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Drex became Canadian famous just before Christmas in 2012 when he asked then Premier Christy Clark. on behalf of a listener, if she was more MILF or Cougar. And with that started radio's era of internet outrage. That was not the first time Drex had been fired. He has a cool back story from his days on air in Australia, and hopscotched the British Columbia coast and interior before making his way to CFOX and then CKNW and the Corus Radio Network. One of things I love about Drex is his versatility from Rock to Talk to whatever format. He identifies it as radio and connection. He also takes chances, and admits when he is wrong. You can connect with his show's podcast if staying up late is not your thing. By the way, there is a good story about how Drex got fired from a job in Australia. His old boss heard the episode and weighed in. For many who first connected with radio in the late hours or early mornings, the return of shows like The Shift with Drex in Canada and the continuation of Ryan Wrecker's Overnight America at KMOX is refreshing and needed in an industry that wound up ceding those late night hours to on demand listening. Inversely, both these shows have strong podcast numbers as it is fresh content that can be consumed first thing in the morning. Not surprisingly, the two of them got together recently to talk politics on air. Check out Steve Kowch's "View From the Kowch" about the creation of this show. #vancouver #corus #talkradio

Steve Anthony retired from active broadcasting about a year ago, moved to Prince Edward County, and took his business ventures with him for the ride. He and a wife Tanya who has been riding shotgun with Steve since 1997, have enough stories for a book he says he will never write. I spoke to Steve about his early days at John Abbott College on Montreal's West Island, to his time at 980 CKGM and then down the 401 to work for Gary Slaight at Toronto's Q107. As I spoke to Steve, I learned a few things about the broadcaster that others had told me about. He is loyal, but never to a fault. And the number of other broadcasters he has mentored along the way. We spoke for an hour but we could have gone three. No there is no book in the future but he did hint and some other ventures that are coming. This episode is brought to you by Nlogic. I will be at Canadian Music Week moderating a panel for Broadcasters about... wait for it. Podcasting. You'll likely hear Steve's voice wafting throughout the Broadcast awards and a few other places. If you would like to have Steve Voice anything for you... his website is here. One name that came up during the show was that of Rob Braide. He also played a role in getting another MuchMusic VJ's career started, Erica Ehm. You can seem that video from Boom 97's 97 Seconds Series. #Muchmusic #CHOM #CKGM #Q107 #CFNY

Alyssa Page grew up in Connecticut, found her way on to the radio by doing everything. Then worked her ass off to get to Atlanta and then a dream position on the legendary 107.7 The End in Seattle. This podcast marks the third member of the radio station to appear on the podcast, and with good reason. The station is oft quoted as one other station's could look to for innovative and brilliant ideas. So what's it like to work there? Alyssa answered those questions along with sharing some of her interview strategies, show prep tactics and what she does when she is not on air. Alyssa and I met back in 2016 at the Conclave and every year she is a joy to see again. The excitement in her eyes was infectious as she told me she has just landed her dream job in Seattle, and in the subsequent years, had been elevated to the midday show. We spoke about the importance of networking, and what attending the Conclave has meant to her career. She also gives back by volunteering on the Conclave committee to put on a great event every year. Please consider joining her and a few others who have also appeared on this podcast June 19-21 in Minneapolis. Some of the fine people mentioned in this episode who can speak to the benefits of this conference include Jillene Khan from Magic 98 in Madison, WI and Laura G from 98BHT in Wilkes Barre, PA. Of note, our main sponsors Promosuite will also be there. CJ & Rachel will be demoing some of their new products and it would be very much appreciated if you can thank them for keeping this podcast free to you every week. #conclave #seattle #theend

She answered the very first question I asked her correctly. She was supposed to get it wrong. How Very Meredith Geddes of her. Meredith Geddes arrived in Vancouver at the World Famous CFOX and pretty much everything changed. She'd never been out west before and was about to take a big step in her radio career. From evenings, the shifts began to fall her way; whether it was voice tracking a daypart in another part of the country, then co-hosting the afternoon show with Jeremy Baker, or interviewing one of the many bands that wander the hallways at CFOX. Then came an opportunity that was covered about a month ago with her current co-host, Kolter Bouchard. The pitch to collaborate with Kolter and co-host the afternoon show at 102.1 The Edge in Toronto. And while we heard Kolter's take on it a few weeks ago, Meredith was moving cross-country for this opportunity. In this episode, we talked about high school, the trials of working in a small market, arriving in Vancouver, techniques on interviewing bands and show prep, and just how much fun it is to work in radio - no matter what the format. (And she has done them all) As you heard on the show, Meredith and Kolter spend time writing and collaborating between writing and voicing their content. One that affected us all recently, Daylight Savings. #toronto #vancouver #theedge

Sean Dilworth is half the man he used to be. Figuratively only. In whole, he is stronger, smarter and more confident than ever. He made a life decision to get physically stronger, which led to a number of other changes in his life. Then he came out and told his audience about it last September. In this moment, I knew I wanted to have him tell the longer version of this story on the podcast. I hired Sean back in 2012 and he was every bit as eager, with a smile that's infectious and lights up a room. Back then he was heavier and a lot less confident. He was spending most of his energy hiding his anxiety for tasks that aren't easy for everyone; like bringing a band on stage for example. If I ran into Sean on the street - I probably wouldn't recognize him. He isn't afraid to keep the old pictures of himself on his social media accounts. In fact, he doesn't consider himself overtly millennial. And we even put him to a test. It's no coincidence that this episode was released during the same week that Canada's biggest media company, Bell Media is having Let's Talk Day. It's the planet's biggest Mental Health media campaign. #winnipeg #health #mentalhealth

This week I give you my take on the Podcast Movement and do a little Remedial Media about podcasting and its future. I also mentioned during the podcast that if you are in radio, you might be interested in its future and how radio will be offered on the car dash. Jacobs Media is now 3 episodes in on their podcast, the Dash: The Future in the Connected Car with host Seth Resler. We chat with Shika Rebecca about her show prep service Pepper Prep. From the moment she answered the phone, she will full of energy. If you are in radio or podcast, this is an affordable show prep service. Shika Rebecca came up with the idea of Pepper Prep back in 2014 while she was filling in for the morning show. She was staying up later and getting prep and thought it would be nice to find an affordable prep service. After trying different services she found none of them suited her needs or were out of her price range. So with over 10 years of radio broadcast experience she decided to start her own. She has also started a podcast called Peppercast where you can get the lowdown in just a few minutes. At the very least, follow her service on Facebook and Twitter for free prep. We also big adieu to a great radio engineer. H.A. David Morrison died last month in Kentville, Nova Scotia. He instilled his love of sound upon all those who worked with him. Dave would not have been happy with the sound of the original version of this podcast, which is why I had it redone. Radio people past and present created a wonderful tribute to Dave; you may not have known Dave, but you will feel as though you did through the power of audio. Dave would be pleased to know that I have brought Evan Surminski on board to oversee (overhear?) production of this podcast and make sure it is the best possible listening experience for you. That just leaves the host as the largest contributor to tune out. (Which, all things considered, is the way it should be) The Sound Off Podcast would like to thank our sponsor Yappy. If your business would like to add a texting component for customer contact, click on their logo below. For advertising enquiries, please e-mail us. Take me to the Podcast Page. #pm16 #yappy #podcast #podcasting

Thursday and Friday, many fine broadcasters from across North America, gathered at the 2016 Conclave Learning Conference in Minneapolis to learn. I had my choices of conferences to go to this year and chose the Conclave because it provides incredible access to sit down face-to-face with everyone. Representitives from everyone from Cumulus, iHeartRadio, and Hubbard to Jacobs Media, AllAccess.com, Benztown and Neilsen; talent, imaging, social media, operations managers and owners. Those who know me undertand that I love to share and teach; those who really know me know l love to learn. Lori Lewis, the chair of Conclave 41 said in her opening note: "We all need friends, colleagues and mentors to grow. Success is not a solo process." While speaking to Joel Denver of AllAccess.com - Art Vuolo started filming us and I thought - "Holy shit! That's Art Vuolo!" Twenty-five years ago I used to order and share his video tapes of other disc jockeys and loved what I saw. It made me want to do better on the air. I got to thank him and tell him that his videos are a big reason what I am here today. While on the subject of video; it continues to be an amazing outlet for personalities to showcase their personality. Greg Cypin was showcased in the "Video: Consumption Has Exploded" session, hosted by vocieover and creative genius Drake Donovan. Greg makes video's to extend his brand: Another Great Video showcased was by Chris Cruise. Here's 9 Things Not to Say to a Radio DJ: Other Highlights from the Conclave 41: * Sarah Smerz told me about her brand extension with a video blog called "Toilet Talk". Fun, simple, quirky, highlights her personality and works in any format. (She is the midday personality at WFMB 104.5FM in Springfield, Illinois) * Great to meet Jennifer Williams, Director of Interactive Marketing at Greater Media in Detroit who mentored many social media and content managers. Jennifer understands how to make interactive work for radio stations. Unfortunately, there were many stations where staff do no have 100 percent buy-in from air talent and/or sales people on the interactive strategy. Stations where one person is doing all the social media activity is actually disfunctional and a recipe for disaster. (Call me - I can can have everyone buying in) * When Rico Garcia of Results Radio in Northern, California asked: (and I'll paraphrase) With most stations carrying syndicated and voice tracked programming, what were radio companies doing to grow talent? No solid answer came out but Ginny Morris from Hubbard Broadcasting did acknowledge that "we could all do better in this area." I regret not getting a few moments with Ginny Morris at the mentor session to ask her about her company's recent partnership with Podcast One, and also the insight on this station - which is the future - As the need for music radio dwindles. * I enjoyed getting a few minutes with Mike McVay from Cumulus. Here is an innovative idea he told us about regarding developing talent. His company is using the dead space on their online streams to 3-5 minute talent segments. These could come from podcasts or post-show content or serve as audition space for up and coming talent. ESPN has been repurposing its content in that space for years, but dipping into podcast for this audio is exciting. (Note: American stations cannot run their commercial blocks on their streams because of rights issues; Canada does not have this issue) * Podcasting remains a curiosity for radio. The session hosted by Perry Michael Simon of AllAccess.com and Fred Jacob's Tech Survey 12 both had many questions and many answers. Quick note for the organizers that I would love to see any session where data is unveiled, scheduled as an earlier session, so it can be referred to in later sessions at the conference. Perry's All Access column about the conference is here. * The Imaging Session with Katie Green, Justin Case from Benztown, and John Cruz is one that needs to be repeated next year. The need for imaging is more important than ever to separate your station, not only from other stations, but to solidify it as a brand. (I know that seems rather obvious, but if it is so obvious everyone would be spending more in this area Stop getting all figity... you know I am right) * Paige Nienaber's "Marketing with No Budget" rattled off more than 75 ideas in less than an hour. Finally, a congratulations to Lori Lewis and the Conclave board for putting the shine back on this event. The tireless hours of work did not go unnoticed by your colleagues and as a result - many broadcasters are waking up on a Saturday morning, richer for those who shared their knowledge and mentorship.