in which I was known as Flounder based on the character in Animal House. The Night Jock on KRZ at the time,JJ aka Kaden, coined my name as Fishboy since Flounder was unable to be used due to copyright issues.

You’ve been at KRZ fourteen years, what do you attribute your longevity to?
Passion, hard work, and always wanting to be better. Every day I always try to learn more and become better. It’s a lot easier when you’re around such an experienced and heritage staff that I’m blessed to work with and be a part of.

WKRZ is an exceptional heritage Top 40 station as it has been in the format since 1980. How do you keep the station balanced among the wide demo appeal and listener-ship you strive to serve?
Our market just like every other market is very unique. The one advantage I have is that this is my home market. I grew up here so I have a slightly better perception of the market itself. KRZ has always been a powerhouse so I give credit to all the people who have shown me and taught me how to really look at what drives the station from a music stand point. We are a very unique Top 40. I guess a mix between a Hot AC and Rock station, which in some instances is not an easy thing depending on the current music cycles. But I think that’s why I love this so much, it’s always a challenge.

What has been the key component to the consistency of success?
The key to our success is who sits in the seats above me. My OM/PD Mike “OD” O’Donnell is a great example of this. With his decades of experience he brings a lot to the table and really challenges me, but at the same time he is also willing to really listen and trust my decisions. That is so important when it comes to the physical programming of the station. Of course I can’t neglect to mention the on-air side as well. We are lucky enough to be home to one of the most heritage shows going, afternoons with Jumpin Jeff Walker. He has been on the station since we have signed on in the later half of 1980 and he’s been #1 in his time slot since doing afternoon drive. I can’t leave out our morning crew either. Rocky is and continues to be a major part of our success. KRZ is a well-balanced machine. The station operates at its finest due to all of the above mentioned parts.

How do you keep the station fresh and contemporary given the deep history the station has in the market?
The market has and is always growing. Not at a rapid pace like you might see in other markets, however change is occurring. So it’s important to stay ahead of the game. Now more than ever due to the vast amount of options our listeners have it’s so important to be a new music source, however the loyalty to our core sound still exists. So it’s very important to know where the line is so you don’t end up sounding too unfamiliar. Take artists like Chris Daughtry or Phillip Phillips for example, our P1’s love these guys so you will see us take the lead on these types of artists over most. But we also don’t want be timid on really giving a new fresh young sounding artist a shot either. It all comes down to balance and truly knowing the sound that has made KRZ so successful.

You’re very active in the clubs and a huge EDM fan. How much influence does audience reaction in the clubs affect your evaluation of some songs that you feel could be on the station?
Not really all that much. KRZ has been successful with its formula. Yes the music cycle is definitely leaning toward the EDM sound right now (which of course I love), but OD and myself both know we can’t go too overboard with that sound. Yes we are going to play the big ones like Martin Garrix “Animals” and Calvin Harris “Summer,” but we also know that too much could steer us away from our identity and who we really are. Trust me it’s tempting to want to lead on some of the big club tracks, but in this market just because it’s working in the clubs doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to work on our station.
If you look back at the early 2000’s, when we were in a similar cycle with songs like Darude “Sandstorm” and KernKraft 400 “Zombie Nation,” KRZ also played these records although back then we called it Techno. So really it’s just about adapting to the cycle but not losing your core identity and sound, that’s the key.

Can you describe the core sound/style of KRZ and which artists you consider to be core to the station these days?
I would say given the current music cycle, we are middle road. I love our balance right now. Sure in a perfect world, considering we lean toward a Rock/Hot AC sound, there could always be more Rock. But overall you look at our core artists which vary from Maroon 5, Chris Daughtry and Fall Out Boy, to Pitbull and Justin Timberlake toKaty Perry to American Authors, and also throw in Jason Derulowho has really developed for us. I can’t remember the last time I felt this confident about a well-balanced playlist which our listeners truly love.

Can you cite examples of records that didn’t necessarily happen nationally but worked for KRZ based on the core fit and appeal of the artists/songs?
Daughtry “Waiting For Superman” really stands out. In fact we still have that in power recurrent. I would also say Fall Out Boy; almost everything they release turns into gold here.

KRZ is very active in the community, can you measure the importance of the station’s standing in the community and what that means in the overall branding process?
This is very important with so many stations affected by downsizing. I’m fortunate to work for Entercom who still believes in allowing local brand management. This allows us to have a full staff and have a true identity in the market. There is still a face/physical presence. That is and always has been a key component to our success. Our listeners are very loyal. They love personality driven radio and still to this day love to meet us and get to know us. I’ll quote a listener at a previous remote, “We love listening to your station. We feel like all of you are a part of our family.” That is why locality and community are so important to KRZ.

The station is also aggressive with artist promotions and appearances. Which artist initiatives do feel are the most effective when trying to ultimately connect with your audience?
I love when we get to bring artists into an environment where they can interact first hand with our listeners. The experience and the memories of that truly can last a lifetime for that listener. In return they always remember us as well and associate us with that special experience.

How do you utilize your website to enhance your position as recognizing new music and releases earlier than you would put on the air?
I do a weekly feature that lives on the 985krz.com homepage and is also shared through the various social media platforms, entitled KRZ Hot Picks. This gives us another medium to not only gauge what our listeners think about regarding the new music coming out, but also to expose them to it as well. We give our listeners/viewers an opportunity each week to vote on our site for which Hot Pick they like the most. I feature three artists/songs weekly. The feedback is normally from the younger end considering my audience at night, but the older audience does engage as well.

As the night jock you have first hand knowledge of what’s reacting with the younger demo and how quickly songs react. How effective of a tool has the KRZ Nightly Kombat feature been in helping you determine hot new records?
We have had some great success with this nightly feature. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a “hit predictor” but it definitely has helped get us out in front of some of the brand new music dropping. Here are a few examples of records that dominated on the Kombat (five night winners) and went on to be massive hits for KRZ: Florida-Georgia Line f/Nelly “Cruise,” Avicii “Wake Me Up,” American Authors “Best Day Of My Life” and Demi Lovato “Neon Lights.”

As a rule, do you place a lot of weight on records that either come close to or actually retire as five night champions?
With records that appeal to our core we most certainly do. However when it comes to the die hard teen Pop followers like theDirectioner’s and so on, we are cautious not to let them be too influential when it comes down to the overall decision to add a record. If a record wins many nights and has a variety of our listeners responding in all demos, then that record definitely becomes a priority in our music meetings and will get much closer attention going forward.

Which social media vehicles work best for KRZ?
Facebook seems to really be our home run. Twitter is slowly growing in our market. We have a very young following but the masses are really engaged on KRZ’s FB page.

What have been some of your more defining moments with artists that have come to the market?
I’m reminded of the craziness when we first brought Cher Lloyd into our market, on the verge of “Want U Back.” We held the event at a local mall and were unaware that the response would be so amazing as about 1,000 screaming brats packed the place. Second was an opportunity to meet Katy Perry in NYC. Yes she is that hot in person. Finally a major learning opportunity as a fairly new night guy years back when I got an opportunity to interview Rihanna backstage at our major concert venue, Montage Mountain. Two things happened that day. I learned about how not to do an interview (never use Wiki), and even when Chris Brown barges into your interview on a skateboard, keep the focus on the artist you are interviewing. That was definitely a rookie mistake.